Who had a positive impact on your collection ?

[Stonepony]

Without question my dad was my #1 influence. He really taught me everything about the hobby that I see as important. He loved the cards and players of his childhood far more than that the " impressive" parts of his collection. Mathewson, Cobb, Mantle, Regional issues , early Bowmans and type cards were
His passion....as they are now mine.

[darwinbulldog]

I didn't have the fortune of knowing many hobby legends, but Bob Lemke was very generous to me with both his time and his tremendous knowledge. I feel fortunate to have gotten to know him a bit in his last few years and proud to have a couple of his old cards.

[Piratedogcardshows]

I would also say my father as he shared his childood passion for cards with me at a young age. Also would be remissed to no mention about 5-6 board members who have helped and shared there knowledge of my adult collecting focus. Net54 has been good to me

[BearBailey]

Defenitely my Dad, he would give me a pack a week if I was a good boy. He bought a box from a pharmacist at cost and would give me a pack a week, and that started it all. Then starting in the late 1980s he would take me to all of the ESSC? Philly shows. Lots of great dealers and people at those George Washington Motor lodge shows. Taught me a lot about people too so many dealers wanted nothing to do with a kid back then but would talk up my dad as he looked like he had money even though he didn’t, nothing disappointed the dealers more than talking to him for 5 minutes only to find out he didn’t collect cards or even like baseball but just brought me because that’s what I loved.

[Baseballcrazy62]

We took a vacation to the Wisconsin Dells in 1975 and I convinced my dad to stop at Larry Fritsch's place. I couldn't believe all the cards he had in his warehouse. He had a T206 Wagner in his safe and he took it out and let my dad and I hold it. He mentioned he was sending a semi trailer to Michigan and he hoped to fill it with cases of 75 minis. When we got home my dad took me to the candy wholesaler and he bought a wax case of 75 minis. We broke them out and made a number of sets. I still have every card from that case along with the empty case and all of the empty boxes. It's amazing what my dad remembers about those type of things. As an added bonus we stopped and saw a Brewers game and Rick Wise came within one out of a no hitter. The hobby seemed a lot simpler back then. Love the stories guys. Please keep them coming and we can make a huge difference for people in this great hobby. You never know what impact you might have on some one.

[VintageBen]

My dad got me hooked when I got a 1954 Topps Willie Mays for Xmas. Thanks Dad.

but

Orlando Rodriguez got me to refocus my collection. I stopped going to the card shop every week ( I usually would spend $40-$50). I started to sell off my modern cards and the vintage cards that I could live without. It was hard at first but became easier once I saw the cards i could then afford. I was getting rid of the cards that I could find all day, everyday. I used the cash flow from the sales to fund higher end vintage cards. My collection now is nicer than I thought it ever could be... I now own cards I thought I'd never own. Thanks Orlando.

[Exhibitman]

John Spalding. Got me addicted to prewar Exhibit cards. Some of the first ones I bought from him around 1990:

[Dewey2007]

Unfortunately, I never got to meet John Spalding in person but he was such a nice person and so giving with his time and knowledge. We exchanged many emails as I was researching athletes from my hometown for my Alameda Sports Project website and even helped him add a few names to his Bay Area Sports Stars project. He was even nice enough to send me a copy of his book "Always on Sunday" about the CA Baseball League.

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

John Spalding. Got me addicted to prewar Exhibit cards. Some of the first ones I bought from him around 1990:

[Dewey2007]

I'd like to give a shout out to Mark Macrae. Mark is one of the true good guys in this hobby. In addition to putting on great collectors shows where I have found some nice pieces for my collection, he is friendly and so free with sharing his knowledge on cards and memorabilia. He always takes time to answer my emails when I have questions about pre-war cards, etc.

[brian1961]

1. My dear Mother. My Mom was already a widow, but strove to get me to the big 1972 Midwest Sports Collectors Convention at the Troy, Michigan Hilton. It was my first big convention. That meant so much to me; I was 18 at the time.

By the end of that year, SEVERAL DAYS AFTER CHRISTMAS, I wrote to major dealer Larry Fritsch about the availability of a major dream card I wanted---a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle. Larry wrote me a nice letter back. He had only one left, in near mint condition, and would hold it for me. The cost of $25 was high, he said. Somehow, I was able to convince my poor mother that this was the dream card I had long wanted. God bless her and her memory, she wrote out a check for $25 dollars and sent it off to him. I knew very well this was a sacrifice of funds for her, but I guess she sensed this might be my only time to get one. Long to short, the card was perfect to me, and in technically Excellent - Mint condition, but the colors and picture registry were perfect; there was not a mark or print spot on that dazzling beauty. The centering was about 37.5 - 62.5 both directions, which was fine with me.

