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ErikV Fantastic topic. Some great reading on this post. I figured it was about time for me to chime in too.
It was in 1975 at the age of 7 that my dad bought me my first pack of baseball cards. As the story goes, I would lay all of the cards on the floor and leave them out. My parents grew so tired of seeing them scattered all over the house that every last card got thrown out. (Thanks Mom!)
In 1979 my parents moved us into a neighborhood where many more kids my age lived. Most of them collected cards and I was soon hooked on those little pieces of cardboard. This was also the same time that I really started following baseball. At night, I'd lay all my Dodgers cards out and listen to Vin Scully announce the starting lineups for that nights game. At bedtime, I would leave the radio on and lay in bed listening to the end of the game. With each passing year, I amassed more and more of the Topps sets, until I completed my first set in 1983.
When I got my first job in 1985, my collection really took off. I'd spend darn near my whole paycheck on baseball cards. The mid-80's was also about the time that my brother and I would mail many baseball Hall of Famers self addressed stamped envelopes and a baseball card seeking autographs. Most, if not all, were cordial and honored our request.
By the late 80's I was done collecting the new stuff as I couldn't keep up! I'd had seen the movie Eight Men Out and was now hooked on obtaining a card of each of the 1919 Black Sox. This goal took 10 years to complete and in 1998, I was the winning bidder for the elusive 1915 Zeenuts Fred McMullin card.
It was in the mid to late 90's that I obtained several big cards from my collection: '54 Topps Aaron rookie, 1915 Famous Barr Jim Thorpe and Buck Weaver cards from the Barry Halper collection, 1922 American Caramel Walter Johnson and my 1956 Topps set to name a few. Today I'm working on obtaining the 1940 Play Ball set (only 50 cards to go for the set).
Just like my dad, I've already given my 4 year old son his first pack of baseball cards and taken him to his first game and card show. Wouldn't you know, HIS cards are laying all over the place too! I'll give him a few more years to show off some of my treasures to him!
Thanks for reading my story. Whose next?