What is your most cherished piece, and why?

67_Palmer · #1 07-17-2013, 10:54 AM

The most important thing in my collection would have to be this group of autographed index cards my father collected while selling hot dogs at Griffith Stadium when he was a teen.

He gave them to me when I was a young teen in the 80's and I unfortunately cut some of the better names to fit in holders. What can I say, I was a dumb kid. He also gave me a Senators team signed ball witch I promptly played with.

To this day I haven't been able to identify all the signatures. To me the highlights of the collection is the very early Mantle and the Hank Greenberg.

Exhibitman · #2 07-17-2013, 11:21 AM

Nice write-ups guys.

I find it interesting--and very heartening--that the stories here are all about emotional connections we've made through our collections to our families or our childhoods or to the game, and not about the value of the cards themselves. I have cards worth thousands of times what my beater 1952 Dropo is worth but that card means something to me. You can always tell a collector, too. The first thing I am asked by a collector is "What's your favorite card?" while the first thing a non-collector asks me is "what's your most valuable card?" Non-collectors don't understand that this thing of ours isn't about value, it is about emotions. That's why I shlep to places like Cleveland in August to hang out with a bunch of fellow idiots in an old tank factory. In cards, as long as it means something to you, no one can be a "better" collector; the blue collar guy with the well-loved collection of beaters is just as respected as a collector as the titan of industry with the well-loved minty fresh collection of 19th century HOFers.

whitehse · #3 07-18-2013, 03:28 PM

I have a couple of items that are considered cherished.

My mom and dad would always try to take us to a few baseball games every year at Wrigley Field. I knew they didnt have much money and my dad would always say he got the tickets from "some guy" but I knew dang well my dad had to work some OT to get them for us. My dad always had a habit of buying a scorecard at every game he went and he would keep score like an offical scorer. Fast forward to the '80's when I was working for the Cubs. My dad still loved the game and I would take him to work with me every weekend and make sure he had great seats and a scorecard. I would pop in to check on him once in awhile and bring him something to drink but he always kept score at these games. A year or so ago I was cleaning out some of the "stuff" we had packed away and I found a stack of scorecards my dad had completed and instantly I was taken back to that time and in my minds eye I could see my dad, who has now been gone for 8 years, scoring the game with a huge smile on his face. It felt so good that I could give back to my dad in that way and to have those scorecards as reminders is just dang cool for me.

One of my other items is a ball that was hit by Ken Reitz of the Cardinals in '72 or '73 that my mom actually caught. I remember begging my mom to let me take my glove to the game but she would not let me as she felt I would lose it and besides....there is no way a ball will even come close to us. I have never let her forget this!

And finally, I have a small amount of cards I had as a child that I wrote the new team name on when the player was traded. I came across these a few years ago as well and I instantly put them in top loaders and put them next to my best cards.

Great memories and a great thread!!!!

Fred · #4 07-18-2013, 04:17 PM

Andrew,

Thanks for that... my crappy day at work is now forgotten... that's really cool about the score cards.

kmac32 · #5 07-18-2013, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whitehse

I have a couple of items that are considered cherished.

My mom and dad would always try to take us to a few baseball games every year at Wrigley Field. I knew they didnt have much money and my dad would always say he got the tickets from "some guy" but I knew dang well my dad had to work some OT to get them for us. My dad always had a habit of buying a scorecard at every game he went and he would keep score like an offical scorer. Fast forward to the '80's when I was working for the Cubs. My dad still loved the game and I would take him to work with me every weekend and make sure he had great seats and a scorecard. I would pop in to check on him once in awhile and bring him something to drink but he always kept score at these games. A year or so ago I was cleaning out some of the "stuff" we had packed away and I found a stack of scorecards my dad had completed and instantly I was taken back to that time and in my minds eye I could see my dad, who has now been gone for 8 years, scoring the game with a huge smile on his face. It felt so good that I could give back to my dad in that way and to have those scorecards as reminders is just dang cool for me.

One of my other items is a ball that was hit by Ken Reitz of the Cardinals in '72 or '73 that my mom actually caught. I remember begging my mom to let me take my glove to the game but she would not let me as she felt I would lose it and besides....there is no way a ball will even come close to us. I have never let her forget this!

And finally, I have a small amount of cards I had as a child that I wrote the new team name on when the player was traded. I came across these a few years ago as well and I instantly put them in top loaders and put them next to my best cards.

Great memories and a great thread!!!!

What great memories. I have a signed picture from Ernie Banks to me saying shine in 69 and a program my grandmother who worked for Paul Powell got when they were doing a drivers safety spot for the Secretery Of State for Illinois. Also have the original reel to real tape from these spots featuring, banks, Santo, Beckert and a few other Cubs. Have never listened to it as I do not have reel to reel capability to play it. Supposedly it has on it my Grandmother telling Santo he messed up his lines. I need to find a service to get the tape on a C/D so I can hear it. Go Cubs Go!

the 'stache · #6 07-18-2013, 09:49 PM

Some really amazing stories here, guys. I love the diversity of the pieces, too.

