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The only stamp collectors present may have been one reporter and the people
from Inter-Governmental Philatelic Corporation -- and the biggest name in
Pro Wrestling, Hollywood Hogan (right). He told the
Virtual Stamp Club he collected stamps when he
was a child, and he may return to philately, because his eight-year-old son
has expressed an interest.
"I'm going to have to run over to my mom's house and pull out the old stamp collection because I was into it big time when I was a kid," he said. "I think my son's going to get me back into it now that I've got the serial number 00001, the first one [of the new St. Vincent's wrestling stamps]. I've got something to brag about."
Each of the wrestlers attending the ceremony -- Goldberg, Diamond Dallas Page, Sting (without his trademark make-up) and Hogan, formerly known as "Hulk Hogan" -- was presented with a mounted and numbered copy of the stamps. Others on the eight-stamp souvenir sheet are Bret Hart, Kevin Nash, Randy Savage, and Giant (below).
A fifth plaque was given to the Harley-Davidson Cafe.
All four of the athlete-entertainers present said they were honored to be on a postage stamp, even that of a tiny Caribbean country an IGPC spokesman calls "one of our most creative postal administrations."
"It has the Stinger Stamp of Approval," said Sting (right). "I thought it was huge
to have my face on a plate with people like Princess Diana. I mean,
wrestlers on plate, and now on a stamp? That's the ultimate right there, I
think."I've never collected stamps before, but I know that it's major business."
IGPC spokesman Lonnie Ostrow said the stamps were the idea of America Remembers (1-800-682-2291), which specializes in producing and marketing collectibles. The head of America Remembers is the brother of the official photographer for WCW. A sheet of mint stamps without other adornments is $16, according to a telephone call placed by the Virtual Stamp Club.
Pro wrestling, said Ostrow, "is the ultimate saga of good versus evil, especially for kids who idolize these stars." And there's a tie-in with St. Vincent, where WCW shows are televised almost nightly.
"People love these wrestlers," said Al Kahn, chairman of the firm that licenses WCW merchandise. "We'll be surprised how popular these stamps are."
"I think it's a little sticky," quipped Diamond Dallas Page (left), who labels
being on the St. Vincent stamp "pretty cool. It's almost like being
immortalized. Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, and now we're on a stamp. It may not
be a United States stamp YET, but I see it coming."Page told the Virtual Stamp Club he collects memorabilia, particularly that of Mickey Mantle, but not stamps.
Asked if he collects or collected stamps, Goldberg replied, "I do now."
Winning the WCW pro wrestling title from Hogan just last summer, Goldberg (right)
said it's been an incredible 18 months since he turned professional. "It's just another part of what's known as the saga of my first year-and-a-half in wrestling. It's unbelievable, it's truly an honor," he said in an interview. "It's an honor to be mentioned in the same breath with these guys, first of all, and second of all, to have my face on a stamp, that's unparalleled by anything that's happened to me so far.
"To be alive and on a stamp at the same time, hey, you can't ask for anything more."
Reminded by the Virtual Stamp Club that to be on a U.S. stamp, a subject must be dead, Page responded, "Well, if you have to be dead, then I'd much rather be their [St. Vincent's] stamp."
Hogan added it's "unbelievable. The most shocking thing...is we're still alive. Most people are dead when they get a postage stamp made of themselves. It's nice being able to live and breathe and look at myself on a [letter]."
"If they sell them in our country, they'd sell like hotcakes," Diamond Dallas Page told the Virtual Stamp Club. (He was reassured they certainly would be marketed in the U.S.) "Wrestling is really over-the-top right now and I'm just happy to be ridin' that wave."
Philately is now ridin' that wave, too!