Why are you here?

[SAllen2556]

...besides boredom from "working" at home.

What first drew you to collect stuff from baseball players none of us ever saw play a single game?

For me, it was the artistic quality of the older cards first and foremost, followed by an interest in baseball history - especially Detroit Tiger (and Wolverine) history. I see a card like the Goudey Charlie Gehringer and wonder why they can’t make cards like that today.

I have discovered an interest in learning about how and why a ball park (Bennett Park) was named after a catcher who’s not even in the hall of fame, and then I really have to have a Charlie Bennett card. I see a t206 Walter Johnson portrait card and think it should be hanging in an art museum somewhere.

What lured you in? Was it your dad’s collection? Did you see a chance to earn some money? Did you read a book about Babe Ruth? Were you at a show in the 90’s and saw your first tobacco card?

What hooked you? And what’s that first prewar card you had to have?

For a guy who used to go to Tiger Stadium, alias Bennett Park, it was this:
36298141241_538d9e1b50_c.jpg

[Snapolit1]

I love the game and love learning more about it.

Funny you mention fathers. My dad was a pretty thrifty guy. Or maybe very thrifty. The idea of a grown man spending money on baseball cards would have been so anathema to my father's thought processes to be comical. Spend money on baseball cars? My dad didn't like to order a soda or beer in a restaurant. Had some coins for a while (Carson City silver dollars), but baseball cards, no.

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

I know it has been said here a million times at least but, yes, these prewar cards are little pieces of art and history to me. I have always loved baseball and have a few advanced degrees (history included). The origins of the game and America and the intertwining of the two have always been of interest to me. It is hard to explain what special feelings these little pieces of cardboard can illicit. Frankly, a lot of the more desirable (to me at least) prewar issues are sometimes priced such that I can't really be a regular prewar player. However, I have been able to pick my spots and pick up some decent T and E cards over the years. Honestly, I probably would never have really known about them were it not for my finding Net54 a few years ago. 1950s Topps and Bowman have been my other primary targets.

I haven't been on this site much lately. I DO NOT want this to sound like a shot at how anyone else collects but for the last few months I have allowed myself to somehow get sucked into modern collecting and have lost my way in the collecting world a bit. The pace of that branch of the hobby is fast and furious, at least to me, and I am starting to wish I had never started it. I just came back here the other day and started looking at the prewar side again, and it brought a relaxed smile to my face. I also pulled out my own prewar cards for the first time in a long time. It made me think about the sentiments behind this thread. There may be some selling in my future to get back to where it all makes sense! More than ever, it isn't about the money for me. Yes, it has to at least be a consideration because some cards are costly. However, profit, flipping, and ROI are terms that I am ready to leave in my rear view mirror.

Thanks to all who regularly post the beautiful cards on this site and share so much knowledge. It is really appreciated. Here's a couple of my favorites:

[Bram99]

Of course, as Conan the Barbarian said: "to crush your enemies..."

But seriously for me it started out as a way to connect with my father who was a minor league pitcher in the Sally league in the 1950's and so he played with some of the players I began to collect from the 1950's/1960's. Now it has become a way to keep those great memories of our discussions about baseball and his love of baseball alive in my memory.

So I have gone from mostly a set collector for a good part of my collecting life, to now being more of a player collector - collecting the players he thought were great, even if they are not regarded as having HOF careers.

[dabigyankeeman]

Being a Yankees team collector, I wanted all team sets from all years, so I started working on tobacco cards of Yankees (Highlanders) and found out I love these cards. I have team sets of Yankees in T3/T205/T206/T207 and have other non team sets in other old cards. Also have Dodgers and Giants in tobacco cards as i love all NY teams, but only have team sets for Yankees.

[joejo20]

I grew up with cards in the late 80's but was not exposed to anything vintage as I never made it to a show and only bought them at gas stations etc. Oddly enough my first exposure to vintage was through reading Mr Mints book as a kid. I became so interested in old cards that I read that book over and over until it fell apart.

Shortly after that the Ken Burns Baseball documentary came out and I was hooked on the History of baseball ever since.

I was a below avg. poster / member on this board more than a decade ago in my 20's but sold my collection because I was busy starting a business, getting married and starting a family. I have recently found the time to come back as my son has become interested in baseball and cards. I also just finished a book about Connie Mack which also spurred the excitement again for me. Joe

[cardsagain74]

Originally Posted by SAllen2556

What first drew you to collect stuff from baseball players none of us ever saw play a single game?

What lured you in? Was it your dad’s collection? Did you see a chance to earn some money? Did you read a book about Babe Ruth? Were you at a show in the 90’s and saw your first tobacco card?

I've thought about this since I got back into the hobby (when it comes to pre-war).

Can't relate to the pre-war preference that so many have. A lot of my interest comes from the nostalgic feeling that makes you slightly smile on the inside, but that only pertains to either players I watched growing up or heard my dad talk about. Plus, I just enjoy the more complete aspect of the card designs beginning in the '50s. Seeing the name, team, logo, sometimes background photos on the front....and extra stats and info on the back.

So it's good to see how those on the other side feel (and what sparks their interest that, in this case, I can't relate to)

[drcy]

I started collecting since I was a kid, and have had an interest ever since. As I kid I also bought "old cards" at shows, which at the time, may have meant 1950s-60s Topps.

I collected other stuff as a kid, but baseball cards were probably the most prominent.

[BabyRuth]

I was collecting older cards as a kid - I remember getting my 1960 Mickey Mantle for $3 out of the Sport Hobbyist back in the early 70s - couldn't afford the 52 Rookie it was $20 I think!!!

I think this sums up why we all collect these tiny cardboard swatches!!!

