Collector's Paradise Vol. 5

09/16/2024 01:15 PM

The ultimate John Starks collection, coming Straight Outta Poland

Since starting "Collector's Paradise" last month, the expectation that most diehard Knicks fans' collections would come out of New York was a near certainty in my mind. Boy, was I wrong. We have had submissions from all over the world, including an incredible Patrick Ewing collection from Spain. With two of the best Ewing collections in the world already spotlighted, it was only a matter of time before we would see the love that the other half of the 90's Knicks dynamic duo gets in the hobby. Remarkably, this John Starks collection doesn't come out of New York, or Tulsa, Stark's alma mater, or the United States altogether. It belongs to Marcin Wójciuk, a die-hard Knicks and Starks fan from Poland.

Like many other Knicks fans of the '90s, Wójciuk started out a a die-hard Ewing fan, but once Starks electrified the Garden, and Knicks fans worldwide with "The Dunk" in 1993, Wójciuk converted from rooting for #33 to rooting for #3.

"I have been a Knicks fan since 1992. Those were the times when all my friends were rooting for other NBA teams, mainly the Bulls, Suns, or Supersonics. Like most fans living in Poland in the 90s, I collected anything related to the NBA. These were mainly newspaper clippings, single NBA cards, etc." Wójciuk explains, "Every piece of NBA was worth its weight in gold."

This was a time before the internet, and with the NBA still at least a decade away from achieving global recognition, there were few magazines or newspapers in Poland dedicated to the league. By the late 90s and early 2000s, Wójciuk's interest began to wane.

Nearly two decades went by until Wójciuk reclaimed his passion for the NBA, the Knicks, and specifically John Starks. "I bought my first Starks jersey in 2017 and from that moment on I started collecting again. At first, it was just replicas, swingmans and authentics. Over time, I focused on quality instead of quantity and started collecting only team issued or worn items."

Unfortunately for Wójciuk, that jersey turned out to be a fake, but owning his first Starks jersey was enough to get him hooked. "I bought the Starks jersey online somewhere. I had to ask a friend from the US to help me buy it. I waited over 3 months for it and when it finally arrived it turned out to be too big and unfortunately it also turned out to be a fake. However, it is important to me and I still have it as a souvenir."

Today, Wójciuk has shifted his primary focus to collecting anything related to Starks, as well as all things related to the '90s Knicks. Wójciuk explained, "I mainly collect things related to John Starks from his time playing for the Knicks and other items from the '90s related to the club." Of all the possible items to collect for #3, there is one area of the hobby on which Wójciuk likes to focus more than others. "I collect items used by Starks. If I can't find any, I look for identical ones in sizes worn by him or the same type worn by other Knicks players, (including) jerseys, shorts, warm-up suits, training jerseys, shooting shirts, shoes, (etc.)" It doesn't stop there though for Marcin. "In addition to clothing, I also collect NBA magazines/newspapers with Starks on the cover, his photos, tickets from important NBA games related to him, his NBA cards, items with his autograph, etc."

But why Starks? "John Starks is a player who proved that hard work can get you really far and you can never give up. Fight for what's yours on and off the court, don't be afraid of your opponent." Wójciuk answered, "I chose him because I see a lot of similarities with me. Like him, I preferred to defend my basket, I liked to cover the best players on the opposing team more than I liked to score points. I often took it personally and emotionally. I would throw or even kick the ball out of bounds if something didn't work out for me in the game."

Over the years, he has amassed one of the most incredible Starks collections in existence. When asked which of his items is his favorite, he couldn't decide. "I have 2 or 3. It's definitely a white warm-up from the 91/92 season that I've been looking for for three or even four years. A ball with Starks' autograph that I've always wanted in my collection and a ticket from Starks' first game as an NYK player and also Starks' first game in Knicks colors against Jordan."

Wójciuk believes his 1994-95 team-issued, twice signed, home white Starks jersey to be the most valuable item in his collection, but as we've learned from every other collector we've spoken with, the most valuable item on paper is never the most valuable item to them. Such is the case with Wójciuk. "The first item that comes to mind is a pair of shorts (unfortunately John didn't wear them), from my favorite season, 93/94. They're my only item from that season. It's the season my team played in the NBA Finals. I watched all seven games, "live" on TV. Before that, I had to do 100 chores around the house to get my parents to agree to move the TV to my room at night."

Among the many valuable items in his collection, the most unique is a piece—or rather, pieces—that rarely, if ever, reach the open market. "I have the original photo negatives and photos from the 1995 Pacers-Knicks game. There are 200 of them. All taken by a professional photographer from the court level. The main character is, of course, Starks. No one else has the same ones."

Despite curating one of the finest Starks collections in the world, he is still on a quest to acquire one missing item from his collection. "I would really like to have Starks' shoes from the 1994 season in which he played in the NBA Finals. These shoes are the Adidas Intruder's in black. This model was also on sale for fans, and I managed to buy such an unused gem recently."

If you would like to connect with Marcin or perhaps have any Knicks items from the 90s he is on the hunt for, you can reach him and see more of his collection on Instagram @knicks_jerseys_90s_poland and @john_starks_3.

Do you have a collection like Marcin's? If so, we'd love to hear from you! We're on the hunt for the finest Knicks collections around the globe. Please email us at knickscollections@gmail.com with a brief bio and a list of your rarest and most valuable Knicks items for consideration."