Big Dave!

Well, we're back at it again. This week's interview has been on the books for a minute. However I came down with a  classic case of consumption which lead to a lengthy delay in everything, including this blog. I am back upright and moving, so I thought it was time to post another blog. This week is another cool dude with a  great collection. Its Big Dave from Houston, Tx. Yee-Haw! He's got a huge collection, participated in the Lids Ultimate Cap Collector and lays down some great customs.

Before we get to that though...I'm sad about #11 Edgar Martinez not making the Hall of Fame again this year. Statistically he deserves a bronze bust of himself in Cooperstown. That is all I will say about that. So if this week's post seems a bit melancholy it might be that. Or it might be the lingering consumption symptoms. Take your pick.

In the established fashion, we'll ne "TT" and Big Dave will go with "BD". Lets go!

TT: What's up boo? Lets talk caps.

BD: Hey, what's up!?

TT: Lets do this. First up, give me the Twitter length version of who Big Dave is.

BD: It was a cold autumn night. LOL.

TT: Is there a manger involved?

BD: More like an outhouse. No, seriously. Born and raised in Houston, TX. 41...married...father of 5 kids. Sorry, 4. Fat fingers. Primarily collect fitteds.

TT: How many caps you got?

BD: First one was a Dodgers after Gibson's homer in 1988. Now its getting close to 600. That's not including non-fitted caps.

TT: Dang. So was this year's World Series a toss up for you?

BD: Not really. I've been an Astros fan as long as I can remember. My grandma is a lifer and would take me to games in the Astro Dome.

TT: Glorious.

BD: There just was not much selection back then. It was either the Yankees, Dodgers or Red Sox. I went with the lesser of the three evils.

TT: So are you big into all Houston sports?

BD: I'm Big Dave. I'm big in everything. LOL. Baseball is my love and the Texans are my girlfriend.

TT: Houston is an underrated baseball experience. Minute Maid Park is beautiful and has air conditioning.

BD: Bro. This season was electric at the "Juice Box".  Minute Maid has A.C.? Is that rare? You couldn't watch summer games here without a roof.  I had season tickets in  04-05 for their first World Series run and happened to have them again this season.

TT: Its the only stadium I've been to with A.C. So is a vast majority of your collection comprised of any one team or league?

BD: The largest portion of my collection is by far Astros hats. That grows every year. Custom joints are creeping up there though.

TT: Lets side bar for a second....

BD: Shoot....

TT: You are dropping some STELLAR customs. What's the motivation?

BD: Well, I had no idea that any Joe Schmo could have a custom created. After joinging Team Fitted (#TeamFitted on Instagram if you're curious) I started seeing all these customs with ultra limited release numbers. That's when I found out how and who to talk to. I had had the idea for the Moonwalkers for a while. It actually started out as an idea for a t-shirt. 

TT: I noticed you have a space theme. Homage to Houston?

BD: Yup. I gotta show love to my city. Houston was the focal point for so many of the early space missions. Houston was the first word spoken from the face of the moon. Love that factoid. My step dad would take me to Johnson Space Center every summer. I waited for that trip all year and my pop loved space. He always wanted to be an astronaut. He said if they would have let him take scotch on the Apollo he would've applied. So the Space City Moonwalkers were born as a nod to my hometown and a tribute to my pop.

TT: The earth is flat and the moon landings were faked just so you know. That's amazing. Now I want a Space Walkers Cap. 

BD: You're kidding right? And it's Space City Moonwalkers. LOL. 

TT: Yes. If you have Twitter you can tune into my weekly Flat Earth Q and A. I've managed to somehow get myself blacklisted from the Space City Moonwalkers and that was only like 3 texts ago. 

BD: I'm more upset about the Space Walkers comment.

TT: One of my favorite questions on this blog, and to anyone I meet when I find out they collect: Where did you start. What got that cap fire started?

BD: Well, like I said my first hat was a Dodgers hat. I wore that until it was offensive and officially banned by my mom. After that I would call myself a collector. I would get a new Astros hat at the first game I went to each year with my grandma. It wasn't until high school and Air Jordans that I started looking for hats and trying to maintain them as an accessory. 

