The Seventh Annual Altoona Curve Hot Stove
Dinner and Benefit Auction, which will be held this Friday night
at the Blair County Convention Center in Altoona, will feature
the most extensive collection of sports and entertainment memorabilia
in the event’s history
The auction will be conducted in two parts throughout the evening
Four marquee items will be auctioned off live, while over one-hundred
more items will be part of a silent auction which will run during
the course of the event
All proceeds raised from the live and silent
auctions will help benefit the Navasky Foundation for Life
Among the live auction items available for bidding will include
a pair of signed boxing gloves from former World Heavyweight Boxing
champion Larry Holmes, who will be in attendance as one of the
event’s featured guests
Other items available in the live auction will include an autographed
hockey stick from Pittsburgh Penguins’ rookie phenom Evgeni
Malkin, an autographed NFL football signed by Steelers’ Super
Bowl champions Jerome Bettis, Ben Roethlisberger and Hines Ward,
and a Steelers’ helmet autographed by members of the famed
“Steel Curtain” defense
The event’s silent auction features over one-hundred items
ranging from members of the Baseball Hall of Fame to current stars
from all major sports to popular Altoona Curve and Pittsburgh
Pirates players
Among the silent auction collectibles includes memorabilia from
legendary baseball stars such as Wade Boggs, Brooks Robinson,
Nolan Ryan and Mike Schmidt, football legends Tony Dorsett, Franco
Harris, Dan Marino and Mike Singletary and current stars such
as Reggie Bush, Brett Favre, Peyton Manning and Donovan McNabb
Former and current Curve
stars have lent a hand as well
The auction will feature signed memorabilia from popular players
such as Jason Bay, Zach Duke, Paul Maholm, Andrew McCutchen, Brett
Roneberg, Neil Walker and many more
Several unique “experience” packages will also be included
in the silent auction
Opportunities such as being the Curve’s radio announcer for
two innings or the Blair County Ballpark public address announcer
for the night are available
Concert tickets, overnight hotel stays, food items, vacation and
getaway packages and many more experiences will also be available
for bidding during the silent auction portion of the event
Fans attending the Hot Stove event don’t have to be big spenders
to get in on the fun
Over 250 smaller ticket items will be available for as little
as $1 as part of the “Yard Sale”
The guest list for the event is includes former
National League MVP and two-time World Series champion George
Foster, former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Larry Holmes,
1980 Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers, former backboard-smashing
NBA star Darryl Dawkins, Pittsburgh Pirates’ starting center
fielder Chris Duffy, Pirates' top outfield prospect and former
2005 first round draft selection Andrew McCutchen, former Curve
standouts Josh Bonifay, Mike Connolly, Rico Washington and Shane
Youman, and former Curve pitching coach Jeff Andrews
On Tuesday afternoon 23rd January, the Curve announced that Friday's
Curve Hot Stove Dinner and Auction is sold out
Tickets will not be available for purchase at the door
The arrival of “Old Man” Winter certainly didn’t deter Curve fans from showing up to support a great cause at the Seventh Annual Altoona Curve Hot Stove Dinner & Auction
A record 740 attendees flooded the Blair County
Convention Center to mingle with celebrities like former National
League MVP George Foster, Darryl Dawkins, and Heisman Trophy winner
George Rogers
With all proceeds benefiting the Navasky Foundation for Life,
which aids cancer research in the Altoona area, event goers were
in a jovial mood, as they bid on nearly 150 items available in
the silent and live auctions
The evening’s program got off to an energetic
start, as Chuck Navasky reminded everyone of the tremendous cause
they were helping to support
Navasky also detailed his own successful battle with cancer
The featured guest for the evening, George
Foster, gave an inspiring talk, which included advice for the
youth in the audience
Foster implored them to be aware of the dangers of steroids in
sports and their lives, and encouraged them to also believe that
they could accomplish great things
For baseball fans of all ages, there were tales of “The Big
Red Machine,” and his days as a star outfielder in Cincinnati
Not surprisingly, one of the hits of the evening
was an appearance by “Chocolate Thunder” Darryl Dawkins
The former NBA star recounted his backboard-shattering past to
the crowd, and then did himself one better by grabbing a basketball
from the audience and dunking it on a basketball goal erected
near the stage
Dawkins later autographed the backboard, and it also was auctioned
to benefit cancer research
The weather did lead to one vacancy in the room, as unfortunately
in climate conditions didn’t allow Larry Holmes to be in
attendance for the event
But even that couldn’t put a damper on the evening, as Chuck
Navasky announced that the Champ had graciously agreed to match
half of the total proceeds from the evening, and donate them to
the Navasky Foundation for Life
That might be a rather large figure if the live auction was any
indication
A football signed by Steelers Super Bowl heroes Jerome Bettis,
Ben Roethlisberger, and Hines Ward fetched over five-thousand-dollars
on it’s own
The Curve wish to thank everyone in attendance for what turned
out to be a truly remarkable event
We can’t wait to see you at the ballpark!
The Altoona Curve and Navasky Foundation For
Life are pleased to announce that this year's Seventh Annual Altoona
Curve Hot Stove Dinner and Auction raised a record total of $36,000,
which will be used to benefit cancer patients and cancer research
in Central Pennsylvania
The $36,000 raised during the January 26th event surpasses the
total from each of the previous six Curve Hot Stove Dinners
In the seven-year history of the event, the Curve and their fans
have now raised nearly $200,000 for the fight against cancer
"I'm so proud of what our annual Hot Stove Dinner and Auction
has grown to become and to have a record crowd of over 700 in
attendance on a cold January night and to raise this amount of
money for a great partner like Chuck Navasky and the Navasky Foundation
For Life is very special" said Curve General Manager Todd
Parnell
"Chuck is such a tireless worker and is very passionate about
his foundation and we couldn't have possibly asked him to do any
more than he did throughout the planning of this event
We know that his foundation is going to use the money to positively
affect the lives of those affected by cancer right here in Central
Pennsylvania"
"I think that the $36,000 raised is a fantastic amount and
the Altoona Cancer Hospital will greatly benefit from the Curve
and Navasky Foundation's great efforts to make this figure possible"
said Navasky Foundation For Life founder Chuck Navasky
"I know that it will touch the lives of the many who are
hit by this horrible disease and I know that we most definitely
created 'One Less Tear' for those who suffer with cancer"
The final total for this year's event was accumulated through
the sale of individual tickets and corporate tables, as well as
a sports memorabilia silent and live auction, which ran throughout
the night
The live auction, which featured items such as an autographed
hockey stick from Pittsburgh Penguins’ rookie phenom Evgeni
Malkin, an autographed NFL football signed by Steelers’ Super
Bowl champions Jerome Bettis, Ben Roethlisberger and Hines Ward,
a Steelers’ helmet autographed by members of the famed “Steel
Curtain” defense and a Brett Favre autographed helmet, accounted
for nearly $10,000 of the total alone
The featured guest for the event was former National League Most
Valuable Player and World Series champion George Foster
Other guests included NBA legend Darryl "Chocolate Thunder"
Dawkins, 1980 Heisman Trophy-winning running back George Rogers,
Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Chris Duffy and pitcher Shane
Youman, and former Curve standouts Josh Bonifay, Mike Connolly
and Rico Washington