You can best be sure I thanked and kissed my dear Mother after I opened the package and looked at the card.

2. Ron Greenwood. During the aforementioned 1972 Midwest Convention, Ron Greenwood, a college professor, had brought his album of mounted 1953 - 1955 Stahl-Meyer Franks cards for show. I had never heard of them before, nor seen any cards like them. It was love at first sight. He did not bring any of his Mickey Mantles; smart move on his part. Didn't matter, as I was awestruck with the card of Roy Campanella. I kept turning the album pages back to see Campy again. I must have stared at the card for an aggregate of 15 minutes, burning the memory of that masterpiece into my brain.

Mr. Greenwood had an extra chair at his table, and allowed me to sit and admire his Stahl-Meyers. That was mighty thoughtful and generous of him. As an educator, I think he appreciated my studious attitude toward those cards, as well as the good manners my parents taught me. Aside from the cards I purchased that glorious weekend, seeing Mr. Greenwood's Stahl-Meyers was the highlight for me.

3. Lionel Carter. I got to meet Mr. Carter at, again, that Midwest convention. I had read with the utmost fascination, and enjoyment, his article on the 1933 DeLong Gum cards that appeared in the fall, 1971 Sport Hobbyist. I hung onto every word. Late the following winter, I saw an ad in The Sporting News for a reprint set of the DeLongs. They were skillfully done by TCMA's Mike Aronstein.

So, when I met Mr. Carter, it was honestly as if I was meeting a hobby celebrity. Little did I know how major of a celebrity he really was. At this tender point in the burgeoning adult card collecting hobby, Mr. Carter invited me to his home to see his collection. At the time, I lived in close-by Elk Grove Village, Illinois, not far from his Evanston home.

I was EXTREMELY PRIVILEGED to make 2 visits to Lionel's home, and the Carters were wonderful hosts. His collection was the finest I ever saw in person. We exchanged several letters through the years. He was a dandy letter writer, as well as hobby writer. By no means did I always agree with him. He was able to build his collection back in the days when the cost of cards was minuscule; good for him.

If youse guys are still with me, you must like stories. I love to tell them, and my book on postwar regionals is stuffed with yarns and sea stories, 'cause there were numerous chaps who had a very positive impact on my collecting, and really, part of the reason I wrote NEVER CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN was to pay tribute to them.

Well, I best be getting back to my darling wife. Loved reading all your stories, guys. Keep it up.

---Brian Powell

[orly57]

Wow, I'm honored Ben. Thank you. I can say that JC (Beantown) really took me under his wing and taught me a lot about rare cobb postcards.

[kailes2872]

I have told this story before, so please forgive any repetition. I immediately had a name that came to mind. Melanie Lain was the most influential person for my collecting for several reasons.

I had collected a couple of packs in '78 and '79 - both in baseball and football. However, '80 was the year that I had a break through. I was 8 years old and in second grade. Melanie was a senior in high school and our teacher's aid. One day, I brought a box of cards for some variation of show and tell. Melanie came up and looked at my cards. She told me that she collected as well and asked me if I wanted to trade.

As an 8 year old, I had two thoughts - 1) No one was coming near my cards and 2.) Eww a girl? She has baseball cards?

I agreed to consider it, however, I had my reservations. Melanie went to the same church and lived close, so the next week, she came by with a shoe box. She told me that she didn't want to take my cards but went through her collection to give me some. It was '70-'75 with the majority in '72 & '73 but there were stars in every year. Aaron from all the years, Mays up until he retired, Clemente, Gibson, Kaline, rookies of Brett and Yount, Killebrew, Frank and Brooks Robinson - she just gave me all. She decided to go through her basketball and football collection and gave me a lot of 71-72's and 72-73's - Chamberlain, West, Baylor, Alcindor, Robertson, Unites, Staubach, Namath - they were all there pack fresh.

This was an awesome day. I immediately went to a friend's house and gave him some of them - I figured that I had 3 Willie Mays' in there, so he could have one of them. Same with Aaron, etc.

From there, it was disaster. A card show was coming to town. I heard that baseball cards were worth money so I wanted to go. Melanie went with me. In the first 5 minutes at the show, I proceeded to sell the box. The guy at the front of the show picked through the best cards and offered me $8. I then took the rest and they guy offered me $5. I needed $14 for an '80 Topps set. I had to borrow $1 from my mom.