I hope more will share in the discussion.

JollyElm · #7 07-19-2013, 04:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whitehse

I have a couple of items that are considered cherished.

My mom and dad would always try to take us to a few baseball games every year at Wrigley Field. I knew they didnt have much money and my dad would always say he got the tickets from "some guy" but I knew dang well my dad had to work some OT to get them for us. My dad always had a habit of buying a scorecard at every game he went and he would keep score like an offical scorer. Fast forward to the '80's when I was working for the Cubs. My dad still loved the game and I would take him to work with me every weekend and make sure he had great seats and a scorecard. I would pop in to check on him once in awhile and bring him something to drink but he always kept score at these games. A year or so ago I was cleaning out some of the "stuff" we had packed away and I found a stack of scorecards my dad had completed and instantly I was taken back to that time and in my minds eye I could see my dad, who has now been gone for 8 years, scoring the game with a huge smile on his face. It felt so good that I could give back to my dad in that way and to have those scorecards as reminders is just dang cool for me.

One of my other items is a ball that was hit by Ken Reitz of the Cardinals in '72 or '73 that my mom actually caught. I remember begging my mom to let me take my glove to the game but she would not let me as she felt I would lose it and besides....there is no way a ball will even come close to us. I have never let her forget this!

And finally, I have a small amount of cards I had as a child that I wrote the new team name on when the player was traded. I came across these a few years ago as well and I instantly put them in top loaders and put them next to my best cards.

Great memories and a great thread!!!!

This made me feel really good. Awesome!!

deadballfreaK · #8 07-19-2013, 04:27 AM

Geez. This is a head scratcher. I just can't pick a favorite. Seems pretty obvious that one card would jump out, but it doesn't for me.

the 'stache · #9 07-20-2013, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4815162342

My most cherished piece:

Darryl, could you please explain why this is your most cherished piece? I know next to nothing about collecting wrappers, so I'd love to know the significance of your Mellow Mint wrapper.

Quote:

Originally Posted by leaflover

The Chicago Cub infield the year I was born.

Mike, that's a cool piece. Was that something that was given to you (perhaps handed down from a family member), or did you buy it on your own when you started collecting?

Quote:

Originally Posted by JollyElm

[URL=http://s1226.photobucket.com/user/JollyElm/media/reggie_zpsd2745a5a.jpg.html]

I've always been a Mets fan, but when Reggie appeared in the Bronx in 1977, I became mesmerized with Mr. Jackson, so I'd tune into the Yankees games on Channel 11 just to watch his at bats. Those were some heady times.

I got this Reggie Bar wrapper autographed through the mail. It's ballpoint on the waxy wrapper, so it's not the best autograph for displaying, but I love this thing!!! It's framed and matted, so my scanner couldn't do it justice. These blurry photos are the best I can do at the moment.

That's so cool, Darren. I've always liked "Mr. October". He's one of those larger than life personalities that make the game's history more colorful. It's fitting to me that he ended up playing for the same team that the Babe did.

Where do you display your Reggie wrapper? I'm assuming the glass is coated to keep the color from fading.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sean1125

My most cherished piece is actually a case... It is a case of fake Michael Jordan GU items that taught me a very expensive lesson early on in the hobby.

Sean, I'd be interested to know what happened, if you care to share. I must admit that I've been very hesitant to buy cards with game-used pieces (bats, gloves, shoes, uniforms). With an autograph, you can at least compare to other pieces that have been authenticated. With these patches/swatches, etc, we have to take the card manufacturer's word for it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by itjclarke

Attachment 106935 Attachment 106936

Triplets anyone?? Koufax is not my favorite, but had to post mine after the first two.
Attachment 106932

My favorite item is no doubt the signed ball my dad got while watching a 19 year old shortstop Mickey Mantle and his Joplin team face my Dad's hometown Enid Giants. I think year was 1950, and the Mick hit about .380 and think made about 50-60 errors. It's a multisigned balled with a combination of players from both teams and the young Mick's sig in the sweet spot (where else since he was was OK legend already.. and pre the loopy M's, more in line with the facsimile on his '51 Bowman). My dad recently handed this piece down to me and I wouldn't sell for $500K. My hope is that it will be handed down as many generation as possible. I'll post a pic next time I visit my safe deposit box.

Ian, what a great card. That's a nice, bold auto. And I have to admit Sandy is one of my favorites. There have been so many great pitchers throughout the game's history, but I'd be hard-pressed to find anybody better than Mr. Koufax in his prime. Having seen the three Koufax autos in this thread, now I want one of my own, haha.

