When did you start collecting pre-war/vintage?

[Leon]

Since we have been discussing the potential for diminishing values of our pre-war/vintage cards I think it will be interesting to see when folks started collecting this era. Someone made the comment that collecting pre-war came a bit later in their collecting careers as there were other things more important in the earlier part of their lives (for many of us that includes our 20's). Also, with the values/prices many of us might not have had the disposable type of income to be able to do it any earlier. It would seem that many collectors start collecting the older stuff a bit later in their lives. We'll see what the poll says.
For me, I started when I was about 33-34 yrs old...which was about 15-16 yrs ago. It was called "mid life" crisis. I was walking through the local Garden Ridge mall with my wife and there was a tiny, 20 table card show in the middle of it. I saw a '54 Banks rookie, on Smilin' Dave's table, that was a bike-spokes card, for $10-$15.......I was hooked and then went back in "collecting" time from there. Lets don't count your childhood collecting unless you started collecting vintage then and never stopped. regards

[barrysloate]

I came into the hobby when I was 30, and started collecting vintage a couple of years into it.

[novakjr]

What's not to love about them bike spoke cards? '54 Banks for $10-15, gotta love it.

[carrigansghost]

Bought a shoebox full of 50's cards at 16 in 1981.......Hooked. Prewar in 2002. The box cost $20 and had some great 57 and 56 cards, which I still own.

Rawn

[Big Ben]

I bought my first vintage card at a card show while I was in my 20's. (mid 1980's) To be honest, most of the dealers and shows at that time in my area concentrated on cards from the 1950's onward so there was not much in the way of vintage cards that I could purchase in my area. When I saw a vintage card during those years, I usually purchased that card or at least inquired about the price of the card.

[ChiefBenderForever]

In 1998 started working on 1934 Goudey, 1958 Topps, and 1959 Fleer Ted Williams. Then in 2004 started working on T206. In 2006 stopped working on T206 after getting about 130 or so. In 2008 in a span of 3 months finished the 34 Goudey, 58 Topps,and 59 Fleer and decided to finally start collecting Chief Bender and over the next year sold the T206 cards, 34 Goudey set and 58 Topps set and kept the Ted Williams set but did sell Ted Signs. Have been enjoying Chief Bender cards ever since !! I was 28 in 1998 and so I guess that is when I official began prewar steadily.

[teetwoohsix]

I would be in the 36-40 years old range (or 35-40)......am 40 now.

For me, I have ebay to thank for my discovery of pre-war cards. I collected as a kid for awhile, and when my cards got left behind in a move I stopped collecting and found other interests that got me sidetracked.

A lot later in life, I had the bug to start collecting SOMETHING....and it was natural to go back to something I enjoyed collecting as a kid. Started scouring ebay, and "discovered" pre-war cards. It was love at first sight !!!
I had never known cards went back 100+ years. It was an amazing feeling to get my first T206 in the mail (still have it-Bill Hallman SGC 50). Picked up other types too, but found that I was more fascinated by the T206's,,, my wife could see I was becoming obsessed and bought me a copy of Lew Lipsett's book on tobacco issues and began studying the information.

When I found Net54, after contacting Trae (T206.org) about a card I had, he mentioned I should check out this sight. I was shocked at the cards I would see, and the wealth of information the board members had and would share-
what an amazing place this is!!!!

I was going to post on that thread about the price of cards diminishing, but erased everything I wrote, a few times I decided that when I buy a card, I'm more concerened about building a set than I am about whether they will diminish in value.......of course, we all want to think our cards will either retain their value, or better yet, climb in value as the years go by- but if I were to ONLY focus on the value, it wouldn't be as fun for me. I have to look at it like "buying a good meal",,,,,you buy it, you eat it, then, you move on to thinking about your next meal-- you don't dwell on the cost of the last one, or that the $$ is gone. Dumb analogy, I know.

So- yeah- way OT there. 36-40 and lovin' these cardboard treasures

Sincerely, Clayton

[deadballera]

bought my first vintage card (1934 Goudey Gehrig - portrait)..after watching Pride of the Yankees.

After that...got hoooked on buying vintage !

[Cat]

36 - I'm not sure if I started later or got older faster.