I collected through high school, but it was 80's junk wax and a bunch of topps, fleer and donruss sets from those years. In my sophmore year of college in the fall of '91, I decided to sell everything. I posted them in the trader. A guy came and looked at them. I didn't want to hover. He looked at my albums that had some of my stars - some stuff I had gathered over the years like a '68 Seaver. He stole 15-20 cards out of my binder and told me that he wasn't interested. I then looked through them later and realized that he had taken those better cards. I ended up selling the collection for $250 and put it towards a used big screen TV so that I could be the BMOC (in my mind at least) in the college dorm.

Fast forward to 2012. I took my boys to Cooperstown and they had both the Ken Kendrick collection and a baseball card room. While in the baseball card room, I showed the boys all of those '70-'75's that I used to have and it bummed me out like it was 1980 all over again. Later that weekend, after we got back home, I was on ebay looking at those cards and lamenting selling them all for $13. My wife, tired of my whining, says with exasperation - "If you want those cards, just go buy them." By the end of that day, I bought complete sets for '80-'85. Within the next week, I had bought complete sets back to '76. Over the next two weeks, it was '73-'75. I then found someone who was selling '66 and '72. I found someone on Craigslist who had near sets of '71 and '68. The race was on.

5 years later, I have '54-current in Topps, '50, 53 (Color & B&W), '54, and '55 Bowman plus 60-63 Fleer, '52 Red Man and some other test issues. My wife reminds me on occasion that her invitation was to buy the '70-'75 shoe box back - not every card ever made.

Through it all, I think of Melanie Lain. Not only did she give me the cards with no strings attached, she went to the card show and watched me sell them - never stepping in to say - "that was not the idea when I gave them to you. If you are going to sell them, just give them back." She was friendly and positive the entire way.

Given the 1-2 sentence responses to most of these, I have probably emoted way too much, but it does make me go back and think about how I acquired this collecting illness and why I remain borderline obsessive with it even today.

[jb217676]

Jeff Prize-ner, guru of postcards!

[gemmint77]

I grew up in a small south Texas town that had two sports card shops in the 80's. I would say the gentleman (An old Navy Vet) who ran one of the shops got me into collecting. Me and my younger brother loved going into that shop and seeing all the vintage cards he had for sale. He would spend the time telling us about the players from the 30's-60's that he grew up watching and admired. In high school I would work at the shop during the summer so the owner could go on vacation. Fun times.

[birdman42]

For me it was Wayne Miller in Columbia, MD. He had a single display case in the coin shop I worked in. He seemed to have an endless supply of pre-war, from boxes of T206s to runs of programs from the 1800s. The core of my current collection is still the items I bought from Wayne.

Bill

[johnmh71]

Oddly enough in my case it was my mother who supported my hobby early on. She is a Yankees fan going back to the 50's. She used to collect cards as a kid. I am actually going to a show with her this weekend.

[JollyElm]

What got me back into card collecting in the early 90's was a card shop owner my friend and I referred to as the John Gotti of baseball cards. He was mean as all heck, had ridiculous prices (Dean times 5) on everything displayed, and to top it off all of his display cases sat in the sun all day, every day. The one absolutely faded card I remember to this day was a 1961 high number Warren Spahn All Star that was priced at $100. This was probably in 1992 or thereabouts, and he was completely firm on his prices. He wouldn't even think of negotiating. It was so faded (like everything around it) that it looked like it had been bleached like some Hollywood bimbo's hair. Eventually (surprise surprise) he went out of business, which made us chuckle. But the shop was within walking distance, so it got me interested in all of the old stuff again.

[kkkkandp]

This might sound a little odd, but author David Nemec gave me a focus for my collection I never had before I read his books. The way he presented the game of baseball in the 19th century it was both hugely entertaining and very informational. Once I found out that I could actually get baseball cards of many of the players I read about in his books, I was hooked. Then all I needed to do was actually acquire the cards!

Jay Miller was far and away the one guy who, despite being at the top of the Old Judge heap, was never too busy to answer questions from a neophyte Old Judge collector such as me. He has also been my #1 provider of new material over the past 20 years. For that, I am very thankful.

[Chris-Counts]

Nobody played a bigger role for me than my dad. When I was nine in 1970, my mom gave me $1 and sent me to the grocery store for some broccoli. For reasons beyond my reason, I spent the money on baseball cards. As I was walking home, my dad drove by and offer me a ride. I explained what had happened, and he drove me back to the store, where he bought some broccoli — and some more baseball cards.

For the next half dozen years, he drove me and brother around to card shows in Orange County, and even the occasional trip to LA to visit Goodwin Goldfadden's legendary shop.

My brother and I still collect, and dad is still alive at 95. Thanks dad!

