Kollector’s Korner Met-o-ra-bil-ia Hall of Fame Inductee #8 : Dan Twohig :The Shea Whisperer

If you’ve been saving our first seven installments in plastic sleeves and alphabetizing them by subject, congratulations — you’re officially one of us. If you’re new to the Kollectors Hall of Fame, this is where we shine a light on Mets fans whose devotion to the orange and blue goes way beyond watching the games. These are the people who live baseball, catalog baseball, and, in some cases, dust their baseball memorabilia more than they dust their own furniture.

This month, we welcome a man whose collecting journey is part time capsule, part treasure hunt, and part love letter to his family and Mets fandom. Meet Dan Twohig, a guy who can rattle off baseball trivia, tell you exactly which seat section he and his wife sat in at Shea, and probably explain the historical significance of that one ticket stub you’ve got crumpled up in a shoebox.

Dan’s baseball story starts in Brooklyn, where his dad was a Dodgers die-hard who never forgave Walter O’Malley for taking the team west. That love of the game—and of numbers like 714, 755, 56, and .342—was passed on to Dan, who grew up getting free Shea Stadium tickets from milk carton coupons and bank promotions, only to have his dad grease an usher a few bucks to move up. (“I don’t care who you root for,” his dad famously said, “as long as you don’t root for the Yankees!”)

But the real Mets passion came from Dan’s mom, an Irish immigrant who fell head over heels for the Amazin’s in the mid-60s. She sat near Joan Payson, followed the players religiously, and in October 1986, clutched her rosary beads and prayed through the 10th inning of Game 6. When Mookie’s grounder skipped through Buckner’s legs, it wasn’t just a win for the Mets — it was validation for mom’s devotion. Dan’s collecting obsession has been fueled by that same mix of fandom and family ever since.

Dan’s collection isn’t just Mets memorabilia—it’s baseball history. Sure, he’s got a Tom Seaver-signed photo from the ’80s and a replacement of his very first Mets souvenir, a cream-colored coffee mug giveaway from a 1972 game. But that’s just the appetizer. He owns signed baseballs from every single Cy Young winner since the award was created. He’s been to games in 150 parks across four countries. And for his 100th ballpark, he didn’t just drive to Philly or Boston—he went to Cuba.

Still, the heart of his collection is Shea Stadium. Specifically, Dan owns what might be the world’s most extensive collection of Shea Stadium commemorative baseball from the park’s opening to it's final season in 2008. He has more than 250 signed balls, mostly from Mets players, but also from Jets legends like Joe Namath. It’s the kind of collection that makes other collectors shake their heads in awe, and maybe call their therapist.

Even with a collection like that, Dan has white whales. He dreams of adding Shea balls signed by Willie Mays, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, and Bill Clinton, but has yet to see them in the wild.

His current highlights? A game-used Bud Harrelson bat with Tom Seaver’s famous “41” scrawled on the knob — confirmed by Bud’s wife and Jerry Grote as one Tom actually used. Then there’s the Shea Stadium opening ceremony program signed by Casey Stengel, Robert Moses, Mayor Wagner, and Bill Shea himself. That would already be museum-worthy, but Dan discovered it was owned by Sonny Werblin, former Jets owner and power broker of NYC sports. That’s the kind of piece you don’t just frame; you tell its story like a bedtime fairy tale.

And if that’s not enough, Dan also owns a game-used Binghamton Mets Star Trek jersey worn by Ruben Tejada. He even got William Shatner to sign it at a Trek convention. (Shatner laughed while signing—maybe because Mets fandom feels like science fiction some years.)

Dan doesn’t collect for profit. He’s not flipping balls or auctioning off jerseys. This is about connection: to his parents, to Shea Stadium, and to a game that has shaped his life. It’s why one of his proudest moments was seeing Tom Seaver’s 1976 pillbox cap from his collection displayed in the Mets Hall of Fame and Museum.

He’s also one of the driving forces behind the Queens Baseball Convention, where he’s met countless players and fellow fans who share the same passion for the game. When he talks about collecting, he always comes back to the same advice: start small, follow your heart, and never do it for the money.

In a memorabilia market where kids are priced out and autographed baseballs cost hundreds of dollars, Dan’s story is a reminder of why people start collecting in the first place: love of the team, love of the game, and love of the memories that come with it.

So, hats (pillbox ones included) off to Dan Twohig, our eighth inductee into the Kollectors Hall of Fame. His Shea Stadium collection isn’t just impressive; it’s a living, breathing archive of Mets history, and proof that sometimes the best way to honor your team is to preserve every piece of it—right down to a mug from 1972.

Here is an amazing video tour of the collection :