Childhood baseball card memories.

[GrayGhost]

I suspect this may have been done before. But, I’d love to hear all your childhood memories or any of them about opening cards. Getting your packs of cards finding great star’s what you did to get them like go to the store by yourself or with your parents etc.

I can remember the summer of 1978 with my friend Chris R. We used to play wiggle ball in his backyard hitting the ball on the ground past the two trees was a single hitting one off the back of the house a double on the roof was a triple over the roof was a homerun. And we had to stand just like the players that we were imitating.

But the best part was after we get tired, we went to the local 7-Eleven grab some 78 wax and cello packs and just went back to the house got a cold soda open the packs up and chewed the gum. I’m never forget so many Woody Fryman cards!LOL and getting excited with the Eddie Murray card with the gold trophy on it.

I have a lot more great memories about receiving cards, but I’d like to hear some of yours. Thank you

[oldjudge]

As a stream of consciousness, I remember the thrill of opening a 1960 pack and getting a Mickey Mantle card. However, I remember the non-sports cards more. I remember the confederate currency in the Civil War News cards. I remember opening Mars Attacks cards. I remember the JFK set and earlier the Davy Crockett set. With all the cards I remember flipping them and pitching them with friends.

[commishbob]

Was living on Long Island in the summer of '58 and a kid in my neighborhood, a girl, had a stack of Topps cards. I'd never seen anything so cool. I can't remember which cards she had but I remember how colorful they were. I don't think I had any cards of my own until the next spring and I got a few packs in my Easter basket. I got an Albie Pearson and Andy Pafko whose name I recognized from listening to the World Series the previous year on the radio. Those Easter packs hooked me.

The next year I was an active collector. I spent what money I had on '60 Topps cello packs at EJ Korvettes and pestered my folks into buying me more. My uncle's pharmacy in Jersey stocked cards and once he found out I was collecting them he became my 'supplier' and I was able to put together full sets through the early 60s.

I collected through high school, 1969 was my last year to spend time collecting and I passed my collection off to my younger brothers and their friends. No regrets.

I continued to buy a pack or so each year when I came across them just to see what Topps was doing.

[charlietheexterminator]

It was the late 1960’s in Bushwick, Brooklyn, everyone had baseball cards. We all played games like pitching them against the wall and flipping them to match colors, great memories. I would take my shoe shine box, go out and earn a few bucks and buy more cards, Spalding rubber balls and stick ball bats. Just in case no one told you, I don’t shine shoes anymore.

[111gecko]

I remember the 7-11 in Santa Rosa, CA. As a kid riding my bike up there and the only thing they had in stock for several months were 1986 Fleer Basketball...yep..boxes and boxes of them at the end of the candy aisle just piled up. We bought tons of them. I clearly remember having 3-4 pages of Jordan rookies in the beginning of the first binder followed by a few pages of Spud Webbs. A few years later I sold them to a card shop for $200 for prom money...yep, good times.

[ALBB]

Ok, now go get your shine box !!

[bmattioli]

Hey Scott, hope is well for you..

As a fellow CT resident and collector I remember going to the local Food Bag and get 7 packs for a whole dollar and opening and trying to build sets with all being wrapped in elastic bands.

I had a paper route at a young age delivering the New Britain Herald for the .10 cent tip and loved to buy Twinkies and other Hostess products just for the cards.

Wore my Jim Rice homemade Jersey till it was in shreds..

Played Wiffleball and other Baseball games all summer long..

The Summers of 1975 and 78 were unforgettable.. GO Sox..

ETC ETC..

[judgebuck]

I remember playing Park League and Little League baseball and then discovering baseball cards in 1958. From 1958-63, I would go to my grandfather's auto repair shop, which was located across the street from a small grocery store. Every time I went to the shop, we would go across the street and he would by me a few packs. I remember one occasion, in 1960 or 1961, he bought me a whole box of 24 5-card packs.

Also, during this period, I would get Post Cereal cards from the cereal boxes at the grocery store. A friend and I would trade often, but he sold all his cards years later to a younger friend of his. About four months ago, that friend sold me his collection which contained many of the cards I had traded to my friend. I had personally cut many of the Post Cereal cards in the collection myself some 57-60 years ago (I recognize the rough cut from my mother's scissors). Thankfully, the collection still had the Post Cereal football cards as well.

Also, I remember getting a few 1961-62 Fleer basketball cards and flipping them against a wall with a friend. I still have these cards.

[BabyRuth]

I remember driving back from the Baseball Hall of Fame in late summer 1972 and my brother and I were in the back seat of the Chrysler Newport with no air conditioning unwrapping our souvenirs from the Hall, a full box of cards each!!
It was glorious stuffing our faces with Topps gum.

[GeoPoto]

I guess on this board this is more or less a confession because I never really collected cards as a kid (I was 10 in 1963). I do however remember amassing a 100+ "bankroll" of cards. We used them mostly for gambling. I don't remember paying much attention to who the players were. I'm sure we were sensitive to the big names, but they were few and far between, as I recall. My only vivid memory involved a game of "touchies" in which I and an opponent miraculously extended the pile until it was the area of a kitchen table top (100+ cards in my memory). Eventually, the other guy somehow missed the pile and I walked away with most of his cards.

