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-   -   Nostalgia or history (http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=227593)

Topnotchsy 08-26-2016 02:54 PM

Nostalgia or history
 
A post that got into discussions comparing pre and post-war cardboard got me thinking.

It seems to me that there are two major forces that compel someone to collect older items (leaving aside people buying for investment reasons etc.)

The one that (from what I have seen) gets talked about a lot is nostalgia. People remember collecting certain cards when they were kids and now that they are older and have expendable cash, they want to find those cards that they had (or maybe the ones they wished they had) when they were kids. For older players it may be the player that your Dad used to speak about reverently when you were growing up. Maybe you went to games with your Dad back in the 60's and saw Mantle and Maris, but Dad spoke about Gehrig and DiMaggio, and that has sparked your passion in those players.

On the other hand there are others who are simply fans of history. Maybe they never had any personal connection to any of the players, but they love the history of baseball and that draws them to a specific era, event or set.

People often talk about the impact of nostalgia, which is something that as time passes and people pass, will likely fade from the older players. The second though, can continue to grow over time.

I definitely fall into the second category. No one I grew up with was really a major baseball fan, and yet I find myself gravitating to events and items from long before I was born. For me the items are generally those that have an interesting historical link (Japan Tours, WWII, Jackie Robinson/Integration items).

I'm somewhat new here and don't post all that much, but I'd be curious to hear where others fall on this split.

ajjohnsonsoxfan 08-26-2016 03:04 PM

Jeff I'm with you on the love of history of the game. There's something uniquely special about these turn of the last century players who founded the national pastime. Makes me think that there will be enough people who have that same love to keep collecting in future generations.

bgar3 08-26-2016 03:15 PM

My nostalgia collection is Richie Ashburn, but my historical collection is all 19th century baseball history related.

midmo 08-26-2016 03:31 PM

I'd say a little of both for me. I grew up in the 70's and 80's so I learned about older players from my dad, books, friends and Vin Scully. There's nostalgia just thinking about how I was exposed to the history of the game.

Another reason I collect is I like art design and photography. Type collecting gives me a lot of variety in that respect.

nat 08-26-2016 03:35 PM

I'll go with history for myself (or maybe nostalgia for when I was a kid who was interested in history?), but I think that it's nostalgia that drives a lot of the card prices. There are lots and lots of people out there who don't really collect cards, but who would really love to have a Mantle and will put down the cash to do it. So Mantle prices go through the roof, even as prices for other historically great players, who don't inspire the same kind of nostalgia, lag behind.

If I had to guess, I would say that you're less likely to find self identified card collectors (you know, like the people around here) who are motivated by nostalgia, than you are to find people who casually own a card or two who are motivated by it. And that's probably x1000 on this board in particular, considering that it's dedicated to pre-war cards.

bocca001 08-26-2016 03:47 PM

I'd say a little of both as well. Like many others, I started collecting in the 70s and 80s, but have a love for pre-war. So, collecting for nostalgia is fun because it is cheap. For example, I just bought an unopened 1982 Topps cello pack showing Chili Davis and Bob Brenly for $12 (which is probably too much, but not so bad for a Giants fan).

Collecting for history really drives my pre-war focus (players somehow related to Santa Clara Valley). It is fun to focus on a niche. Something relatively unique. Something I may know more about than others.

TCMA 08-26-2016 04:52 PM

The project I'm hoping to get off the ground is squarely in the "history" camp. Would love your feedback on this if you guys would like to comment:

http://net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=227481

RTK 08-26-2016 05:52 PM

Definitely a little bit of both. I grew up in the 60's early 70's, still have most of my childhood cards. Some of what I try to collect are cards from my childhood era that I either had or never got in a pack, condition doesn't matter too much. With the love of baseball, comes love for the game's history. I read quite a bit about the game and love old memorabilia. I've collected a few older things, refinished my basement to reflect my interest in baseball and it's history. I do buy some cards from before my birth simply because they're kind of cool. If they appreciate in value, great, if not, so be it.

the 'stache 08-26-2016 07:41 PM

A bit of both, here. I grew up in Milwaukee, and spent a good deal of time watching games at the old County Stadium. Hard to go to a game there, even as an 8 or 9 year old, and not feel the history of the place. As I watched a few Hall of Famers starting their careers (Yount and Molitor), playing side by side, I imagined what it was like to see Eddie Mathews manning the hot corner, hitting bombs into center field, or Hank Aaron hitting one laser beam after another into the seats. I could almost see Warren Spahn, the crafty ol' lefty, on the mound, owning one hitter after another.

I love the history of the game. I mean, I absolutely love it. I never get tired of reading about it, or watching documentaries about it. I must have watched Ken Burns' Baseball at least ten times by now. My DVR is filled with docs about Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Jackie Robinson, the Brooklyn Dodgers, Hank Aaron....but there will always be that nostalgia factor, too.

JollyElm 08-26-2016 07:56 PM

I think there is a third category: DNA.

It seems (most) American boys are born with the intrinsic love of baseball, and hence baseball cards, in our souls. There is no defining reason as to why we start grabbing up baseball cards, but it's baked into our DNA. We do it when we are little and we continue to collect as we get older.

Jantz 08-26-2016 10:06 PM

Although I do love the history of the game & T206s, I would say that I fall more under the nostalgic category.

After reading Jeff's initial post, I took a look around at my computer desk. Along with a few baseball cards, I also have an antique brass B&O railroad button, a 1970s Star Wars toy, a Tuxedo tobacco tin, a 1960s Aurora Cigar Box die cast car, an antique cork fishing bobber and 2 antique wood/whale bone dominos laying on computer desk.

So either I'm nostalgic or turning into Fred Sanford.

J@ntz


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