Personal Grail Blues ? Vintage or modern

[Rookiemonster]

Hey , I recently was married had kids I really started to get back in the hobby . Now obviously with a low budget . So since I was a kid I've wanted one card . I tried an failed a lot . It started when I was about 9 years old maybe 10 . Before I collected cards I was a baseball fan . I didn't have a favorite team even just a ton of players I liked . I would ask my grandfather about baseball when he was young . He was a Brooklyn Dodger fan and when they left town he gave up on baseball all together . But when asked who was the best player he ever seen play ball . He said with out a doubt it was Willie mays he went on to express his love for Duke snider and an honorable mention of mantle . But even as a Dodger fan Mays was head and heals better then anything he ever seen . He also got to meet him and said he was a sharp man and always ha a smile on his face .

So when I got in to cards I wanted a willie mays card . I got a1966 topps card and loved it . The dealers at the show told my if I wanted a mays card to shoot for 1952 Topps mays . And for years that was what I needed . Life went on school , girls , friends , family , etc . But I always kept my love for the hobby and my grail changed to the 1951 Bowman mays when I turned in to a Rookie card collector . I saved and sold thing and achieved my GRAIL . BUT NOW I FEEL A BIT EMPTY ! I feel as if my focus is gone . Has this happened to anybody else and what helped if anything ???????

[pawpawdiv9]

Kinda did that when i did Mantle run, after i got the 52T, i just hit a wall, and didnt really want to acheive deeper into oddballs. So i took the RC route. When i hit a rut, i find myself dabbling into vintage Hofers.

[Exhibitman]

"After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true."
--Lt. Cmdr. Spock, "Amok Time"



Just look at the acquisitions threads here and find something else interesting to chase. Perhaps a regional or oddball issue where you don't have thirty of them sitting on eBay every day.

My recent card was a Joe Dimaggio. I got the 1951 Berk Ross, since it was the last year of his career and affordable. Prior Grail was a card of Babe Ruth which was from Harrington's Ice Cream, that I acquired in 1980

pix

[Rookiemonster]

These are pretty good suggestions . I love that Ruth card its sweet pun intended .

[Bestdj777]

I've been there. When I got my 1960 Venezuelan Topps Mantle, I considered selling my collection since there was anything special (that I could ever justify spending the money on) to purchase. I still enjoy discussing cards though and have started going after cheaper collectibles of his--matchbooks, postcards, etc. if you like Mays, why not go for a run of his cards? Or atleast post a picture of your grail!

[jason.1969]

Similar feeling--but on a much lower budget--when I got a '61 Hank Aaron AS to complete my Topps run on Aaron. Soothed the emptiness by finally plunking down for the 55 Bowman.

I wasn't interested enough in the oddballs to spend what it would take, so I finally faced the fact that there have been three players I've wanted cards from nearly my entire life, but unfortunately not at all attainable for the money I was spending: Ruth, Gehrig, and DiMaggio.

Picked up the Joe D a few months ago and may finally go after the Babe in early 2016.

Easy to think up pricier fixes, but something you might try is to find a fun and not very expensive goal--maybe all of Willie's bobbleheads or some stuff to surround your card on a wall or shelf display.

[Rookiemonster]

I does make me happy

[Rookiemonster]

Front image

[Rookiemonster]

I would mind doing a run of his cards but the next two 1952 and 1953 topps will be very pricey .

[Bestdj777]

Great looking card. Thanks for sharing! It's kind of odd but the 51 Mays is what stopped me in my tracks when I was working on a post-war HOF rookie run. Got the Mantle and a number of others but that card just got away from me in price. Great stuff and I hope you are able to find something to capture your interest and get you back in the game again.

[Mark70Z]

Originally Posted by Rookiemonster

BUT NOW I FEEL A BIT EMPTY ! I feel as if my focus is gone . Has this happened to anybody else and what helped if anything ???????

I can't say I've been in the same boat as far as collecting. I have thought, every now and then, about selling "everything" and then the feeling slips away (pretty quickly too). Once I decided what to collect, mainly Brooks Robinson and some unique O's items, I really never lost the focus; it's just what I enjoy. There's not just one item to find, there are quite a few; it's just a matter of can I afford the particular piece at the time or trying to find items that I know are out there. I think sometimes the hunt is just as fun or even more fun than the acquisition itself.

There are so many things to collect I would say to collect what you enjoy the most. If it's Mays, collect Mays. As some have stated get some other Mays items, or a variety of players and have an area to display you're collection. There's several threads showing forum members collections; very cool by the way. Also there are threads that show different player collections, like Aaron, Brock, etc. Even though I don't collect those particular players it's fun to see their pickups and you can appreciate the collection for what it is.

Main thing if it's not fun then it's not much of a hobby. Hobbies should be fun!

[Rookiemonster]

Thanks best DJ I would love to see the mays and mantle . I've thought of going for the complete set of 1951 bowman but I don't think I could ever get that mantle so . I agree it's just finding a new mission

[pawpawdiv9]

Nice 51 Mays there 'rookie'. I had a very nice 7oc, just slightly off, but not too bad looking. I decided to sell it, in hopes of grabbing Matty'c lower-end version that was dead centered, but failed...once in a while you can find a centered one, in hopes the price is not jacked up. Yours indeed is a very nice version. Hard sometimes finding those without the print lines as well.

[Rookiemonster]

Thanks pawpaw I really went hard after this one haha it's funny because I felt that the centering was nice and there was no creases . I couldn't imagine have a 7 OC or not . When I got the PSA 2 was I surprised I thought I would have to settle for authentic or a poor 1 . And as a added bonus I got 4x the eBay bucks back .

[hcv123]

I have been collecting Roberto Clemente cards and memorabilia for the better part of 30 years. I collect(ed) his regular issue cards and was looking for all of his oddball cards. When I had acquired most of the cards and found it difficult to find additions on my want list, I started Clemente sub collections of: Clemente on magazine covers, Clemente on front or back pages of newspapers, Clemente store model gloves, Clemente mini bats, Clemente store model bats, Pirates photo pennants. Today I can count on 1 hand the items I am still looking for - every once in a while (couple of years) run across something I didn't know existed. Interesting - my "grail" for about the past 20 years is a complete bazooka box from 1960 with Clemente. - anyone out there able to "make my life complete"?

[pokerplyr80]

I had a similar feeling after acquiring my holy grail. I have found that there's always another though. Maybe try to add a 51 bowman Mantle, or the 52 Topps Mays. Or see if you can find an upgrade. There's always something to go after.

But yea, there is certainly a lot of fun in the chase. Once you find what you've been chasing, that feeling goes away. Sometimes I just like to grab my favorite cards and look at them for a while. Drives my wife crazy.

If you can't think of what to go for next, just take a break for a while and enjoy what you have.

[jason.1969]

Not sure if this thread sparked it or if it was the really attractive, low-grade Sport Kings Carl Hubbell in the PWCC auction, but I just got to thinking about how maybe my "Top 50" card display (oddly except to me, one card of each of the Top 50 players who played between 1933 and 1969)--even once it adds Ruth/Gehrig--still leaves off too many great players of the 1930s: Hubbell, Gehringer, Dickey, etc.

An easy solution would be to remove a few of the guys I have there just because...e.g., 1933 Lefty O'Doul, 1933 Hack Wilson, 1964 Roger Maris... and then replace them with better players. But then I got to thinking how maybe the better approach is to add a second Pennzoni display case and go after the top 100, perhaps from 1933-1979. If so, I've got a REALLY long way to go before I'm all done.