[Andy Sandler]

I started collecting pre-war in 1973 when I was a member of the Southern California Sports Collectors Club. We met at Walton Junior High in Garden Grove once a month. I was 13 years old and could not wait! I have never stopped.
Before going to these club meetings the oldest card I had ever seen was a 1952 Topps!

[bbsports]

Started collecting vintage baseball cards in the 4th grade age 9 buying 1964 Topps baseball packs at a nickel per pack. My parents then bought me my first box of Topps baseball cards in 1965 for $1.25 per box. The cards came in per series every month. I started doing pre war cards in 1970. I bought cards through the Traders Speaks magazine by bidding on them & mailing out the bids. Also bid on some cards through Sports Collectors Digest when they owned by Stommen Publications. One of my first cards I bought was a Red Portrait Ty Cobb in ex/mnt condition for $5.00. Commons in ex/mnt were selling from 50 cents-$1.00 per card. Since there were no price guides, no internet, & no grading it was great time to be in this hobby.

[sportscardpete]

bought a t206 cy young EPDG at 16... took a break during college.. now collect regularly. I am currently 22.

[4815162342]

I've posted this before, but my love for T206's began when I was a kid when I read this article in Beckett (Please pardon the link, it's the only site online that has it): http://www.t206museum.com/page/periodical_81.html

I didn't purchase my first T206 until more than 15 years later however.

[David W]

McGinnity and Casey at an antique barn in Georgia circa 1977 and Phillippe at Steamboat Days flea market in Peoria Illinois about the same time.

[ls7plus]

I collected as a kid, of course, starting in the late '50's and continuing part way through 1969 (I am presently 58). My return to collecting, I believe in hindsight, was orchestrated through fate. At my law office about 1990, a younger associate who was a collector, would regularly bring his cards into the office, ostensibly to organize them. I believe now, however, that his purpose for bringing them in was because his love for them simply wouldn't allow him to be apart from them all day! Others made fun of him, but I thought his cards were fascinating, and that provided all the stimulation I needed to return to the field. Unlike more sophisticated collectors, but probably like many others, I bought mostly the wrong cards at first (read modern rookies) because the speculative investment fever was still running amok throughout the hobby and its various publications (SCD WAS 300+ PAGES LONG) in those days. However, I was interested in vintage '50's and '60's cards from the start, and bought them at that time too, in as high a grade as I could afford, as they depicted the heroes of my youth.

With regard to pursuing pre-WWII cards, I have to give a lot of credit to Alan Hager, of all people. While other hobby writers were pushing modern rookies and/or cards dating only back to the '50s in high grade (often out of self-interest, as they were not only authors but also dealers, and that was the type of stock they had to sell), Hager was at least authoring books and price guides which were recommending pre-war cards as far better investments, based on their greater scarcity/rarity and the status of such upper echelon HOF'ers as Ruth, Cobb, Wagner, Matty and Johnson. He was also providing quality photos of an incredible number of different cards and sets from that era, and I was just snatched by the collar and dragged into focusing on such cards by those books. This coincided with the fall from grace of the over-hyped modern rookie cards, when it began to become evident even to those as initially naive as myself that these cards existed in truly humungous quantities in high grade and offered extremely limited potential for value retention or gain ( I sound like an invester here, but am really more of a collector/connoiseur who loves to hold the history of the game from generations past and the great players from those earlier times right in his hands. As a kid, and later as an adult, I not only spent countless hours playing baseball, but reading about its history, and playing stratomatic baseball with cards of not only the players of the time, but the greatest of all time. I just happen to like the idea and to believe that well-selected items will appreciate in value also). So, to cut this long-winded dissertation short, I was in my early forties when I migrated to pre-war collecting, wading in slowly at first, as I learned more about the cards, then damn the torpedos, full speed ahead!

Kudos to Clayton--great post!

Larry

[scooter729]

For me it began when I was probably about 10 years old (1983-ish) - for some reason, when I would go into the Halls Nostalgia store in Arlington, MA, I liked being able to buy a little card that was like 75 years old - how cool was that??

I had a newspaper route around the neighborhood starting at 11 years old, and remember using that money to buy cards and nothing else. Sure, I bought packs of the current stuff, but I always liked to try and buy something from the 1950s as well, so I could bring it home and show my dad. My goal was to see if he'd remember the picture of the card from when he collected while growing up (thrown out when he went into the service, of course).

