Hi all, long-time lurker here so I thought I’d finally introduce myself!
I was a collector as a kid during the junk wax era and can remember taking my $5 allowance money every couple of weeks to the card shop, browsing for an hour trying to decide which two packs I’d buy, hoping to hit some Braves cards. The strike in ’94 basically ended my collecting days, but having a 3 year old son who’s obsessed with baseball got me back in the hobby in early 2021. This time around, my focus is on vintage, particularly pre-war. My budget doesn’t allow for too many purchases, especially after the pre-war market skyrocketed, but I can honestly say that just being interested in the players and the era itself, I’ve gotten so much joy just from learning about it all. Prior to 2021, I’d never heard of guys like Mathewson, Plank, Collins, etc. and now I’m obsessed with reading about them, their stories, and just the time period. I’ve learned so many cool things about my own hometown, like how Kid Elberfeld moved here after his playing days (and even played in the minors here for a time), guys like Plank, Ruth and Gehrig played at the stadium that’s just down the street from me, and Sam Strang is buried literally two blocks away from me.
So although I’m unable to afford most of the cards I’d like to have (think red portrait Cobb, though that one is on my long-term wishlist that I plan to slowly chip away at over the next few years
), I’ve been able to make a wishlist of cards that have meaning, i.e. Elberfeld, Strang, T210 Lookouts cards, etc. that are a bit more realistic for my budget.
I can’t leave out the fact that I also really enjoy creating art of my favorite players, so I’ll leave two pics here. In the spirit of Bob Lemke, one is a card that never was that I made of one of my favorite players: a 1933 Delong Josh Gibson. The other is a recreation of a Sporting Life postcard where I used T206 portraits to create the 1911 NY Giants team.
Thanks to this forum and the community, I’ve been able to learn so much and keep my interest piqued, so thanks to all of you!