Here are examples of some of the commissioned
Groggs that have been produced over the years. Where possible the background
story for each Grogg has been provided.
RhysCycle Award / Environmental Mascot (RCT Council) – Commissioned.
“… unique Grogg of Plwmsan (Mici Plwm's iconic character from a children's S4C programme in the 80s...OK, I know I've lost most of you now!) holds something very personal, mainly since I still can't believe it was made (for an Eisteddfod auction in the mid 80s)”.
S4C Man of the Match – Commissioned This miscellaneous grogg of a rugby player was commissioned by S4C during the 1990s to present to players as Man of the Match awards by ‘Y Clwb Rygbi’.
Dudley Newbery (S4C TV Chef) – Commissioned This Grogg of the Welsh language TV chef was commissioned by S4C to give as competition prizes and were not on sale to the general public. It is estimated that only around 20-30 were produced.
Lewis’s Pie Kings 6” Grogg – Commissioned. Commissioned by Lewis’s Pies and distributed to suppliers. Around 100 were produced but not all were actually distributed making this a rare Grogg.
‘Never Forget Your Welsh’ (Whitbread) – Commissioned. This Grogg was presented to pubs in Wales serving Welsh bitter.
Paul Martin (Flog It!) – Commissioned. In 2005, Paul Martin from BBC TV programme ‘Flog It!’ visited and filmed as part of an episode at the Grogg shop. Paul was presented with very own Grogg which also went on general sale. However, only 15 out of the 100 edition actually sold, making this a very rare Grogg!
Supporters Club – Player of the Month Awards – Commissioned Bruiser the Bear (Cardiff Blues). OSCA (Ospreys) – Commissioned.
There have been a number of unique Groggs that have not been on sale to the general public i.e. one-off Groggs commissioned by individuals or businesses. The estimated cost to produce this type of Grogg is between £2,000 and £3,000.
The shop do not currently undertake any commissioned projects from the public.
Barrie Partridge - Unique / Commissioned.
Another example of a proect commissioned by a cmpany includes: The High Motive Limited Grogg
Some customers customised an existing generic Grogg in order to make it unique e.g. shirt and inscription.
Mark Baldwin AKA “Chuckles” – Commissioned. “Many people said that at 20 I looked like the standard Grogg so I had one made up in my club Porthcawl’s kit including my number 3 on the back and nickname “Chuckles” at the front. In total there are six of these in circulation."
Taff Ness Curly Haired Monster – Unique. This quirky Grogg produced in 1979 is believed to be unique.
Gareth Edwards + Gerald Davies – Unique. These Groggs are believed to be one-off figures that were produced in the early 1970s.
Andrew Hore - November 2006 – Unique
“One of Richard's secret projects was finally unveiled on the eve of the Wales V Australia game, when the Grand Slam Wales team finally said Goodbye in style to fitness coach Andrew Hore by presenting him with his own unique Grogg. As clued up collectors know this has been under wraps for months and we were relieved to hear that Andrew was over the moon to join the Grogg family along with his beloved Welsh team! Thanks for the memories and good luck in the future to Andrew”.
Sir Terry Matthews (Celtic Manor) - Unique.
Leigh Halfpenny Awards – Unique.
In 2014, Leigh Halfpenny was presented with the first ever ‘Golden Grogg Award’ for ‘Outstanding Achievement’.
Also, in 2012, Leigh Halfpenny received the 'Man of Iron' Award for the Grand Slam season. Leigh beat off some fierce competition but in the end his amazing head first tackle on David Strettle was the clincher!
Ma’a Nonu – Unique ‘Blonde Brow’ (NZ v France 2013) - Unique.
“Richard was watching the New Zealand v France game in 2013 and was amused by Nonu’s dyed eyebrow. He decided to paint one of the standard Nonu’s with a blonde brow.”
In recent years, unique Groggs have been produced which are similar to the editions presented to the players. These often include extra details such as the shirt sponsors.
These have been used to raise money for charity
George North - Unique (Tenovus – winning bid = £1,000).
Sam Warburton - Unique (Velindre – winning bid = £1,000).
Gethin Jenkins - Unique (Velindre - winning bid = £900).
Gethin Jenkins - Unique (Man of the Match Award). “Although delighted with the result of the England Wales game we were a little confused by the Man of the Match award. Taking nothing away from Mr Worsley's performance we did think however the Man of the Match by a country mile was our own son of Pontypridd Gethin Jenkins.
In true Groggshop fashion we decided to so something about it and have made a special one off figure with a unique inscription commemorating the game, to present to Gethin. This is a World Of Groggs first but any further anomalies will be addressed in a similar fashion!” (World of Groggs Website).
