Collecting Game-used: Landing a piece of The Rock as well as Sports Illustrated history after missing The One That Got Away

I must have done something to make the collecting gods happy ... because The One That Got Away came back to me.

This month's Collecting Game-used item is a piece of photo-matched Sports Illustrated history and you can see it above -- well, sorta -- in all its glory on the Dec. 5, 2016, issue. If you watch Ballers at some point, you'll likely see it somewhere there, too, but that research wasn't necessary for this one this time.

So what's the deal?

In late 2020, a number of props, wardrobe pieces and other items used by cast members in Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's hit HBO series were on the block via Heritage Auctions and ScreenBid. Thanks to some dumb luck back then, I noticed something that the prop masters, the auction company and, based on the price, even the bidders didn't among the more than 500 items up for grabs. One of the suits that was sold -- and there were many in the sale as Ballers might be known for those as much as anything else in Spencer Strasmore's world -- also was worn on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The blue and black plaid custom-made jacket and pants were right there waiting for me at Heritage with a "designed for Dwayne Johnson" tag inside and an opening bid that was easily within my budget -- as long as the bidding didn't get too crazy. How did I know it was that one? I'll get to that. (Spoiler: It's just like matching other pieces in this series of memorabilia stories.)

I was beyond excited about the auction. I lost sleep over it for a couple days before the Sunday sale because this was such an interesting find -- a piece cooler than just something worn on screen. The live auction couldn't come fast enough. I scouted all of the lots, took notes on what I liked and what looked good for the price. I didn't dare mention this piece of trivia at all here on The Buzz, though, but I did tell a couple of relatives. (They looked at me like I was crazy when I mentioned the start price for something I'd never wear.) Another plus for me was that the lot was pretty deep in the auction lineup with many suits dropping before and several after.

Once the auctions started, I took notes about what other suits cost and I scouted back-up pieces I might want -- but nothing truly came close to this one. Nothing. Early on, suits sold for way less than I expected. It really could be mine I thought, though some suits in signature colors (grey/silver) potentially from key moments, posters and DVD covers did sell for more. When my lot finally came up an hour or two in, my fingers went cold. I was nervous. I might have hyperventilated a little (not really ... but maybe ... it's all a blur). I bid. So did somebody else. I bid again (my first bids in Heritage history). They did, too. Deep breaths. I bid again. Than I paused legitimately thinking it was mine as the clock ticked down in slow-motion ... and yet it was not. Things then instantaneously went into fast-forward and there was no time to react once I realized it was gone. I was done faster than Erick Rowan at WrestleMania 32. I was stunned like my chin had just met "Stone Cold." I was hotter than this 'Mania moment. I was out of it -- both the auction running and the world for a bit. It was gone and it hurt. I recovered, though, and later landed another piece with a story that was perhaps bigger so at least there was some Buzzing about the Ballers auction. (That's a classic item, too, if I do say so -- hit that link.) And this tale with The One That Got Away was over, going untold, more than a year ago.

So ... what's the deal in the here and now? Fast-forward to three weeks ago today and a not-yet-caffeinated Buzz checked some Friday-morning email and saw a props-for-sale message from Attro Digital -- a name I didn't recognize but it was essentially the same mailing list for ScreenBid that I had signed up for back in the day. By chance, something caught my eye, so I clicked.

And then I saw "Ballers" ...

I clicked a link and rubbed my eyes. I felt my jaw hit the desk and then still did a double-take like the Lebowski gif and couldn't pay fast enough once I confirmed one detail and checked a couple others. Attro's image (below right) wasn't the greatest, but the colors, certificate style and fabric patterns all hit me like a People's Elbow. The first detail? The original Heritage suit auction lot I missed out on did not include the vest from the three-piece suit. (What?!) Then, I checked the details just like I was photo-matching some New York Yankees pinstripes -- except this time they are plaid stripes against the edges of a vest like one the Cincinnati Reds wore with Ted Kluszewski's guns a blazing. This one was a little more up-town. This time there was an iconic Brahma Bull nearby. I checked the plaid pattern vs. the cut and then the pattern in relation to the buttons and pockets -- it all matched. (What?!) Then I picked up my jaw again.

This was the vest from his Sports Illustrated suit ... at a fraction of the price for the jacket and pants with no auction-house fees or other price-adding problems to make an impulse buy more painful. I paid faster than The Montreal Screwjob's three-count and didn't look back once I knew it was mine. I can live with that past miss after this find -- and, beyond the cost, a vest is a lot easier to store vs. a full suit.

Now, if you're skeptical of my photo-matching skills it wasn't just the magazine cover I used to match the piece -- you can match stripes and button locations on there with just the little amount of vest seen. (It's that ironclad.) But, since this was a sports media special issue and it's The Rock, this cover shoot got a little more attention than the normal studio portrait or action photo the magazine has been known for during its run that began in 1954.

As part of a Beverly Hills-based shoot, veteran photographer Michael J. LeBrecht did the cover and made some Sports Illustrated history in the process as it was done with a smartphone -- a first for the mag. SI.com also published a gallery of nearly 20 outtake images and behind-the-scenes views showing Johnson in many different poses. Several showed him without his jacket and that allowed me to match the locations of patterns along the right side of the vest where the plaid met the other colors and shapes on the back panel. It would be impossible for all of those details to line up in every way on an attempted reproduction or another item.

Here's one of those photos embedded below ...

Michael J. LeBrecht

I'm no LeBrecht as my photos of the vest (small gallery below) are pretty unimpressive, especially with my lighting options and poor space to shoot. I couldn't even lay the vest out flat to get a good image as it's a big piece. The gallery of SI.com images wasn't the only cool confirmation for this one, either, as there's also a video along with a story online. The video has some serious filtering action applied to it -- the colors are nowhere near correct vs. everything else -- but you can watch that here.

In the video, Johnson offered his thoughts about the cover, which was just the second appearance for a former pro wrestler in the magazine's rich history. The first was Hulk Hogan way back in 1985.

"I think it's every athlete's dream to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated," Johnson said. "It was a dream of mine and then when I stopped playing sports I wasn't too sure how that would ever happen. But here we are on the cover of Sports Illustrated. ... Honestly, it sounds a little cheesy, but it's a dream come true."

That's a bit remarkable coming from a guy who's been on more than a few magazine covers through the years -- both with the WWE and in his globally prominent and seemingly everywhere career since. After letting that sink in, I went oldschool and (gasp!) actually looked inside my copy of the magazine. In quickly printed stuff like this the colors, especially blues, don't always hold up correctly, but ... I flipped inside and saw the spread below.

Forget "the cover of the Rolling Stone" as the old song goes ... this new piece in my collection is a Baller if I don't say so myself.

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>> See all past Collecting Game-used stories from Buzz here

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