June 19, 2025

JAWS at 50: Kitten Collectibles #13


A Treasure Hunt by D.M. ANDERSON

In addition to watching and writing about films, I’m something of a memorabilia collector. Cursed with a teacher’s salary, I ain’t out there bidding on Dorothy’s ruby slippers or anything, but certainly enjoy haunting local shops for a variety of movie-related stuff. Or when feeling particularly bold, I’ll occasionally overpay for some retro relic on eBay. More often than not, I leave stores empty-handed. But every now and then, I’ll find a small treasure that doesn’t completely empty my wallet and give it a new home in the Dave Cave.

Since 1975, my favorite movie has always been Jaws, and most people I know are well-aware of that. While I don’t go through my day telling everyone I encounter that it’s the greatest movie of all time, there are always signs…




I suppose it goes without saying that I’ve also got a shit-ton of Jaws related merch and collectibles…from action figures to Lego sets to die cast vehicles. But alas, none of it is actually from the ‘70s, either because it’s too hard to find or my wife won’t allow me to mortgage the house for the original Jaws game. 

Then during my last year of teaching before retirement, one of my students arrived before class and gave me this…


She and her parents became aware of my love for Jaws during conferences (there were signs in my classroom, too). And apparently, this old relic had been sitting in their garage for decades. 

There was a lot of tie-in merchandise related to Jaws during the ‘70s, but I had no idea that a line of skateboards baring its logo even existed. Doing a bit of digging online, I learned the original Jaws skateboards were available in a variety of colors, and you can still find them if you’re willing to pay enough. Somewhat ironically, the rarest item in my Jaws collection didn’t cost me a penny. 


I was deeply touched that a student and her parents thought of me instead of discarding it…probably the closest I’ve ever gotten to a Mr. Holland moment during my teaching career. Needless to say, I didn’t try riding it. I wasn’t all that great of a skater even back in the day. At my age, not only would I look supremely silly, my wife probably would’ve ended up calling 911 after I faceplanted on the driveway.

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