Tell your story about the cards Mom threw away

[orator1]

I'd bet that most collectors have a story about cards that were discarded, lost, or sold by a parent or sibling.

While I was at college my mother had a garage sale and sold a shoebox full of about 1000 cards from the early 1970s for $1.

Back in the 1950s her younger brother collected baseball cards and had a box full of them. When she was about 14 years old she decided her little brother shouldn't waste his time looking at cards, so she threw them out.

For decades he wondered whatever happened to his cards. His favorite team was the Yankees and he said he had several Mantles (not sure which year). My mother finally came clean about it years later when my brother and I were searching every corner of their house for them, thinking they were just lost. The good news is that we found my uncle's comic books from the 1950s and 1960s, nothing very valuable but still nice to see.

I'm guilty as well - my brother and I used to attach baseball cards to the spokes of our bikes to make a "cool" sound as we rode.

If you've got a card story let's hear it!

Paul C.
Pr0726@aol.com

...Reward offered for scan of James O'Rourke N175, H812, N173(throwing), T5 Pinkerton(O'Rourke Jr.)

[alanu]

sold at rummage sales (that's what we called a garage sale in Nebraska), except my 1972 Topps baseball set and a scrapbook of 1968-69 football cards and posters.

[D. Bergin]

I was lucky. My mom never threw any of my cards away, and I gave her plenty reason to. I'd usually have thousands of cards scattered throughout my room and would even build forts with them.

Needless to say they received plenty of wear. Unfortunately I grew up in the late 70's and 80's so no Mantle or Mays Rookies lying around. I do distinctly remember my favorite card being a dog eared 1972 Willie Mays I won in a game of flips. I loved those gaudy borders for some reason.

I was also the neighborhood knockdowns champion, responsible for winning the collections of an untold number of other kids. Later I blamed myself for the declining interest in baseball cards as I got older and it seemed like I was the only one collecting anymore.

I ended up either giving away or throwing away most of my cards myself in the 90's in the midst of many moves and being completely disgruntled with the hobby and modern cards............though I can almost guarantee I have a boxful of 82 Donruss and some HOOPS Basketball laying in a back storage room somewhere.

[Ladder7]

She chucked all of my late 60's BB and much of my hockey. I lost Mantle, Yaz, Longborg, Harrelson, Aaron, and many big bad Bruins, but it was a turbulent time. I was able to save my favorite Bobby Orr card, so I gave back her insulin.

[paulcarek]

When I was old enough to appreciate (sort of) their significance, but too young to properly care for them, my dealer/collector uncle gave me about 8 T206's. Among them, I distinctly remember, were Tinker, Evers, and Chance (can't remember the poses). Every time I return home for my annual visit, I spend a few hours looking for them. So far, no luck...

[drc]

My mom didn't throw away my cards. They lasted in my childhood bedroom closet through college. My mom ran the house and was very neat, but would have asked or given heads up before she threw out others' personal items. I was prudent enough (or warned) to neatly box and stack them on a back shelf before I went to college.

[Anthony S.]

My mom never threw my cards away, but at some point in my early teens, after I'd stopped collecting, one of our cats decided the stack of shoe boxes tucked way in the back my closet made an ideal urinal. Apparently everyday. Based on the price that mid 1970's through 1981 commons fetch nowadays, the cat had the right idea.

[Mark]

Mom didn't throw mine away, either. But when I was in high school, our home was burglarized and the thieves made off with most of my pre-war cards, including about 50 t206's. That, and going off to college, put me off card collecting for a few years. When I finally took a look at the hobby (around 1990), I was amazed at what had happened to prices. Fortunately, I was able to sell half my post war collection and to use part of the sale to back the lost pre-war cards.

[TheBig6]

I had hundreds of 50's & 60's cards, when I went in the service my mother gave them to the kid across the street.

[iggyman]

My mom didn't throw away my cards but unknown to me, she would let my nieces and nephew play with them. I distinctly remember finding her one afternoon, picking-up my baseball cards using a broom and dustpan. At the time, thanks to my raging teenage hormone level, it didn't really bother me at all.

-Lovely Day...

[drc]

One thing my mom did do. I inherited from my grandfather a significant military medal (Patton and Nimitz were awarded the medal). My mom took a scissors and shortened the ribbon so it would look nicer.

[deadballpaul]

My parents never threw away my cards, but my cat pissed & crapped on them for many years. They were in the attic in an open box. He would climb the garage ladder, & hang out in the attic for long periods of time. They all got tossed in one big clump.

[CTDean]

Some Mom's were smarter about cards than they get credit for. I ran card buying ads in Maryland area newspapers during the 1970's and maybe 25% of the collections I picked up were from Moms.

[drc]

As my mom says when the subject is brought up, baseball cards would be worth less today if moms hadn't thrown out cards. I once pointed this out to her, and she adopted it as a defense of moms.

[David W]

My mom was (is) a neat freak, I wasn't. I'd leave stacks of 70's cards on my bedroom floor, dresser, etc...

She'd go through the room every couple of months and just throw stuff out.

My dad would see them in the trash, come and get me and tell me "Don't let your mom know I told you, but your cards are in the garbage again."

I don't know if mom ever knew she threw the same cards away over and over.

[drc]

My mom's take is when the mom threw out the kid's cards, it was probably the kid's fault. Cards thrown out were more likely spread out on the floor or bed or livingroom than neatly filed away by the kid when he was done playing with them. You guys ain't getting no apology from my mom.

[voskresensk]

my mom's uncle always claimed he had two T206 honus wagners, one or two babe ruth rookie cards (the sporting news M101-5 I'm assuming), among other things. he said one day his mother took them outside and burned them. I don't remember the reason. this was in the 1940's.

[slidekellyslide]

I sold almost all of my baseball cards around 1989-90 in an auction. I gotta think it was one of the earliest sportscard only auctions in the midwest...Maybe the first in Nebraska?...I made good money and I figure I got out when the getting was good...the only cards I kept were 3 Old Judges, and my Pete O'Brien collection (sidenote: O'Brien was my favorite player and I figure I have probably 200+ different issues of his....I'm still looking for a few that I fear I may never find).

My Dad told me that he had collected cards in the 1950s and he had a whole dresser drawer full of them...he figured that they were still somewhere in my Grandma and Grandpa's house...I searched forever, but never found them...I think perhaps one of his younger brothers took them after my Dad left home. There is still some hope though as I recently was told that there is a bunch of stuff up above the garage that hasn't been looked through yet.

[HOFAUTOS]

Well Im not sure if mom threw them away (which she claims she didnt) or if my sister and her boyfriend took them while living in the house (im going with the latter) . I had 100's of signed cards with the majority of them being HOF'ers on vintage cards. I joined the Marines and left for boot camp. Camp back few months later on leave and the box they were in was no where to be found. My mom and dad had no idea where it was. My sister and her boyfriend moved out about a month before, and I suspect her BF had something to do with it. I still wonder where those damn cards are......tons of hard to get autos of deceased HOF'ers......

[Jim VB]

"I suspect her BF had something to do with it. "

Put that Marine Corp training to use. Hunt down the BF (I presume now ex-BF) and make him talk!