Dat Dude Museum adding artifacts
Phillips collects signed jersey from every baseball port of call
PAWTUCKET – When the day arrives and Brandon Phillips packs up his gear and departs the Pawtucket Red Sox clubhouse, the veteran second baseman hopes to have a personal keepsake in tow – one that reflects his tenure with the Triple-A ballclub.
Think along the lines of a gameworn jersey that’s autographed by PawSox players and coaches. It’s an approach that Phillips was suc- cessful in achieving following last month’s six-game stint with Single-A Lowell. Before moving from one Red Sox minor-league affiliate to the next, Phillips had the Spinners apply black ink to a jersey.
“I wanted to get that signed by everybody,” Phillips said last weekend while sitting at his McCoy Stadium locker.
When Phillips posted a photo of the signed Lowell Spinners jersey on his personal Instagram account on July 14, it was accompanied with “Another jersey for the Dat Dude Museum!” Dat Dude, of course, is part of his unique username on his social media accounts. The part about a museum … let’s just say Phillips has a very extensive memorabilia collection that’s located in his Atlanta house.
“I like to collect,” Phillips said.
Phillips takes his playing jerseys and has them framed in the same color frame. Some of them are hung on the wall while others are arranged on the floor. The display includes specialty jerseys from the first 16 years of his MLB career – All-Star, Fourth of July, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, etc.
There are also jerseys that are odes to some of Phillips’ favorite movie characters – a Willie Beaman football jersey from “Any Given Sunday” that’s signed by actor Jamie Foxx, and a Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn jersey that includes the signature of “Major League” star Charlie Sheen.
Phillips has succeeded in obtaining jerseys of professional athletes who share the
same last name – from former MLB infielder Tony Phillips, to ex-NFL running back Lawrence Phillips, to retired Ottawa Senators defenseman Chris Phillips. Right now, the priority is to secure a jersey of Buffalo Bills rookie receiver Cam Phillips.
Growing up, Brandon Phillips wasn’t big on collecting. He would purchase packs of baseball cards and admitted the allure of the stick of bubble gum far outweighed the suspense of seeing what was inside the wax wrapping.
“My friends and I would play games with the cards … that person going against this person and looking at the stats on the back for reference,” Phillips said.
The idea of Phillips taking measures to preserve his career took shape when he joined the Cincinnati Reds and toured the National League club’s team museum. Besides setting a goal to one day have something from his career featured in the Reds’ hallowed halls, Phillips felt it would be just as neat to develop a spot in his house where his playing days could live on forever.
“It was a concept that grew on me because it was right in front of me,” Phillips said.
Just like that, Dat Dude Museum was born.
“It shows hard work and dedication. That’s how I look at it,” Phillips said. “You can forget all the things you’ve done, but when you walk into your own house and go to your own museum or office, that stuff doesn’t get erased.”
Phillips says he’s left no stone unturned in his pursuit of acquiring every single baseball card of him that’s ever been made, from the obscure minor-league ones to cards that feature his autograph along with a piece from one his jerseys. All the cards are hung on the wall of Dat Dude Museum.
“It’s called who you know,” Phillips said with a smile when asked about his baseball card pursuit.
Phillips’ own personal museum includes signed baseballs from Derek Jeter, Ken Griffey Jr., Pete Rose, and Barry Larkin. There’s an autographed football from Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton, a game-used bat from Rose, and jerseys from Mike Trout and Albert Pujols. If you’re in the sports or entertainment business and you’ve crossed paths with Phillips, the odds are pretty good that something is going to end up on display in Dat Dude Museum.
Just as noteworthy, Phillips is proud of the Jackie Robinson artwork he obtained.
“Every time I walk in there, it reminds me why I play this game. Jackie changed the whole world, not just baseball,” Phillips said.
How big is Dat Dude Museum? Besides what’s already been mentioned, you’ll find tables set up for pool and ping-pong. Whenever Phillips has company over, he doesn’t serve as a curator. He prefers to let his guests set the agenda.
“No tours. Just everyone walking around by themselves,” Phillips said.
Expansion plans for Dat Dude Museum are always on the table – so long as Phillips keeps on playing regardless of the level of pro ball.
“It really shows what kind of career I’ve been blessed to enjoy, but I’m still dreaming. Hopefully I can add to the collection,” he said. “It’s just items that have to do with me that I can go back and someday show my kids … everything I went through and showing them the things I love.”