Another guy I give a lot of credit too is John Parks. I'm not sure if he is still alive, but he later founded the monthly card club meetings at the Issac Walton School in Garden Grove in the mid 1970s. He lived nearby, and I literally discovered vintage cards in his garage. My brother and I would spent hours going through his cards, and he was always patient with us, and never charged us much. He was truly an old school collector/dealer, and I mean that as a supreme compliment ...

[Baseballcrazy62]

There is a good chance that most of our dads had to cover for us once in a while. My Dad is 94 and we still talk about cards all the time. Mostly about all the stuff we should have bought and didn't. Thanks for the story!!

[xplainer]

Three guys on here have really educated me on T206 cards, and have helped me out on purchases(from them) and advice on others.
Scot Reader
BocaBirdMan Mike
Luke Lyon.
Scot is very open and glad to share information he has worked on very hard and spent alot of time on. Great researcher that doesn't mind telling you what he knows.
Mike and Luke are long distance friends who has taught me things, shared opinions, and we have worked out sweet deals. For both sides! My favorites sellers on this site.
That is my top three.

[angolajones]

My Mom got me into baseball cards. I was 4 years old and 1977 Topps packs are what she bought for me. After opening them, I was hooked. She would take me to the corner grocery store and get packs and open and sort them with me. We bought the cardboard organizer by team in 1980 with the two rows and blue silhouettes on the outside. I remember going to card shows at the fairgrounds and how packed it was. We came home with a 1962 Maris that a neighbor boys stole from me.

Unfortunately, the majority of my collecting was during the junk wax era.

Got out of collecting after high school and just recently got back thanks to finding this site on the Internet.

[sreader3]

Originally Posted by xplainer

Three guys on here have really educated me on T206 cards, and have helped me out on purchases(from them) and advice on others.
Scot Reader
BocaBirdMan Mike
Luke Lyon.
Scot is very open and glad to share information he has worked on very hard and spent alot of time on. Great researcher that doesn't mind telling you what he knows.
Mike and Luke are long distance friends who has taught me things, shared opinions, and we have worked out sweet deals. For both sides! My favorites sellers on this site.
That is my top three.

Hi Jimmy,
I hope you are well. A very belated thanks for your kind words. It’s always my pleasure to share information with other T206 collectors — both giving and receiving.
Scot

[ejharrington]

In the 1980's, my friends and I took the bus into Springfield, MA (55 cents each way) on weekends to go to Card Collector's Closet. Bob and Gary were the owners (I never knew their last names). They were very good to us and we all have fond memories of our time their, which also included Burger King next door and the occasional wrestling matches at the Civic Center.

Also, my wife. She actually encourages me to "go one bid higher" on the cards I really want. I don't think a lot of wives would be so supportive!

[Yoda]

Charlie Conlon helped rekindle my interest in cards and steered me in the direction of vintage. We become good friends over many years and countless deals. I can't ever remember an argument or disagreement. Very much missed by me.

[Chuck9788]

My mother. When I wad 12 she purchased me a mint Rod Carew rookie. Best gift ever! Either that or the G.I. Joe "Headquarters Command Center".

[WillBBC]

My parents. My mom was always willing to pick up a pack while grocery shopping and my dad was always willing to drive me to different shows around New Jersey/New York.

My mom's friend also gave me a Don Mattingly Topps rookie as a birthday gift then a Donruss rookie as a first communion gift...needless to say I cherish those.

But outside of family--Gary from Card Mart in Verona, New Jersey. Always treated me kindly and was very generous. He always made it feel like my five bucks was stretched as far as possible! When I ran into him at a show years later while in my 20s I was thrilled to say hello. Great guy/dealer--wish I knew what his last name was so I could give him due credit! Gary, if you're out there, cheers!

[mikedurrett]

My beloved '86 Mets got me going on cards at age 10~

[timn1]

1. My uncle Don who gave me my first prewar cards (R313-R314, W711 Reds) back in the 1970s.

2. the 1970s collecting community who communicated by US mail !@ - I particularly remember corresponding with and learning from George Vrechek all those years ago. Now George is probably our foremost historian of the hobby.

3. More recently: Even though I got HIM into prewar cards, my best buddy Mike Peich has had a huge and happy impact on my own collecting.

4. My local buddy Chris Bland has taught me so much!

5. OBC, which welcomed me into their ranks c. 2000 and gave me a great collecting community.

6. And Net54!!! (Thanks Elliot, Bill, and Leon!)

[irv]

This is easy! Definitely my Father.

He gave me 148 52 Topps cards and over 250 old Beehive Hockey cards/photos. If it weren't for those, and although I collected as kid, I highly doubt I would be collecting today.

I'll have to ask him, and even though he may not have been the one to get me started as a kid, I am pretty sure whatever got him started as a kid, is also in me.