Posted By:
Kevin CummingsMy addiction all started because of how we decided to announce my son's birth. At the time, former major league pitcher Jim Bouton had a company which did business cards and such in the appearance of a baseball card.
I thought it would be extra special if we included my son's card in a pack of real 1983 Topps cards. Opening all those wax packs started juices flowing that hadn't for about 20 years.
That progressed into buying a full set for my son for each year since his birth, but that didn't take long. At that point it became less an effort for my son than one for myself and, like many, I embarked on a Hall of Fame trail.
After reading Nemec's books and picking up my first Old Judge (Tim Keefe) from Terry Knouse, the actual photograph on the old card and the stories of the characters just made me want to focus on 19th century items. I've still got a long way to go, but the 19th century items get me more juiced than any 20th century items.