Tim Galvin, a retired New York City policeman who was known along his beat simply as “The ‘Stache,” was voted the 2008 winner of the American Mustache Institute’s “Robert Goulet Memorial Mustached American of the Year,” sponsored by Just For Men® Haircolor. The award recognizes the most impactful Mustached American of the past year.
Galvin was honored Saturday, Oct. 25, in St. Louis at ‘Stache Bash 2008, the American Mustache Institute’s (AMI) annual benefit for Challenger Baseball, a baseball league for children and adults with developmental disabilities.
“We are proud to name Tim Galvin as the first ‘Robert Goulet Memorial Mustached American of the Year’ award winner,” said Joy Robinson of Just For Men® Haircolor, which also announced a $5,000 contribution to Challenger Baseball before placing a purple and gold crown on Galvin’s head.
Galvin, a modest Suffern, N.Y. resident, was honored to have been voted the first “Goulet” award winner.
“I accept this honor for Mustached Americans everywhere,” he told an overflow crowd of nearly 1,000. “After 34 years of proudly wearing a mustache, I am humbled to be recognized by an organization that values and honors it.”
Galvin won the “Goulet” award in an online poll, and competed against an all-star roster of fifteen distinguished Mustached Americans, including sports greats Jason Giambi, Art Monk, Goose Gossage and Keith Hernandez; Libertarian Party presidential candidate Bob Barr; and Cleveland Brown of FOX’s “Family Guy’ – the only animated American nominated for the award.
“We’ve heard a lot of talk about ’Main Street’ during this presidential election season, and Tim’s victory is a tribute to the everyday Mustached American – a breed of men and women who serve as this nation’s backbone,” said Dr. Aaron Perlut, AMI’s chairman and outgoing executive director. “As acceptance of furry upper lips increases, our organization is growing in numbers, strength, good looks, average weight and IQ.
“It is especially fitting that the award was won by a member of the law enforcement community, a profession that has understood the power of the mustache through the lean years when growing and maintaining one was looked down upon by the clean-shaven under-belly of society.”
Who is Tim Galvin?
Typical of loyal Mustached Americans, Galvin is a soft-spoken man – yet tough – who has let his deeds and mustache do his talking. In the nomination application for the “Goulet” award, his son Michael described his father’s mustache as “respect-demanding.”
Galvin was a New York City policeman for more than 20 years, receiving three medals of valor and retiring as a captain after being shot twice – in the face and leg – while working undercover. As a patrolman, he was limited to having a “chevron” mustache, but when he became a plain clothes officer, he was able grow a large “horseshoe” mustache to fit in on the streets, creating a persona with informants throughout the city.
“Clearly, a man who's been shot twice is confident enough about his looks that he doesn't have time for fashion niceties like whether his belt matches his socks,” added AMI’s Perlut. “Like the clean-shaven metrosexual populous, a man like Tim doesn’t sit around pondering whether his mustache is in fashion this season – it’s always mustache season to Tim.”
Showing the bizarre attention to his lip sweater befitting a “Mustached American of the Year,” Galvin knows the day he started growing his mustache – July 1, 1974.
“That was the day I graduated from Catholic high school and could finally grow one,” he said. “I wanted one to look like Ben Davidson, the great Oakland Raider.”
Galvin has not shaved it since.
The Goulet award, given for the first time this year, is named for the legendary performer Robert Goulet, whose voice, trademark mustache, sense of humor, and black leather jackets represented a quadruple-threat of talent the American Mustache Institute is proud to salute.
‘Stache Bash 2008, held at Lumiere Casino in downtown St. Louis, was a resounding success raising more than $15,000 for and awareness of Challenger Baseball.
“We cannot accurately express our appreciation to the American Mustache Institute for its support of Challenger Baseball,” said Buck Smith, who runs St. Louis Challenger Baseball. “The funds AMI has raised has allowed us to add new teams each year, providing more kids and adults with developmental disabilities the opportunity to play baseball.”
About AMI
The American Mustache Institute, the bravest organization in the history of mankind behind only the U.S. Military and the post-Jim Henson Muppets, is the world’s only facial hair advocacy and research organization, with more than 600 chapters around globally. AMI battles negative stereotypes and discrimination against the Mustached American race. Based in St. Louis due to the presence of the world’s largest mustache – the Gateway Arch – the organization is committed to recapturing the mustache’s glory years of the 1970s, when there existed a climate of acceptance, understanding, and flavor saving for Mustached Americans.
About Challenger Baseball
Challenger Baseball is a baseball league for youngsters and adults with developmental disabilities. The fundamental goal of Challenger Baseball is to give every player the chance to play. To realize that goal, Challenger has two basic rules: every player bats each inning, and every player plays the field. The league does not count strikes, and does not count outs. Every player scores and every player wins. Challenger Baseball participants learn not only the fundamentals of baseball, but also experience teamwork, being cheered on by a crowd, and being encouraged by peers. All players are named all-stars and all receive trophies.
Contacts:
Abraham Froman, 877-STACHE-1
info@AmericanMustacheInstitute.org