But even when I would buy cards from the '50s, I always liked to try and pick up one of those really old small cards as well. The Halls often saved some of the real beaters for me, knowing I didn't have much of a budget.

Even though I probably have 150-200 T206's now, many of HOFers or nice-condition commons, I always have to smile when I see some of those common beaters of mine, knowing they were some of the first vintage cards I ever bought.

[williamcohon]

When I was a kid, I bought cards until I discovered girls. When we moved, my Mom threw the cards out; they were, after all, mere ballast.

At forty, my seven-year-old son asked me to take him to a card show. It was 1989, and he was looking for a Ken Griffey Jr. card. I had no idea I would see the cards of my youth, but there they were!

I immediately began buying the cards of the 50's, and within a year started collecting 30's and t cards as well.

My son lost interest in a year or two, but I'm still at it.

Thanks for this fun topic.

[willworkforT206]

I bought my first pre-war cards at a flea market when I was about eight years old back in 1976. Paid a couple of bucks for four T206 beaters - G. Brown (Washington), Graham (Boston), Abbaticchio (Brown Sleeves) and Maloney. All Piedmont or Sweet Caporal backs. I had absolutely no idea what they were at the time. Later did some research at the library and bought Bill Heitman's The Monster by mail. My friends thought I was crazy ("Why do you want that old stuff? Who are those guys anyway?"). As the years went on, they kept collecting the latest Topps and Donruss sets while I bought many more T206s blind through the mail from card shops on the east coast (House of Cards MD, Den's Collectors Den, etc.) because they were so hard to find at local card shows. Got out of the hobby after high school and back in again just three years ago - well after the dawn of third party grading and ebay.

I sure miss the old days.

Steve

[Jcfowler6]

I was a kid. I think around 12. My first two older cards were a '59 Clemente that my dad bought for me for 10 bucks from the mayor of our town, Brockway PA. And then a '53 Bowman Pee Wee Reese that I got for a couple Dwight Gooden rookie cards a couple years later.

The Clemente was later stolen with a couple thousand cards from me when I was away at college. So when I joined the Army and had my first opportunity the '59 Clemente was my first purchase. Still haven't replaced my George Brett rookie but will soon.

I have been a card collector since I can remember. Still remember my dad coming home from work with a pack of football cards. I think it was 1980. Had a Walter Payton and a Steelers card with the four players in quadrents.

[benderbroeth]

first off great great thread!!!

i must say ever since i was young i have always loved old stuff...the older the better i still own a 1797 penny, why becaus it is old, i love old books i just love old stuff. then i was into the whole pack stuff the thrill of the pull...but i would get great cards sell them then either boom they went way up or..i would keep them..those cards always went way down in value lol, so i would from time to time see older cards 50's or 60's i loved the older look the older feel, so i would buy them but i live on the west coast, well try finding t206 or that era on the west coast in the 90's good luck so i could never get the tobacco cards till the dawn of ebay and other great sites, now i collect old judges and t206's t205's why because they are old and i can afford beaters lol

[geor952]

In 2003, 28 years old, I was at the Moeller Show in Cincinnati looking for cards to finish my 1964 set. I met Mark Irodenko, owner of Outfield Sportscards, and bought a
t206, Ed Summers. I have been trying to slay the "Monster" ever since.

[Bilko G]

Originally Posted by bbsports

Started collecting vintage baseball cards in the 4th grade age 9 buying 1964 Topps baseball packs at a nickel per pack.

but this isn't what Leon is asking. Sure, 1964 cards might be "vintage" now, but they weren't vintage when you first started buying them in 64'.

Now, if you started buying T206's in 1964, then that would count.

Myself personally, i just started collecting pre-war about 3 years ago or so and the reason why was because of this website.

Ive been a modern collector (and collecting stuff from the 50s-90's) pretty much my entire life (except for maybe about a 6 or 7 year slow period in my late teens/early 20s). Im 35 now and have been collecting "hard" for the last 10 years or so.

I happened onto this site from another modern board a few years back and started slowly "lurking" every few days, within a couple months i was "hard-core addict" of pre-war cards. o thanks to everyone on this forum, lol!!!

