Bob Stockel of Shelby Township shows off just a portion of his Olympic pin collection at the Shelby Township Library, on display through the month of August. Stockel has collected approximately 2,100 Olympic pins and memorabilia from as far back as the 1904 Olympic Games. Source photo by Chris Williams

Bob Stockel, a Shelby Township native, has again placed his collection of Olympic pins and memorabilia on display in the front case of the Shelby Township Library. Stockel, who has amassed a collection of more than 2,100 pins, previously displayed portions of the collection during the 2004 and 2006 games, and was asked to submit them again in celebration of the current competitions.

Olympic pins are popular collectors’ items and issued only to media officials, sponsors and others who have access to the games. Stockel, who worked in the advertising business, made several media contacts through the firm he worked for and convinced them to trade pins with him beginning in 1972.

“About 60 percent of the pins I have are media pins. They’re the hardest to get because they only made about 100 of them. I have pins for the BBC and the Russian media,” Stockel said. “I’ve really centered on the media, because they are the hardest to get. You can usually write to the sponsors and they’ll send them to you.”

Although many collectors can now purchase pins on eBay, Stockel started out as part of a collector’s group called The Olympians, who would trade pins and memorabilia through the mail.

“You would talk with collectors from throughout the world,” he said. “I actually bought a torch from the 1936 Olympics from a man in Sweden.”

The 1936 Berlin games are a highlight of Stockel’s collection. In addition to the torch, which was the first year the games included a torch run, Stockel has acquired several patches and other items from the games, which were the first televised games in Olympic history.

“It was a controversial Olympics. They are the games of Hitler, but they were also very historic games. The first televised ones and the first to have a torch relay,” Stockel said.

In his collection, Stockel also has an autographed photo from Leni Riefenstahl, Adolf Hitler’s filmographer, and the director of “Triumph of the Will” and “Olympia.”

“I actually would send her a birthday card every year,” said Stockel, explaining how he obtained the photograph. “I think she’s been unfairly vilified and really was not a bad person.”

Stockel stopped collecting pins in 2002, when he retired. The pins on display at the Shelby Township Library are but a portion of his collection; there was no room for the pins from the 1994 and 1996 games.

“I’ve just always liked the Olympics and been a fan,” he said. “I’ve been watching them this year. They’re magnificent.”