simple question? why do you collect;?

[Browncow75]

Hey guys,
Just returning after a year and a half away from the hobby. Finally have a collecting goal and focus, Old Judge Script series cards. I Just find them to be an interesting and challenging subset to this giant set. What do you collect and Why?

[atx840]

for the ladies

[auggiedoggy]

Owning a piece of our history. It can be sport or non-sport. Cards, photos, postcards or whatever. That's the draw for me.

[Shoele$$]

Originally Posted by atx840

for the ladies

This^

You wouldn't believe the tail that this hobby has yielded....

[Browncow75]

Obviously I Need to find better shows, the ones I go to are sausage-fests lol.

[deadballfreaK]

Because I'm an idiot? Seriously I sold a few nice cards and raised some money for things my wife wanted. Bragged about it too much in order to impress her. I guess she was impressed. I'm getting questions now like "When you gonna sell some more?". "Why don't you sell all of them?".

"Well, Dear. I will eventually, but the card market is down like the economy. Better hold off a while."

[Leon]

Why do I collect? I enjoy baseball. I enjoy collecting and collected cards as a kid. I like almost everything about it. And it keeps me out of bars at night (except at the National).

[auggiedoggy]

Originally Posted by Leon

Why do I collect? I enjoy baseball. I enjoy collecting and collected cards as a kid. I like almost everything about it. And it keeps me out of bars at night (except at the National).

Not for the chicks???

[drc]

I've collected things since I was a little kid, and I can't tell you why. I think you have to have an interest in the items-- and many people don't have that. I was the only one in my family who collected anything.

I was interested in art and history and old cars and old movies as a kid, that might have something to do with it.

[maniac_73]

Now that I'm an adult I can buy the stuff I only dreamed about when I was a kid.

[deadballfreaK]

Serious answer. I LOVE baseball. I played it daylight to dark when I was a kid. If it rained we played the Cadaco game with the spinner on my buddies front porch. I grew up playing that game. We somehow had a bunch of old timers discs. Larry Doby, Al Rosen, Babe Ruth, Wally Berger, Freddie Lindstrom. I went to the library to check out the then pitiful version of the Baseball Encyclopedia many a time just to find out about those guys. When I discovered they had cards out there that you could collect pretty cheap... I went crazy!

[Shoele$$]

Originally Posted by deadballfreaK

Because I'm an idiot? Seriously I sold a few nice cards and raised some money for things my wife wanted. Bragged about it too much in order to impress her. I guess she was impressed. I'm getting questions now like "When you gonna sell some more?". "Why don't you sell all of them?".

"Well, Dear. I will eventually, but the card market is down like the economy. Better hold off a while."

Lol....and it starts.....I travel that same path as well.....you are not alone

[Pythonfactory]

Been a devout baseball fan all my life. In elementary school, I used to read several autobiographies a month and would pour over the stats in a baseball encyclopedia I got for my birthday one year (so I knew who the likes of Speaker, Crawford, and other "obscure" hall of famers were by age 7). I'd skip the ice cream man so I could spend any allowance / money earned from chores on baseball cards. And then there was playing the game itself... Since then, I've dedicated countless hours of my life going to games (Dodgers, Giants, and Mariners), managing fantasy teams, and playing in adult softball leagues. In addition to these activities, these "stupid little pieces of cardboard" strengthen my love for the game by connecting me to its history. Plus, they can be beautiful pieces of art. Lastly, as someone else mentioned, I now have the disposable income to do this =)

[deadballfreaK]

Originally Posted by Pythonfactory

Been a devout baseball fan all my life. In elementary school, I used to read several autobiographies a month and would pour over the stats in a baseball encyclopedia I got for my birthday one year (so I knew who the likes of Speaker, Crawford, and other "obscure" hall of famers were by age 7). I'd skip the ice cream man so I could spend any allowance / money earned from chores on baseball cards. And then there was playing the game itself... Since then, I've dedicated countless hours of my life going to games (Dodgers, Giants, and Mariners), managing fantasy teams, and playing in adult softball leagues. In addition to these activities, these "stupid little pieces of cardboard" strengthen my love for the game by connecting me to its history. Plus, they can be beautiful pieces of art. Lastly, as someone else mentioned, I now have the disposable income to do this =)

+100 Python expressed my views exactly.

