There were some great guys who "mentored by example" for me. Since I am based in California some of these names may not be familiar.
First and foremost, of course, Dick Dobbins. Not only did he put on the first "card shows" in the area back in the 1970s but no question was too dumb for an answer.
Many others, some who are not "big names" in the hobby - those who appreciated my early enthusiasm for "non-card" collectibles, especially autographs - and deserve mention are Steve Brunner, Stan Marks, Nick Peters, Doug McWilliams and Will Davis.
Rich Masson got me started on autographs through a chance meeting when my family was staying at a hotel near Disneyland that just happened to be hosting the Detroit Tigers. Rich and some others were "graphing" and I asked what they were doing. We kept in touch, introduced me to the Smalling book, and he later introduced me to several SoCal guys who dealt in autographs and the rest is history.
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