Posted By:
BrianI did this for a co-worker's son at his 11th birthday party. About a dozen boys and a few fathers and I went for pizza.
I brought some beater Ts and Es. I also brought some high grade Obaks. Basically, I had a discussion about the history of baseball and baseball cards.
Throughout the presentation, I asked trivia questions and made sure each kid got at least one answer correct. I handed out some 1981 Topps vending cards of Johnny Bench and Pete Rose (we are near Cincy). The big prizes were a Clemens, Griffey, and Ripken rookies.
I didn't prepare my comments in advance, and tried to relate the history and baseball cards to their interest in the game. One of the kids was a great catcher, so we talked about the history of the position and its players.
They did enjoy the money aspect of the cards, but I found them equally curious about the Black Sox, stats in the deadball era, the Yankees, who was the best-type questions, etc.
We spent about 2 hours talking baseball. I really enjoyed it, and I think the kids did too.