[GrayGhost]

I don't have the budget to collect much, but have begun my little type card collection up to 1941, within the last 8-9 months or so. Have always loved the old cards/memorabilia and enjoy looking at a card from diff sets, and such. Plus, the fact that baseball is the greatest sport history wise , no shock that so many of us would love the older cards that kind of bring that history alive.

Value was mentioned on other thread. All I want is to get something I enjoy. Basically, other than the "cream of the crop" in cards, I don't look at cardboard as an investment so much.

[Rich Klein]

Originally Posted by Leon

Since we have been discussing the potential for diminishing values of our pre-war/vintage cards I think it will be interesting to see when folks started collecting this era. Someone made the comment that collecting pre-war came a bit later in their collecting careers as there were other things more important in the earlier part of their lives (for many of us that includes our 20's). Also, with the values/prices many of us might not have had the disposable type of income to be able to do it any earlier. It would seem that many collectors start collecting the older stuff a bit later in their lives. We'll see what the poll says.
For me, I started when I was about 33-34 yrs old...which was about 15-16 yrs ago. It was called "mid life" crisis. I was walking through the local Garden Ridge mall with my wife and there was a tiny, 20 table card show in the middle of it. I saw a '54 Banks rookie, on Smilin' Dave's table, that was a bike-spokes card, for $10-$15.......I was hooked and then went back in "collecting" time from there. Lets don't count your childhood collecting unless you started collecting vintage then and never stopped. regards

Leon -- I'm glad you found something to buy at that show, I went fairly often -- we called it by the name of the Mall --- and I don't remember making too many purchases at that show. The funny thing was at that time I was living on the other side of town and it always seemed like a haul to get there -- now that I live literally 5 minutes away, I wish that show was back there --- instead of being long gone

Rich

[Anthony S.]

My dad collected old football programs at the time (Cal, the 49ers, and others) and brought me along to my first sports collectors show when I was about 7. I still remember the first time I saw a box of T206's. I just thought they were the coolest thing in the world. I think I bought a T206 Mullin, a T206 Abbaticchio and a T206 Irv Young -- who I thought was Cy Young for the next couple years (but then again, so did the makers of e97's and they were probably older than 7) at that first show. I made the mistake of bringing a T201 Mecca double folder to show-and-tell in 3rd grade. It came back to me in 2 pieces. I continued to collect T206's and a few T207's, e90-1's, an old judge or two, etc. until freshman year in high school. Then I went cold turkey pretty much until my 30's (with the exception of one show I went to just after college) when I decided it was time to sell off my cards. But once I pulled them out of storage, I was instantly hooked again.

[frohme]

I got started in the late 60's/early 70's in a roundabout way. Dad would take us by 7-11 on the way back from Little League practices and we'd get the Slurpee cups. I think that would have been in the 72/73 time frame. One of the older guys on my team (12 seemed ancient then!) got me interested in cards.

I had most of the mid-70's sets but - like most others - had different interests in high school/college. Was on again in the 90's and have been back mostly full time since about 2006.

While I don't have the cards from the early days, I (somehow) still have all the Slurpee cups - mostly 72, 73 baseball and the 73? HOF run of 20. Anyone else collect those in the day?

--
MIke

[mrvster]

27 ish, 1998 or 1999 after the new shiny rookies....thanks Johnny Drekker for my t206 addiction

[Leon]

Originally Posted by frohme

I got started in the late 60's/early 70's in a roundabout way. Dad would take us by 7-11 on the way back from Little League practices and we'd get the Slurpee cups. I think that would have been in the 72/73 time frame. One of the older guys on my team (12 seemed ancient then!) got me interested in cards.

I had most of the mid-70's sets but - like most others - had different interests in high school/college. Was on again in the 90's and have been back mostly full time since about 2006.

While I don't have the cards from the early days, I (somehow) still have all the Slurpee cups - mostly 72, 73 baseball and the 73? HOF run of 20. Anyone else collect those in the day?