[dabigyankeeman]

The oldest cards I remember opening a pack from is 1955 Bowmans, and I remember how great I thought it was that the cards looked like little color tv's which at that time virtually nobody had!!!

[cardsagain74]

I had a double dose of childhood memories from cards. First, the packs of baseball and football cards that I bought as a little kid from about '81 to '85. I still remember going to the corner store whenever we'd visit my grandparents in the neighbor town, and buying cards while playing Moon Patrol (both were a good use of funds). My favorites were the '81 Topps baseball cards, because of the caps on the front. I still like those.

Then there was the renaissance (if a 15 year old can have that, though it felt like it) of getting involved again when the boom/junk wax era hit five years later. I was elated to find that my "old" cards from my "younger" years had become fairly valuable. Learning that you have about $1000 worth of something is not something that usually happened to a teen then, and the fact that it came from something I really enjoyed made it all the better.

The best part of that was finding the Montana rookie that (like many of the cards) was stored away in an empty Velveeta cheese box.

[thatkidfromjerrymaguire]

Originally Posted by cardsagain74

The best part of that was finding the Montana rookie that (like many of the cards) was stored away in an empty Velveeta cheese box.

Haha...not sure if Velveeta secretly used this as a "value add" marketing ploy, but those boxes were PERFECT to store baseball cards in. I think I still have my 1986 Topps commons stored in a Velveeta box somewhere.

[whitehse]

Originally Posted by thatkidfromjerrymaguire

Haha...not sure if Velveeta secretly used this as a "value add" marketing ploy, but those boxes were PERFECT to store baseball cards in. I think I still have my 1986 Topps commons stored in a Velveeta box somewhere.

Back before the card boom happened (1980 or so) I was a senior in high school buying up collections. I had one person tell me he had nearly complete sets from 1961 to 65 in beautiful condition and he was ready to sell. We have all heard from someone that their cards were "beautiful condition" but when I got there I Saw they indeed were just as described. These were his childhood sets that he took great pride in and had them all perfectly lined up in several Velveeta cheese boxes. These boxes kept his card in incredible condition.

[Nunzio11]

Summertime as 12 year olds in the mid 80s, a group of us would have regular poker games at one of our houses. We’d play dealer choice where the dealer would pick the game and the size of the pot. The pot wasn’t money, it was baseball cards. Dealer would call out a dollar amount and each guy would have to dig into his binder and ante up his agreed upon cards. Mattingly, Ripken, Gwynn, Boggs, Brett, murray etc would be passed from person to person all summer long depending on how you did that particular night. It was great until you lost a big hand and got cleaned out right before mom came to pick you up.

[iwantitiwinit]

1967, I was 6 years old, my Dad would buy me one pack of Topps baseball cards every week after Sunday mass from Sal's stationary store in Stamford, CT. I loved (and still love) the big head shots, vibrant colors and the green backs of the 67's. Only way he could get me to mass without me throwing a tantrum was to promise me a pack. My dad is the best.

[nat]

Elementary school in the mid 80s I got my cards at a Chinese grocery store three or four blocks from my house. There weren't yet any card shops in town, so anything more than a couple years old was hard to find. Anyway, I had a friend who was a few years older than me and had some of these coveted "old" cards, many of which he traded to me in absurdly one-sided trades. He was trading me Bench and Yastrzemski for, like, 1986 Mark Langston cards.

>

It wasn't until years later that I found out he was trading me his brother's cards.

[conor912]

Thousands and thousands of ‘87 Topps with rubber bands around them. To this day the smell of a late 80’s wax pack is like a drug for me.....instantly and fleetingly I am 8 years old again.

[oldjudge]

Originally Posted by iwantitiwinit

1967, I was 6 years old, my Dad would buy me one pack of Topps baseball cards every week after Sunday mass from Sal's stationary store in Stamford, CT. I loved (and still love) the big head shots, vibrant colors and the green backs of the 67's. Only way he could get me to mass without me throwing a tantrum was to promise me a pack. My dad is the best.

I lived in Darien for a long time, where was Sal’s? Is that the place in Bulls Head?

[iwantitiwinit]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

I lived in Darien for a long time, where was Sal’s? Is that the place in Bulls Head?

It was in the Cove section of Stamford on Cove Rd just up the street from Terry Connors Rink (which didn't exist at the time) next to KT Murphy Elementary School. We moved to Greenwich in 1972 and don't know what ever happened to Sal's Stationary.

[orioles70]

Maybe these pics will bring back some memories

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[Hot Springs Bathers]

Amazing!

[iwantitiwinit]

Awesome.

[BabyRuth]

I've got my nickels in my pocket can I come to your store?!!

[Case12]

I remember vividly, those 3D cards in the 70's amazed me...

[aquarius31]

This is a great thread that brings back great memories for me. I started collecting in the 80's and remember that they would have random pop-up shows at the Poughkeepsie Galleria in NY where I picked up my first card, a 1948 Bowman Pete Reiser. No idea why I was drawn to the card but I still have it in my collection and recall my Dad seeing the excitement on my face as he paid the dealer.

