Sharing the hobby with the next generation...

[bn2cardz]

I love when I see people post photos of their children at card shows.

I just found out yesterday that our next child will be a boy. Right now I have two girls and my 23 month old already loves looking through the cards. Here are some pictures of her looking through some T205 and T206 graded cards (I only let her handle the graded and screwdown holdered cards)









The most fun part of watching her go through them was when she had mommy identify the player on one of the cards for her.

Please post images or stories of how you are passing the hobby on.

[DerekMichael]

I honestly think that through collecting cards, my Dad and I have gotten some really great quality time together, and have really done some bonding. I feel very thankful for the experience.

Cute kid!

[bn2cardz]

Yeah I had a lot of bonding time with my dad. From the first time I got "Myfirst baseball card collecting kit" through a mail away book program when I was in kindergarten. I remember my dad sitting down with me when I got that and going through the cards. Then to when I was a teen my dad and I would set up at shows. He put up all the money for the table, and I got to keep the money from what sold. This last year my dad did one last show and had me go with him and he sold off everything, that is when I realized he had only done it to spend time with me. Now that I had my own family he just didn't see the point anymore.

[vintagerookies51]

My dad doesn't even collect, but he got me into the hobby a few years ago when he bought me a '65 Hank Aaron for my first vintage card. (got it at a Minnesota Twins fest)

[teetwoohsix]

Hey Andy-

Congrats on the good news (son on the way) , that's awesome !!
Also cool to see your daughter enjoying those cards. I wish I had known about pre war cards at that age

I don't have anyone in the next generation to share cards with, but there were a couple of people I worked with who collected back in the 60's and would love to talk about cards/baseball from that era. One guy in particular seemed to enjoy these talks, so I brought him a beater T206 and gave it to him hoping he would be as fascinated with them as I am and get into collecting them. It didn't work , so I just lost a beater, that's all

Sincerely, Clayton

[bn2cardz]

In my original post I said she was looking through t205 and t206 cards. Looking back at the photos, though, I don't see her looking at any of the t206 cards (she did have access to some). I guess the gold borders on the t205 cards interested her more. Also her favorite from the stack she had out was the Kid Elberfeld T205. This was the card that she was asking me wife about. I think it was the nice bright red with the gold borders that caught her interest.

The Elberfeld card:

[steve B]

Those pictures look familiar. My daughter is 2 and also enjoys looking at cards now and then. She also enjoys using empty screwdowns as glasses.
She's done ok with some cheap ones in semi ridgid toploaders as well as graded.

I've let her handle modern cards for a long time now, usually ones that are already damaged, as they'll only get worse.

Yesterday she showed me a new sorting method. Start with a stack of cards on a desk, remove the top one, examine, drop it on the floor, repeat. Better than the examine then chew method she used to use.

Steve B

[Davids]

Great pictures. Brought back fond memories. My middle daughter is now 22 years old. I have a vivid recollection of when she was about 2 or 3 years old and finding her with my "Mickey Four Mantle" chewing on him!! Thankfully he was in a very thick screw down. Enjoy this time in her life, it goes by too fast!

[Texxxx]

I will have to say that I am the reverse of this. My son is the one that got me back into collecting. I collected when I was a kid but mainly like most kids did back then. With no concern for condition just trade each other for what we wanted. I wish I still had all of those 50's and 60's cards. About 3 years ago my son started collecting and I fell back in love with the cards all over again. Especially when I started looking at the prewar and 206's. My son loves me buying the cards. I think it is really because he knows he will get them when I am gone.

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by steve B

Those pictures look familiar. My daughter is 2 and also enjoys looking at cards now and then. She also enjoys using empty screwdowns as glasses.
She's done ok with some cheap ones in semi ridgid toploaders as well as graded.

I've let her handle modern cards for a long time now, usually ones that are already damaged, as they'll only get worse.

Yesterday she showed me a new sorting method. Start with a stack of cards on a desk, remove the top one, examine, drop it on the floor, repeat. Better than the examine then chew method she used to use.

Steve B

My daughter's "sorting method" is she puts them on the ground and mixes them up and randomly picks one up and looks at it, after examining it she picks them all up and scatters them on the ground again mixes them up and looks at them.