Nigel Owens Red Card - Unique (Welsh Rugby Charitable Trust = £475).
On rare occasions only one club kit Grogg of a player has been produced, making it unique! Richard Ted Jones has a unique Ceri Sweeney (Celtic Warriors kit) and a unique Michael Owen (Celtic Warriors kit).
The Michael Owen Grogg was produced by mistake as he initially signed for the Warriors but never actually played for the team and signed for the Dragons instead!
The World Of Groggs has produced a highly collectable and extremley low numbered Limited Edition range of the Ospreys Strip. Complete with the complicated red celtic logo each hand painted piece was only be available in numbers corresponding to the players own number. Within this set Duncan Jones was only limited to 1 piece therefore making him unique.
John Dawes - Unique (Welsh Charitables) At the time the Worl of Groggs said “An unusual and unique Grogg has been created to be auctioned on behalf of the Welsh Charitables Organisation on Friday 5th November at Llandovery RFC. The dinner is being held to honour London Welsh, Wales and Lions legend John Dawes in the presence of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. This figure is the only one of it's kind to be made in the Welsh Charitables own strip”.
JPR Bridgend Bust - Unique (JPR’s Spinal Research Charity – winning bid = £830).
Pontypool Front Row - Unique (Welsh Rugby Former International Players Association Dinner – November 2006).
Pontypridd / British Lions Grogg – Unique. A unique grogg was auctioned at a dinner at Sardis Road to celebrate the nine ‘Pontypridd Lions’ (Russell Robins, Tommy David, Mike Griffiths, Neil Jenkins, Dafydd James, Martyn Williams, Gethin Jenkins, Michael Owen and Brent Cockbain).
Ritaz and Rowland Phillips with a unique tribute Grogg – Unique.
Some additional examples of unique Groggs produced over the years.
Recently the World of Groggs celebrated its 50th Anniversary. At the celebration dinner at the Vale Resort a number of unique Groggs were auctioned off raising an incredible £12,000. Below are the photo sheets used to entice the bidders.
Please get in touch if you have suggestions of Groggs to add to this article!
The Grogg Blog would like to thnak the following for use of their photos in this piece:
The World of Groggs
Jonathan Fry
Richard Ted Jones
Tim O'Donnell
Barrie-John Partridge
Becci Jones
Peter Davies
Darren Rees
Ponty.net
Lee Foulkes
Gwion Dafydd
Mark Baldwin
Ospreyssupportersclub.co.uk
RhysCycle Award / Environmental Mascot (RCT Council) – Commissioned.
“… unique Grogg of Plwmsan (Mici Plwm's iconic character from a children's S4C programme in the 80s...OK, I know I've lost most of you now!) holds something very personal, mainly since I still can't believe it was made (for an Eisteddfod auction in the mid 80s)”.
S4C Man of the Match – Commissioned This miscellaneous grogg of a rugby player was commissioned by S4C during the 1990s to present to players as Man of the Match awards by ‘Y Clwb Rygbi’.
Dudley Newbery (S4C TV Chef) – Commissioned This Grogg of the Welsh language TV chef was commissioned by S4C to give as competition prizes and were not on sale to the general public. It is estimated that only around 20-30 were produced.
Lewis’s Pie Kings 6” Grogg – Commissioned. Commissioned by Lewis’s Pies and distributed to suppliers. Around 100 were produced but not all were actually distributed making this a rare Grogg.
‘Never Forget Your Welsh’ (Whitbread) – Commissioned. This Grogg was presented to pubs in Wales serving Welsh bitter.
Paul Martin (Flog It!) – Commissioned. In 2005, Paul Martin from BBC TV programme ‘Flog It!’ visited and filmed as part of an episode at the Grogg shop. Paul was presented with very own Grogg which also went on general sale. However, only 15 out of the 100 edition actually sold, making this a very rare Grogg!
Supporters Club – Player of the Month Awards – Commissioned Bruiser the Bear (Cardiff Blues). OSCA (Ospreys) – Commissioned.
There have been a number of unique Groggs that have not been on sale to the general public i.e. one-off Groggs commissioned by individuals or businesses. The estimated cost to produce this type of Grogg is between £2,000 and £3,000.
The shop do not currently undertake any commissioned projects from the public.
Barrie Partridge - Unique / Commissioned.
Another example of a proect commissioned by a cmpany includes: The High Motive Limited Grogg
Some customers customised an existing generic Grogg in order to make it unique e.g. shirt and inscription.
Mark Baldwin AKA “Chuckles” – Commissioned. “Many people said that at 20 I looked like the standard Grogg so I had one made up in my club Porthcawl’s kit including my number 3 on the back and nickname “Chuckles” at the front. In total there are six of these in circulation."
