Thanks a lot, guys. Now I'm in love with "the monster".

[T205 GB]

Good luck. Just remember The Monster wants you to quit.

[the 'stache]

I know it does. I don't have any plans to try and assemble the whole set. There's too many different cards I like, so I'll jump around.

[T205 GB]

You should try T205's. They may be ugly at first but just like wives and girlfriends the more you have them around and look at them the better looking they get

[t206blogcom]

Bill - Welcome to the jungle! Great pre-war set to collect.

I'm with you on Harper. As a Nats season ticket holder, it's awesome watching him play in person.

[Leon]

Nice summation Bill. I think I love playing almost as much as you love the game. I have been out for over a month with some injuries but I will be back (to softball) soon.

As for your liking of this forum, it's understandable. There are some of the most knowledgeable and nice guys in the hobby here. One small thing I might politely disagree with is your thinking it is "my" forum. I assure you I have little to do with the success of it and the camaraderie that is shown. I direct traffic a bit but the members make this one of the best places to hang out.

I only need to try to help broaden your horizons even more and get into type collecting.. There is a whole other world out there, besides T206 .

[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by Leon

As for your liking of this forum, it's understandable. There are some of the most knowledgeable and nice guys in the hobby here. One small thing I might politely disagree with is your thinking it is "my" forum. I assure you I have little to do with the success of it and the camaraderie that is shown. I direct traffic a bit but the members make this one of the best places to hang out.

Oh, I know the members of the forum make it special, but I think you deserve some of the credit, too, Leon. You are the great and powerful Oz behind the curtain, pulling the strings, making it all possible. So while I greatly enjoy interacting with the members, and learn a great deal from everybody, I know to give thanks, too, to the man who makes it a reality.

[steve B]

What a wonderful post! It should be required reading, especially for anyone who says sports aren't important.

T206 is a wonderful set, and it's the introduction to prewar for many people. It can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. I love the complexity, others don't and that's ok.

But sample the other sets too. They all have some wonderful things about them. T205, T206s flashy sister is a good start. Don't ignore the homely one though - T207s are pretty cool in their own way.

And T210, which I think is the real monster of the teens. 640 cards, all condition sensitive, two tough series, and only two big names, but real budget busters. (Plus the orange bordered series 3 cards for a touch of complexity.)

Nearly all the prewar stuff is more impressive in hand than in pictures. Even the W cards, there's some of the worst paper and printing, but they were the thing for roughly a decade, maybe a bit more.

Steve B

[npa589]

Well written post Bill!

If you're set on T206s, you should consider putting together a Milwaukee team subset (Shad Barry, Dan McGann, Stoney McGlynn, and Newt Randall). Since there are only 4, try to get like 6+ each, all with varying advertisements on the back. Now that I think of it, I think that this particular subset would have outstanding aesthetic appeal if you had them all together. Three of them have colors similar to yellow, and the McGlynn is a shade of red.

http://www.t206.org/mini_set.php?team=Milwaukee


Regardless, good luck, and GO CUBS!

.

[teetwoohsix]

Great post Bill!! That was an awesome read for sure.

I can say that I have been in love with T206 cards ever since my first one. I did pick up other cards, and I did admire them, but the T206 set was the one for me and I knew it. It is a set you have to have patience with, unless you have deep pockets. Enjoy the ride and good luck hunting!!

Sincerely, Clayton

[auggiedoggy]

Originally Posted by T205 GB

You should try T205's. They may be ugly at first but just like wives and girlfriends the more you have them around and look at them the better looking they get

I thought it had something to do with how many beers you've had.

[the 'stache]

I love the set, but I'm not going to work on collecting the whole thing. I'm like a man living in France, going to the market for dinner. With so many wonderful flavors to choose from, I'm not going to restrict myself to "one type of cuisine", so to speak. The great thing about baseball cards is you can collect however you like. You can work on one player (lots of Mickey Mantle collectors), one team (Milwaukee Braves? Yes, please!), a set, a period, a card manufacturer, or you can just "jump around" (a little reference to my Wisconsin Badgers ) I might pick up a T206 Walter Johnson Portrait, then grab a Goudey Babe Ruth. Next, I may go post war, and plunk down a handful of C Notes to add a '53 Bowman Color Stan Musial to my collection. Maybe I can't find one in the condition I like...so I'll come back to it, and add this beautiful '53 Bowman Color Roy Campanella instead. And I will continue to buy cards for players in the game now. Whatever tickles my fancy at the moment.

The collecting options are as vast as the colors of the rainbow, or the different kinds of music. And I plan on enjoying them all. If I like it, there's no reason why I can't get it. This is something I can work on the rest of my life.

[the 'stache]

And thanks, everybody. I look forward to getting to know all of you better. And I am excited to see some more collections. The internet is a wonderful thing, isn't it?