Posted By:
Al CrisafulliRich:
Greg was an AWESOME guy, especially for a young kid. I always wondered what happened to him. He really did have a shoebox of cards that he told me was "just for me" - he's the guy who got me into vintage cards, and I used to spend hours in his store, going through the shoebox. I did go there once in the very early 90s, and sure enough, after I jogged his memory a bit, he remembered me.
He would sit and tell stories about old players, or various card types. The guy had so much character, I could have listened to him all day, which is saying a lot considering I was the type of kid that wasn't into sitting and listening to adults talk. I'd pull out a card of a player, and he'd say "That's Sal 'The Barber' Maglie" and then tell me a story about the guy.
I still have a stack of beat-up old Bowmans and T206s that I bought from him as a little boy.
One time he sold my friend a 1954 Hank Aaron for $5. It was kinda beat up, but not that bad considering the price.
I always got the feeling that by letting us dig through such a great selection of vintage cards at such low prices, he was making a long-term investment. Either that or he really did care about the hobby, and wanted to do his part by getting young people into vintage material. Whichever, I probably have him to thank for this obsession of mine (don't know if that's good or bad)
Thanks for letting me dig up some old memories.
-Al