Taff Ness Curly Haired Monster – Unique. This quirky Grogg produced in 1979 is believed to be unique.
Gareth Edwards + Gerald Davies – Unique. These Groggs are believed to be one-off figures that were produced in the early 1970s.
Andrew Hore - November 2006 – Unique
“One of Richard's secret projects was finally unveiled on the eve of the Wales V Australia game, when the Grand Slam Wales team finally said Goodbye in style to fitness coach Andrew Hore by presenting him with his own unique Grogg. As clued up collectors know this has been under wraps for months and we were relieved to hear that Andrew was over the moon to join the Grogg family along with his beloved Welsh team! Thanks for the memories and good luck in the future to Andrew”.
Sir Terry Matthews (Celtic Manor) - Unique.
Leigh Halfpenny Awards – Unique.
In 2014, Leigh Halfpenny was presented with the first ever ‘Golden Grogg Award’ for ‘Outstanding Achievement’.
Also, in 2012, Leigh Halfpenny received the 'Man of Iron' Award for the Grand Slam season. Leigh beat off some fierce competition but in the end his amazing head first tackle on David Strettle was the clincher!
Ma’a Nonu – Unique ‘Blonde Brow’ (NZ v France 2013) - Unique.
“Richard was watching the New Zealand v France game in 2013 and was amused by Nonu’s dyed eyebrow. He decided to paint one of the standard Nonu’s with a blonde brow.”
In recent years, unique Groggs have been produced which are similar to the editions presented to the players. These often include extra details such as the shirt sponsors.
These have been used to raise money for charity
George North - Unique (Tenovus – winning bid = £1,000).
Sam Warburton - Unique (Velindre – winning bid = £1,000).
Gethin Jenkins - Unique (Velindre - winning bid = £900).
Gethin Jenkins - Unique (Man of the Match Award). “Although delighted with the result of the England Wales game we were a little confused by the Man of the Match award. Taking nothing away from Mr Worsley's performance we did think however the Man of the Match by a country mile was our own son of Pontypridd Gethin Jenkins.
In true Groggshop fashion we decided to so something about it and have made a special one off figure with a unique inscription commemorating the game, to present to Gethin. This is a World Of Groggs first but any further anomalies will be addressed in a similar fashion!” (World of Groggs Website).
Nigel Owens Red Card - Unique (Welsh Rugby Charitable Trust = £475).
On rare occasions only one club kit Grogg of a player has been produced, making it unique! Richard Ted Jones has a unique Ceri Sweeney (Celtic Warriors kit) and a unique Michael Owen (Celtic Warriors kit).
The Michael Owen Grogg was produced by mistake as he initially signed for the Warriors but never actually played for the team and signed for the Dragons instead!
The World Of Groggs has produced a highly collectable and extremley low numbered Limited Edition range of the Ospreys Strip. Complete with the complicated red celtic logo each hand painted piece was only be available in numbers corresponding to the players own number. Within this set Duncan Jones was only limited to 1 piece therefore making him unique.
John Dawes - Unique (Welsh Charitables) At the time the Worl of Groggs said “An unusual and unique Grogg has been created to be auctioned on behalf of the Welsh Charitables Organisation on Friday 5th November at Llandovery RFC. The dinner is being held to honour London Welsh, Wales and Lions legend John Dawes in the presence of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. This figure is the only one of it's kind to be made in the Welsh Charitables own strip”.
JPR Bridgend Bust - Unique (JPR’s Spinal Research Charity – winning bid = £830).
Pontypool Front Row - Unique (Welsh Rugby Former International Players Association Dinner – November 2006).
Pontypridd / British Lions Grogg – Unique. A unique grogg was auctioned at a dinner at Sardis Road to celebrate the nine ‘Pontypridd Lions’ (Russell Robins, Tommy David, Mike Griffiths, Neil Jenkins, Dafydd James, Martyn Williams, Gethin Jenkins, Michael Owen and Brent Cockbain).
Ritaz and Rowland Phillips with a unique tribute Grogg – Unique.
Some additional examples of unique Groggs produced over the years.
Recently the World of Groggs celebrated its 50th Anniversary. At the celebration dinner at the Vale Resort a number of unique Groggs were auctioned off raising an incredible £12,000. Below are the photo sheets used to entice the bidders.
Please get in touch if you have suggestions of Groggs to add to this article!
The Grogg Blog would like to thnak the following for use of their photos in this piece:
The World of Groggs
Jonathan Fry
Richard Ted Jones
Tim O'Donnell
Barrie-John Partridge
Becci Jones
Peter Davies
Darren Rees
Ponty.net
Lee Foulkes
Gwion Dafydd
Mark Baldwin
Ospreyssupportersclub.co.uk
