Purdue collection is overtaking alum’s space – but he’s fine with that
Purdue alumnus Casey Stultz shows off a portion of the autographed photos and balls from a collection that has filled up his Boilermaker fan cave. (Purdue University photo/Greta Bell)
Casey Stultz’s Purdue fan cave features plenty of unique Boilermaker sports memorabilia, and that’s not all
Casey Stultz has a problem. The avid Purdue collector has been running out of room to display his ever-expanding assortment of Boilermaker memorabilia.
To remedy his situation, Stultz (BS organizational leadership ’14) remodeled an existing barn on his property in Parke County, Indiana.
“I just need more space,” Stultz says with a chuckle. “I keep on buying and collecting.”
Stultz’s Purdue collection dates back to childhood, when his Boilermaker parents frequently brought Casey and his two brothers to campus for games when they weren’t camped out in the front room of their Fountain County, Indiana, home watching the likes of Steve Reid, Todd Mitchell, Troy Lewis and Mark Herrmann on TV. Stultz’s first Purdue autographs are on a yellow handkerchief signed by two-time All-Big Ten basketball selection Lewis and teammates Mitchell and Everette Stephens, both of whom went on to play in the NBA and other professional basketball leagues in the U.S. and overseas.
I just need more space. I keep on buying and collecting
Casey Stultz BS organizational leadership ’14
Stultz’s extensive set of Boilermaker autographs includes those of well-known Purdue football players, basketball players and wrestlers. He also has approximately 20 signed football jerseys of former Purdue stars — including NFL standouts like Mike Alstott, Matt Light, Akin Ayodele, Rob Ninkovich and Rosevelt Colvin — some of whom Stultz has remained in contact with since befriending them during their college days in the 1990s.
“It’s always good to have them come back and go to Harry’s (Chocolate Shop) and chew the fat with them,” Stultz says.. “It’s just like we haven’t missed a beat, and we’re talking about being 25, 35 years removed now.”
A favorite jersey that did not come from one of Stultz’s contemporaries is that of Leroy Keyes, the two-time football All-American who finished third in Heisman Trophy balloting in 1967 and was runner-up to University of Southern California running back O.J. Simpson the following year. Stultz jokes that the Keyes jersey, which he purchased at an estate auction in Ohio, has made some of his pals in the Boilermaker collecting community jealous.
“Everybody wants that one,” he says, “but I’m like, ‘Nope, I’m not letting that go.’”
Not just sports stuff
The many Purdue sports items are probably the most eye-catching part of Stultz’s collection. However, he has plenty of stuff that has nothing to do with athletics.
There are items of personal significance, like his dad’s green beanie designed by fellow residents of Purdue’s Cary Quadrangle Residence Hall in the 1970s. Attached to the beanie is a button featuring characters from the iconic “Peanuts” comic strip, with Charlie Brown holding a Purdue flag and saying to Snoopy, “Good grief, another Cary man!”
Stultz also has a small book documenting the men of Cary Club’s annual spring dance, held May 21, 1948, at Purdue Memorial Union. Among the guests listed inside are Purdue administrators Frederick Hovde, R.B. Stewart and Frank Hockema; Indiana Gov. Ralph Gates; and none other than President Harry S. Truman and his wife, Bess.
Spread among the autographed balls, photos and other sports memorabilia on the walls and shelves in Stultz’s fan cave are additional items that document Boilermaker life through the years: a framed photo from the earliest days of the Purdue campus; Debris yearbooks from the early 1900s; a poster promoting the Grateful Dead’s 1969 concert at Purdue Memorial Union; a frame featuring lids and labels of cheese and butter products once sold at the Purdue University Creamery; and a Purdue barrel tabletop signed by former university president and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels.
“It’s all Purdue,” Stultz says. “I look for anything with Purdue on it.”
Knowing where to look
Stultz says he found many of his vintage Purdue pieces on Facebook Marketplace and also knows a couple of memorabilia shop owners that he occasionally checks in with about new Boilermaker items that have crossed their radar. He recently picked up a number of pieces at the estate sale of a former Boilermaker football player, including an extremely rare 1960s-era helmet.
“His daughter called me and said, ‘I heard you’re a big Purdue collector.’ So I sent her photos of my collection, and she said, ‘I want you to have a lot of this stuff,’” Stultz says.
What dictates his strategy when such a prime buying opportunity presents itself? It depends on items of historical or personal value to him.
After living in New York state for 17 years, Stultz returned home to Indiana three years ago to be closer to his family and beloved alma mater. Today he lives in rural Parke County and works as a production team member at Nucor, a producer of steel and steel products.
Now, with his newly remodeled fan-cave barn, he plans to have lots of get-togethers with his Purdue buddies — just as one might expect from a lifelong Boilermaker.
“I definitely bleed black and gold. Anything Purdue, I collect,” Stultz says. “I enjoy the history, and I really like to support my team. Purdue has done a lot for me, so I definitely put that representation in my fan cave.”
