What was your path to what you currently collect?

[rainier2004]

I was curious what led people what what they currently collect.

My story goes as kid in the 80's I collected my favorite players and my Dads heros collecting some 60s and a few 50s topps. Adulthood let me start to buy more expensive cards and about 3 years started my obsession with older cards moving from a 48 bowman set to a 34 goudey set to my work in progress Cracker Jack set and now am trying for n28s and a couple other sets...and thats where Im at.

Im still a novice to realizing all those unique and far scarcer set coming across this board 6 months ago and wonder what led you all to e90s, 1895 mayos, w-this and e-that cards. Is there a progression that vintage collectors go thru? I lost interest in the 60s along time ago, the 50s faded 3-4 yrs ago and the 40s are starting to go but not missing a bunch there....ILOVE my Cracker Jacks though...


Happy holidays and drive safe.

[Leon]

For me, I never liked the same ole thing. Sets aren't really for me. I like variety...So I became a type card collector. I have dabbled with a few obscure sets but they just don't hold my interest. To each their own, which is also what makes collecting so fun. It can be anything you want it to be. best regards

[jbsports33]

Going to shows starting at the age of 9, now my son goes with me and I still have the same feelings when I look at a new group of vintage cards!

Prewar collecting started right after college, when I had a little more money in my pocket and looked at the Barry Halper collection.

Jimmy

[kmac32]

When I was a youngster I began my Cub addiction, Started collecting Topps cubs and continued to collect forward and back till I had every card in topps and updates of the Cubbies. Also, my great great uncle played ball for the Yankees on the early twenties so I started collecting his cards. This led to collecting E121 yankees and Giants associated with the 1921 World Series in which Uncle Elmer played along with Babe Ruth. Also collect 1912 T 207 Cubs.

[GoudeyJim]

I strictly collect 1933 Goudey cards and am working on a set. This came from hearing stories from my Dad of all the Goudey cards he bought and opened as a kid. He said he had "numerous cards" including Ruth's and Gehrigs. It is the typical story of my grandmother throwing them away when he was older. That didn't stop me from searching my grandparents house each time I went there in case they missed some.
Those stories and all the great players are what attracted me to the set.

Jim

[Wichita]

I collected cards as a kid with my brothers in the mid 80s. Lost interest in the late 80s. A few years ago, I got into astronomy, but found it frustrating to wait for the right weather and to stay up late at night in the cold.

From other experiences in life, I discovered that I get great satisfaction from having a specific project goal in mind and gathering all of the parts or materials needed to complete it. That made me think back to when I was a kid and tried to gather each and every baseball card in a set. It gave me such satisfaction to track down missing cards and complete sets.

So I sold my astronomy equipment to start collecting cards again.

[Runscott]

I returned to cards in 2000, trying to complete the '67 Philly gum Cowboys subset (which I did, and it's framed on my wall). Bought a T206 McGann out of curiosity (still have it), loved it, bought a few more....that was all she wrote. Best I did was slowly build a HOF'er portrait subset, which I eventually sold. Also collected printer scrap for a while, but got bored and got rid of all that as well. Starting over now with the goal of getting the entire T206 set, and even have a Wagner fund.

Thanks to you guys for making me realize that cards don't have to have fuzzy color photos on the front and stats on the back to be real cards.

[Section103]

I collected the garbage wax as a kid of the 80s and then stopped at a typical age. When my son was about to be born, I came up with the idea of completing a collection with all HOF players + all MLB players from my college and his mothers, as a legacy type thing.

[old-baseball]

My first vintage cards came my way as I was working on a set of 1974 Topps. My grandmother found my dad's cards as they were cleaning out the garage at the house that they had moved into while my Dad was in the Navy during WWII. It's hard to believe that they lasted as long as they did in a cardboard box in an unheated, detached garage. The box was filled with 1933 through 1935 Goudey's, a few Tattoo Orbits, some Delong's and a bunch of non-sport stuff. I really didn't start collecting these sets until the mid to late 80's, but the cards and his stories of seeing Ruth and Gehrig in Cleveland as a boy sparked my interest. Here's a couple of cards that survived the 30 long years in that garage.

[kmac32]

Kevin,

Pretty impressive in my opinion. How did you get into E121?

[rainier2004]

Kevin - NIce story

[old-baseball]

Ken - the E121's were completely by accident. In the early days of Ebay I was buying anything that seemed like a decent deal. There was a seller that had several lots of both Series of 80 and Series of 120 cards and I bought several of them. Shortly there after Clean Sweep had a huge lot of Series of 80 cards that I bought for a relatively cheap price. At that point I was hooked. Unfortunately I sold several of cards that I chasing today - they were in lesser condition and didn't fit with everything else that I had. Still kicking myself for that.

[alanu]

Collected when I was a kid up until about 1972 when I was 11. Got back into it in the late 80's and mostly collected Clemente and Ripken and did some shows. Started collecting vintage in the 90's but mostly collect anything now, vintage to about 1967, that catches my eye.

[ghooper33]

I was mainly a 1950's Topps & autograph collector, but I have recently began a journey into pre-war cards after a buddy and I decided to build a T205 set together after buying a couple at a show. (We also thought it would be fun to make a point to have our families vacation together using the National as an excuse).

Being new to genre I have purchased as many different cards as I can find. After sampling different cards I have settled on the T207 set for myself.

[ls7plus]

I'd collected cards as a kid, beginning in 1958, as I recall, and continuing through 1969, and got back into them when a younger attorney in my office used to bring his cards in from time to time, circa 1989 or 1990. He was into new cards, which were of course all the rage at that time, and I initially gravitated in that direction also, although simultaneously buying back some Mantles, Mays and Aaron cards, etc. But I really didn't know much about pre-Topps cards until Alan Hager came out with his "Guide to Rare Baseball Cards 1886 to Present," in 1993. While Mr. Hager was certainly a controversial figure in this hobby's past, the book, if one disregarded the prices he quoted, was really quite informative regarding the incredible variety of cards from days long past that were out there, along with his expressed opinion of their relative rarity (which was not always accurate, but decently within the ballpark, IMO, in most cases). I was just fascinated by these cards, and the quality photo reproduction of examples from each set that Hager included. Been buying pre-war ever since!

Happy collecting,

Larry

[peterb69]

Started collecting in 1969 with that year's Topps set. But my mother threw them away by mistake as I kept them in a brown paper shopping bag. I started up again from 1974 to 1979 and then went off to college the next year. In 1986, the Red Sox were making a run towards the World Series and there was a huge flea market near me. I stated to collect again, mostly Red Sox team sets. I bought the yearly Beckett price guide for the various checklists. It was there I saw the T205 Jimmy Collins card pictured above the T205 checklist. I am originally from RI and I never kenw there were baseball cards of Providence teams. I caught the T205 fever and from the mid 80's to mid 90's I was able to almost complete a master set. I am just Wilhelm 'suffered' and Hoblitzell no stats away. I also collected other various type T-cards & N-cards.

The mid 90's and early 00's there was so much garbage coming out of the various card manufactors that I really got turned off and stopped collecting until about 3 years ago. I found this website and started up again. I love seeing the various t206 backs and I am now trying to collect the Providence T206 team with as many backs as I can. Every time Leon shows that Moran Drum card, I start to drool.

[Fred]

Early 70s I started collecting Topps (of course). When I first started I had no clue that there were any cards before the 50s. My older brother collected around 65-68 and he gave me his stuff. After I saw my first T206 (mid 70s) I was hooked on the old stuff. I collected new and shiney until the early 90s. I never really got into the chase cards or the rookie cards too much.