1. Name- Tom Hines

2. Age- 42

3. Day job- Chief Boatswains mate in the Coast Guard

4. Location- Coos Bay, OR (currently) From Norfolk, VA

5. Collecting interest- Cincinnati Reds 1985 and earlier, Paul Hines cards (my Great Great Grand Uncle) My collection has ebbed and flowed a lot over the years. Had a T206 near set (minus the big 4), had all the 1950's Topps sets (minus 51' Blue Back). Now I just focus on the Reds and uncle Paul.

6. Family- divorced for 2 years, two sons (13 and 11) and a daughter (9)

7. Years in hobby- 31 (some years more aggressive than others but continuously active since I was 11)

8. Other interests- Travel and History

9. Do you attend shows? Not many. Don't know of any near Coos Bay.

I've posted about myself on a couple of threads in the past, but I like this kind of thing, so I'll go along with this one too.

1. Name- David Kathman

2. Age- 49

3. Day job- Mutual fund analyst. Basically, I talk to a lot of money managers, crunch some numbers, and write about mutual funds and investing, trying to make it all understandable for ordinary people.

4. Location- Chicago, Illinois

5. Collecting interest- Very eclectic, including some of just about everything. Pre-war sets I have at least 50 of include T206 (300+, with many tough backs), T205, T212, T210, and N172, plus some of just about every T and E card set except a few of the real toughies. Also representative samples of most major sets from 1920 on, and Topps sets or near-sets from 1967-1991. I also collect non-sport tobacco cards, including several non-sport T-card sets and a pretty good type collection (N and T cards), plus advertising trade cards from the late 1800s, of which I have around 5,000 (17 albums worth).

6. Family- Not married, but I have a girlfriend with a 7 year old daughter. Parents, two brothers, two sisters, all with spouses and kids (8 nieces and nephews).

7. How long in hobby- Started in 1975, the year I became interested in baseball, when I collected the Topps MVP subset because I liked the pictures of old cards. Started more seriously the following year, when I went to my first card shop and paid $2.95 to a mail-order dealer to get one card from each Topps set from 1952 through 1975. Took a break from 1983 to 1991, then got back in and have never been totally back out, though there were some stretches of several years when I wasn't actively collecting much.

8. Other interests- Shakespeare and Elizabethan theater history (I've published many scholarly papers and go to the Shakespeare Association of America meeting every year); medieval history (I go to the International Medieval Congress in Kalamazoo every year and sometimes give a paper there); theater (I go to many, many plays and used to perform improv comedy); the U.S. Supreme Court; popular culture of the 20th century (especially popular music); politics; and lots of other stuff. I have over 5,000 books.

9. Do you attend shows? This year's National was the first card show I had been to in many years, and it was a lot of fun. I went to numerous card shows in the early 80s and then again in the early-to-mid-90s, but after that other things got in the way, and then eBay came along.

1. Name- Louie Michaud

2. Age- 29

3. Day job- Tutor. I go house-to-house. My primary focus is creative writing, along with math, the sciences, history. Middle schoolers up through college.

4. Location- Oakland, California

5. Collecting interest- early 20th century (t206, t212), obscure foreign cards, rookie cards of modern day players. Whatever, really. I operate primarily from whatever I deem "aesthetically pleasing", and go from there. Far more a "type collector" than "set collector".

6. Family- girfriend

7. How long in hobby- since I was 8, on and off, but completely on since I was 24

8. Other interests- playing pickup baseball, disc golf, golf, going to concerts, food, exploring Oakland and San Francisco, reading (favorite book at the moment: The Idiot), movies

9. Do you attend shows? Only the bi-annual San Francisco Bay Area show that's in San Leandro. But I do hope to someday attend a National.

Name - Ty

Age - 42

Job - Nurses Assistant

Location - Ellensburg, Washington

Collecting Interests - Central Washington Sports Memorabilia (pre-1970); from Hunky Shaw to Billy North, Football Cards 1958-1976

Family - 10 year old daughter

How long in the Hobby - Off/on since 1980

Other Interests - Local History, Hiking, Fishing, and BBQ

Do you attend any shows - Just the twice annual WSCCA show