TEAMPOSTERS came about simply from a couple of former teammates staring at an old team photo.  We were together as part of a football team reunion that occurred annually at the Spring Football Game.  Standing in his garage we stood before a 42″ x 90″ color team photograph of the Purdue Boilermakers from 1988. This giant photo used to hang in the sporting goods department of the local Sears in West Lafayette.  In the spring 1989 the store went out of business. His dad shrewdly stopped in one day and purchased it from the manager.

So there we were, in April of 2011 talking about this photo. Two former walkon’s looking at faces, remembering names of former teammates. Recalling funny stories tied to these numbered jersey’s and the men inside them.  Seeing faces of men we sweat with, laughed with, hurt with in the August son to the November cold. Some of the faces in that team photo were no longer with us.  Some we hadn’t seen in over twenty years. Some we saw all the time.  Coaches, players, managers.

In that conversation I said to my friend, “One of these days we are going to do something with this photo so everyone can get a copy.” Well, in 2013 it was going to be the 25th Anniversary of the that 1988 football team. Homecoming that year would include a reunion for that team.  So in April of 2013, I started to marinate on a way to ‘do something’ with this incredible photo.

As invites for the Homecoming reunion started to roll out the idea for a 1988 Team Poster was birthed. But I felt we needed  a cause. I had met the Purdue FCA Chaplain one time. His name was Chaplain Marty Dittmar. He had been the chaplain since 1997.  I called him up and offered up the idea of donating some money to the Purdue FCA Huddle. He mentioned that they traveled to South Africa multiple times per year with Purdue student athletes. They went to provide care and support of the Ephraim Orphange there.

It was a perfect alignment. We would create a slicked up poster from the old team photo. Sell them to the 1988 players as part of the homecoming gathering. And we would donate all of the proceeds to the Purdue FCA Huddle to support the South African orphange via their mission trips.

Boilermakers helping Boilermakers helping orphans on the other side of the planet.

We’ve done this every year with the 25th & 20th anniversary teams each fall. Approximately $8,000 has been donated to support this cause from the TeamPoster.org proceeds.

We don’t plan on stopping.