--
MIke

Hi Mike
I think we are probably close in age.... I will be 50 in a few months. I used to have tall stacks of those slurpee cups. We used to collect and trade them just about like cards. I lived in Houston and we used to try to get all of the Astros. I liked Pittsburgh too, for some reason, and had lots of those players also. Oh to be a kiddo again!! regards

[frohme]

Yep - I turned 48 a few months back, Leon. I was in the Orlando area until '75 when we moved to Houston (Space Center area). What part of town were you in, if you don't mind my asking?

I forgot in my original post that my first real obsession was with the RC Cola cans from the summer of 77. Talk about something mom hated having in the house!

[Leon]

Hi Mike
I moved around a few times, unfortunately, as a teenager. I did live in Clear Lake most of the formative years. Went to Clear Lake Intermediate the first year it was open and was the first class through the 3 grades....then moved in high school to Deer Park and then Bellaire.....Went to Clear Lake High, Deer Park High and Bellaire High.....regards

[frohme]

The world gets smaller everyday!

I started at Clear Lake Intermediate in fall 1975 - in 7th grade (I think that would have been its third year), so I must have been just one year behind you!

Went to Clear Lake High from there, graduated in 1981.

We lived just two blocks from the intermediate school (my parents are still there). You?

[sox1903wschamp]

I was 27 or so. Was into Topps and Bowman before that and I used to walk around the Holidome in St Louis when I was college age and look at pre war cards but I just did not know enough about them to take the plunge.

Then around 1988, I was at the St. Louis show and came upon a table of T206 cards that a guy had just made a find on and they were really nice cards. I bought a Wagner (Heine that is) that looked pristine (It later graded an SGC 80). So I can say that my first pre war purchase was a T 206 Wagner

[Steve D]

I Was 16 years old when I bought my first T206s in 1979. I got a Roger Bresnahan, Mordecai Brown and Willie Keeler for $10 total

Steve

[kkkkandp]

As a birth announcement for my son, we did a baseball card that we gave out inside packs of 1983 Topps. It wasn't long after that I started collecting Hall of Famer cards back to the turn of the century.

[Gradedcardman]

I began collecting vintage the first time I visited the "Super Flea" in Greensboro at 9. My first vintage card was a 1963 Lew Krausse. I still have it in a photo album. Collected only vintage after that. Mowed yards and did everything I could to make card money.

[teetwoohsix]

Thanks Larry-likewise also.

Interesting.... 5-15 years is in the lead........and not too close behind in second is 31-35. It's really cool to see that a majority of collectors that participated in the survey have been collecting vintage and pre-war since they were kids. True dedication, and no wonder there is so much knowledge on these boards !!! Thanks to everyone for sharing there stories, very enjoyable thread.

Sincerely, Clayton

[Leon]

Originally Posted by frohme

The world gets smaller everyday!

I started at Clear Lake Intermediate in fall 1975 - in 7th grade (I think that would have been its third year), so I must have been just one year behind you!

Went to Clear Lake High from there, graduated in 1981.

We lived just two blocks from the intermediate school (my parents are still there). You?

Hey Mike
I lived at 950 Wavecrest, right off of El Camino Real..........there was an elementary right down the street from us but I can't remember the name. We used to get up real early on weekend mornings and ride our skateboards there. Yeap, I was in 6th grade when the Intermediate opened the first year. We had moved to Clear Lake, from Westbury (SW Houston) when I was in 4th grade....I am sure we knew a lot of the same people. My little league All Star team went to the State Championships....( I will brag and admit I was the 2nd best batter in the league that year and played every game and pitched in every game too (on my regular team, played outfield on the All Star team)).....The Spivey's played on that team, their dad was our coach, and you might have known the younger one? What a small world it is!!


fyi...I would have been class of '80 but some bad things in life happened....long story.......

[rainier2004]

Great thread boss!
I started around age 7 or so, and my first non-pack purchase was a 59 topps Musial bought around 1984 or so...its nrmt and cost me $12 w/o any negotiating. I was a BB history buff as a kid and absolutely adored my fathers heros. So I went after all these guys from the 50's and 60's. I wound up selling off a lot of my collection then at age 31 discovered my joy for 34 goudeys. Last year I dove deep into the 1915 CJ's and my wife has been hearing about them ever since. Man, the stains on those cards make them soooo cool. Again, even though I never watched these guys play I feel like a kid every time a package comes to the house and I get to open, inspect and then find the cards new permanent home. Thats one of the best and consistent feelings throughout my life.

