simple question? why do you collect;?

[Pythonfactory]

Been a devout baseball fan all my life. In elementary school, I used to read several autobiographies a month and would pour over the stats in a baseball encyclopedia I got for my birthday one year (so I knew who the likes of Speaker, Crawford, and other "obscure" hall of famers were by age 7). I'd skip the ice cream man so I could spend any allowance / money earned from chores on baseball cards. And then there was playing the game itself... Since then, I've dedicated countless hours of my life going to games (Dodgers, Giants, and Mariners), managing fantasy teams, and playing in adult softball leagues. In addition to these activities, these "stupid little pieces of cardboard" strengthen my love for the game by connecting me to its history. Plus, they can be beautiful pieces of art. Lastly, as someone else mentioned, I now have the disposable income to do this =)

[deadballfreaK]

Originally Posted by Pythonfactory

Been a devout baseball fan all my life. In elementary school, I used to read several autobiographies a month and would pour over the stats in a baseball encyclopedia I got for my birthday one year (so I knew who the likes of Speaker, Crawford, and other "obscure" hall of famers were by age 7). I'd skip the ice cream man so I could spend any allowance / money earned from chores on baseball cards. And then there was playing the game itself... Since then, I've dedicated countless hours of my life going to games (Dodgers, Giants, and Mariners), managing fantasy teams, and playing in adult softball leagues. In addition to these activities, these "stupid little pieces of cardboard" strengthen my love for the game by connecting me to its history. Plus, they can be beautiful pieces of art. Lastly, as someone else mentioned, I now have the disposable income to do this =)

+100 Python expressed my views exactly.

[Cardboard Junkie]

In the summer, in Detroit, in the fifties, baseball was everything. Those were magical times for me.....sandlot baseball from dawn to dark......my Kaline model glove, a 6oz. Coke, and a pack of 58Topps or 59, or 57. That big thick chewy slab of pink heaven. The thrill of going to Briggs Stadium to watch our hero Tigers....to see The Mick swing the bat, (if the Yankees were in town) ...or Mr. Tiger make a game saving catch........Except for now...those were the best days of my life, but occasionally baseball cards can be a kind of time machine and transport me back to those magical times of the fifties, when baseball was everything.
My interest naturally expanded into prewar, (which I immensely enjoy) and up to date, but to be honest I don't even care for the modern game and don't follow it much except at World Series time.

[Julz24]

Originally Posted by Cardboard Junkie

In the summer, in Detroit, in the fifties, baseball was everything. Those were magical times for me.....sandlot baseball from dawn to dark......my Kaline model glove, a 6oz. Coke, and a pack of 58Topps or 59, or 57. That big thick chewy slab of pink heaven. The thrill of going to Briggs Stadium to watch our hero Tigers....to see The Mick swing the bat, (if the Yankees were in town) ...or Mr. Tiger make a game saving catch........Except for now...those were the best days of my life, but occasionally baseball cards can be a kind of time machine and transport me back to those magical times of the fifties, when baseball was everything.
My interest naturally expanded into prewar, (which I immensely enjoy) and up to date, but to be honest I don't even care for the modern game and don't follow it much except at World Series time.

My Dad grew up in Detroit in the fifties and says the same exact thing. Must of been a wonderful time! Last year at the World Series he got to meet his childhood hero Al Kaline for the first time. I've never seen him quite so giddy.

As for me, my Dad collected back in his day. Then when I was young he would bring a pack of cards home after work for me and Ive been hooked ever since.

[HOF Auto Rookies]

For the love of the game

[Zone91]

Why do I breath air and eat....same reason I collect makes me feel alive!!!

Post # 2

[yanksfan09]

I've been collecting since I was 7 or 8 and never stopped! The longest break I had was maybe a year or slightly less than a year. It's been a major part of my life as long as I can remember. Every penny I got when I worked as a kid all went to cards. Not much has changed now that I'm 30 but I have bills to pay first, but also still more money to buy cards! I love baseball. I love the artwork on the old cards. I love the smell of the old cards and the history you get when holding one.

As a kid I always dreamed of owning old cards and "A" Babe Ruth card. None of the card shops near me carried anything pre 1948 ever. I bought a few beater Goudey commons at a show as a kid and thought they were the best things ever. I was always under the impression as a kid that the real old 1930's and earlier cards were just far to rare and expensive to collect and never came up for sale. I wasn't until later on when I started using ebay more in the 2000's that pre-war really opened up for me. I'm still amazed and get a magical feeling like I did when I was a kid when I hold great old cards of hall of famers like Babe Ruth, Ty cobb, Walter Johnson etc... You just can't beat it!

[WillowGrove]

I grew up with parents who liked to spend weekends going to flea markets, auctions and antique shops. So unless I wanted to be bored out of my mind I needed to collect something. I chose baseball cards because when Topps came out with the MVP cards in 1975 I noticed Ernie Banks and realized I have a card of his. I found it and realized I own a card of a guy who hit 512 Homeruns!

Added to this was my dad getting me the book the 50 Greatest Players of All time - and I was hooked.

Always went for HOFers. I knew about the more common players but chose to put my folks' money into players I knew.

And now all these years later - after leaving the hobby because I didn't like when TPG companies came into it - and coming back to it in '09 when I had to clean out my dad's house of my collection - I collect now because it reminds me of all those weekends with my parents from age 9 to about 14.

To this day, my mother reminds me that when Seaver's rookie card went from $3.50 to 5 to $7.50, I was still holding out to find one for that $3.50 I had seen.

I guess I shouldn't have been so diligent to spend their money so wisely.

[Rickyy]

Since I completed my first Topps set in 1973...I've been seduced by wafting of those pink gum and the pictures of our summer time heroes... I guess now a days...collecting cards brings back joys of childhood combined with panacea from the daily stress of real life...

Ricky Y