[B O'Brien]

Good topic guys. My son just turned three, and I have been thinking about this for a while, so I am interested to see what kind of ideas pop up. So far my son just wants a "purple one", so I am going to try to find a couple beater carmel cards. I also gave him a 1989 Donruss Roberto Alomar, but he said he want old little ones, like mine!

I remember when I was little, I was playing ball from the time I was about 4 (1980) on. We lived out in the country in Ohio, so not much ball to watch. We did our Christmas shopping from the JC Penny catalog, as there was no real shopping around. I picked out a 1986 Topps set from the catalog, and that was how it started. We moved the next summer and my new neighbors (peer collectors are the best!) collected a little as it was the popular thing to do in 1987. Their dad found a box of 60's and 70's stuff and it was cool to look through with our Beckett and see how much the stuff was worth and to see who was good and who was bad by looking at the backs of the cards, so that was how I got started on the older stuff, and I have just kept working backwards.

I think a lot of it just comes down to the kids. Cards were great for me because I have always loved the game and history, in general. All of the numbers and sorting of commons was great for my little touch of OCD. I am seeing some of all of these traits start to develop in my son, so hopefully he will collect for himself.

I am just keeping my fingers crossed and trying to get him to watch ball. The MLB network is GREAT! He asks to see if there is one of the old games on, instead of the cartoons. On Sunday we watched nearly the entire game 4 of the 1968 World Series. That is a MAJOR deal for a 3 year old!

Bob