McCoy fans: This is how far we've come

I've talked about how I felt like I'd found the lost De Kelley Fan Club chapter when I walked into the Star Trek Continues wardrobe room last year to play McCoy and found his fans all over the place… and then wondered where they'd been all these years.  De as much joked about the same thing to me once.

And now, still amidst some personal archeology after last year's move, I came across some real artifacts that brought it all home to me again about what it was like to be an early-day McCoy fan:

For lo: my very first Star Trek T-shirt:

It was an iron-on transfer from a still (and thus the fade) bought by mail-order from Gene and Majel's own Lincoln Enterprises (now roddenberry.com)... and I specifically recall having to go that route because it was the only way to get ANY shot of McCoy on a Tshirt from them, in any form or fashion. I was yet to find my second and third mail-order companies.

So, yes: I could only get McCoy in a NAZI UNIFORM … sharing frame with Kirk and Spock... to get him at all.

Oh well, I was a kid, what did I know? Except bafflement.

But hey— if I was laying out my own cash (or begging Mom for it), that short had better be proclaiming McCoy on its chest. There were enough Enterprise, and show logo, and Kirk, and Spock shirts floating around by then. Geez. But that was it.

The NEXT year, I finally found a place that would take a photo and make a custom iron-on from it—woohoo, high-tech!  And so, you can tell by the fading how much I wore...

...my SECOND Star Trek T-shirt:

Still a shared pose, but at least a fun and pretty moment from fave "Journey to Babel." But still, though:  few choices.

You modern-day McCoy fans don't know how good you've got it!

And now, get off my astro-turf.