How Did Everyone Get Started Collecting Vintage Cards
 

Posted By: <b>Jay Miller&nbsp; </b><p>Most people start collecting cards as a kid. I know I used to go down to the corner candy store and buy my packs and try to put sets together.I never gave much thought of cards from prior years.For me getting into vintage baseball cards came after college, marriage and kids. A friend of mine in Connecticut collected vintage baseball cards and he thought I would like it. In fact, he suggested that I try Old Judge which he had collected for a while and thought was a really interesting set.That is where my addiction started and I was wondering how others reading this got started.

How Did Everyone Get Started Collecting Vintage Cards
 

Posted By: <b>Vognar Julie</b><p>In 1979, when my son was 9, he got $5 a week allowance.<BR>Every week, I'd have to accompany him to King's Baseball Cards, because he wasn't supposed to carry that much money all at once. I'd stand on first one foot, then the other, as he slowly spent his money. Eventually, I started looking over his shoulder. Once there was a '75 mini Brock which caught my eye: "Chris, why don't you buy that one?" "Mom, it cost a whole DOLLAR." "Oh, I'll pay for it, Chris." A couple of weeks later, Dennis King was putting a beautiful mint '55 Robinson away. I wrote him a note, "I'll give you $20 for the Robinson." (I had no idea what it was worth, or what year it was from, but I did recognize Jackie Robinson). He gave me the note as well as the card, and I still have it.<BR><BR>When Chris lost interest in Baseball cards, three years later, he was afraid to tell me. He told his father and had him tell me. <BR><BR>Why my interest in cards developed, or why it went further and further back, I cannot tell you. "Back" just seemed to be the natural way to go. Being poor, I don't buy much besides baseball cards, especially if the card I want is a 19th century one. <BR><BR>Men are often amused to lerarn that I do all the tricks on my husband they do on their wives to keep them from finding out how much it all costs!<BR><BR> Julie

How Did Everyone Get Started Collecting Vintage Cards
 

Posted By: <b>Brett Domue</b><p>Great topic. Warning! Lengthy response!<BR><BR>I started like most people, collecting new cards from the packs. When I was 8, my parents gave me a box of the new 1983 Topps cards for my birthday, the first time I ever received that many at once, and I tried to put together a set. After opening the box and numerous single packs, I was down to 1 card to finish the set, but couldn't pull it. Finally, I went for the first time to a baseball card store (Triple Play on West Street in Danbury, CT.) I bought that pesky Tony Pena card to finish my set, and while I was there, saw a board of real old cards. I decided to buy a card of Steve Carlton (1973) and that was my first ever "vintage" card.<BR><BR>A few years later, I started to collect runs of players. I would try for every regular issue card of any non-pitcher with any of the following: 1000 Runs, 2000 Hits, 300 Doubles, 100 Triples, 200 Home Runs, 1000 RBI or 400 Stolen Bases. Also any pitcher with 150 Wins or a combination of 250 Wins and Saves. I broke these runs into three categories...Active Players, Inactive Players, and who the heck are these guys Pre-World War Two players. After the first couple of years, I had completed runs of a great many active players, a couple inactive players, and didn't have a single card of any of the prewar players, though I at least could recognize names now, thanks to some of the reading I had done.<BR><BR>At this time, my family had relocated down to Pennsylvania. One day, I went into one of the local card stores and the owner had a plastic case of T206 cards for $2 each, all with major tobacco staining. I went through the pile and pulled the cards of the two names I recognized, Chesbro and Ewing. Well, I faced my disappointment when I got home and realized that Buck Ewing was long retired by then and this wasn't a card of him, but was thrilled with my Jack Chesbro card. <BR><BR>From then on, I was enthralled with collecting cards of the Hall of Famers from the pre-1945 era. I eventually stopped collecting player runs from the modern era and concentrated solely on the prewar HOFers, rookie cards of the modern era HOFers, and a few sets just to keep things interesting when the first two are going through dry spells (I already had most of the stars for the sets in my player runs, so really only had to find the commons.)<BR>

How Did Everyone Get Started Collecting Vintage Cards
 

Posted By: <b>Kevin Cummings</b><p>When my son was born back in 1983 we did his birth announcement to look like a baseball card (using the company of former major leaguer Jim Bouton). To make it more realistic, we bought wax packs of 1983 Topps, carefully inserted my son's "card", resealed the packs and gave them out. I'm sure a few of my friends got some very nice rookie cards (like Wade Boggs) thanks to me! <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14><BR><BR>Buying the packs and opening them rekindled the fire for collecting I had as a kid and so I decided to put together a Hall of Famer set for him, too. He never was much of a baseball fan, so it wasn't long before I was collecting for just <b>me</b>!

How Did Everyone Get Started Collecting Vintage Cards
 

Posted By: <b>leon</b><p>I used to collect cards when I was a kid. I decided to get into coins so I sold my garbage bag full for $50.00.....that was a lot of money in '73.......I didn't get interested again until about 6 years ago when I kept seeing a very small (maybe 15-20 tables)show set up a local mall. I met "smiling Dave".....a gentleman that has/had cards that were vintage....maybe 40's and later.....I couldn't believe you could get a '54 Banks in pr-fr condition for about $15-$25......at this time I did not know about the condition-value ratio's......Please understand that almost all of what Dave had/has is in pr-vg at best, condition is only a "by-line"....so I started talking to him (while wife and kid were shopping) and eventually bought some stuff from him. That got me hooked. Then I went to a regional Tri-Star show and saw the REAL vintage stuff. I was even more hooked. The rest is history....best regards

How Did Everyone Get Started Collecting Vintage Cards
 

Posted By: <b>Jay Miller</b><p>Great response! I think you hit on a fantastic topic for future discussion in your last paragraph.

How Did Everyone Get Started Collecting Vintage Cards
 

Posted By: <b>John</b><p>i started collecting cards when i was in kindegarten and a kid brought in a bag of cards and gave me a few of them,then i started buying packs with my allowance,and i got cards from early 70's thinking those were old cards! my father bought me a calendar of baseball cards organized by decades,and thats when i first saw old judge,t206 etc cards,and i always wanted(and still do to this day) the buck ewing with mascot old judge card...when i was 14 i saw a t206 for sale went home to get money,rode my bike back and the card was sold! and i never saw another for sale till i was 16.I went to cooperstown with my father and grandfather and we went to larry fritsch's card museum,and he had a T206 bresnahan,portrait in good condition for $40,i had to have it....so since then ive been collecting t206's,old judges and type cards from most other vintage sets....someday ill get the ewing/mascot card that i wanted so bad 15 years ago