My Hobby Mentor

[nickedson]

I'm proud to say that as an 18-year-old kid setting up at the old Troy, MI show in the summer of 1972, my hobby mentors were the likes of Frank Nagy, Ed Budnick and Don Steinbach. I remember Don getting me started on a 1952 Bowman set with 100 diff. in beautiful condition. He came over later in the show and said, "Nick, I have a '52 Bowman Mantle and Mays, both in great condition. They are yours for $18 each." As a poor college kid, I actually had to debate that price in my mind before pulling the trigger an hour later. Frank was always gave me the old baseball matchbook cover for free. And he sold the 1959 Fleer Ted Williams set - minus No. 68, of course - for $5 at his table. And they were near mint. The bottom line is these guys did a lot for younger collectors like myself, turning us into lifelong collectors.