[todeen]

I was 5 in '91 when my parents started buying me packs of Topps. They sold them at our local grocery store. I can remember them because of the 40th Anniversary logo on them. I had no clue who was good or who was bad, I just liked the action pictures. The most famous players were the players on the local farm team - Billings Mustangs. We went to the games and I got the team sets and tried getting autographs.

I remained a pack collector even as I learned more player names, started watching games on tv, etc. Eventually in middle school I added buying specific cards in addition to pack buying. I fell away from packs about my senior year of high school. In college I started collecting 1961 Topps, and then there was a phase where I didn't really care to collect cards very much. I started buying autographed baseballs for a time. When I was about 22, I donated most of my cards to the YMCA (It was like 50k - 70k individual cards from the early 1990s). I kept the Reds cards, rookie cards, and some sets I had been working on. I got married and bought a little bit here and there. Then about 5-6 years I go I became more heavily involved with vintage Reds collectibles, continuing the 1961 Topps set, and buying Wheaties backs. I no longer buy packs, and I no longer collect modern. Last modern cards I bought were in 2005-06. The Topps and Bowman Heritage sets.

I buy maybe 1-3 items a month now.