You Never Forget Your First.....

[vintagesportscollector]

You never forget your first...

I received an email from eBay last weekend congratulating me on my 17 year anniversary with them. I thought holy cow, it's been a while. I have no idea what was the first item I got on eBay, but it got me thinking about my first memorabilia item - the piece that started it all and launched more than a thousand more items to come.

My first item was a 1920s George Sisler endorsed basemitt, made by Alex Taylor & Co., NY. It still holds an honored spot in my collection and on display because of its history. The glove was given to me by my wife's brother 20 years ago. When he gave it to me I had little idea what it even was because it didn't look like any baseball glove I was familiar with up to that point.

The glove's history is even more special. The glove belonged to my wife's grandfather in Vietnam in the 20s. My wife's family left Vietnam in 1978 on a fishing boat with very little more than the clothes on their backs. The family story could have had a tragic ending, but after spending two years in a refugee camp in Malaysia, they finally ended up in the Bronx, NY. My brother in law used to play with the glove in Vietnam, and then in the Camp, and of all the few items the family could keep when escaping, this glove was included. It's a true survivor. (keep in mind pirates used to board these fishing boats full of refugees stealing anything of value. - most possessions didn't survive).

How a glove made in NY found itself in Vietnam in the 1920s, I have no idea. That it found its way back to NY after all this time, and journey, is more amazing. If this glove could talk..

So what was your first item? The piece that started it all and was your catalyst to a lengthy, costly, and loving obsession.

Share your pics and stories on what inspired you.

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[71buc]

Hard to top that story, thanks for sharing it.

[Runscott]

Wow, yeah - thanks for posting. I can't even dream up a story that would come close to that one.

My earliest vintage collectable is a baseball I got signed at the Astrodome in 1972, by the Giants, then in 1973 by the Phillies. It was the first time I ever met major leaguers after collecting cards for years, so nothing Topp's that

[GoCubsGo32]

Whoa! Awesome story!

My cousin got me and my brother interested with baseball cards in 1992, when I was 6 years old. My brother and I were behaving well, so my mom purchased a pack of baseball cards for us to share. She also purchased our first Beckett that same day at KMart. When we got home, my brother and I divided the pack into two. We then took turns seeing who we got and looking at the prices of each card in the Beckett. Most of the cards were .05, .15 cents....then...my brother..struck oil for us......
this card was worth....$3.00 !! WE WERE RICH!


We had no idea who "Frank Thomas" was, so we thought if his card is worth $3.00...HE MUST BE GOOD! Frank Thomas became my brother's favorite player from that day forward.We still have that card to this day.

[Den*nis O*Brien]

The OP's glove and history are truly extraordinary and one of the best posts on this and the "Old Board"!! In comparison this rather pedestrian offering was retrieved from a can, in 1956 or so while making regular scrap hunts in my growing up Chicago neighborhood with my "tricked out" coaster wagon on garbage pick up day. Besides a radiator, there was a horse collar w/hames and this mitt. No pirates involved, just a nasty elderly competing junk man around the corner. My first baseball item besides cards.

[perezfan]

Hey Joe...

I need a George Sisler endorsed Mitt for my collection... Any chance that you'd trade that one for a nice Jimmie Foxx model?

Haha... couldn't resist! I think we all have a few "untouchable" pieces, but that story is indeed hard to beat.

FWIW, my first-ever piece of baseball memorabilia was the white version Giants Pennant below, given to me at age 5 (by my Dad). The very first of way too many pennants, and the root of subsequent obsessive compulsive disorder.

[vintagesportscollector]

Thanks for sharing the memories guys....keep 'em coming...

[Misha]

I used to play with my dad's old Red Barber game in the days before video games, so I guess it was the first item.