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Who had a positive impact on your collection ?
I remember as a kid going Bill Carrols ( one of the dealers who set up at the shows in the early 70's in and around the Detroit area) house with my dad and looking at all the cards I had never seen before. The were all goudey and playball cards of guys I had only read about in books. Ruth, Foxx, Gehrig and it was endless. My dad would always buy a couple of cards (mostly commons). I am 55 now and my Dad is 94 and we still enjoy talking and looking at those cards today. Mr. Carrol was always so accomadating to a 12 year old kid who didn't have the money to pay him what the cards were worth but he took the time on a number of Sunday afternoons and soon became a friend. Looking forward to hearing a few stories from some of you regarding your memories about people who made a collecting impact on you.
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MattyC and Begsu changed how I collect cards.
And ALL the pre-war guys give me excitement when I see their cards. Thanks NET54. |
For me it was my younger brother. He was around 10-12 and I was in my late teens. He stopped out to my place to visit and brought a hand full of cards. He had just started collecting and wanted to show them to me. I opened a drawer and said I have these. His eyes got as big as plates and said do you know how much those are worth. I said no because they had been sitting in that same drawer untouched since I was a real little kid. My older cousin had problems and passed away in the early 70's and gave me the cards before he passed. I had 2 nice stacks of 60's baseball cards and 1 nice stack of non sport cards. The non sports cards were beat to holly heck. The baseball cards looked like they just came out of the package.
I was hooked the second he brought out a price guide and starting looking up the Mantles ,Fords, Koufaxs, and all the other stars. I have been collecting every since except a few years off in the early 00's. I have a little bit of everything now that fills an entire room. Between selling and trading those 2 stacks of baseball cards turned into the whole room full of cards/memoribilia. Best part is I can guarantee overall I have not spent a penny out of pocket for that room full of cards. Weirdly my brother collected for a few years and stopped. I owe my collection and the fact I collect to him. Sorry for the long story, would also like to read others stories.:) |
Kinem's Sports Cards.
Didn't even have to think twice...So much information, great deals and most importantly, dude is a good human... |
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Goodwin Goldfaden from Adco Sports Book Exchange on Santa Monica Bl in West Hollywood California. A friend and I used to go in 1969 and he would bring out shoe boxes full of T206's with the cards laying on their sides. All were Sweet Caporal or Piedmont with an occasional Polar Bear. He would shout at us "do you kids have money"?. The price was 1.00 for commons and 2.00 for HOF's. I bought the attached Walter Johnson for 2.00. One thing for sure about him he never left a T206 rare back or Cobb (who he was a big fan of) in the shoe boxes. I bought 5 T206's from him over time and still have them all
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Keith Mitchell helped me navigate the waters of the Old Judge market when I first started collecting in the early-1990s. He was a mentor, a friend, and one of the pioneer researchers in this area. The man from Bettendorf, Iowa is certainly missed.
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Bill Latzko has been a huge help for my collection. A wonderful guy. Fair, knowledgeable and honest.
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Vince from Renningers in Adamstown, mike Delaney from Greenwich street in reading, beanie schlottman, chick levengood, Levi, jim and my father have had the most impact on my love and knowledge of the hobby
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Without question my dad was my #1 influence. He really taught me everything about the hobby that I see as important. He loved the cards and players of his childhood far more than that the " impressive" parts of his collection. Mathewson, Cobb, Mantle, Regional issues , early Bowmans and type cards were
His passion....as they are now mine. |
I didn't have the fortune of knowing many hobby legends, but Bob Lemke was very generous to me with both his time and his tremendous knowledge. I feel fortunate to have gotten to know him a bit in his last few years and proud to have a couple of his old cards.
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I would also say my father as he shared his childood passion for cards with me at a young age. Also would be remissed to no mention about 5-6 board members who have helped and shared there knowledge of my adult collecting focus. Net54 has been good to me:D
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Defenitely my Dad, he would give me a pack a week if I was a good boy. He bought a box from a pharmacist at cost and would give me a pack a week, and that started it all. Then starting in the late 1980s he would take me to all of the ESSC? Philly shows. Lots of great dealers and people at those George Washington Motor lodge shows. Taught me a lot about people too so many dealers wanted nothing to do with a kid back then but would talk up my dad as he looked like he had money even though he didn’t, nothing disappointed the dealers more than talking to him for 5 minutes only to find out he didn’t collect cards or even like baseball but just brought me because that’s what I loved.