[Kawika]

Snazzy avatar, boss.

[frohme]

Originally Posted by Leon

Hey Mike
I lived at 950 Wavecrest, right off of El Camino Real..........there was an elementary right down the street from us but I can't remember the name. We used to get up real early on weekend mornings and ride our skateboards there. Yeap, I was in 6th grade when the Intermediate opened the first year. We had moved to Clear Lake, from Westbury (SW Houston) when I was in 4th grade....I am sure we knew a lot of the same people. My little league All Star team went to the State Championships....( I will brag and admit I was the 2nd best batter in the league that year and played every game and pitched in every game too (on my regular team, played outfield on the All Star team)).....The Spivey's played on that team, their dad was our coach, and you might have known the younger one? What a small world it is!!


fyi...I would have been class of '80 but some bad things in life happened....long story.......

Wow, Leon!! and it just gets smaller. I lived on Fathom - just 1 block in on the other side of El Camino between Wavecrest and Festival - and am all too familiar with that part of the street. Inter-neighborhood stickball in the cul-de-sac at the end of either your street or Seagate a couple of times in the summer of 78 (or 79) as well as typical 70's teenage hooliganism ... the fence along El Camino was great cover for tossing water balloons at passing buses, trucks, etc... Also, both my sisters went to Whitcomb Elementary over there by you.

Definitely played ball with David Spivey, and a little with his older brother Don. I didn't play in the area till Pony league in 76, so missed the state LL action, but definitely heard about it after the fact. Our pony All-Star teams in 76/77 never made it out of the region .

I'm sure you're right, that there are a whole list of characters we both know and played with. Gary Melder, Jim Backus, or Don Robison ring any bells?

Look forward to meeting you one of these days. I won't be at the Nat'l this year, but maybe 2012.

--
Mike

[itjclarke]

I answered 16-20 on the poll, but think my definition of vintage may have been off. I got my first cards as a kid in the early 80's, then got more serious in the late '80's.. collecting Giants autos at games and going to several card shows at the Moscone Center and Cow Palace with friends in SF. Btw- still remember the outcry over the price for a Muhammad Ali auto (I think $30, circa 1989), but we ran into him in the hallway and he gave me a freebie. He must have given out over a hundred freebies that day.

Anyway, I got my first beat up '50's-'60's HOFers at those shows (about age 12), and the vintage collection grew from ages 12-16 (lots of great card shops then too). The collection made a big leap in HS when two friends sold me their father handed down vintage collections CHEAP! for beer and sneaker money. Seems sacrilegious, but all parties involved were happy. I expanded slowly into Goudeys/T206s soon after.. then went NUTS in the late 90's when eBay first took off. Making my first "adult money" during summer internships, while still living those summers rent free at home was great food for the addiction!

I took most of my post college 20's off, then got back in full steam about 2-3 years ago. Have been totally hooked ever since. My interests still include the stuff I've always liked.. 50's/60's Topps/Bowmans, Leaf, Play Ball, Goudeys, the T205/T206/T202 (currently obsessed with T202) and 19th Century.

Still love it, and am greatful to know through this site that I am far from alone in my addiction.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by frohme

Wow, Leon!! and it just gets smaller. I lived on Fathom - just 1 block in on the other side of El Camino between Wavecrest and Festival - and am all too familiar with that part of the street. Inter-neighborhood stickball in the cul-de-sac at the end of either your street or Seagate a couple of times in the summer of 78 (or 79) as well as typical 70's teenage hooliganism ... the fence along El Camino was great cover for tossing water balloons at passing buses, trucks, etc... Also, both my sisters went to Whitcomb Elementary over there by you.

Definitely played ball with David Spivey, and a little with his older brother Don. I didn't play in the area till Pony league in 76, so missed the state LL action, but definitely heard about it after the fact. Our pony All-Star teams in 76/77 never made it out of the region .

I'm sure you're right, that there are a whole list of characters we both know and played with. Gary Melder, Jim Backus, or Don Robison ring any bells?

Look forward to meeting you one of these days. I won't be at the Nat'l this year, but maybe 2012.

