My first card purchase when I was a kid was a beat up 1984 Topps Ryne Sandberg. That led me to build a large Ryno collection that I didn't keep in mint shape.
My interest in vintage started when I read an article in Beckett about a Piedmont pack. Here's the same article online:
http://www.t206museum.com/page/periodical_81.html But I didn't purchase my first prewar card until January 2009. I then found T206Collector's site, which led me here. A couple years ago I sold all my t206s and started collecting mellos.