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We took a vacation to the Wisconsin Dells in 1975 and I convinced my dad to stop at Larry Fritsch's place. I couldn't believe all the cards he had in his warehouse. He had a T206 Wagner in his safe and he took it out and let my dad and I hold it. He mentioned he was sending a semi trailer to Michigan and he hoped to fill it with cases of 75 minis. When we got home my dad took me to the candy wholesaler and he bought a wax case of 75 minis. We broke them out and made a number of sets. I still have every card from that case along with the empty case and all of the empty boxes. It's amazing what my dad remembers about those type of things. As an added bonus we stopped and saw a Brewers game and Rick Wise came within one out of a no hitter. The hobby seemed a lot simpler back then. Love the stories guys. Please keep them coming and we can make a huge difference for people in this great hobby. You never know what impact you might have on some one.
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My dad got me hooked when I got a 1954 Topps Willie Mays for Xmas. Thanks Dad.
but Orlando Rodriguez got me to refocus my collection. I stopped going to the card shop every week ( I usually would spend $40-$50). I started to sell off my modern cards and the vintage cards that I could live without. It was hard at first but became easier once I saw the cards i could then afford. I was getting rid of the cards that I could find all day, everyday. I used the cash flow from the sales to fund higher end vintage cards. My collection now is nicer than I thought it ever could be... I now own cards I thought I'd never own. Thanks Orlando. |
John Spalding. Got me addicted to prewar Exhibit cards. Some of the first ones I bought from him around 1990:
http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit.../Alexander.jpg http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...ize/Muesel.jpg |
Wow, I'm honored Ben. Thank you. I can say that JC (Beantown) really took me under his wing and taught me a lot about rare cobb postcards.
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I have told this story before, so please forgive any repetition. I immediately had a name that came to mind. Melanie Lain was the most influential person for my collecting for several reasons.
I had collected a couple of packs in '78 and '79 - both in baseball and football. However, '80 was the year that I had a break through. I was 8 years old and in second grade. Melanie was a senior in high school and our teacher's aid. One day, I brought a box of cards for some variation of show and tell. Melanie came up and looked at my cards. She told me that she collected as well and asked me if I wanted to trade. As an 8 year old, I had two thoughts - 1) No one was coming near my cards and 2.) Eww a girl? She has baseball cards? I agreed to consider it, however, I had my reservations. Melanie went to the same church and lived close, so the next week, she came by with a shoe box. She told me that she didn't want to take my cards but went through her collection to give me some. It was '70-'75 with the majority in '72 & '73 but there were stars in every year. Aaron from all the years, Mays up until he retired, Clemente, Gibson, Kaline, rookies of Brett and Yount, Killebrew, Frank and Brooks Robinson - she just gave me all. She decided to go through her basketball and football collection and gave me a lot of 71-72's and 72-73's - Chamberlain, West, Baylor, Alcindor, Robertson, Unites, Staubach, Namath - they were all there pack fresh. This was an awesome day. I immediately went to a friend's house and gave him some of them - I figured that I had 3 Willie Mays' in there, so he could have one of them. Same with Aaron, etc. From there, it was disaster. A card show was coming to town. I heard that baseball cards were worth money so I wanted to go. Melanie went with me. In the first 5 minutes at the show, I proceeded to sell the box. The guy at the front of the show picked through the best cards and offered me $8. I then took the rest and they guy offered me $5. I needed $14 for an '80 Topps set. I had to borrow $1 from my mom. I collected through high school, but it was 80's junk wax and a bunch of topps, fleer and donruss sets from those years. In my sophmore year of college in the fall of '91, I decided to sell everything. I posted them in the trader. A guy came and looked at them. I didn't want to hover. He looked at my albums that had some of my stars - some stuff I had gathered over the years like a '68 Seaver. He stole 15-20 cards out of my binder and told me that he wasn't interested. I then looked through them later and realized that he had taken those better cards. I ended up selling the collection for $250 and put it towards a used big screen TV so that I could be the BMOC (in my mind at least) in the college dorm. Fast forward to 2012. I took my boys to Cooperstown and they had both the Ken Kendrick collection and a baseball card room. While in the baseball card room, I showed the boys all of those '70-'75's that I used to have and it bummed me out like it was 1980 all over again. Later that weekend, after we got back home, I was on ebay looking at those cards and lamenting selling them all for $13. My wife, tired of my whining, says with exasperation - "If you want those cards, just go buy them." By the end of that day, I bought complete sets for '80-'85. Within the next week, I had bought complete sets back to '76. Over the next two weeks, it was '73-'75. I then found someone who was selling '66 and '72. I found someone on Craigslist who had near sets of '71 and '68. The race was on. 5 years later, I have '54-current in Topps, '50, 53 (Color & B&W), '54, and '55 Bowman plus 60-63 Fleer, '52 Red Man and some other test issues. My wife reminds me on occasion that her invitation was to buy the '70-'75 shoe box back - not every card ever made. Through it all, I think of Melanie Lain. Not only did she give me the cards with no strings attached, she went to the card show and watched me sell them - never stepping in to say - "that was not the idea when I gave them to you. If you are going to sell them, just give them back." She was friendly and positive the entire way. Given the 1-2 sentence responses to most of these, I have probably emoted way too much, but it does make me go back and think about how I acquired this collecting illness and why I remain borderline obsessive with it even today. |
Jeff Prize-ner, guru of postcards!
