[JustinD]

A thought on that year sent me daydreaming for a bit, thanks!

That was the year I first started talking my parents into regularly driving to The Sports Collector's Dugout, which was the closest card shop after we moved to the 'Big City' in Lansing, MI.

Prior to that, we lived in a little farm town called Coopersville and my only card options were a comfy banana seat bike ride to the convenience store in town (on Main Street of course, because what one-light town doesn't have one) that had a small but decent selection of current cards and a Slush Puppy machine...just enough for excitement. However, that little hole in the wall shop that was half the size of my living room and stacked to the ceiling with random stuff was way better than Toys R' Us (and that was amazing btw).

Honestly in retrospect with and adult eyes, the owner was top shelf shady. My mom absolutely hated taking my brother and I there, as it was a cluttered, smoke filled room with little to no ventilation. The owner Elliot had a consistent cigarette in one hand, pomade slicked hair, and the raspy fast talk of a used car salesman.

All that said, I loved that place. I would stare at the cards in his little case that far exceeded my dollar weekly allowance for chores and seemed so out of reach. Those Mantle's were around 20 bucks by god, who could afford that?

Being a Michigan town, the case was of course full of Detroit stars. The main case had a center section of nothing but Al Kaline. I never watched him to my memory, as he had retired when I was still in diapers. However to the 'older' Tiger fans, he was still king and retired just yesterday. Al was the hot seller, and deserved his spot front and center. I looked at those cards and thought, "When I get older I will get an Al Kaline too, and i'll buy all the candy at the register...just because i'll have grown up money."

I'll admit, I never bought the entire rack of candy at the register. I'll probably pass that up. However, i'll be damned if that kid doesn't have the entire Topps run of Kaline now. He would think that was pretty cool.