I subsequently became friends with a security guard at the local country club who was a huge Yankees fan and when I wasn't in school, I'd be at the club and we'd be talking about cards. He had a friend whose son wasn't interested in cards and gave me a huge lot of 60s cards for free. I recall Joe offering me another lot that included a bunch of 60's Mantles, a Jordan and Gretzky rookie for $100 but that was an astronomical sum for a kid!

So many great memories that are rooted more in the interactions with fellow collectors versus the actual cards themselves.

[orioles70]

Here are a couple original 1970 Kellogg's cereal boxes with 3D ads and some cards

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[orioles70]

It took me quite a few years to find all those Topps, Bowman and Fleer boxes and wrappers in such good shape but they make a nice display.

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[Jason]

Originally Posted by ALBB

Ok, now go get your shine box !!

Nice!

[thatkidfromjerrymaguire]

Wow, Orioles70...amazing.

I bet many of us have thought about making a display in our basements/man caves/offices/game rooms full of cards, packs, and boxes to duplicate the look of the card shops of our youth. I know I have. But it’s such a daunting, labor intensive and expensive endeavor it’s hard to follow through. But that’s exactly what you’ve done. I can practically smell the cardboard, dust, and gum by looking at those pictures. Makes me want to grab my allowance money, ride my bike over with my buddies, and buy some packs looking for a McGwire rookie.

Thanks for sharing.

[orioles70]

Thanks...I have a 45 year run of at least one box and wrapper from a regular issue Topps, Bowman, Fleer and Leaf from 1951 thru 1995 as well as other issues like Giants, Stamps, Supers, Minis, Posters, Stickers, etc.

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[Case12]

....I remember the gum was terrible....

[Yoda]

I still recall the summer of '51 (20th century not 19th) when I was 7 years old in Schenectady, NY and had become a rabid baseball fan, (a fanatic for the Brooklyn Dodgers, but a new secret passion for a certain NY rookie outfielder). Our gang, all of whom played Little League Baseball, would gather together after out respective meager allowances had been paid and launch an all-out assault on the local general store in search of Mick's Bowman rookie in '51 and that incredibly tasty new Topps card in '52. After gathering under a*large oak tree in front of the store, we would rip open our treasures and pass them around. One magical day, I opened a Bowman pack and there he was. I quickly place him in my shirt pocket since I didn't my friends' grubby little fingers all over it. The following year a friend found the '52 Topps Mantle, passed it round for loving admiration and the card paid a price.

Many years later, I got the card graded (PSA6) and sold it at auction. Wished I hadn't.

[KMayUSA6060]

Born in 1994, I don't have the "Glory Days" memories that y'all do (very jealous, by the way). However, in the late 90s/early 00s, my mom would take me to the local card shop just up the road about once a week or a couple times a month. Given ~$1 each time, I was tasked with thumbing through the $.25-$1 boxes, looking for the best Jim Thome and Cleveland Indians cards I could find. This developed into packs being put into Christmas stockings and Easter baskets.

This continued throughout elementary school, and was fueled by two things: reading Dan Gutman's "_____ & Me" books, and my dad passing down his 1977 & 1980 Topps sets. Fast-forward to today, and my heavily-vintage/pre-war collection stems from the dreams created from those books, and the fascination with the cards my dad gave me. I love history, especially baseball history, and told myself in elementary & middle school that one day I'll own some of these vintage cards.

My mom still gives me money every birthday or Christmas to go towards a card for my collection, and my dad has even gone to National with me to see what the hobby is like now. Some people give me crap for holding onto my Colgan's Chips Wagner instead of keeping my E98 Wagner, but I got the Colgan's Chips Wagner at National with my dad (first card show we went to together). I still give him crap for not forking over some cash to buy a T206 Wagner back in the day, or for building a very nice 1979 Topps Hockey set, MINUS the Gretzky.

[Touch'EmAll]

Kyle, the Colgan's are great, love 'em. The real pictures, the black/white, the round shape and how distributed...they just ooze vintage! I have the regular Wagner and also the Tin Top Wagner - doubt I ever part with them.

[cardsagain74]

Originally Posted by Yoda

The following year a friend found the '52 Topps Mantle, passed it round for loving admiration and the card paid a price.

My father was born about the same time you were and was a Yankees fan growing up.

Then when I was a kid, his mother was cleaning out stuff and found two old cards. A Mantle and a Whitey Ford. She gives me Ford and my cousin Mantle without even asking or showing them to us. This made no sense because not only were they my dad's cards, but that cousin had no interest in sports anyway

The Ford was a '53 Topps in about grade 2. I still have it. The Mantle was never seen again by anyone. I prefer to assume that it was a '53 as well and in no better shape than Whitey. Hopefully he hadn't gotten it a year earlier...

[BabyRuth]

I saved everything in the 70s when I was a kid, including this lovely bag full of memories!!!

[Case12]

Originally Posted by BabyRuth

I saved everything in the 70s when I was a kid, including this lovely bag full of memories!!!

Oh my gosh...why?😨