What is your most cherished piece, and why?

[conor912]

There was never a lot of extra money floating around my house in Boston when I was a kid, but my dad always managed to scrape together enough to bring home a cello pack or two, which was often the highlight of my day. When I was 9 or 10 I saw an ad for a live memorabilia auction near my house and I begged him to take me. He agreed and for two weeks I scrounged and saved every penny I could find. This was around 1989 when the hobby was in full swing, and I remember walking into that room and being the youngest person there by easily 20 years. I had all of about $8 in my pocket. As the auction got under way my dad and I quickly realized that we were in over our heads. I have no recollection of what the other lots were, but they were selling for hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Just as we were losing hope and ready to leave, these tags came on the block. When the auctioneer announced the opening bid (around $30), my dad quickly reached into his pocket and grabbed every dollar he had and frantically counted it. Once he realized he had enough to get it, he told me to raise my paddle. To this day, I have no idea if no one else in the room wanted it, or if the rest of the sharks in the room just "let the kid have one", but we were the only bidders. These tags will always make me think of my dad and him wanting to give me all the things I ever wanted, even though he often couldn't.

[71buc]

OK it's not a card, nor is it pre-war, but I still swoon when ever I look at it.

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=157370

[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by conor912

There was never a lot of extra money floating around my house in Boston when I was a kid, but my dad always managed to scrape together enough to bring home a cello pack or two, which was often the highlight of my day. When I was 9 or 10 I saw an ad for a live memorabilia auction near my house and I begged him to take me. He agreed and for two weeks I scrounged and saved every penny I could find. This was around 1989 when the hobby was in full swing, and I remember walking into that room and being the youngest person there by easily 20 years. I had all of about $8 in my pocket. As the auction got under way my dad and I quickly realized that we were in over our heads. I have no recollection of what the other lots were, but they were selling for hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Just as we were losing hope and ready to leave, these tags came on the block. When the auctioneer announced the opening bid (around $30), my dad quickly reached into his pocket and grabbed every dollar he had and frantically counted it. Once he realized he had enough to get it, he told me to raise my paddle. To this day, I have no idea if no one else in the room wanted it, or if the rest of the sharks in the room just "let the kid have one", but we were the only bidders. These tags will always make me think of my dad and him wanting to give me all the things I ever wanted, even though he often couldn't.

What a great story, Conor. It sounds like we were both blessed to have parents that sacrificed so much for their children.

Originally Posted by 71buc

OK it's not a card, nor is it pre-war, but I still swoon when ever I look at it.

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=157370

Mike, that's amazing. I've always had an affinity for the Pirates, especially the '71 and '79 teams. They are so much like the Brewers-small market team, great fans, a sprinkling of Hall of Famers. I just wish we had the World Series wins that you guys have

That's a once in a lifetime pickup. I would have that hanging in my window over my front door (but that's just me).

[ThoseBackPages]

Like many here, i have collected for a long time, and like others, i have my share of "valuable" cards.

But when asked "what is your BEST card in your collection?"

This is my answer:

In 1985 i was 14 years old and had been a big pack ripper for the better part of three years. Born and Raised in Flushing New York, i was born to be a Mets fan. In 1985, it was all about Dwight Gooden. Topps wax packs were ripped by myself (4 or 5 a day) before JHS started, in the morning in the school yard as we waited for the homeroom bell to ring. We (my best friend, who never caught the collecting bug) ripped them looking for Goodens rookie card! we got to know the sequence. they were great times in life indeed.

He's still my best friend, we're still Mets fans. Life goes on, things happen, yada yada yada

a little more then three and a half years ago i was diagnosed with diabetes. being down about it, i went through a section of my cards that i hadnt looked through in a while. Low and behold i ran into a stack of 1985 Topps Goodens that i pack pulled 25 years earlier.

So, i decided that if Bob Costas can put a Mantle card in his wallet, i sure as heck can put a Gooden in mine! and in it went.

Flash forward to last years National. i was invited to a party that Gooden was going to be attending. Having been invited i said of course id like to go. it was only after confirming that i would be going that i remembered that the card was in my wallet.

i told Dwight my story and he was very nice and politely agreed to sign my card. He even personalized it "To Eric, Best Wishes" Man i couldnt believe it, i really couldnt. i was like a flustered kid again, having just conversed with my childhood idol.

Well, i had to give it the protection it deserved after that, so i had it slabbed at the show.

[Rich Klein]

Most of our cherished cards turn out not to be the most expensive but either a return to our childhood or something we had signed.

I know that has been pointed out before, but that is the real point of the hobby, your most cherished item is something with an emotional connection.

Rich

[nickedson]

My most cherished baseball card ties back to the moment I was hit by the collecting bug in the summer of 1959. I came home with my first pack of baseball cards at age 6. I got a Detroit Tigers card of Red Wilson in that pack and mentioned it to my mom, who was cooking in the kitchen. My folks were both teachers - my dad a longtime basketball coach - and we didn't have much extra money with four kids. But when I showed my mom the Red Wilson card, she made a big deal out of it and called out for my dad to come out and see it. He was shaving in the bathroom. They both patted me on the back and acted thrilled that I got a Detroit Tigers card. So I haven't stopped collecting since - setting up at the old Troy Hilton Show in 1972 at age 18... and countless other shows since then.

[uffda51]

Why a nondescript common from a modern set? When I was about nine I went over to my friend Tom's house. He was 13 and had what seemd like thousands of baseball cards. We were sorting them by teams and we kept finding Curt Raydon cards. We must have found ten times more Raydons than any other player. Each time we found another one we laughed harder and harder. My friend died of cancer in 1971 at age 24. He was the greatest guy ever.