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Bob Richardson
My focus quickly migrated from available wax at local grocery store (84 Topps) to older cards as I attended local card shows. The older the better although it was tough to find anything in the Upper Peninsula of MI. My ability to collect older cards improved once I subscribed to SCD which opened the door to impressive dealers and collectors alike.
I ordered Lew Lipsets encyclopedias and quickly narrowed my Detroit interest to Old Judges. By the late 1980s I had contacted Bob Richardson and we wrote each other many times. It was always a special treat to receive a letter as it would typically include xerox copies of cards I had dreamed about. I managed to obtain Detroit Old Judges of Rowe, Thompson, and Twitchell from Bob before graduating HS and temporarily leaving the hobby. I returned to the hobby in 2003 and immediately wrote Bob to see how similar/different his interests and the hobby were. He was still collecting and we traded far more material as it was easier for me to find cards on his wantlist thanks to eBay. Bob was single most influential collector, always willing to take the time to answer questions and help a fellow collector out regardless of age, knowledge, etc. |
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I always remember growing up and my dad, brother and I going to card shops and trying to find the right '90 Leaf Frank Thomas that I absolutely needed. After some convincing I got it for my birthday and my bro got a bike. Those were the best parts of growing up and hope to make those memories with my two girls. My bro and I would set up card shows in our basement and would price out our cards for my dad to buy when he got home from work. After buying some cards he'd eventually give them back to us, it was a win-win
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Starting out.....
When I first started to collecti I would study the trade publication about sport cards. I ended up buying my pre-war from Mark Macrae and Frank Nagy. I would study the lists they would send me through the mail for hours and if I had any questions they would take the time to drop me a note and explain whatever I was asking. Frank had these really cool business cards that had reprints of awesome pre-war cards on them. If he had a Yankee one he would send it to me. Mark was always such a gentleman and still is and alway knocked off a few dollars from the asking price.....
That was a special time before internet and grading..... |
Unfortunately, I never got to meet John Spalding in person but he was such a nice person and so giving with his time and knowledge. We exchanged many emails as I was researching athletes from my hometown for my Alameda Sports Project website and even helped him add a few names to his Bay Area Sports Stars project. He was even nice enough to send me a copy of his book "Always on Sunday" about the CA Baseball League.
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I'd like to give a shout out to Mark Macrae. Mark is one of the true good guys in this hobby. In addition to putting on great collectors shows where I have found some nice pieces for my collection, he is friendly and so free with sharing his knowledge on cards and memorabilia. He always takes time to answer my emails when I have questions about pre-war cards, etc.
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To the OP - Great idea for thread, and I mean great and thank you for starting this...nice to see positive in the hobby.
Rick Rockwood and Anthony Nex dragged me into CJs and always showed a lot of respect...I miss Rich. As others have said, Prizner is THE guy for PCs and is also a good guy so to Jeff..."F#ck postcards". Pete Fishman is a kindred brother to me as well and motivates me to find the joy in the hobby. Brian Terjung isn't around much anymore but he is just a great person and has motivated me to treat others as good as I can. There are some great people in the hobby. |
Who had a positive impact on your collection?
1. My dear Mother. My Mom was already a widow, but strove to get me to the big 1972 Midwest Sports Collectors Convention at the Troy, Michigan Hilton. It was my first big convention. That meant so much to me; I was 18 at the time.
