How long you collected as a kid ?...

[Exhibitman]

Now, boxing cards, slightly different story. I was at a show in the 1990s after I'd come back to L.A. after graduation and I saw 1948 Leaf cards for the first time. I was thumbing through them and I picked up a Barney Ross and Benny Leonard. I knew Ross's name and I saw that the back of the Leonard card made reference to his being Jewish, which I thought was interesting. I picked up the cards and took them over to my parents' house to show to my father as curiosities--Jewish boxers after all. He took a look at the Ross card and said "I think my cousin Ray fought him." First time he'd ever mentioned it and it totally blew my mind that we had an actual athlete in the family tree as I can barely walk and chew gum together. I pressed him for details but he didn't have much, so I started researching. I first used my trusty old Beckett multisport book, which had about a dozen sets in it, to target Ray Miller cards, and Ross and Leonard cards and anyone else who sounded Jewish (of course, I had no idea who was what--I looked for Sammy Mandell cards--he was Italian--and passed up Joe Choynski cards--his dad was the publisher of one of the more influential Jewish newspapers, from S.F.). Shortly after that I found my first boxing Exhibit cards at another show. Bought a group of 1920s-1950s from an obnoxious loudmouth dealer who I'd normally have walked away from but I had to have those cards. Got a Marciano, a Louis and a Jack Johnson, among others.