[Fred]

I think my first introduction to the rookie card craze was when I was happened to be in Tucson in 1984 and Scott Bradshaw (I think it was him) was ripping through huge amounts of 1984 cellos, wax or vending boxes trying to extract the Don Mattingly cards and selling them for a couple of bucks a piece. I was absolutely stunned that someone would pay a few bucks for a nobody because it was their first appearance on a baseball card. I never got into the rookie card thing but I do recall buying a lot of (100) 1984 Dan Marino rookies for about 39 cents each and then selling and trading them after they went ballistic.

The funny part was the when everyone was knocking themselves over the rookie cards the vintage stuff was still relatively cheap. I could never understand why someone would spend $35 on a bunch of "rookie" cards when they could have picked up a decent T205 of Matty for that price.

I've definitely bought more than I've sold but I regret selling a lot of the stuff that I did have just because I could make a bit of money off of what I paid for the cards. I've let a few really nice things go, for example a full run of 52T semi-highs (minus Mays) in at least ExMt+ condition.