By the end of that year, SEVERAL DAYS AFTER CHRISTMAS, I wrote to major dealer Larry Fritsch about the availability of a major dream card I wanted---a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle. Larry wrote me a nice letter back. He had only one left, in near mint condition, and would hold it for me. The cost of $25 was high, he said. Somehow, I was able to convince my poor mother that this was the dream card I had long wanted. God bless her and her memory, she wrote out a check for $25 dollars and sent it off to him. I knew very well this was a sacrifice of funds for her, but I guess she sensed this might be my only time to get one. Long to short, the card was perfect to me, and in technically Excellent - Mint condition, but the colors and picture registry were perfect; there was not a mark or print spot on that dazzling beauty. The centering was about 37.5 - 62.5 both directions, which was fine with me. You can best be sure I thanked and kissed my dear Mother after I opened the package and looked at the card. 2. Ron Greenwood. During the aforementioned 1972 Midwest Convention, Ron Greenwood, a college professor, had brought his album of mounted 1953 - 1955 Stahl-Meyer Franks cards for show. I had never heard of them before, nor seen any cards like them. It was love at first sight. He did not bring any of his Mickey Mantles; smart move on his part. Didn't matter, as I was awestruck with the card of Roy Campanella. I kept turning the album pages back to see Campy again. I must have stared at the card for an aggregate of 15 minutes, burning the memory of that masterpiece into my brain. Mr. Greenwood had an extra chair at his table, and allowed me to sit and admire his Stahl-Meyers. That was mighty thoughtful and generous of him. As an educator, I think he appreciated my studious attitude toward those cards, as well as the good manners my parents taught me. Aside from the cards I purchased that glorious weekend, seeing Mr. Greenwood's Stahl-Meyers was the highlight for me. 3. Lionel Carter. I got to meet Mr. Carter at, again, that Midwest convention. I had read with the utmost fascination, and enjoyment, his article on the 1933 DeLong Gum cards that appeared in the fall, 1971 Sport Hobbyist. I hung onto every word. Late the following winter, I saw an ad in The Sporting News for a reprint set of the DeLongs. They were skillfully done by TCMA's Mike Aronstein. So, when I met Mr. Carter, it was honestly as if I was meeting a hobby celebrity. Little did I know how major of a celebrity he really was. At this tender point in the burgeoning adult card collecting hobby, Mr. Carter invited me to his home to see his collection. At the time, I lived in close-by Elk Grove Village, Illinois, not far from his Evanston home. I was EXTREMELY PRIVILEGED to make 2 visits to Lionel's home, and the Carters were wonderful hosts. His collection was the finest I ever saw in person. We exchanged several letters through the years. He was a dandy letter writer, as well as hobby writer. By no means did I always agree with him. He was able to build his collection back in the days when the cost of cards was minuscule; good for him. If youse guys are still with me, you must like stories. I love to tell them, and my book on postwar regionals is stuffed with yarns and sea stories, 'cause there were numerous chaps who had a very positive impact on my collecting, and really, part of the reason I wrote NEVER CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN was to pay tribute to them. Well, I best be getting back to my darling wife. Loved reading all your stories, guys. Keep it up. ---Brian Powell |
Jeff Foy and Brady Hill passed along their centering "sickness" to me, which has made collecting more painful and rewarding at the same time. :)
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Positive Influences
I have had several over the years...
Dave Hornish and Larry Tipton...both were influential in getting me back into vintage when I was just a teenager, Dave really was the start of my Phillies journey. That journey led me to some great people who shared their knowledge with me over the years and treated a teenager back then with respect and kindness. Those include in no particular order: Lew Lipsett who lent me copies (not scanners back then) of cards he had and showed me who to contact for more info. Gar Miller, Lionel Carter, and Mark Macrae, Terry Knouse and Kit Young all helped me to understand vintage, improve my knowledge, and improve my phillies list. Bob Lemke whose knowledge was invaluable to me and I was just glad to help him once or twice over the years too. Geno Wagner and Tim Newcomb who inadvertently started my obsession with T205s. Leon Luckey (and Bill Cornell and other Net54 people, too many to mention) that have continued to drive my passion for pre-war cards. It has been tough lately to find time to get on and post or even read like I used to (used to be on every day multiple times a day) but I still drop in every now and then. If I missed anyone, I am sorry...I have been fortunate to have a great many people have a positive impact on my collection and I thank them all. Joshua |
Anyone remember a guy by the name of Bill Bolio from Armada, Mi. I think he was a teacher at the high school . I remember going to his house a couple of times in the mid to late 70's. He had cards everywhere in his house. I mean thousands and thousands of cards from all years. He was a great guy to deal with as well. Keep the stories coming. I hope you guys are having as much fun as I am reading all these stories. Sometimes we seem to forget how many helpful people there really are in our great hobby. Thanks for posting!!!
