Meaningful Worthless Card Stories

[orioles70]

I have thousands upon thousands of cards as do most of the people reading this and I have many of them displayed for people to see. My question is does anyone else have some cards displayed that only have value to you? I have 2 cards prominently displayed in my office that have absolutely no monetary value at all…I mean not even late 80’s Donruss commons value.


I have a 1967 Topps Boog Powell with a bad lower right corner…actually it has no corner. I was about 12 years old and an eager card collector and an Orioles fan…and still am. I started collecting in 1969 and really got into it in 1970. By 1972 I had accumulated a few thousand cards and I considered anything before 1969 as old cards and traded for them as often as I could and Oriole cards were my favorites. I had 2 classmates…more on them in my other worthless card story.…that collected and were regular trading partners. Like most kids of the day I kept all my cards sorted by team and in stacks with rubber bands. I would regularly sort and resort them…by position, year, card number, batting average and era, etc but always by team…and I read and analyzed the backs. In 1972 we got our first dog, a mixed beagle terrier pup with 4 white paws…we named her Boots. I often took my cards to school in a big cardboard box to trade at lunch or on the bus. I would require my own seat on the school bus due to the size of the box. We even traded during class when the teachers back was turned. One morning I left my cards in nice neat rubber banded stacks by team in my bedroom floor and went to school. I came home from school and to my horror our new pup had decided that of the 24 stacks the Orioles must have smelled the best and chewed on that stack. Many cards were ruined including Powell but he was a favorite so I decided to keep it. I replaced the Powell card many years later when building the set. I look at that card almost everyday in my office and am glad I kept it. Boots lived a long happy life and died while I was still living at home with my parents after I graduated from college and was working to save for a house that I bought and still live in. The card is worthless to anyone but me. I occasionally have a client that will ask why I have such a terrible Powell card displayed with his autographed ball. I always smile when they ask. Thanks Boots.


I have one other story and card to share if there is any interest.


I would love to hear other stories like this.


John



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[ALBB]

He was a good Boot

[Bestdj777]

Love the story and the card isn’t terrible either. One of my favorites —not displayed as I don’t really display cards at this point — is a 1970s common that my grandfather found on a job site (construction worker), stuck in his wallet, and kept for me. It’s in terrible shape but one of my favorites.

[jchcollins]

Very neat topic, thank you for posting.

What first comes to mind for me is my 1953 Bowman Bobby Shantz card. Shantz, who pitched for the Philadelphia A's and later the Yankees, was the '52 A.L. MVP when he won I believe 24 games. Anyhow, though this card is regarded as a common to most and is not particularly valuable or difficult to find - it has a lot of sentimental value to me. Shantz was my Dad's favorite player growing up - he lived near the Bridgeport / King of Prussia area in PA - north of Philly. When I first got into cards as a kid in the late 1980's, I naturally asked Dad where his baseball cards were - no luck there, they had all been thrown away. (Yeah, thanks Nana!) But when I asked who his favorite player had been, his eyes lit up and he said "Little Bobby Shantz!" Dad never really cared much about sports as an adult - I mean he would watch games, but was never any type of super-fan. He certainly never cared much about baseball cards, but he humored me as a kid. I got him the '53 Bowman Shantz for a Father's Day present from a local shop one year when I was probably 12. We lost Dad 10 years ago this past summer, and having that card now is always a memory of him and thoughts of the games he must have watched at the old Shibe Park as a kid. It's only in about VG condition, but priceless to me - now at age 41.

Other than that, I did save a few vintage cards that I had traded for as a kid - not in the best shape, but sentimental to me due to those memories. Yes, dealers used to trade with kids! The best are probably my '56 Mantle (now graded SGC A) and Ted Williams (SGC 3).

You don't have to explain about something seemingly worthless being priceless in your eyes. This past summer I spent probably several hours - and finally was successful in finding - a box of cards that had a toploader in it with a price tag sticker on it from a long gone, but favorite old baseball card shop I used to go to in Charlotte, NC with my mom - in fact, the same one we got the Shantz card at. Yes, I was looking only for an old price tag. It meant something to me because it was a memory of such good times.

