[mechanicalman]

Greetings all. My name is Sam, and I've been a reader for a while. Some great gentlemen I met at the National convinced me it's time to join, and I'm really excited to be a part of the forum.

Like many, I became obsessed with cardboard as a kid during the "hey-day" of the overproduction era from '85-'89. Almost every free minute was spent cracking open wax packs, eating the gum (as bad as it was), assessing trades, and waiting patiently for my Beckett to arrive (where right-side up triangles next to Jose Canseco's '86 Fleer price was met with utter jubilation.) I honestly believed at the time that my '85 Topps Puckett rookies would someday pay for my college; we all know how that turned out. Ironically, because of all the voracious trading and organizing in and out of sleeves and pages, those cards probably wouldn't grade better than a 4 today.

After '89, things like college, girls, work, marriage, and general life precipitated a 20+ year hiatus from collecting. Things changed, though, in 2013 when, on a lark, I started searching ebay for some of the iconic cards I could only dream about as a kid. An impluse purchase of a '33 Lou Gehrig happened (later upgraded), and I've been hooked on vintage ever since. In fact, I would go so far as to say the hobby (though changed significantly) is bringing a ton of satisfaction and joy to my life, much like it did 25 years ago. Sure, I still have so much to learn yet, but it's been a wonderful diversion from the day to day.

As far as my interests are concerned, they are incredibly basic. I've fallen in love with '33 and '34 Goudey's and hope to complete the HOF runs. I also am bitten by the T206 bug and hope to collect the attainable HOF'ers in mid-grade. I'm building an e95 set, and I can't seem to shake the desire for Delongs and now, CJs. I have a craving for all things symmetrical, so I continue to challenge myself to only buy centered and bright offerings. It requires patience and sacrifice, but it makes the payoff more rewarding.

I'm attaching a pic of my "starting 9" - my favorite cards, as I've seen others do it. I love that people share cards on this site and that many appreciate seeing them. Frankly, I don't have many friends locally who understand my passion.

Sorry for the long intro. I look forward to discussing, debating, learning, and hearing and sharing hobby stories and successes with you all.