[Cardboard Junkie]

In the summer, in Detroit, in the fifties, baseball was everything. Those were magical times for me.....sandlot baseball from dawn to dark......my Kaline model glove, a 6oz. Coke, and a pack of 58Topps or 59, or 57. That big thick chewy slab of pink heaven. The thrill of going to Briggs Stadium to watch our hero Tigers....to see The Mick swing the bat, (if the Yankees were in town) ...or Mr. Tiger make a game saving catch........Except for now...those were the best days of my life, but occasionally baseball cards can be a kind of time machine and transport me back to those magical times of the fifties, when baseball was everything.
My interest naturally expanded into prewar, (which I immensely enjoy) and up to date, but to be honest I don't even care for the modern game and don't follow it much except at World Series time.

[EvilKing00]

Love of the game, love of history of the game, owing a piece of it I guess, and owining anything thats rare and interesting.

[AMBST95]

It's a way to reconnect to my youth and share it with my children. I've been a baseball fan for as long as I can remember. Very much like Jimmy Fallon's character said in the movie, Fever Pitch, "I've loved the Sox my whole life. Name me one thing that you cared about when you were 5 that you still care about now." In my case it's the Orioles, but it doesn't get truer than that statement. There are very few things that are important to us for our lifetimes. My family and sports are 2 that come to mind. Baseball tells the story of the American spirit and card collecting offers an opportunity to enjoy in that.

[Bocabirdman]

Why do I collect? Because the wife makes me. She says that of all the vices I have dabbled in, cardboard is the most harmless.

[guy3050]

I'm fascinated by the rich history of our game of baseball, cried when my beloved Expos moved to Washington in 2004. I must have watch Ken burns Baseball at least 50+++ times, I really like to look at my +100 year olds pieces of cardboard

[g_vezina_c55]

I love sport history

[T206Fan]

Im kinda strange in the way I collect I love baseball but for me its the thrill of the hunt or chase more so then owning the card.

[ullmandds]

As a young child...baseball was life to me...we'd play until it got too dark...or our moms called us in...we'd play whiffle ball when enough players could not be fielded for proper batting practice. I'd throw a super pinky or tennis ball against the brick veneer of my house until my arm would fall off or I'd break a window and get scolded.

A love for the ny yankees...instilled in me by my dad...he'd take me to countless yankee games and the odd annoying game at shea tainted by all of the airplanes constantly flying overhead.

My neighbor...who was a sportswriter for the herald tribune used to tell me stories and give me the occasional nugget of card/memorabilia for shoveling his driveway or mowing his lawn.

This combined with a love for the history of the game and the #'s that went with it...714...then 755...4191...then 4256...511...23(grand slams for gehrig)....406...424...190...184...I could recite all of the major records...the # of every player on the yankees and up to minute stats at all times.

Now add to this mix these little cardboard gems encompassing all that I lived for as a kid that first activated my collecting gene!

I lost interest in my late teens until midway through college...then started up again. Now it's the nostalgia...the longing for the care free days of my youth...and the ability to obtain cards I could never afford as a child.

I always thought that if I were to ever get a tattoo...it would most likely be baseball related as this is one constant that will never change in my life...my love for baseball...it's history...and the cards that accompany it!!!!

[Peter_Spaeth]

Because, to quote the great line from Lorraine Hansberry's Raisin in the Sun, it expresses me.

[oldjudge]

First, I love to collect things. Someone once said that there is a collecting gene and I think that is right. Secondly, I love history and, more importantly, baseball history. I have collected other things in the past (stamps, coins, figurines, minerals, murex shells) but, with the exception of baseball cards, I lost interest. BTW, collecting script cards is a great endeavor. Many are available, some pretty difficult, and a few very very tough. If you want to expand beyond baseball, remember that the script series also includes boxers. GOOD LUCK!

[usernamealreadytaken]

They just came with the cigarettes . . .

[the 'stache]

I have had an unbridled passion for the game since I was a child, and baseball card collecting allows me to connect with the history of the game I love. Unfortunately, I never got to see Roberto Clemente, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Walter Johnson or Babe Ruth play. But if I want to, I can own a card made when they were playing. The cards themselves are history.

[Julz24]

Originally Posted by Cardboard Junkie

In the summer, in Detroit, in the fifties, baseball was everything. Those were magical times for me.....sandlot baseball from dawn to dark......my Kaline model glove, a 6oz. Coke, and a pack of 58Topps or 59, or 57. That big thick chewy slab of pink heaven. The thrill of going to Briggs Stadium to watch our hero Tigers....to see The Mick swing the bat, (if the Yankees were in town) ...or Mr. Tiger make a game saving catch........Except for now...those were the best days of my life, but occasionally baseball cards can be a kind of time machine and transport me back to those magical times of the fifties, when baseball was everything.
My interest naturally expanded into prewar, (which I immensely enjoy) and up to date, but to be honest I don't even care for the modern game and don't follow it much except at World Series time.

