Ardent
Dragons supporter NICK PEZIKIAN has collected
every St George Leagues Club membership badge
there is.
The
Willoughby man recently wrote to the Club
seeking the inaugural 1963 badge, the only
item missing from his collection.
General
Manager Michael Derrig found one in the archives
and popped it in the post to the Red V season
ticket holder.
"I'm
a collector," Mr Pezikian explained.
"I
have been collecting for several years and
have gradually accumulated my complete collection
from members and dealers.
Membership
badges were first issued in 1963, the year
the "Taj Mahal" opened, and the
associate badges for female members came ten
years later.
The
badges were made of metal and produced by
four different suppliers.
Issued
annually for 32 years, they were eventually
superseded by plastic cards in 1995.
"I
have gradually accumulated my complete collection
from members and dealers," Mr Pezikian
said.
"Each
badge has been gently washed and chronologically
displayed in coin album pages.
They
come in various shapes and sizes and were
all issued with stylised versions of St George
slaying the Dragon."
Like
so many other fans, Mr Pezikian first fell
under the Dragons' spell during the golden
era of eleven consecutive premierships.
"I
had an uncle who lived in Park Road in Kogarah
Bay in the 1960s and he was a member and used
to take me to the games,'' he said.
"My
dad's name is George and we are a religious
family so the Club is close to our heart."
Together with daughter Nyree and son Garren,
the Pezikians make the trip from the North
Shore to watch all Dragon's games at OKI Jubilee.
Mr
Pezikian is still collecting Dragons badges,
so if you have any unwanted ones, contact
him on (02) 9958 8176 or npezikian@bigpond.com
Previously published in
LEAGUES CLUB JOURNAL
Title: A BADGE OF HONOUR
8 November 2004
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