TT: I like your mom's style. YES!! A sneakerphile! Do you still have any of the old caps?

BD: I have one of my old Astros hats from the 1980s and it has definitely seen better days. Well I was a Jordan head. OG. Had every pair and colorway from the 3s to the 18s. Then I had kids. Then it was Cross Trainers and Air Max's with my fitteds. Sneakers did fuel that hat collecting. Always had to have a hat to match the outfit. 

TT: So how do you store four kids and 600 hats?

BD: Oh. I started early. I'm 41. My kids are 24, 22, 19 and 15. Last one is in high school. Youngest is finishing up welding school. No one can go on Dr. Phil and blame me for anything. 

TT: We're here for the caps anyway. So how do you store the caps? And the sneakers...

 BD: Very carefully. I'll break your heart with the sneakers...but thrown in the bottom of a closet. No boxes. I recently lost my home office to a playroom, so the all the hats are in a corner of my room. They're also on the dining table. Basically everywhere in the house. My wife rounds them up and tells me to pick up my toys.

TT: Are they categorized at all?

BD: Did I mention I invented "Post Its"?

TT: Wait...no?

BD: :laughing:  I keep them segregated to keep them from fighting. The caps from Germany don't get along with others.

TT: What are your top 5 caps?

BD: Oh wow...that's tough.

TT: While you think about it: What do you think of "We didn't start the fire" by Billy Joel?

BD: Joel rocks! Top 5 in no order: Astros World Champion side patch 59Fifty, 2005 World Series on-field 59Fifty, Houston Eagles Negro League 59Fifty (this was from the Civil Rights game, GREAT caps), the first #TeamFitted Christmas custom "Dabbing Santa" (all of the proceeds from that go to charity) and my go to from Premium Goods "Houston" 59Fifty.

TT comment: Big Dave also listed his first Space City Moonwalkers Custom (its glow in the dark), a Star Wars wookie cap and a Triple H of WWE fame 59Fifty he snagged from Germany off of eBay. Dude has a sick collection. 

TT: What about grails? Have you skipped or missed any that you regret? 

BD: Ones I miss I regret. There are some Road Warriors and Van Vader wrestling hats released in Japan 10 years ago that I would sell my stock for right now. I'm also currently looking for old 1970s and 1980s Astros fitteds. The ones with the leather sweat bands. 

TT: Do any of your kiddos collect?

BD: None of my kids collect. My sons wear hats but only what I buy or give them. 

TT: What are your thoughts on the new batting practice caps?

BD: Ugh...the new BP caps. They look and feel like something you'd get from your great aunt that she got at a big box store (name redacted to protect the guilty). Hate the plastic logos and I hate the material. I hate the screened on logos. It feels like a cheap rayon suit. 

TT: YESSSS!!!!!

BD: I only have one because my wife bought it for me and was so excited to give it to me. So I faked a smile and threw it in a plastic bin never to see the light of day again. 

TT: You missed some seriously salt laden rants on Twitter about the new shower curtain caps. 

BD: I wasn't a fan of the Diamond Era (rest in peace friend) but it was miles better than this.  I assume you don't like them either?

TT: I loathe, maybe even hate them. 

TT: Last question...when does the next custom enter orbit?

BD: Well, as much I hate missing a deadline Hurricane Harvey screwed this release all up. V.2 scrapped the October 2017 release. Then I headed a fund raiser for hurricane relief and donated over $800 to JJ Watt fund with a cap raffle and hundreds of caps donated by Lids and a few other vendors. Then it was Christmas. So I was getting the order ready but now the factory is closed for the Chinese New Year. 

TT: Hey! Link me up with JJ. You're a big shooter with the Post It game and all, I need him in the hot seat about his caps. 

BD: So as of today I am aiming for a March 2018 release. 

TT: Alright man, thanks for chatting dude!

BD: Hope I didn't bore you too much. 

You can find Dave on Twitter @713BigDave and over on Instagram @BigDave713. Check out his collection, his customs and appreciate the hard work he did for a great city. Thanks Dave! Next time we're going north. Way north. North of the border to meet with one of our Canadian pals. Can you guess who?