We all know Buffalo sports fans who wear their hearts on their sleeves. Then there is John

Boutet. He might be the most historically minded Buffalo sports fan there is — and he

displays his heart all over the walls of his home and now on the Internet.

The sign in his home proclaims it and the Web site does, too. It's called the Buffalo Sports

Museum and it's a way to hopefully spur talk of a real museum

dedicated to the city's professional sports history.

Boutet does a good job replicating one. He's got more than 10,000 pieces of memorabilia and

many line two large rooms and a hallway in his home.

Boutet has a Whammy Weenie. And a Sabrejak. (Google them or ask your parents!). A Stallions

jersey. Pennants from the Norseman and the Breskis. A hockey Bisons pennant sold only in

Hershey, Pa. A piece of the Aud basketball floor. One of the "BRAVES" placards from the Aud

scoreboard.

The list goes on and on. A Luke Easter signed baseball acquired just in the last week. A

collection of Roger Crozier masks. Seats from Memorial Auditorium, War Memorial and Offermann

stadiums.

Boutet's short-term goal is to get someone to build a sports museum somewhere in Buffalo, be

it in HSBC Arena through the support of the Sabres or another location with corporate help.

There has not been much progress but he's hopeful interest may perk up as the Sabres head

toward their 40th anniversary next season.

"I really want to see a museum, whether it's in the arena — which I think would be the

best place — or another location," he said. "We have all these hodgepodge museums that

are great for the carousel, kazoos, whatever. But sports ties the community together.

Everybody is a Bills or Sabres fan. What a great idea to learn about their history.

"Patriot Place in Boston is insane, a whole museum dedicated to the Patriots. Look at what the

[Green Bay] Packers have in Lambeau [Field]. I'd like to see that in Buffalo to house things

so families can come in and view the history here. The Web site is to help spread the word."

Boutet, 45, grew up in Kenmore and played baseball for St. Joe's and Canisius College. He's an

elementary school physical education teacher who keeps his collection in an art gallery-like

setting. Most items are stored in plastic. Blinds are drawn to prevent sun damage and the

rooms feature soft track lighting. There is a security system (and The News agreed not to

publish his hometown in this story).

He said his wife, Robin, is totally supportive of his hobby. His two children, ages 16 and 21,

share his enthusiasm.

"They bring their friends through and they act as tour guides because they've heard me talk

about it so much," Boutet said. "I really enjoy that."

Paper goods

Boutet started collecting autographs as a kid and it morphed into something much more as he

used to mine the Aud for ticket stubs from all levels during Sabres and Braves games.

"I really enjoy those tickets and programs the most," he said. "It's so cool because you

know they were actually at the game. That ticket and program were really there because people

brought it home and didn't throw it out. Same with pennants. Back then, you had to be at the

game to buy one."

His biggest current quest is to get at least one ticket from every Bills, Sabres and Braves

home game. Among his ticket collection, Boutet has a full unused ducat from the first Braves

game ever (Oct. 14, 1970 versus Cleveland/Area FF, Section 23, Row J, Seat 10 of the old

whites) and from the first Sabres home game (the next night against Montreal/Section 2-A-9 of

the reds).

He also has a full unused ticket from the Sabres first-ever game, Oct. 10, 1970, at

Pittsburgh and believes that's the only one in existence.

Boutet has an unused ticket from the 1966 AFL Championship Game (the loss to Kansas City

for the right to go to Super Bowl I) and a stub from the '64 title win over San Diego.

"What was cool about the Sabres was depending on where you sat were the colors of the

tickets," he said. "Reds, orange, blues, standing room greens which are impossible to find.

You'd go to the different levels and try to find them. Braves tickets are easier to find in

full instead of stubs."

Sometimes the quest can be frustrating; it's been a year since Boutet added to his

collection from the Braves' 1970-71 inaugural season.

Boutet has thousands of game programs as well. Easily the rarest one is from the Bills'

38-21 preseason loss to the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1961.

He routinely gets calls from people who have found items and offer them to him. He also

attends/purchases at card and memorabilia shows and seeks items online.

Junior Brave grows up

Boutet has a particular fondness for the Braves. Like so many children of the '70s in Western

New York, he was a Junior Brave, cutting ticket coupons off milk cartons.

When he set up a display at last November's Farewell to the Aud gathering in the Buffalo

Convention Center, Boutet's presentation had lines of people snaking between ropes to view it.

And many wanted to talk to him about his Braves collection.

"It was amazing how many people came up to me about the Braves," he said. "People had

wonderful stories about going to the games with their dads.

"A lot of the kids were walking through going, "Who was this team?' The fathers were

explaining this was our basketball team. And the kid would say, "LeBron James?' and the father

would say, "No no, way back.'"

"You could go down to the Aud and see Hall of Famers," he said. "Sitting in the oranges and

moving to the golds or reds was kind of tradition. Four tickets and parking and for less than

$20 you could go to an NBA basketball game. It was a great time to be a kid in Buffalo."

John Boutet's Buffalo Sports Museum