Do you have information about the Playin For Keeps monster truck? I have heard the name before, but cannot remember who owned it or when it was run. Do you have more photos? Via Monster Mayhem
Playin For Keeps Monster Truck
Do you have information about the Playin For Keeps monster truck? I have heard the name before, but cannot remember who owned it or when it was run. Do you have more photos? Via Monster Mayhem
This truck was owned by the late Jesse Birgy. Jesse definitely made a name for himself and this truck throughout the years. Jesse was well known for his extreme knowledge of monster trucks and was well known for lending a helping hand to everyone. Play’n For Keeps still runs to this day out of the Straight Up Racing camp and is owned by Bill Payne. Jesse drove the truck still up until two years ago when the monster truck industry lost a dear friend and legend. Thanks for the memories. RIP Jesse Birgy.
Thanks for the input Josh!
jesse was a great man and he is missed out here, the truck is still racing but iam not sure who has it at this time but i will try to get some updated info, i do have some pix of it new than the one shown here,
Hi Mike: I’d like to see a photo or two if they can be sent to me as email attachments. Everything Josh Stewart said about Mr. Birgy jibes with what I have been told by Bill Payne. There are not too many people of the J Birgy ilk around. Angelo Querin /Dixon CA
I personally sat in this truck when i was 8 years old. Jesse was a good friend of my aunt and uncle.
Great comments. However there is one error: yes, the PFK was running as part of Bill Payne’s Straight Up racing team, but the PFK truck was actually owned and driven by Tony Canedo. Tony was introduced to Jesse Birgy by Bill Payne and Jesse sold his last built PFK to Tony in in December of 2006 with Bill being witness to the sale. Bill hauled it to CA for Tony and helped in re-outfitting the truck for rigorous competition events. At thetime of sale, Tony told Mr. Birgy about changes he wanted to make and Mr. B was ok with the improvements but didn’t like Tony’s wanting to change the color to Red from Green. Birgy said he used green specifically to p–s off one event organizer that didn’t like the green colored PFK, but in the end he ok’d Tony’s changing the color to red. Tony no longer runs with the Straight Up Racing team but he has been actively presenting the PFK in events ever since that time. Thanks for your putting this photo up for view. If you remember, what was the location of the shoot? Angelo Querin / Dixon CA
I owned this truck until a couple years ago. It is now owned by the guy who owns Midwest monstertrucks. Has been totally restored.
Hi I saw him in maine and I saw Dennis Anderson there also in embden maine Jesse was always uphere mostly until bunch drivers got screwed by owner of embden maine didn’t pay the drivers there money. I don’t blame him for being upset because help run his machine’s.. R. I. P Jesse thank you for the show.. He always put on a show just like Dennis does .. Goes 4 broke
Hi: yep I do have info on status of J Birgy’s PFK truck.
I am a paralegal in the office of William S. Bernheim, USPTO registered attorney . No27,180. It si happens that we represent the party (Antonio Canedo) who went to Birgy’s home along with Bill the owner of Racing and Canedo bought Birgy’s last model PFK in December 2006. I am kind of short on time right now,but I have included below the recitation of FACTS (things agreed upon by both parties in an action before the TTAB (Trademark Trial & Appeal Board.) Whenver you see the word Opposer — that means it is referent to Canedo; whenver you see the word Applicant it refers to owner of Mad Man Motor Sports LLC (“MMM”); The action involved was Canedo’s Opposition to MMM’s application for registration of the TM name for Birgy’s PFK trade name.. The record in the TTAB website has some entries like this (26-ttabvue p.3- no.1) in it.
I have removed them in the text that follows. those entries merely cite to the location of the proof of the following statements that already existed in the period of the Trial
Development. I have removed them to make reading easier. I will also give you the url to where you can see the whole shebang if that is of interest.
///
RECITATION OF FACTS.
The mark at issue here is Play’N For Keeps (hereinafter “PFK”);.
The mark being sought was originated by the late Jesse Birgy (“Birgy”), who never registered the identifying name PFK with the Trade Mark Office (“Office”);
Birgy was a well known originator in monster truck construction and used the trade name PFK on several of his monster trucks ;
The trade name PFK was widely known to people knowledgable in the art as being the trade name that was used by Birgy on several of his monster trucks;
OPPOSER (Canedo) purchased a truck bearing the trade name PFK from Birgy in December of 2006 ;
Applicant, Mad ManMotor Sports, LLC (MMM) ) purchased an alleged “original framework” of a prior version of Jesse Birgy’s PFK ; and then, Applicant MMM) )applied for registration of the mark on March 25, 2014, in that filing, Applicant (MMM) )claimed a date of first use in commerce and a first use anywhere as being on March 1, 2014 And, in his applciation for the PFK mark, Applicant (MMM) ) alleged his use was based on … use by a “…related company or licensee, or predecessor in interest to the Applicant. (MMM)” and, citing rules & regulations of the TM office, Applicant (MMM) claimed ownership of the right to file for the mark on the allegation that Applicant ((MMM) is a successor in interest with Jesse Birgy as the predecessor in interest.
Jesse Birgy died in 2008 ; Applicant (MMM)was formed as an L.L.C. by the State of MI on 5/13/2011;
{{NOTE: SO??? the question of course is how did MMM become successor in interest by purchase from Birgy some 3 years after Birgy died and at least 2 years after the last PFK was known to have beensold to Opposer (Canedo)?}}
Not knowing that Applciant (MMM) had fied to register the PFK name, Opposer (Canedo) applied for registration of the PFK mark 4/7/2014 ;
The TM Office issued a Suspension Notice on 9/24/2014; [][ Note: that means that the application by Canedo was put on hold}
Opposer’s (Canedo) then filed a Notice of Opposition on 8/29/2014 the Office mailed Notice of Opposition to Applciant (MMM) on 9/4/2014 A Notice of Opposition means that the person filing the notice, claims and intends to argue that the prior applicant’s claim to registration is not supportable, and should be denied by theTTAB.
The trial process was then begun and the outcome is still pending
To see all docs involved, and, if you have lots of time and a strange interest if trial board proceedings, you can use the following url to see thew whole shebang from start to right up to date now.
http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?qt=adv&procstatus=All&pno=91218197&propno=&qs=&propnameop=&propname=&pop=&pn=&pop2=&pn2=&cop=&cn=
ps: If you want, let me know and I’ll send you photos of the true PFK that sprang fro Birgy’s hands and knowledge; the one shown in your prior sending is the imitation built for MMM by some truly fantastic students as part of a competition for the Detroit Autorama’s Student Competition.
Angelo Querin
Well Angelo is correct and wrong because when the picture above was taken this was the current truck running by Jesse in his PFK racing camp. This truck was retired and sold and eventually became sold to MMM, and was restored.