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Dennis Eckes
Like most here My Father was my first and greatest hobby influence. But right away I met collectors who helped me for no other reason than the joy we all get passing this hobby along. First was Paul Gallagher who I met at an antique show at Madison square garden in 1973. He ran the pioneer shows in NYC. And at my first in 1974 I met Paul Pollard, George Lyons, Carlto Schooley, Steve Kaczynski, Rob Lifson. All of who gave freely of there knowledge and love for this hobby. A year or so later I met Dennis Eckes who was a great friend and a person who helped card collecting grow leaps and bounds. The price guide Denny along with Jim Beckett published helped countless collectors. Tony Carafel John Ramierez John Scott Tom Collier I met at the first show in Silver Spring M.D.. All of who gave freely of their hobby knowledge and friendship.
I am forever grateful all these Friends and Collectors and so many more who make this the most enjoyable hobby. |
Two Influential Dons
Don Steinbach was extremely important to how I collected. At the early "Nationals" I would ask him question after question and he always enjoyed answering them. The best thing he stressed was to gain as much information as possible! Watch auctions, read collectible magazines and listen.
We talked about dealers who had $5.00 items and wanted $500.00 for them! Others had $500.00 items and wanted $5.00 for them. That's how I make my living he told me. Don B*****r, a very early table holder at the "National" from Atlanta, was the most knowledgeable person in collectibles that I ever met. He wasn't your typical dealer. He didn't haggle over prices. Pay his price or walk away. Didn't matter to him! He had typed lists of what he had for sale. He put those on his table. He didn't put the cards out! He put junk rubber banded cards on the rest of the table. Those that read his list went home happy! Most people just walked away! Don and I got along great and shared tables at the "National" for many years. Those that know Don will know what I am talking about. Sam Majors |
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I got back into vintage a few years before the internet, so for me it was the guys who owned card shops in downtown Boston -- Peter Leventhal and Kenny Tong (RIP) -- and the guy who had the best vintage at local shows and an early PSA guy, Peter Lalos.
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I suppose an early neighborhood friend who got me interested in cards would be the #1 influencer. He and his brother moved into my neighborhood around 1977-78. They both had card collections and I am pretty sure it was them that got me spending my allowance on cards in general. In those days, I tried just about anything that came in a wax pack. I don't think either continued to collect must past those early days, but I am not sure. By the time I moved away in 1982, I was completely hooked on cards.
Most of my early buying was from retail stores. The Lynnwood Center store on Bainbridge Island, WA, where I formed my early collecting interests, was where I would buy most of my new packs of cards, candy and even some of those RC Cola baseball cans. I didn't much venture into card shops early on, but somehow discovered the mail order catalogs of TCMA and Renata Galasso, probably from those Baseball Magazines they used to publish in the 70s/80s. I began to receive those catalogs and spent a lot of time looking through them, imagining what I would buy, sadly I never bought too much. I remember buying a bunch of those TCMA all time sets and those HOF postcards. I did start buying the 3 main brands of complete sets in 1981, I believe mostly from Renata's company. I continued that each year until leaving for the Navy in 1987. I remember a few others that I bought from through the mail, like Paul Marchant and Stan Martucci. Besides a rare trip into Seattle to the Pike Place Market and a few neat old shops that sold cards, an early card store that I eagerly visited as often as my parents would take me, was Pacific Trading Cards in Edmonds, WA, owned by Michael Cramer. I don't remember if I interacted with Cramer himself or not. This would have been the early to mid 80s. I suppose he was probably there some of the time. They had catalogs I used to get and every once in a while, they would mail some neat postcards advertising a sale or a signing. I met Bob Feller at one such signing as a teen. His shop is what shaped my mind as to what a card shop was like. Like anything, I wish I had had more opportunity to visit (His shop was on the way to my sisters house, who we only visited a few times per year) and that I would have bought more stuff, like those X's out 1984 Topps football boxes he was blowing out for $5 each (but I was mostly a baseball collector, so I only grabbed a couple)! Lastly, I had all but quit collecting cards while I was in the Navy. About a year before I was due to separate, a shipmate of mine and I got to talking about cards for some reason and he ended up showing me what he had been buying. I had stopped mostly around 1988-89 and it was now 1993. The cards he had were nothing like what I had collected before. They were shiny and used foils and such. They were much fancier. I ended up going to one of the stores with him and got myself hooked back into it immediately, buying boxes or cards from the years I had missed. I got back home in late 93 and started buying cards, hitting local shops and attending local shows with most of my free time. In 1997, I was nearing the end of my college time and discovered the world of online card dealing. Beckett, message boards and then in early 1998, eBay. I have never looked back since. |
Great stories and recollections, guys.
