Share a great hobby story

[Rich Blackburn]

My story from September 29, 2015

I started buying cards before I can remember, my father took me to my first card show in Willow Grove in 1976, I was thirteen. We have continued to collect since.

In 1980 , we purchased the 1st Beckett Football price guide. Upon going through the guide I saw a 1956 Parkhurst Football set and card number 33 was Calvin Jones. I was born and raised in Steubenville, Ohio, and Calvin was a star, the road to the stadium is Calvin Jones Way. He was on the 7th issue of Sports Illustrated, the first Afro-American, and in 1955 won the Outland Trophy for the University of Iowa. For various reasons he chose to play Football in Canada.

Following a successful rookie season, Calvin played in the East-West All Star game in Vancouver. He died in a tragic plane crash after playing in the Canadian Shrine Game, December 9 1956. He was headed home to try and attend the 1957 Rose Bowl game his friends were playing in for the Iowa Hawkeyes. His plane crashed in the side of Mt. Slesse. Calvin's number 62 is the only other jersey retired by the University of Iowa besides that of Nile Kinnick's number 24.

Today in the mail, after 35 years of searching, I let my father open the package, he didn't know what was in it other than I told him a surprise. It was my white whale, a 1956 Parkhurst Football Card Calvin Jones. It brought a smile to my fathers 85 year old face. This evening he took the card to the Booster's Club Meeting.

There are a total of three graded by PSA, and now WE have one. Collecting never gets old!