[mrmopar]

I don't have any one specific card that has deep meaning for me. Many cards from those early days shake something loose in the old brain. I have all of the cards I collected as a kid and although that was not as long ago as many, it was over 40 years ago now.

Growing up where I did, we had a great neighborhood, filled with kids all around the same age range. We played a lot outside (and sometimes inside as video games were starting to be popular). Wiffle ball, tag, riding bikes, tossing the football, hide and seek and whatever else we could come up with. There are a lot of great memories associated with this time for me and some things that bring those memories into a little bit clearer focus. Things like the RC Cola cans with the baseball players, Marathon bars, just about any card produced in the 78-80 range, sport or not. I used to buy sets each year through the magazines/catalogs starting around 1981. I spent a lot of time wishing I could buy more, filling out order forms i'd never actually send in because I didn't have the money. A few TCMA/RGI sets seem to have made the rounds within my friend group as they were broken up and traded, probably because they were free gifts with orders.

Books too. I used to get to order a few books in the Scholastic order each year and they were always sports related. The annual Weber stars of 78, 79, etc, The Baseball Card, Flipping, Trading & Bubblegum Book and many others. there was a set of sport encyclopedias at school that I wish I could ID now, as I had fond memories of looking through those at school. The elementary school I went to let us laminate some stuff once and I got several cards done, including a 78 Topps Rose that managed to survive. Most of the rest I peeled the lamination material off and ruined the cards.

I had a "Johnny Bench Batter Up" toy, which actually kind of sucked as I kept breaking the large rubber bands that made it work, but I had to buy one not that long ago for the memories. I went to a lot of Mariner games in that era, scrounging for autographs at the foul lines. Those were fun times!

So, here are just a few things that I picked up recently (had most of it already) that help bring those memories back...in no particular order or preference, just things that make me think of my childhood. Some I had then, others I obtained later because I always wanted, but never could find...