My biggest early influence would definitely be my Mom. Although my Dad was the bread winner in the family, he'd give my Mom a set allowance for clothes, food, and the basic necessities for the house. My Mom was sure to give me a few bucks per week to spend on baseball cards, provided I was sure to bring her back a couple Three Musketeers bars in return. Thanks goodness my Mom liked chocolate. |
For me, Aaron Seefeldt was a huge influence. Until we met, I had no idea the nuances of the hobby. I instantly fell in love with rare backs and pre war HOFs. I owe my love of the hobby to him and I am forever grateful. Thank you Aaron!
Dan Kravitz |
All three of the Halls from Halls Nostalgia.
I moved to Arlington in late 77, and asked a couple kids about older cards. Discovered there was a full time shop right in town! So I went, and started hanging out there after school maybe 2-3 days a week. They'd occasionally set stuff aside for me, usually totally wrecked stuff at amazing prices. Beckley T206 with a huge tear and tape, but only 20 cents. A Sweet Caporal pin, also badly damaged, but free. I did sorting/set collating for them in 78 and 79, and the damaged stuff cheap got me buying older stuff. Of course, I had widely varied interests and decided against buying some stuff, but did buy other stuff. (Wish I'd gone for even one of the 33 Ruths they handed me saying "you should buy this, it's $X " ) Being there so much I got a few early chances at collections that came in. Got a few poor R300s once, I'd just read the book of lists that had them as some of the rarest cards and a small collection of beaters had a few - actually had to call mom to bring me the money for them. Another time someone brought in a huge box of RC cola cans and asked if they were interested. They said no but that kid is and pointed me out. So I got most of both sets plus a bunch of the football ones for $6....Another call to mom...Hi mom, I'm at halls and - "do you need money AGAIN?! - No, just a ride for me and a big box of cans. Come to think of it, Mom put up with a lot of collecting, so I think she's got to be on the list too. |
Thanks Chris and Jesse. Always a genuine pleasure talking cards with you guys.
My mom got me into baseball. My cousin got me into cards. So I thank them for helping me find the hobby I have enjoyed so much since boyhood. My brother, Greg/GregC, and Joe T/Vintageclout really influenced my collecting philosophy of overall eye appeal being the North Star. Joe was also a tremendous guide into the PreWar space, always gracious with his time and vast knowledge. Sean Bassik has been a clutch voice of fiscal reason, reins me in, and makes it so easy when I needed to liquidate cards to obtain another. |
Geez
I’ll say it if no one else will
Net54 My father didn’t give a damn about cards or baseball. My mother threw out my childhood collection from the fifties. My cousin who might have been a positive influence died prematurely. My wallet tells me that a host of dealers had a negative impact. Leon, if I’m wrong about the positive impact of this site, I gather that everyone who posted above me in this thread disagrees with me, since Net54 hasn’t been mentioned once.:eek: |
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Thanks for the kind words. It keeps me involved and is my honor and pleasure. I am very appreciative of all of the folks who enjoy the forum. LL , |
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I grew up in a small south Texas town that had two sports card shops in the 80's. I would say the gentleman (An old Navy Vet) who ran one of the shops got me into collecting. Me and my younger brother loved going into that shop and seeing all the vintage cards he had for sale. He would spend the time telling us about the players from the 30's-60's that he grew up watching and admired. In high school I would work at the shop during the summer so the owner could go on vacation. Fun times.
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Cory Snyder "GUNSMOKE" - My Brother Shane
Worst trade ever by my brother. We were 10 or so, he had a cigar box full of cards I had a Cory Snyder Gunsmoke Cleveland Indians poster. The trade of a lifetime. I looked up most of the Cards AND Got a Walter Payton rookie and 2nd year as well As Steve Largent. Not even worth grading today, HOWEVER, the best cards that I own today by far.
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For me it was Wayne Miller in Columbia, MD. He had a single display case in the coin shop I worked in. He seemed to have an endless supply of pre-war, from boxes of T206s to runs of programs from the 1800s. The core of my current collection is still the items I bought from Wayne.
Bill |
Oddly enough in my case it was my mother who supported my hobby early on. She is a Yankees fan going back to the 50's. She used to collect cards as a kid. I am actually going to a show with her this weekend.
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What got me back into card collecting in the early 90's was a card shop owner my friend and I referred to as the John Gotti of baseball cards. He was mean as all heck, had ridiculous prices (Dean times 5) on everything displayed, and to top it off all of his display cases sat in the sun all day, every day. The one absolutely faded card I remember to this day was a 1961 high number Warren Spahn All Star that was priced at $100. This was probably in 1992 or thereabouts, and he was completely firm on his prices. He wouldn't even think of negotiating. It was so faded (like everything around it) that it looked like it had been bleached like some Hollywood bimbo's hair. Eventually (surprise surprise) he went out of business, which made us chuckle. But the shop was within walking distance, so it got me interested in all of the old stuff again.