Remember the movie "Throw Momma From The Train" with Billy Crystal and Danny Devito - the scene where they are examining Owen's coin collection - and Billy Crystal realizes it's not about the coins at all - it's just change that Owen got years ago as a kid whenever he was somewhere with his Dad. A simple grasp for the past, and a tie to something that you can no longer have. I get it. And yes that can totally happen w/ baseball cards.

-John

[orioles70]

JCH

Great story...Thanks so much for sharing it...it's not all about monetary value for me...I favor the items with stories and sentimental value as well....I have another I will share later

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[jchcollins]

Also what comes to mind - the story about Bob Costas carrying around the Mantle card in his wallet for years. I believe it was a '58 All-Star card. I never saw a picture of that particular card - I'm sure it had to be beat to hell - but always wanted to. The tie-in to personal stories is neat.

[orioles70]

I have seen Bob in several interviews mention the Mantle card but have never seen it...it would be neat to look at....maybe these type of cards should have their own grade...how about VML... Very Much Loved

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[orioles70]

Ok…here is the other story I have on a totally worthless but meaningful card that I have displayed in my office.


It is a 1957 Topps Sal Maglie and it looks like it was run over by a truck…several times. I am sure it is the worst condition card that I own. But I will never get rid of it.


As a 16 year old In 1976 activities like playing high school sports, flipping burgers to save for a car and girls took all my collecting time and money…but before that I was a card collecting fiend from 5th grade thru 9th grade getting all the current Topps cards I could from the years 1970-1975 and trading for cards from prior years concentrating on Orioles.


I had 2 class mates during those years that were also avid card collectors. Mickey was a Yankee fan and rode my bus so we could even trade on the way to and from school. Bruce was a Mets fan who sat in the desk in front of me and liked to rub the 1969 World Series in my face every now and then. I count both of them among my best friends of the last 50 years and still see them several times a year.


The 3 of us would wheel and deal cards as often as possible during school and I don't ever remember us fighting or squabbling about our deals…and that is where the 1957 Topps Sal Maglie comes in. He was the equalizer in many deals. Let's say I was making a deal with Mickey but he was unsure about the trade…if I had the Sal Maglie card…even in that condition…I would say “Mick, how about I throw in Maglie” and it would cinch the deal for many reasons. For us a 1957 card was a really old card…it was issued 3 years before we were born. And Maglie was a pretty good pitcher with a cool nickname, The Barber, and pitched for all the New York teams…Giants, Dodgers and Yankees as well as the Indians and Cardinals. Having played for all those teams is why somebody erased the team name on the front…I don't recall who did that. All 3 of us owned the card multiple times and somehow I ended up with it. I have it on display in my office to remind me of my youthful card collecting days with childhood friends that became lifelong friends.







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[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by orioles70

Ok…here is the other story I have on a totally worthless but meaningful card that I have displayed in my office.


It is a 1957 Topps Sal Maglie and it looks like it was run over by a truck…several times. I am sure it is the worst condition card that I own. But I will never get rid of it.


As a 16 year old In 1976 activities like playing high school sports, flipping burgers to save for a car and girls took all my collecting time and money…but before that I was a card collecting fiend from 5th grade thru 9th grade getting all the current Topps cards I could from the years 1970-1975 and trading for cards from prior years concentrating on Orioles.


I had 2 class mates during those years that were also avid card collectors. Mickey was a Yankee fan and rode my bus so we could even trade on the way to and from school. Bruce was a Mets fan who sat in the desk in front of me and liked to rub the 1969 World Series in my face every now and then. I count both of them among my best friends of the last 50 years and still see them several times a year.


The 3 of us would wheel and deal cards as often as possible during school and I don't ever remember us fighting or squabbling about our deals…and that is where the 1957 Topps Sal Maglie comes in. He was the equalizer in many deals. Let's say I was making a deal with Mickey but he was unsure about the trade…if I had the Sal Maglie card…even in that condition…I would say “Mick, how about I throw in Maglie” and it would cinch the deal for many reasons. For us a 1957 card was a really old card…it was issued 3 years before we were born. And Maglie was a pretty good pitcher with a cool nickname, The Barber, and pitched for all the New York teams…Giants, Dodgers and Yankees as well as the Indians and Cardinals. Having played for all those teams is why somebody erased the team name on the front…I don't recall who did that. All 3 of us owned the card multiple times and somehow I ended up with it. I have it on display in my office to remind me of my youthful card collecting days with childhood friends that became lifelong friends.