I'd love to see your Mantle autographed ball, too. I know a person's signature will change over time so I'd be curious to compare an autograph from his youth to the one we're used to seeing after he joined the Yankees. When you have a chance to post it here, please do so. Also, are there any other signatures from players we would know?

Quote:

Originally Posted by UOFLfan7

Fantastic idea!

The 1968 #150 Bob Clemente is the card that started it all for me, and the fact that it got me into collecting baseball cards is a miracle. It was just last year that my papa (grandpa) took me to a baseball card convention in Atlanta. I was hesitant and didn't really want to go, but I didn't have the heart to tell him that I hated baseball and would have no interest in baseball cards. My papa insisted that I would love it, and that even if I didn't buy anything, that it would still be interesting just to go look at what the vendors were selling.

My papa always dragged me to yard sales, auctions, and estate sales and I thought that this would be no different, if not worse. As I said above, I was a sixteen year old boy who despised everything about the sport baseball. Well, low and behold, when we got to the hotel were the convention was being held I was pretty...uninterested to say the least. The hotel itself was nice, but I didn't really know any of the players or what not so I had no clue what I was looking at and worse of all my papa left me to fend to myself so he could go make a deal with some collectors.

Now, I have a bad habit of having to buy something everywhere I go, so I started to look for a card that seemed to have at least some value. I came across an elderly vendor, who was breaking down his sets of Topps baseball cards. I thought that I would buy something from him since he had so much to choose from and instantly went to the 1987 Topps set. Now, he didn't have any of his cards priced...instead he either wanted you to make an offer or he wanted trades. I saw a name I recognized in the set, Barry Bonds, and told the man that I would give him $75.00 for the card. Now I look back and laugh at myself for being so dumb, but at the time my brain told me that I would be able to sell it for at least $100.00 since it was a famous player and a somewhat old card. Well, the vendor laughed and asked me if I was new to baseball cards. I told him yes, and asked why. He merely said that the card was not worth that much and told me to give it back to him. I gave the card back, and he asked me to pick out a set from the 1960's that I liked. I picked out the 1968 set, because I loved the design of the cards and thought they looked pretty cool.

The man flipped through the pages and pulled out a card, which turned out to be the Bob Clemente. He told me he would give it to me for free, but I would have to promise him that I would continue collecting baseball cards and that I would study up on them so I don't spend hundreds of dollars on overproduced cards from the 80's. I felt a little bad about taking the card for free since it was so old, but I promised him that I would continue collecting. I asked him why he was giving the card to me for free, and he said that it was rare to see someone so young interested in baseball cards. He said that he "wanted to keep the hobby alive."

I thanked the man, and took the card. I browsed some other vendors' collections, but didn't buy anything. My papa told me it was time to go and when he asked me if I bought anything, I told him no but a man gave me this Bob Clemente card. He asked to see the card and I gave it to him. He said that the card was probably worth about $40.00 in the condition it was in and asked why he gave it to me. I told him what the man told me, and my papa then gave me a few cards to help me start my collection. I started to research baseball cards, and while searching cards I joined this forum here. My very first post was about a 1933 Babe Ruth Goudey card that I bought on Ebay. The posters told me that the card was probably a fake, and I thanked them for their help. I sent the card in to PSA using my papa's account (he also thought it was a fake, but said "might as well give it a try."). PSA sent the card back and it turned out the card was indeed a fake.

I was impressed with the knowledge that the members of this forum had and thought it would be a great place to learn about baseball cards. I still can't stand watching a baseball game, but I learned to love baseball cards. Without that elderly vendor I would have never discovered my hidden love for a hobby I thought I would despise. That Bob Clemente was the first card in my collection, and as if by destiny was the first card in my most valuable item. A complete, hand collated, 1968 Topps Complete Set.

I just want to thank this forum for helping me in my baseball card journey and for helping me learn more and more about baseball cards. In fact, I'm still learning things about them from this forum even today! I also would like to thank that elderly vendor, just in case he too happens to be a vendor here, for the card that started my hobby.

Thanks for reading the story behind my most valued card. I know its a rather long post, but I thought that you guys and gals here at Net54Baseball might enjoy reading how a seventeen year old got into what has been called a "dying hobby". Here's hoping more young kids, teens, and adults get into the hobby so that we can keep it from becoming "an old man's game".

Thanks,
Cameron

Cameron, what a great story (and the Clemente is quite nice, too). Please see my comment after Dan's post below.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gobucsmagic74

Cool story Cameron. Its also true that you don't actually have to enjoy watching modern baseball to enjoy collecting cards.

That's a great point, Dan. I enjoy modern baseball quite a bit, but I'm finding that I enjoy learning about the history of the game at least as much, if not slightly more. The great thing about our hobby is that you can focus on an era from the past, and not follow what's going on currently. It just so happens that I enjoy both a great deal.

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