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This might sound a little odd, but author David Nemec gave me a focus for my collection I never had before I read his books. The way he presented the game of baseball in the 19th century it was both hugely entertaining and very informational. Once I found out that I could actually get baseball cards of many of the players I read about in his books, I was hooked. Then all I needed to do was actually acquire the cards! :D
Jay Miller was far and away the one guy who, despite being at the top of the Old Judge heap, was never too busy to answer questions from a neophyte Old Judge collector such as me. He has also been my #1 provider of new material over the past 20 years. For that, I am very thankful. |
Kevin-That is very nice of you—thanks. I can truly say that the flow of information has been both ways, for which I am grateful.
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Jim Elder of Odessa, Florida
I never met the man, but growing up in Nebraska in the mid 1970's there were ZERO options for even seeing vintage baseball cards, let alone owning one. Somehow I got a catalog from Jim Elder and there they were. Listings for Old Bowman, Goudey, T206, Topps cards...Pacific Coast League Popcorn cards (whatever those were). My finances were extremely small so I chose wisely and could only afford commons. I still have the 1952 Bowman Johnny Wyrostek and the 1941 Goudey Harry "Gunboat" Gumpert cards I ordered from him |
Charles Dutko owned a card store in Warren, Mi (Common Cents and More). Got to know him and his family well over the years. The store closed a number of years ago and kinda lost touch with him. Heard he passed away a few years ago. He smoked like a chimney but had a lot of neat stuff in the store. Bought some pre war stuff that I still have. He was a great guy!!
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For me it was my daughter. In 1975 I had been out of collecting since 1954 and had no real interest in getting back. I had spent 9 out of the previous 15 years out of the country. She bought me a Hostess Twinkies box both because she knew I loved Twinkies and also baseball. This one had the cards on the bottom one of which was a Cub, my favorite team. This got me interested in collecting baseball again and I have never stopped. I recently sent her the four Cubs 1915 PM1 Ornate-Framed Pins I had as she had always admired them.
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My DAD
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The biggest early influence on my vintage collecting when I first got back into the hobby was Kit Young. I could actually order t206 and vintage from him when I couldn't find them anywhere else.
Then I found Network 54 (remember back then?) and the boards before this incantation of them. I loved the pick up threads and all the info I was getting. I learned so much about prewar it was nuts. I don't post that much but I've been here for many many years. Then I found OBC and my collection really took off. The OBC guys are the best friends I have in the hobby by far. They are awesome and I love being in the group. Thanks, AndyH |
Frank Nagy sticks out as being quite influential to me as a new hobbyist back in the 1970s. His mail order auctions were so cool. He would actually ship you the winning lots before payment, giving you the option to pay if you liked the merchandise or just return it if you didn't. Only once did I return something . . . a 1934 Jimmy Foxx Batter Up card that came with the top half discarded. I complained that I was only getting half a card for my $11.50 winning bid, and I got this long detailed letter from Frank replying that he had seen this card go for more money and in worse condition than mine was. But he balanced it all out by saying that it was ultimately my choice, and I had the right of refusal after all. Often he even gave me bidding tips. What a guy Mr. Nagy was!
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Larry Ritter. Reading "The Glory of Their Times" around 1975 or so sparked my interest in old time baseball and led to all kinds of adventures about it, including collecting, that I don't think I would have ever pursued otherwise. It's always been a pet theory of mine that it's no coincidence at all that not long after the publication of "Glory" in 1966, and it's subsequent success, collecting the cards and memorabilia of the players and teams of the period covered by that book started getting into full swing.
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By 1980 I was graduating high school and on to other things, went to a few shows in the 80s/90s but was turned off by the high prices and greed in general. Then around 1998 I found OBC (http://www.oldbaseball.com) a great group of guys into old beatup card board more for fun than profit. Made a lot of friends, completed or started all of the Topps/Bowmna sets and a few pre-war. Its been a blast! |
Thanks Sam! Sorry to have cursed you with my OCD! lol
My dad and mom were huge influences on my collecting- as a kid we loved doing shows together, so the main reason I started buying cards again as an adult was so that we could do shows together. The other big influence has been my wife, who strongly encouraged me to start up collecting again. Jeff |
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I was a year behind you, graduated in 81. The kids I asked would have been other freshmen, as I was new and didn't know anyone yet. I don't recall you, but I'm sure we must have run across each other at Halls. I was there often enough that they put me to work sorting sets in 78. Like 2-3 times a week. I also bought cards from the little antique shop in Fabric Corner. Steve B |
I could list many...here's a few...Jay Wolt, Scott & Hank Levy, Wonka.