I told a story on another post about how I was missing a card from a shelf. I was convinced that someone may have stole it (we had someone come do a repair that day) but I kept looking for it anyways. Finally I told my wife, if it wasn't stolen by the repair guy it was stolen by our daughter. She went up to my daughters room and found it mixed in with her toys. I figured if she wanted it that bad she could have it. It is now on display on her room.

She has also acquired a 55 Hank Aaron from me. After she got that card she climbed up on a chair in her room to get it off the shelf, the whole shelf came down. That evening she went to bed with the Hank Aaron, I didn't get a picture, but to see a 18 month old girl cuddling up with a 55 Aaron card instead of a baby doll... it can bring a tear to a daddy's eye.

[honus94566]

Call me weird, but I don't plan on really trying to pass the hobby down to my sons. I have a 6 year old and 4 year old. They enjoy seeing the cards, but, I dunno.... I am involved in a number of different interests and hobbies, it just bugs me how dirty and greed-filled so many people in this hobby are. It's just the people on this board that keep me going and enjoying it. Well, that and the cards themselves of course.

Anyway I just have minor addiction to cards, my problem I guess. But I am not entirely convinced it is a good thing, or that it would be in my kids' best interest to head at all down the same path.

I am not going push them or pull them any direction. If they're interested in it, great! If not, fine too. I am sure they will find their own passions in life.

As I look at myself and my dad, we actually have very different personalities, and very different interests. I am sure it will likely be the same with my kids.

I do like to share the hobby a bit with family and friends though. Most people simply have no idea that baseball cards this old even exist. Show them an 1887 old judge and even people not interested in baseball or cards raise an eyebrow. For my brother's birthday last year I gave him a T206 common. He thinks its really cool and has it sitting on their living room bookshelf. Then for christmas last year I gave my older brother a T206 common and a copy of "The Glory of their times". He called me up asking questions about the card and stuff.... so I guess it is good to share the hobby, but when I think of how much money you can go through in vintage, it just doesn't seem like serious collecting is something I'll want to steer my kids toward.

[bn2cardz]

Dave sharing isn't forcing. I am interested in the cards (and some other collecting) if my daughter wants to see what I am looking at I share it with her. Over time I suspect she will grow out of it, and that will be fine. Just as I suspect she will grow out of wanting to sit on my lap so she can eat off my plate at the dinner table or come running to the door to say "hi daddy" when I get home from work. So if there is something I am interested in that she wants to share with me, I am going to soak it up while I can.

[joeadcock]

You guys are lucky. My daughters have never shown interest at all in cards.

I wish they had, would have loved it.

[mrvster]

to keep our cards valuable and self preserving......

i want to pass mine down one day

[jefferyepayne]

I didn't drag my boys into card collecting, sports did. Once they got interested in baseball and football, they got interested in sports cards. I am guilty of steering them toward vintage cards, though ;-)

Today we go to card shows together and it's become a nice father / sons activity that we all enjoy. Not sure if they will outgrow this activity or not but I win either way! If they stay involved, we will continue to enjoy the hobby together. If they don't, they can give their cards to me cause they have some that I need! ;-)

In general, I think card collecting is a great hobby and, unlike so many other hobbies, the $$$ you spend on it are not flushed down the drain in the process.

jeff

She loves the Monster Pics taken about 2 yrs ago @ age 6. I buy them and she takes then out and puts them away. I am not allowed to touch them at all.

[egbeachley]

My girls call them Dad's "Stinkin Cards". But they do love the new Wacky Packages that were stuffed into their Christmas Stockings and Easter Baskets. Their favorite is My Little Phony - Stinkie Pie.

[Paul S]

Originally Posted by joeadcock

You guys are lucky. My daughters have never shown interest at all in cards.

I wish they had, would have loved it.

My son too. He's 16, and just doesn't dig baseball (cards) although he likes going to the occasional game.
At the end of the line I'll sell my cards and leave the money to him. What gets me is: what if he has his own kid who would absolutely dig heck out of them? sigh

[rjackson44]

my gorgeous girlfriend doesnt care as long as i take her to dinner

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by Pup6913

I buy them and she takes then out and puts them away. I am not allowed to touch them at all.