My Dad grew up in Detroit in the fifties and says the same exact thing. Must of been a wonderful time! Last year at the World Series he got to meet his childhood hero Al Kaline for the first time. I've never seen him quite so giddy.

As for me, my Dad collected back in his day. Then when I was young he would bring a pack of cards home after work for me and Ive been hooked ever since.

[HOF Auto Rookies]

For the love of the game

[Zone91]

Why do I breath air and eat....same reason I collect makes me feel alive!!!

Post # 2

[yanksfan09]

I've been collecting since I was 7 or 8 and never stopped! The longest break I had was maybe a year or slightly less than a year. It's been a major part of my life as long as I can remember. Every penny I got when I worked as a kid all went to cards. Not much has changed now that I'm 30 but I have bills to pay first, but also still more money to buy cards! I love baseball. I love the artwork on the old cards. I love the smell of the old cards and the history you get when holding one.

As a kid I always dreamed of owning old cards and "A" Babe Ruth card. None of the card shops near me carried anything pre 1948 ever. I bought a few beater Goudey commons at a show as a kid and thought they were the best things ever. I was always under the impression as a kid that the real old 1930's and earlier cards were just far to rare and expensive to collect and never came up for sale. I wasn't until later on when I started using ebay more in the 2000's that pre-war really opened up for me. I'm still amazed and get a magical feeling like I did when I was a kid when I hold great old cards of hall of famers like Babe Ruth, Ty cobb, Walter Johnson etc... You just can't beat it!

[WillowGrove]

I grew up with parents who liked to spend weekends going to flea markets, auctions and antique shops. So unless I wanted to be bored out of my mind I needed to collect something. I chose baseball cards because when Topps came out with the MVP cards in 1975 I noticed Ernie Banks and realized I have a card of his. I found it and realized I own a card of a guy who hit 512 Homeruns!

Added to this was my dad getting me the book the 50 Greatest Players of All time - and I was hooked.

Always went for HOFers. I knew about the more common players but chose to put my folks' money into players I knew.

And now all these years later - after leaving the hobby because I didn't like when TPG companies came into it - and coming back to it in '09 when I had to clean out my dad's house of my collection - I collect now because it reminds me of all those weekends with my parents from age 9 to about 14.

To this day, my mother reminds me that when Seaver's rookie card went from $3.50 to 5 to $7.50, I was still holding out to find one for that $3.50 I had seen.

I guess I shouldn't have been so diligent to spend their money so wisely.

[Rickyy]

Since I completed my first Topps set in 1973...I've been seduced by wafting of those pink gum and the pictures of our summer time heroes... I guess now a days...collecting cards brings back joys of childhood combined with panacea from the daily stress of real life...

Ricky Y

[steve B]

When I started it was just a typical thing for someone my age. We all collected at least a bit, and traded, and played games with the cards.

I collect a number of things, I guess I'm just the collecting sort.

After the collecting as a kid, I went through a few phases, Wanting to complete every set, wanting at least one from every set, Collecting variations, Small time dealing/ investing. Took a few partial vacations from really going after cards to chase other stuff. Not quitting exactly, but backing off to maybe one or two older cards a year, and a few packs.

Now I see them as part of the overall collection that covers a lot of history both sports and other, with a lean towards the history of various technologies. Looking at cards from any era says a lot about that time. And now I can lay out 125 years of cards and see sort of a panorama of US history.

Steve B

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by Leon

Why do I collect? I enjoy baseball. I enjoy collecting and collected cards as a kid. I like almost everything about it...

+1. Great answers everyone!

Guy, you "cried when my beloved Expos moved to Washington in 2004," whereas I cried tears of joy because after more than 30 years without MLB, we finally had a team again! I grew up watching the Senators of old Griffith stadium, only to see 2 teams leave Washington for greener pastures in Minnesota and Texas. I'm truly sorry Montreal lost its team - I know very well how it feels!
Val

[T205 GB]

Originally Posted by Leon

Why do I collect? I enjoy baseball. I enjoy collecting and collected cards as a kid. I like almost everything about it. And it keeps me out of bars at night (except at the National).

+10