--
Mike

I remember all of those streets. That was my old stomping grounds. Yeap, it was Whitcomb Elementary..We moved from Houston and I started there in the 4th grade. Had a few fights on that playground too...There was still a lot of Jewish prejudice back then . .My brother (RIP) tried to jump that creek over there on a motorcycle, like Evil Knevel. He hit the other side, wrecked and almost killed himself *(wasn't really hurt but it was a great crash). I will never forget those days.

One of the 2 homers I ever gave up was to Don Robison....I will never forget that damn hanging curveball. I remember Melder and Backus too.....Don (and Backus I think) were one year a head of me but I was put up in the majors early...... BTW, I saw Jeff Moeller, another Nasa Area Little-Leaguer, here in Dallas several years ago...through work and quite by accident. He remembered all of this stuff too. BTW too, when my mom (RIP) was in really bad shape due to cancer, I stayed with the Spivey's so I could continue in the All Stars that year. I went to vacation bible school with them and everything. We had a great time. Their dad taught me how to throw curves and drop balls and was our coach. I think he was missing half a finger too!!

Whilst we began collecting cards fresh from the pack when were 6 years old, our interest in ultra rare high grade baseball cards dates back to 1977.

At that we committed ourselves to building the world's best type card
and selected memorabilia collection.

Among our earliest purchases were a group of George Millers (now sgc 70), a Texas Tommy from Larry Kelley and two 19th century cards from Sir Rob Lifson
a Four Base Hit and a Just So (both highest graded)

Quality never goes out of style.

Bruce

[hangman62]

Im finding it hard to believe that so many 5-15 yrd old kids started collecting ' PRE WAR" cards at that age . It doesnt sound right...young kids..just starting to play little league baseball ? ages 6,7,8,maybe 9....just starting to understand the game/the teams/the rules...just starting to buy ( or have someone buy packs for you)..I just cant see it. I know as a young kid in the mid/late 60s..I was in love with my team and the current yr cards...and just occasionally looking at a 60/61 Fleer card would completly turn me off..seeing those very old guys mugs !....why would a 6-7 8 yr old find joy in a 34 Goudey card of players who...they didnt know..even when grandpa sat you down and told you about Waner,Speaker,Cobb,etc.., didnt you still find more attraction to Swoboda,Mantle,Seaver, and Pepitone ??

[B O'Brien]

I marked myself in the 16+ age. My turning point was my 12th birthday (1988) and my dad said he would buy me any card or cards I wanted as long as I didn't cross $40, and that was it. We went to JR's in Powderly, KY and I had my heart set on a sharp Mattingly 1984 Fleer. JR had just taken in some trade stock and he had two 1956 Topps Campy's. One was nice crispy with a wrinkle and the other had a slightly rounded corners but no creases. Please remember that Mattingly, 45 minutes south of where he grew up was king at this time, and that is still one good looking card! The color on the wrilke free Campy was super vivid and I fell in love, my turning back the years in the card world had begun. The prices on both were $35, so I grabbed the Campy a new Beckett and a pack of clean top loaders (never had any new ones before that!). I still have that card and always will!

As I got a little older I set up at the local shows and sold new stuff from wax and would take in trade of whatever had value, so I started to amass some good post war stuff. I was set up at a show in Charleston, WVA in 1992 (we moved, coal mining family), and one of my regular guys was working on a 1955 set in EX or so, and I had a nice Clemente to fill his slot. After months of trying to work out a deal (I was asking $500) he shows up with an Old Mill White Cap Matty that is crease free and $300. I managed to squeeze out a NMMT Payton RC to sweeten the deal. That Matty was my first PW card and I loved it.

My sell off lasted right at 5 years. When I decided what I wanted to do for real, need to relo and go back to school (Culinary degree this time), I had to sell of nearly all of my stack of cards. I sold the Matty on ebay (2001 or early 2002 after getting married, it was the last to go) in a PSA 3 holder to a guy in Sea, WASH. I have tried to find him for last few years to get it back, but no luck. Between my time as being broke with the wife when we started out and the college days (I had expensive recreational choices then, and very little income), I sold off all of my prewar cards for next to nothing (just before the internet). I used to keep really good records in my notebooks from show deals (what I took in on trade) and the same stuff that I sold off at $10 a card in college is staggering for me now, as I would just bulk out my T206 (VG-EXish) hoard to the local dealer in LEXKY because he had a guy that was framing them and would take all I would bring for the flat price.