A special mention of Derek Hogue, who, about 5 years ago, really impressed me with having only (about) a 10 card collection, but each one was a jaw-dropper (all were T206 HOFers with rare backs). I always employed the "quality over quantity" mantra, but his collection really inspired me. |
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Frank - I could not agree more! Here's to Leon and all his minions! |
Nobody played a bigger role for me than my dad. When I was nine in 1970, my mom gave me $1 and sent me to the grocery store for some broccoli. For reasons beyond my reason, I spent the money on baseball cards. As I was walking home, my dad drove by and offer me a ride. I explained what had happened, and he drove me back to the store, where he bought some broccoli — and some more baseball cards.
For the next half dozen years, he drove me and brother around to card shows in Orange County, and even the occasional trip to LA to visit Goodwin Goldfadden's legendary shop. My brother and I still collect, and dad is still alive at 95. Thanks dad! Another guy I give a lot of credit too is John Parks. I'm not sure if he is still alive, but he later founded the monthly card club meetings at the Issac Walton School in Garden Grove in the mid 1970s. He lived nearby, and I literally discovered vintage cards in his garage. My brother and I would spent hours going through his cards, and he was always patient with us, and never charged us much. He was truly an old school collector/dealer, and I mean that as a supreme compliment ... |
There is a good chance that most of our dads had to cover for us once in a while. My Dad is 94 and we still talk about cards all the time. Mostly about all the stuff we should have bought and didn't. Thanks for the story!!
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Three guys on here have really educated me on T206 cards, and have helped me out on purchases(from them) and advice on others.
Scot Reader BocaBirdMan Mike Luke Lyon. Scot is very open and glad to share information he has worked on very hard and spent alot of time on. Great researcher that doesn't mind telling you what he knows. Mike and Luke are long distance friends who has taught me things, shared opinions, and we have worked out sweet deals. For both sides! My favorites sellers on this site. That is my top three. |
My Mom got me into baseball cards. I was 4 years old and 1977 Topps packs are what she bought for me. After opening them, I was hooked. She would take me to the corner grocery store and get packs and open and sort them with me. We bought the cardboard organizer by team in 1980 with the two rows and blue silhouettes on the outside. I remember going to card shows at the fairgrounds and how packed it was. We came home with a 1962 Maris that a neighbor boys stole from me.
Unfortunately, the majority of my collecting was during the junk wax era. Got out of collecting after high school and just recently got back thanks to finding this site on the Internet. |
An older board member gave me some words of advice. He passed away unfortunately about a year later. I have visited his site at Arlington Cemetery and that's the closest to in person I ever got but the emails and stories we shared is what lit my passion for prewar. I am sure Joe is deeply missed on this board.
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For vintage: this place.
Now I am intimidated by all the great stuff in other people's collections. |
I'd thank Brad Green, a member on this board. His Lefty Grove collection (Link) with all of the color variations gave me the start and motivations for my player set collections.
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Just checked out that Grove Collection. I really like those Wheaties panels.
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Think my earliest influencers were Steve Murray, Kevin Struss, Craig Lipman, JC, Wesley Liu, Robert Silverman.
Even before I knew them I admired their collections and taste in cards. |
Getting back to this question the early influencers were Smiling Dave (don't know his last name), Scott Brockelman and Lew Lipset..... The latter 2 helped me a lot when I first started out.
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My mother. When I wad 12 she purchased me a mint Rod Carew rookie. Best gift ever! Either that or the G.I. Joe "Headquarters Command Center".
http://www.yojoe.com/images/resize/w...q_box_back.jpg |
My parents. My mom was always willing to pick up a pack while grocery shopping and my dad was always willing to drive me to different shows around New Jersey/New York.
My mom's friend also gave me a Don Mattingly Topps rookie as a birthday gift then a Donruss rookie as a first communion gift...needless to say I cherish those. But outside of family--Gary from Card Mart in Verona, New Jersey. Always treated me kindly and was very generous. He always made it feel like my five bucks was stretched as far as possible! When I ran into him at a show years later while in my 20s I was thrilled to say hello. Great guy/dealer--wish I knew what his last name was so I could give him due credit! Gary, if you're out there, cheers! |
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Rich |
it was Dave Hopkins(not the ball player), lived down by Gun Barrell city.
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.(thanks Scott for the above ID) |
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That GI Joe base brings back a lot of memories.
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GI Joe
That last comment cracks me up. Right there with you!
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