Welcome to this great community!
I like you dreamed to one day own a 1989 UD Griffey. As a kid I had a Griffey and Jordan shrine in my room. The one card I could never get was that UD card. I got back into the hobby 2 years ago and that card was the first card I purchased. PSA 9 for $40...my times have changed.
I'm originally from Cincinnati so Griffey especially had an impact on me. He grew up in Cincy and I use to play on the same baseball diamonds that he did in his youth. The stories of him playing on those fields were legendary. For example, he apparently hit a ball well over the diamond, over a group of trees, and into the local swimming pool. That's over 500 ft! On a good day I could graze the lower tree trunk with a ball.
Years later when he played for the Reds, I was a waiter at a P.F. Chang's in Cincinnati. That restaurant was a popular hangout for Bengals and Reds players and one day Griffey showed up and I got to wait at his table. Made my summer
. Although I wish the guy would not have ordered so many chicken lettuce wraps...there's a reason he was getting "hefty" towards the end of his career.
Good luck with the T206 collection. I too, collect T206. It's a highly addicting set...definitely the gateway drug to collecting vintage.
Best,
Ben
P.S.
Check out the 1989 Bowman Tiffany Ken Griffey Sr. Card. The photo features both father and son and it's truly a beautiful card...probably the most underrated card of '89. And it sells for maybe $30 in a PSA 10.