There is nothing on this site or in my life more precious to me than my two adorable children, Ryan and Rachel (pictured above). Everything else I do is secondary and their unconditional love is my inspiration to be the best father and person I can be. I hope that some day they will share my passion for collecting and that this collection can be passed to them for safekeeping. I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!!!
Hello, my name is Roger W. Buenger. Welcome to "Heshoots-Hescores.com"!! It is my sincere hope that you enjoy the many great items from my collection which are displayed within the various Galleries here in this Online Museum. (The items displayed here are stored in a secure facility so this is a way for me to get to see and enjoy them daily as well!)
So, how did all of this come about?? Well, I was born just 15 days after the Blues inaugural game and have literally grown up with this franchise here in St. Louis, MO. As a child I frequently was able to attend games at the old St. Louis Arena with my parents and have many, many great memories from "The Barn" (shown below). The sounds of the organ, the smell of popcorn, the chants of "LET'S GO BLUES!!" all are still fresh and real in my mind.
To this very day, as I play ice hockey, if a goalie makes a great save I yell "L-i-u-u-u-t" in homage to the great Blues netminder from the early 80s, Mike Liut, who captivated this city with his stellar play and signature long white goalie mask. I can still see Bernie Federko dealing passes, Brian Sutter throwing body checks, and Brett Hull firing wrist shots past opposing goalies. All the while a sea of blue and yellow seats were filled with passionate fans like myself hanging on every moment. In 1988 the NHL All-Star Game (my favorite sports memory ever) was held here in St. Louis, MO. The available tickets were sold by lottery and I was very lucky to have a brother (and now sister-in-law) who won twice allowing me to buy a pair of tickets. What an amazing night!!
I was in the building the night Brett Hull scored his first ever 50th goal into the net just below me. During the early '90s in St. Louis everyone would ask "how many did Hull get tonight?" first, and then "did the Blues win?". What a thrilling time to be a Blues hockey fan as the Golden Brett would roll up almost a goal per game over a three year span!
Time marches on and things change and in the mid 90s the Arena was torn down. I attended opening night at the Kiel Center and witnessed Brett Hull and Wayne Gretzky both score in that game. At Kiel (then called Savvis, now called Scottrade) I'll always remember Al MacInnis' gigantic slap shots, Grant Fuhr snapping glove saves, and the "Great One" in his office behind the net in a Blues uniform! Unreal.
I was also very blessed to have the opportunity to play at the old Arena on 3 occasions with my high school and college hockey teams and have felt the thrill of scoring goals there as well as the solitude of the penalty box (bad call, it was not a cross check, I swear it) LOL. If only it could have been with the stands full!
I've always been a collector of something. Coins, cards, antiques, arrowheads, sports memorabilia, etc.. and found the game worn hobby in the late 1990s. With the help of many terrific people, too numerous to mention here, my knowledge and expertise of this great hobby has grown and so has my collection. In the past few years it has turned to a focus almost solely on the St. Louis Blues.
The old Arena is long gone and a new generation of Blues are emerging but the memories are vibrant in my mind and this site is devoted to preserving a great part of my life, Blues hockey. I look forward to watching Eric Johnson, David Perron, TJ Oshie, Patrick Berglund, Ian Cole and the many other "Baby" Blues turn this franchise into an NHL powerhouse. I invite you to come along for the ride.
Again, I am glad you are here and personally invite you to become a regular visitor. If you have Blues items that you'd like to offer or suggestions on how I could improve this site, please feel free to contact me.