I managed to stay away for 5 years before joining Cardtarget and the partial shares market. I figured if I only had a portion of some T cards it would be OK! When I found out we had to close down, I could not think of letting the Lenox Johnson go to someone else, so I bought it in the summer of '08 to fully knock myself off the wagon.

As with some of you all, I think the baseball cards have been one of the things that have linked the stages of my life. My first set for the holidays in 1986 from the JC Penny catalog, because I thought it would be fun to have 792 tiny presents, to learning math and statistics as I got older from the backs, to trying to find tough backed T206 HOFers or just cards I always wanted when I was little, as I do now (I bought beater Duke Snider and Pee Wee rookies the other night!!) It is the one constant no matter what else changes around me.

I love me some ball cards and prewar just makes it that much more fun. I love to learn the history of what was going on when these cards were being produced to set the players or company up with what was going on in the times. My next little project will either be the Bluegrass League or the LA issues T cards. Since both groups of cards seem to be out of my price range, I may take a new route on collecting. The journey continues!!!

I just reread that, sorry for the ramblings!!,
Bob

[wonkaticket]

Originally Posted by Yankeefan51

and two 19th century cards from Sir Rob Lifson a Four Base Hit and a Just So (both highest graded)

Bruce

Rob has been knighted?? Allright now I know he's making too much money!

Originally Posted by Yankeefan51

Quality never goes out of style.

True, but narcissism may grow old (Kidding Bruce).

[Bilko G]

Originally Posted by hangman62

Im finding it hard to believe that so many 5-15 yrd old kids started collecting ' PRE WAR" cards at that age .

i have a feeling many people who voted are confused.

[Mark]

Originally Posted by Bilko G

i have a feeling many people who voted are confused.

That could be. But I voted in the 5-15 yr old category because I took up vintage collecting when I was about 11 or 12. Back around 1971, a handful of sellers advertised pre-war and post-war cards near the back of the Sporting News and Baseball Digest. I knew lots of the players names both from my dad's stories about Waner, Traynor, Hubbell, Sisler, Ruth, et al and had read both The Glory of Their Times and 8 Men Out. After I bought some cards from the sellers in TSE and BD, the sellers would send around mimeographed sheets of cards for sale every couple of months. Back then, they would sell t-206's by the player's name alone, omitting any reference to whether it was a portrait or not or what back it had or even its condition. And at a local flea market, there was a guy who always had a box of cards and a cat with him. He introduced me to a couple of Goudeys. Somehow, I learned about the existence of the Trader Speaks. I ended up with a lot of t-206's and a number of Goudey's and Playballs, but never ran across most of the issues from the 20's that I collect now.

[Leon]

I admit I am quite surprised by the poll numbers too. I would have thought the #2 spot would have been the #1 spot by quite a bit and that is the spot I fell into. That is when my (little bit of) discretionary income and boredom set in . It's hard to imagine so many on the board started collecting PRE-War/vintage so young and never stopped. Thanks for all who have responded so far...and sorry for my tangent of going off topic....Those early little league days bring back some very fond memories (obviously). regards

[David W]

Originally Posted by Leon

I admit I am quite surprised by the poll numbers too. I would have thought the #2 spot would have been the #1 spot by quite a bit and that is the spot I fell into. That is when my (little bit of) discretionary income and boredom set in . It's hard to imagine so many on the board started collecting PRE-War/vintage so young and never stopped. Thanks for all who have responded so far...and sorry for my tangent of going off topic....Those early little league days bring back some very fond memories (obviously). regards

What you've got to remember is that in the 70's when I was in my early teen's, pre war stuff was readily available at flea markets. It was available at garage sales, and it was cheap. I got a whole scrapbook full of newspaper clippings from pre WW2 with several cards, including a Bottomley Goudey in it for $5 once. So if you were a kid like me who loved baseball you'd buy it. I had friends of my dad give me their cards from when they were kids. People just gave away the 70's cards to who ever would take them.

It wasn't until the Beckett annual guide came out around 1980 that the casual person had any idea cards might be worth something some day.