What does your collection do for you?

[Topnotchsy]

For me the primary factor is a way to connect to history. I love baseball and find the places where it intersects with "real" history fascinating. For example, the role baseball and Jackie Robinson played in moving towards equality for African Americans and minorities was significant enough that Martin Luther King and others pointed to his role. The role of baseball players in WWII is another area that intrigues me. Often the items I buy are either the impetus for some of my research, or the result of researching an area and finding it fascinating. Many items have related books on my shelf.

My focuses include:
1) Integration/Jackie Robinson
2) WWII-related baseball items
3) Negro-League items
4) Line-up cards
5) US Tours of Japan (although I may end up selling this off to fund other collections)

The lineup cards are simply because they are cool, a real challenge to collect (the goal is a signed lineup card from every manager who made the HOF, beginning from the era that lineup cards were used), and extremely "close" to the game.

There's also the community around baseball, the game itself (playing softball, listening to MLB games on the radio, following the stats etc.)