Cards were meant to be handled only by children and not adults

[bn2cardz]

I am bumping this old thread to say that my Daughter has graduated to wanting me to read the back of the Goudey cards to her. She sat on my lap and would hand me one and ask me to read it so I read the card to her, then she put it in a stack and continued until the stack was done.

Then this last weekend she asked me to read through last year's REA auction catalog. After reading about the t206 Doyle err card (first lot in the catalog) she went and played, came back and gave me the catalog and turned to lot #2, the t206 Wagner. She wanted me to read more but it was bed time. So I guess the new favorite bed time book for my 2 year old daughter is the 2012 REA catalog.

[jimivintage]

Originally Posted by bn2cardz

I am bumping this old thread to say that my Daughter has graduated to wanting me to read the back of the Goudey cards to her. She sat on my lap and would hand me one and ask me to read it so I read the card to her, then she put it in a stack and continued until the stack was done.

Then this last weekend she asked me to read through last year's REA auction catalog. After reading about the t206 Doyle err card (first lot in the catalog) she went and played, came back and gave me the catalog and turned to lot #2, the t206 Wagner. She wanted me to read more but it was bed time. So I guess the new favorite bed time book for my 2 year old daughter is the 2012 REA catalog.

That's awesome!

My oldest daughter, 8 year old Brooklyn, and I are going to the Strongsville show together tomorrow. She's really excited to "blow her $5" on some serious cardboard! I'm not bringing much money, so if I don't find much I like, I'll probably just blow it on her. Should be a great time!

[g_vezina_c55]

My son is just to young now ... 17 month ....
I hope he will have the same love than i have for all these little piece of cardboard...And i hope he will enjoy going to the show with me

[arc2q]

I am really glad you raise this topic of passing on the hobby to children. I thought about this just last night as I looked at the shelves of thousands of virtually worthless cards I have from the 80s and early 90s.

As a kid collecting I always lamented that my grandmother supposedly threw out my father's old cards -- supposedly various cards from the 50s. Who knows what he really had but it haunted me. So I vowed never to get rid of any of my cards in case my sons wanted them some day.

Now, I have no doubt they may some day want and maybe even cherish the vintage pre-war cards I have (T206, T205, etc.), the good rookies and HOFers I have from the post-war era, and a select few big names from recent years. Well, maybe they won't, but I like to believe someday they will see value in those.

But will they care at all about long boxes full of 1000 random 1990 UDs or 1988 Topps? Doubtful. Should I even keep them or will it be an exercise in hoarding? I can't imagine in about 2023 my son is going to get excited as he shuffles through the likes of Damaso Marte, Ellis Burks, and Biff Pocoroba...

Then again, they don't take up much space if properly stored. When the time is right, though, I will try to teach the boys about vintage baseball card collecting. Maybe starting with the REA Catalog...

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by g_vezina_c55

My son is just to young now ... 17 month ....
I hope he will have the same love than i have for all these little piece of cardboard...And i hope he will enjoy going to the show with me

I had to look back through my posts it looks like my oldest daughter (the 2 year old) got into looking at the cards about a year ago at 19 months old. My younger daughter is 16 months old now and she never cares when I pull out the cards.

Of course I only started by letting her look at graded cards and cards in screw down holders. I have recently let her look at cards in card savers with my help, but if I have to turn away for any time I take them with me.

[z28jd]

Originally Posted by arc2q

I am really glad you raise this topic of passing on the hobby to children. I thought about this just last night as I looked at the shelves of thousands of virtually worthless cards I have from the 80s and early 90s.

As a kid collecting I always lamented that my grandmother supposedly threw out my father's old cards -- supposedly various cards from the 50s. Who knows what he really had but it haunted me. So I vowed never to get rid of any of my cards in case my sons wanted them some day.

Now, I have no doubt they may some day want and maybe even cherish the vintage pre-war cards I have (T206, T205, etc.), the good rookies and HOFers I have from the post-war era, and a select few big names from recent years. Well, maybe they won't, but I like to believe someday they will see value in those.

But will they care at all about long boxes full of 1000 random 1990 UDs or 1988 Topps? Doubtful. Should I even keep them or will it be an exercise in hoarding? I can't imagine in about 2023 my son is going to get excited as he shuffles through the likes of Damaso Marte, Ellis Burks, and Biff Pocoroba...