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Very cool story.


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[bmattioli]

My favorite is this wrapper.. I found this hidden in the barn on my grandparents land probably when I was 7 or 8 years old. Amazing this has been with me al these years as I traveled the globe while in the USAF and the countless moves and places I have lived. It has always been displayed and will never leave me..

[orioles70]

Nice wrapper...love these stories

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[orioles70]

Thanks guys for sharing your stories....Hoping others will continue to post a story and a pic of items they have that hold value only to them for one reason or another....there are plenty of other threads to see and boast about all our slabbed and graded auction purchases...holidays are well past but this can be the island of misfit cards...let these posts be a reminder of why we collect and how something so insignificant, beat up, worn out, etc. can mean so much and spark so many memories...each item seen as an equal thread in our collecting tapestry

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[orioles70]

Ok, I thought of one more story but will only post if a couple other stories are posted first.

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[Volod]

These are some really enjoyable stories. A nice respite from our usual obsessive concern with stuff like pricing, condition and grading. My old card story is pretty mundane. In the winter of 1951, my family had just moved and I was sent to a new school for the start of second grade and was kind of annoyed and dejected. Trying to figure out a new locker combination, I gave up in disgust and threw my stuff into the damned thing, when I noticed something lying on the hallway floor a few lockers up. It was a card of Aaron Robinson - a ballplayer I had never heard of, who played for a team I cared nothing about - but in that moment, for some reason, I fell in love with baseball cards. My childhood card collection grew to great size from that point, but that one card, the first I ever held, was put away in a scrapbook that somehow escaped Ma's voracious housecleaning and survived until I found it again in the 1980's. Most of my current collection remains stored away under virtual lock and key, but I keep Old Aaron close by in a desk drawer and pull him out once in a while to gaze at in wonder.

[orioles70]

That is a really great story...and the kind I hope others will see and post...love the pic...thanks for sharing

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[orioles70]

That is a really great story...and the kind I hope others will see and post...love the pic...thanks for sharing

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[orioles70]

That is a really great story...and the kind I hope others will see and post...love the pic...thanks for sharing

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[TheNightmanCometh]

Originally Posted by Volod

These are some really enjoyable stories. A nice respite from our usual obsessive concern with stuff like pricing, condition and grading. My old card story is pretty mundane. In the winter of 1951, my family had just moved and I was sent to a new school for the start of second grade and was kind of annoyed and dejected. Trying to figure out a new locker combination, I gave up in disgust and threw my stuff into the damned thing, when I noticed something lying on the hallway floor a few lockers up. It was a card of Aaron Robinson - a ballplayer I had never heard of, who played for a team I cared nothing about - but in that moment, for some reason, I fell in love with baseball cards. My childhood card collection grew to great size from that point, but that one card, the first I ever held, was put away in a scrapbook that somehow escaped Ma's voracious housecleaning and survived until I found it again in the 1980's. Most of my current collection remains stored away under virtual lock and key, but I keep Old Aaron close by in a desk drawer and pull him out once in a while to gaze at in wonder.

Wow! That's a really amazing story. The fact that you still have that card and keep it close by is inspiring. Thanks for sharing.

[71buc]

Gear thread here is a thread from a couple of years ago with similar stories .

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=240443

[TheNightmanCometh]

Originally Posted by Volod

These are some really enjoyable stories. A nice respite from our usual obsessive concern with stuff like pricing, condition and grading. My old card story is pretty mundane. In the winter of 1951, my family had just moved and I was sent to a new school for the start of second grade and was kind of annoyed and dejected. Trying to figure out a new locker combination, I gave up in disgust and threw my stuff into the damned thing, when I noticed something lying on the hallway floor a few lockers up. It was a card of Aaron Robinson - a ballplayer I had never heard of, who played for a team I cared nothing about - but in that moment, for some reason, I fell in love with baseball cards. My childhood card collection grew to great size from that point, but that one card, the first I ever held, was put away in a scrapbook that somehow escaped Ma's voracious housecleaning and survived until I found it again in the 1980's. Most of my current collection remains stored away under virtual lock and key, but I keep Old Aaron close by in a desk drawer and pull him out once in a while to gaze at in wonder.

Ummmm...explain, please. Two different stories, same card.

