The Nationals through the eyes of my 14yr old son

[gorrister]

I brought my 14 year old son with me to the Nationals this year. He's been an off again, on again collector for a couple of years now. He especially likes the old, beat-up, well loved T206's. He doesn't have a lot of money and can't really afford much, but he managed to zero in on Ted.Zanidakis (tedzan on the board). Many of you obviously know him and know what a great guy he is, but, he went far and away above the call of duty with my son. My son spent a great deal of time at his table and using the $10-$20 he had each time he always managed to walk away with another T206. I can't begin to thank Ted enough for the patience and encouragement that he showed my son. We met a lot of dealers there and I have to say, sadly, most don't recognize the fact that they need to attract the younger generation to the hobby so that it will continue to thrive. But, Ted really, really gets it. Because of him, my son has now started, in all earnestness, his T206 back collection of old, beat-up, well loved in the past and now in the future cards. Thank you Ted!

Steve.Freedman

[Leon]

Kudos to Ted. As I have tried to say the whole weekend, this is the kind of attitude that needs to be in the hobby. Thanks Ted.

And Steve, your son is a fine young man. Accolades to a very nice father. Job well done. best regards

[joeadcock]

Thanks for sharing that about Ted.

Hope your son continues the Pre war Fever into the future.

[Wymers Auction]

Great story thanks for posting. Nice to hear a piece of good news like that. I wish your son well in his collecting!!!!

[CobbSpikedMe]

Ted is a very good guy. I've had the pleasure of meeting him a few times at shows in PA and he has always been fun to talk to. He sold me my brown Hindu with the purple number back stamp at a great price for a Hindu.

Thanks again Ted and I'm glad others see how great a hobbyist you are.

Best,

AndyH

[ullmandds]

great story...that's awesome! if the kids don't get into collecting...this hobby will eventually die...the cycle must continue!!!!

[wonkaticket]

Kudos to Ted. As I have tried to say the whole weekend, this is the kind of attitude that needs to be in the hobby. Thanks Ted.

And Steve, your son is a fine young man. Accolades to a very nice father. Job well done. best regards

+1

[Davy_Kangaroo_Jones]

great story...that's awesome! if the kids don't get into collecting...this hobby will eventually die...the cycle must continue!!!!

+1 My son is still very young (4) but I've already started him and he seems to enjoy it. Fathers and sons collecting is great because you used to always see it and now you hardly see it as much.

[Jewish-collector]

Ted is perhaps the most knowlegable and most passionate of any collector that the hobby has ever had !!!

[atx840]

Kudos to Ted. As I have tried to say the whole weekend, this is the kind of attitude that needs to be in the hobby. Thanks Ted.

Awesome Ted!

[mrvster]

Ted :)

[MVSNYC]

Was really nice to see Ted again. He was so nice to my wife & me. Great seeing you, bud!

[wazoo]

Ted sounds like a great guy! Being 15 years of age, I've realized some collectors just do not have the patience of spending time and educating the younger generation on t206 cards. On the other hand though, you have great people like mrvster who love to spend the time to educate the younger generations on t206 cards. So many kids are so caught up in the mainstream cards that they do not take the time to appreciate the old, "loved", beauties. Thanks for sharing.

[Michael Peich]

I met Travis at Leon and Scott's table yesterday afternoon. Jay Miller introduced us whereupon Travis and I began talking about T206 backs. He showed me his new collection.

I then negotiated with Jay to buy some T209-II cards I needed. With Travis at my side, I was able to a arrive at a slightly lower price with Jay. At the conclusion of the deal I turned to Travis and told him I'd pay him a negotiator's fee and buy him a different back for his set. We walked over to Chris and Kristin Buckler's, and now Travis is the happy owner of a T206 Cycle back. Thanks to Chris for his generosity.

This is the sort of encouragement we should all extend to younger collectors, and I am impressed with the support Ted, Leon, Jay, and Chris gave Travis.

Thanks for the help, Travis, and good luck with your back set. BTW, I know where there is a blue Old Mill!!

Cheers,
Mike Peich, "King of the River."

[mrvster]

thanks for the kind words!! will always help you on your quest:) your great people and are our hope;)

[gorrister]

Amid the bad news and bad press in our hobby and some of the negative, biting posts that I read on this board I was starting to lose faith on the hobby. But, after witnessing and experiencing the kindness and generosity shown by Ted, Leon, Michael, the Bucklers and many more, my faith in this hobby and most especially the people in this hobby has been renewed. Thank you! Steve

[Tobacco&Gum]

great story...that's awesome! if the kids don't get into collecting...this hobby will eventually die...the cycle must continue!!!!

Very true, but I'm going to change it a little.

If the kids don't get into collecting...We will have no one to sell our cards to years from now...the cycle must continue!!!!

[3-2-count]

Over heard this young mans conversation at a couple tables and was impressed with his already known knowledge of the T206 set. Was fabulous to watch! Just a feel good story!

[teetwoohsix]

Great story , thanks for sharing that-

And kudos to TedZ, that was very decent of you.

It's nice to see the youngsters developing such good taste in cards, I can only imagine how their collections will look by the time they are in their 30's :eek::D

Sincerely, Clayton

[WVSPORTKINGS]

As I was digging thru Deans Sportcards half price box for 1970s Topps this young man maybe 15 years old asks if their is a Tinker to Chance in his stack of Triple Folders. Both myself and the Dealer had big smiles on are faces because of the knowledge this young collector projected.

Mark WVSportkings

[jtbof99]

Thank you Mike Peich King of The River for that awesome Cycle back! As my dad said, I am currently working on a T-206 back set and many great people have helped and contributed to the collection. Such people, Leon, Ted, Mike and Kris/Chris have made Nationals an amazingly low cost time!