Hello from a new guy

[Mike Eisenbath]

I've been reading many of the forum posts for several months and enjoying them immensely. The knowledge contained among this group's members is stunning, and I can't describe how much I've learned. Kudos to all.

Quck(ish) background: I began collecting by buying packs of Topps as an 8-year-old in 1969. In 1971, I discovered ads near the back of The Sporting News selling vintage cards and bought many from various sets amazed that a 10-year-old kid could affordably own something more than 60 years old or of players I only knew about because of The Baseball Encyclopedia. I dabbled at really vintage stuff while working on completing Topps sets. I helped organize the first card shows in St. Louis in the mid-1970s and was a subscriber of Sports Collectors Digest from the very beginning (along with other newsletters that came and went). I ended up with complete sets from 1964-1985 before I took a long hiatus (raising kids and working too much). I returned in earnest a few years ago and now am focusing on The Monster (I have about 35), 1955-63 and upgrading some 1970s Topps (replacing those I have that are miscuts).

I have met some amazing people through collecting -- Rick Salamon, Jim Hickerson, Fred Roenig, Ken Kellar, the legendary Buck Barker -- who all treated me very well when I was just a kid hanging out with adults passionate about the hobby. I hope to meet many more such folks.

As a footnote: I realized a childhood dream when in 1984 I became the youngest writer at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and worked there until health forced me to leave in 2002. I covered high school sports, St. Louis University men's basketball and then the Cardinals/MLB for 10 years. I was the primary chronicler of everything McGwire in 1998-99.

And there is this: https://www.amazon.com/Cardinals-Enc...s=books&sr=1-2

I am honored to be a member of this group.