[billyb]

Ben, great thread.

Ben, I also am from Detroit, and as far back as I can remember, I have been a baseball fan. Being near vintage myself (born in '47), I have had the pleasure of watching Mantle and Hodges, and many of the players from the mid 50s, in their hey days. In about 1954 or 55, I got my first baseball cards. My fondest memory was when my dad brought home a whole box of penny wax packs. I sat on our back porch and slowly opened every one of them. Did I have a pile of gum.
My dad took me my first Tiger game, at about the age of 8, I remember Roy Sievers hitting a late inning two run homer and the Senators beat the Tigers 4-3.
He also took me to another game, Tigers won 14-1 over the White Sox, our seats were by the bullpen, which was by the sidelines then. I heckled every one of those White Sox relievers that were warming up. Them poor guys take a lot of abuse. In that game I got to see a little known player, named Coot Veal, hit his only major league home run. He tucked the home run ball about a foot over the left field fence just inside the foul line. A monster drive...lol
I lived and breathed baseball. We lived with my grandparents then, and my grandfather used to get mad at me for constantly throwing a rubber ball against the garage. Finally they took the garage down, but my grandfather always teased me saying I knocked it down.
The cards kept piling up, I would create my own teams, dealing out all the cards, by positions , I would have eight to ten teams, and then I created my own baseball games. For hours I would play the game, keeping stats, leaders, I knew every stat for every ballplayer of the latter 50s and early 60s.
That continued until I got my drivers license, then, at that age, other things attracted my attention. Usually it wore short skirts.
Then military service was fulfilled and when I returned after a three year absence, my dad remodeled our house, and the cards, which were in the attic, were gone. Thrown out by my parents, but at that time, I knew nothing about values of baseball cards, so I thought nothing of it until in 1984, while working with the Detroit PD, I got a call to a baseball card shop. They had some sets of cards stolen and they had an idea of who did it. I was able to retrieve almost all the cards taken and the owner of the shop gave me a 1984 Topps and Fleer sets of cards. They then invited me to a card show. I went to my first show, and I was off and running again and bought up every garage sale, yard sale, private collections I could. But the 1990s soured me again, but I had my Mantle autographed Mantle mitt, Kaline and Killebrew signed balls, plus other collectible including a handful of prewar cards I displayed telling the story of baseball collecting.
Until recently, I was a non collector, but when my cousin approached me about her husband's family inheriting a Babe Ruth photo collection, and they were looking for some help, I jumped in with both feet. I approached that dealer who gave me the 1984 Topps set some years ago, and he knew very little of Press photos, so that led me to Net54. Armed with just a couple of scans, which I posted here, I learned a lot more about Press Photos, and I fell in love with the idea of collecting press photos myself.
THE WHY, because I can see the spirit of the ballplayer in these photos. The photos provide some history of each ballplayer.
Many of you, here on Net54, has either helped directly or indirectly, as I have been following every post regarding these photos, and reading many older posts. For this, I thank everyone on this board for what you knowingly or unknowingly, have done for me. I am addicted to Press photos and if there is a definitive time when I started collecting vintage memorabilia, it was last December when I made that first post filled with questions. So it is your fault....lol
I really enjoy being a small part of this elite preservation of baseball memorabilia family, so once again to you all, Thank You
Move over Ben, another kid from Detroit is on the same block.....lol Just kidding, not in your league......not yet anyways.

Billyb