[thatkidfromjerrymaguire]

Hi all,

I joined this forum a couple months back and have been enjoying reading the discussions about old baseball cards.

Like some of you, my introduction to baseball cards was the boom of the mid 80's (I was 12 in 1987 and 1987 Topps will forever be etched in my memories...that Bo Jackson Future Stars card is my #1 favorite card ever).

As it goes, I left the hobby due to other interests and life in general, but now in my mid-40's something about vintage cards has drawn me back. And after "experimenting" with a few lots off of ebay (T206, 1933 Goudey, 1950s Bowmans) I was particularly drawn to the beautiful paintings of classic hall of famers on those Bowman cards.

My first thought was to try and put together a set of 1951 Bowmans, but quickly realized there were two reasons that would be out of reach on my budget (Mays and Mantle).

So I landed on 1952 Bowman in mid-grade condition as the set I'm chasing. Still a beautiful set, but the 2nd year cards of Mays and Mantle are so much more affordable (relatively speaking) than those rookies. I'm about 1 year into my quest, and am about 30% done.

I recently felt the need to pull the trigger on one of those centerpiece cards to sort of validate my collection in my mind, so I'm recently the proud owner of an SGC 5.5 1952 Bowman Willie Mays. I've seen many of your beautiful cards in posts, so the Mays may not seem like much. But to me.....I now have a 1952 BOWMAN WILLIE MAYS!!!! The joy I get out of owning that card surpasses my expectations. My 12 year old self never would have believed it.

So anyway, I just wanted to say hi. I'll be around reading, hopefully able to add some relevant posts and comments, and I have some Bowman related discussion topics I'll likely post in the future in the Post War thread.

John