Beginnings, Personal Drummers and Adult Card Hobby Preferences...

[laughlinfan]

OK, different collecting venue, but same vibe. This meme has different conversations, but this is generally how it goes when I talk to my wife about my latest cool find...

I have to say that I have little interest in many of the post career sets like you pictured in the first post, but there are some that the quality/aesthetics/character pull me right in. 1961 Golden Press. Rold Gold/Kelloggs 3D All Time Greats. Some of the Upper Deck Masterpiece cards of former players. I even like the TCMA stars of the 50s and 60s sets with the 53 Bowman-esque pure card fronts (one of which was in the first post). And, of course, the Laughlin sets. I don't mind one bit that many of the cards and Stand-ups he created were of retired players.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by laughlinfan

OK, different collecting venue, but same vibe. This meme has different conversations, but this is generally how it goes when I talk to my wife about my latest cool find...

LOL, exactly. I sent this meme to a Rush fan friend of mine just last week!

[D. Bergin]

Two of my favorite cards I remember having when I was a kid.

1976T Ty Cobb - Just look at that shot! There isn't a clearer shot in the entire 1976T Set, unless you count the Traded Cards, which I hated. Look at that pose! It's Ty freakin' Cobb. I'll never have a Ty Cobb card otherwise.

Not to mention the almost crazy and fantastical stats listed on the back of the card.

I know Babe Ruth was in that set...and I was a huge Yankee fan...but he just looked...I don't know...not prime. Just a boring Babe shot.



The other card:

1979T Jack Chesbro/Cy Young card - Not for the Cy Young, though that was cool for his 500 something wins...which in those days was like reading that Noah lived to be like 900 years old or something...and you're like "No way is that true, man...no way!"

...but for the Jack Chesbro. I was in the throes of Ron Guidry mania when the 1979's came out...and he had just had one of the greatest seasons for a pitcher in baseball history (or at least Yankee history). I remember opening up a pack and seeing that card and knowing who Cy Young was...and thinking to myself...who the hell is Jack Chesbro, and why is he on the same card as Cy Young. Imagine my surprise when I looked on the back, and saw he was a Yankee. Why had none of my extended family who had indoctrinated me into Yankee culture since before I was even old enough to walk or talk, never mentioned Jack Chesbro to me? How the hell did he win 16 more games then Ron Guidry in a single season...and how come nobody cares about that anymore?

It really sent me into a spiral.


Anyways, don't have much of a connection to those kinds of cards anymore...but back then, they certainly helped nurture my obsession with baseball and sports history in general.

[Exhibitman]

I think I get the gist of the OP. For me, it was three issues that got me interested:

1973 Topps all time leaders. Reading the top 10 on each card back was an education.

1975 Topps MVPs. To this day I still get a bit of a buzz from them.

1976 Topps ATG subset. I worked so hard to finish that set that year.

Then there was what turned out to be a 1961 Golden Press Cobb. I got that in a collection and thought it was really special.

Right now, I still pursue SSPC and TCMA cards, various Laughlin cards, the 1961 GP cards, and the 1960 Fleer ATG cards. The ones from the 1980s leave me cold. By the time they started flowing I'd already departed the scene not to return until the late 1980s, so I have no warm fuzzies of them.

[steve B]

I've collected various things pretty much my whole life.
My grandmother got me started with stamps and coins, and I added rocks, shells, insects, old bottles and insulators.... bought all of one pack in 69, another in 71. 73 moved to a new town and all the kids were doing cards.

And what a great time to start too.
Got to see the end of Willie Mays career, The Dolphins going unbeaten, Aaron breaking the record, the Red Sox almost winning the series, It seemed like every new season in every sport brought something amazing.

The Hank Aaron specials in the 74 set made me aware of cards older than I knew. Got my first "vintage" card from a friend, a 68 Matthews.
New town again in late 77, and a town that had a baseball card store with all sorts of cards. It became a hangout for me.

I've added other collectibles, and still keep up a bit with my other hobbies, sometimes more, sometimes less.

[mrmopar]

I was thinking about something similar the other day. I truly like a little bit of everything. I can appreciate a T206 as much as a 2023 refractor as much as a 1970s TCMA collector issue. For many years, I would read through catalogs and price guides, putting together checklists of cards that looked and or sounded appealing.

In fact, the regular issue cards tend to be a bit boring and lower priority for me because everyone had them. i liked the odd stuff that was less commonly seen. I am lucky that I got a lot of that stuff when ebay was developing into the site it is today. I can still buy 1968 Topps Nolan Ryan cards until i run out of money, but finding a nice Stahl Meyer or Wilson Franks is a different story.

I guess all this to say that I may sometimes like a cheap collector issue or base Topps card as much as i do a vintage HOF worth $100s-1000s.

In addition, I have completely fallen for signed cards, non-certified got me started, but the pack certified cards that come out each year are my main target these days. I just can't get enough signed cards, certified or otherwise.

[Seven]

I've always liked collecting, regardless of what it was. I'm a bit on the younger end of regular posters on the forum but I can break down what I collected. Baseball and Pokemon cards were the two primary focus from a very young age. The latter was whatever was shiny, the former were cards my father handed down to me, or the occasional pack of cards that I was given.

A lot of stories of collecting were exchanged as well. My Father told me many times, about the cards he collected, and how he always looked forward to putting the cards of star players, on his bicycle. The amount of Mantle's he went through was a staggering amount, as he loved the Mick. Something that was eventually passed down to me.

I really appreciated any and all cards, even the novelty "vintage" ones. I remember receiving a set of 1933 Goudey Reprint Cards one year for Christmas because I was always interested in the "Big Three" of Ruth, Foxx and Gehrig. 9 year old me, didn't care that they were reprints, I just thought they were cool. I was collecting for enjoyment.

I still think I collect for enjoyment, I just understand the financial ramifications nowadays. I still appreciate the random commons of vintage players, such my 1952 Topps Johnny Mize, Just as I appreciate my t206 Eddie Collins. I have noticed the more I learn about players from our past through various forms of media, the more I want to own some of their cards.

I'm not sure if many on this forum are familiar with the game Out of the Park Baseball, but the premise is you can pick a team from any point in history and play out a sort of fictional retelling of baseball. During the many hours I sunk into the game, I found myself growing attached to a pitcher, Tex Carlton. In real life, Carlton was serviceable and had some solid seasons for the Cardinals in the 1930's. In the game, however? Carlton was a world beater! He won 350+ games for the New York Yankees, in this fictional historic universe. It made me want to own a card of him! Which I purchased.

I'm rambling a bit at this point but I think this much is clear, I'm still collecting for the enjoyment. Reprints, and random vintage commons and all!