“Ray. People will come, Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. "Of course, we won't mind if you look around", you'll say, "It's only $20 per person". They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good and that could be again. Oh...people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.”

― James Earl Jones

[brianp-beme]

Here's my story, and I'm sticking to it:

1. Grew up playing baseball.
2. Collected cards when young.
3. Come from a family with the 'Collecting Gene'.
4. Like history, and in general just like old things.
5. Like creating lists and putting things into order.
6. Was always fascinated by baseball stats, and along with all of the above made me explore the pre-war game and its players.
7. Developed an appreciation for the artistry and varied graphics of the issues.

I would be cheating out my destiny if I did not collect pre-war baseball cards.

Brian

[Bill77]

I started collecting baseball cards in 1988 with my brother. We put all of the sets together that year. I also remember about that same time in one of the summer book order forms, can't remember what they were called, they had a price guide for baseball cards with a T206 Wagner. Every boy in my class ordered it. I remember dreaming of finding one some day. I also remember thinking the same thing about the ancient coins in the history text books in school. I now have 67 T206 cards and over a 100 ancient Greek and Roman coins in my collections, as well as millions of worthless 80's and 90's baseball cards and comic books. As a side note I was taking a break from cards and working on my coin collection when the Mike Trout rookie cards came out, I am still kicking myself for that.

As far as coming to join this site, I started lurking around the time I bought my 1st T206, a trimmed Harry Howell portrait and my 2nd a Red Murray portrait with a Polar Bear back and a bad crease through his face. I was looking for information about the thickness of the Murray as it felt thicker than the Howell. I sent both cards out to SGC as they were the cheapest option. The Howell came back as an A (obviously trimmed when I got it back) and the Murray came back a 1.5.

[Exhibitman]

I started collecting cards as a boy, discovered vintage cards in 1975, and never looked back (except for brief hiatuses to collect much less useful stuff: cars and women).

[Case12]

The thrill of the data, the thrill of the hunt and Johnny Bench :-)

[sreader3]

Discovered Topps cards at age four at a local store. Discovered T206 cards in Steve Clark’s “The Complete Book of Baseball Cards” at age 10 (after begging my mom to buy it from Pickwick Books at the local mall). Bought my first T206s from a local baseball card shop at age 13. The rest is history.

[rats60]

Love of the game. I started collecting baseball cards in the 60s with my brother. We ran ads in the newspaper to buy collections. Then when I got a job in high school I started filling sets mail order from Gellman, Yeko and Frisch. When I graduated college and had more disposable income, started going to shows finishing building all the Topps and Bowman sets. I then turned to prewar building Play Ball, Goudey and t206. Then I got married and things really slowed. Finally finished a t205 set that I started in 1988.

[hcv123]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

I started collecting cards as a boy, discovered vintage cards in 1975, and never looked back (except for brief hiatuses to collect much less useful stuff: cars and women).

That sounds like the title of a bad 70's B movie!


As to th eOP - I too had a "collecting gene". Started with comic books - transitioned to baseball cards - something about "old things" - Ironically stayed postwar till a few years ago when my son mentioned he liked pre war!

[packs]

I liked history and modern cards were too expensive. I started collecting pre-war when I was 9 or 10 years old. I bought a Miller Huggins hands at mouth T206 and a Matty White Cap for about $100 in a sea of tables that had A-rod cards priced through the roof.

[2dueces]

Collected as a kid. Went to shows in the early 70’s. Lost touch until I saw some football cards 1966 Topps in 1987 at an antique shop. Remembered those little cigarette cards from the shows in the ‘70’s at $1 a piece. (T206). Started picking them up a few here and there. After around 250 culled the collection to only portraits and back stamps FF Baker. Finished all my football sets from 1960-70.
Started collecting RPPC of long gone and forgotten town teams. Now I just come to stir up sh$t.

[JollyElm]

My slightly older brothers were allowed to take me along as they walked (quite a distance) to 'the stores' to get whatever my mom needed. Inside the stationery, they taught me the beauty of trading my meager allowance for packs of baseball cards...and that feeling has never gone away.

[Bigdaddy]

Everybody has got to be somewhere.

[jbsports33]

Really interested in history and baseball has so much rich history!

Great Stories, Numbers, Players, Fans - Year after Year!

I also love the colors of the older cards and designs!

Jimmy

[steve B]

A number of things along the way.

late 73, moved to a new town, and the kids were into a lot of stuff, model rockets, bicycles, sports and cards.. Watched my first world series, which was also Willie Mays last.
Next spring, Hank Aaron and 715, and the Hank Aaron special cards showing what older cards looked like.
75 - And the Red Sox got into the world series! They lost, but surely they'd win next year when Rice was healthy. (Yeah, but I was 12)
Somewhere between 74 and 77 I traded for a 1968 card, and got the survivors of my 69 and 71 cards out of the toybox.

Moved to a new town in 77, and there was a whole store with old baseball cards!! And some little ones that looked like tiny paintings. (T206)
Also, the next spring was a big one for cards. Chillee Willee discs, Papa Ginos discs, the usual Topps, Fleer stickers, Rc Cola cans, The usual hostess cards...

Had a few years mostly away, but kept coming back to the hobby every couple years. Found this in I think 2009(That long ago?!)

[aljurgela]

.... with a conversation with Lou Dials in the 1980s hearing about all these players "better than mays and aaron" that I had never heard of.... if only good ol' Lou knew how much that conversation with a 14 year old meant and how much $ I have invested in chronicling the history through cards.... I am sure that he would be in shock.... they reality is that he was right.... there were so many amazing baseball players that were (and still are not) known that deserve to be....