Then again, they don't take up much space if properly stored. When the time is right, though, I will try to teach the boys about vintage baseball card collecting. Maybe starting with the REA Catalog...

While I don't think cards from the 80's-90's will ever have any real value, I think years from now people will still want them because they were cards they collected as a kid. If you have no problem with storing them, why not keep them. Part of the good with those "worthless" cards is teaching kids how to take care of them. Better to learn on 1980's over-produced cards, rather than cards from the pre-war era.

I'm saving mine cards from then to keep me busy when I retire. Haven't looked through most of them in 20+ years, so having 125,000+ cards to look through will kill some time.

I'm also holding out hope that someone will organize a mass burning of piles of 1980's-90's cards, so the value of mine will go up. Might be a good idea for the national

[Zone91]

That is GREAT to see!!!! I have niece she is 1 and a half I hope to get her into it as well!!!

[Sean]

Originally Posted by z28jd

While I don't think cards from the 80's-90's will ever have any real value, I think years from now people will still want them because they were cards they collected as a kid. If you have no problem with storing them, why not keep them. Part of the good with those "worthless" cards is teaching kids how to take care of them. Better to learn on 1980's over-produced cards, rather than cards from the pre-war era.

I'm saving mine cards from then to keep me busy when I retire. Haven't looked through most of them in 20+ years, so having 125,000+ cards to look through will kill some time.

I'm also holding out hope that someone will organize a mass burning of piles of 1980's-90's cards, so the value of mine will go up. Might be a good idea for the national

I don't know whether your cards will icrease in value, but I am all in favor of a mass burning 1980s-90s cards.

[z28jd]

Originally Posted by Sean

I don't know whether your cards will icrease in value, but I am all in favor of a mass burning 1980s-90s cards.

It would have to be massive to have any impact on value. I thought this site was funny, I've seen the videos of some of the burnings, so it is at least somewhat legit

http://burncardburn.com/

I like it because that is the set I have the most of, so burn away!

I still think cards from that era are a good way to teach kids about cards at a young age. You can get a ton of them cheap, such as 1988 Donruss and who cares if they ruin some. For the amount of those you could get for $20, it would be worth it to see if they get into cards, and at the same time, teach them how to take care of them. Not to make anyone feel old, but to a young kid age 2-5, 1988 cards are ancient! So you would be getting them into what they would consider, "old" cards. Plus kids love opening packs and new packs today cost way too much

[triwak]

I'm 51 years young, single, and have no children. Also, not super close to my nieces and nephews. I've promised my collection to a friend when I depart, but she's about my age so I really don't have a "next generation" heir in mind. The cards will probably just be sold by someone down the road, and find their way back into the hobby, whence they came. Of course, I still chase hot 25-35 year-olds around (and even catch one, once in awhile), so ya never know???

[itjclarke]

Originally Posted by triwak

I'm 51 years young, single, and have no children. Also, not super close to my nieces and nephews. I've promised my collection to a friend when I depart, but she's about my age so I really don't have a "next generation" heir in mind. The cards will probably just be sold by someone down the road, and find their way back into the hobby, whence they came. Of course, I still chase hot 25-35 year-olds around (and even catch one, once in awhile), so ya never know???

Be wary of those younger cardboard diggers

[RCMcKenzie]

A good friend of mine is a Fed Atty and he says a good rule of thumb is half your age plus seven years, fwiw. I've already changed my last will and testament to read, "put all the sports junk in a box and tape it up and send it to Saco River, if they don't want it send it to Nest Egg Auctions"

[oldcardboard]

Im 42, never married,no kids. A friend of mine Bill passed away 1 month after his 40 B-day. He had Alzheimers,ALS,and Parkensans[sp?], very,very rare condition,there is no name for it. He has a 11 year old son Ryan, that I have been keeping busy as best I can. I make sure to make his football practices and games, along with grandma and grandpa. We do bike rides and started fishing last summer. Its been very rewarding for me,and hopefully Ryan too. I have 5 nephews and 1 niece, and Ryan. Each one will get a part of my collection.

[EvilKing00]

OMG be careful with those!!! they are over 100 years old! lolol