Posted By:
Al C.risafulliOkay, here's a longer and less sarcastic post than the others I've made today.
I was wondering if anyone out there bases their collection on geography?
For example, collecting only cards and memorabilia from a certain area of the country.
Recently, a question was posed about which player I would collect, if I were to build a set of a certain player. After thinking about it for a while, I chose Goose Goslin, because he's a HOFer (which I collect), who played during my favorite era, and he's from New Jersey (where I live).
A couple days later, I was reading about the Trenton Cuban Giants.
This got me thinking that there's an awful lot of baseball history in New Jersey. So I started digging around, trying to see what resources are available that chronicle the history of baseball in the state, and found that there are, well, none.
So I started thinking that it might be a worthwhile endeavor to start digging into the history of baseball in the state. There are a TON of stories, from Elysian Fields to Derek Jeter's birthplace, and the best part is that I can hop in my car and drive to any point in the state within just a few hours.
Building a collection this way would also enable me to do something that I've always wanted to do, but have thus far resisted: incorporating more memorabilia into my collection. Until now, I've been mostly a card guy.
But in order to get started, I really could use some advice from others who collect this way. How did you get started? How did you research this? If your state/geographic region had no major league teams, how did you learn about the minor league or Negro League teams in the area? Where did you go for info?
I joined SABR, finally, but haven't put it to use yet. But I'm itching to start a new project, and this one seems as good as any.
Any advice?
TIA,
-Al