Originally Posted by Volod

Running across my backyard one day when I was six years old, I noticed a pile of paper scraps scattered around a path that led to my neighbor's house. I had no idea what it was, but since I had very recently become interested in baseball, I could make out that it was some kind of baseball related cardboard thingee. Up in my bedroom, I put the jigsaw puzzle scraps back in readable order and found they amounted to this card and then managed to glue them together to form my first collectible. Of course, I then had to have the rest of them - all the cards in the universe - but could not manage that until many years later.

http://www.net54baseball.com/showpos...4&postcount=41

[skil55voy]

I have 5 cards displayed. They are from my first pack of cards. I was standing in my driveway in April of 1962. I had been sick and missed a week of school. I was finally able to go outside. A guy who lived down the block was walking by and asked me if I wanted to see his baseball cards. He had a stack of 30. I had never seen cards before. I couldn't believe it. I looked through them all and asked where he got them. He said at the corner drugstore. He left and I stood in the driveway waiting for my Dad to come home from work. When he pulled in I bombarded him with the news that baseball cards existed and could we get some. He said he would take me after dinner. After we ate we walked to the store and he bought me one pack. I opened it under the streetlight outside the store: 1962 Topps

John DeMerit, Ray Washburn, Dick Donovan, Don Schwall and Carroll Hardy.

Of course they are faded from the sun after hanging on a wall everywhere I went.

[orioles70]

Ok, another story. I grew up in the 70’s in a small rural potato farming town with a population of less than 300.

There were potato fields all around us. Mom always complained about the dust during digging season which usually started in June around my birthday. Potato bugs were also a constant in the summer along with the sight and sound of 18 wheel trucks coming and going to and from the several potato grader operations in town, one of those being across the pond in our back yard.

It was a place where you knew everybody in town, what they did for a living, who was nice and what yards you could play in, etc.


For a small town it seemed we had a lot of kids. I estimate there were about 30 kids born between 1955 and 1965 and less than 10 were girls. So we never had a problem getting a few kids together for pick up games in the 2 vacant lots in the middle of town.

But living on each side of me as a kid were elderly couples…one was a retired couple whose yard we tried to steer clear of even though Mr. Ralph didn't really mind if we cut thru or played there but his wife Miss Louise did.

On the other side was another elderly couple that owned a dry cleaning business, Mr. Clifford and Miss Mabel. I never had that much interaction with them…they were friendly but kept to themselves and didn't have children. One of the things I remember most is there was a real grave from the 1800's on the edge of their yard with a wrought iron spiked fence around it and a chest high hedge between our yard and theirs. Whenever I cut our grass which was one of my chores for my $2.00/week allowance and Mr. Clifford saw me cutting next to the hedge he would come out of his kitchen door on the side of his house next to the hedge and holler loud enough to get my attention over the roar of the old push mower we had. Then he would toss me a roll of Lifesavers over the hedge, smile and wave and head back in as I thanked him. The Lifesavers were usually the 5 flavor variety which was okay but my preference was Butter Rum or Cherry. But I was a kid and any free candy was always appreciated.


Anyway, in back of our house and our adjoining neighbors was a small pond down a hill. Remember this was the early 70’s so no ecological judgements please. We played in and around the pond constantly and Mr. Clifford had a small trash dump in back of his house near the brush of the pond. It was literally a dump…not bagged, etc. A pile of trash was certainly no deterrent to us kids snooping for treasure. So we would look thru it sometimes. Never anything significant or provocative but one day I struck gold…cardboard gold. I found a few old baseball cards in the pile and most were of my favorite team, the Orioles. But it was just a few and they were not in the best of shape. I now wish I had asked Mr. Clifford about them but I guess I didn't want him to know I had been looking thru his trash dump.

I scooped up the cards and did my research on the players with my trusty 1st edition Macmillan Baseball Encyclopedia I got for Christmas in 1969 and decided I would try and get all the cards of one of those players I found amongst my neighbors table scraps. It was Milt Pappas…infamous for being traded for Frank Robinson who just passed away.


Well, the town is no longer a potato growing community but my parents still live in the house where I grew up. Mr. Clifford and Miss Mabel are gone and the brush near the pond eventually grew and consumed their old trash pile. And the sight of the 1958 Topps Milt Pappas card I found in that trash pile can make me think of a nice elderly dry cleaning neighbor that would throw me Lifesavers over the hedge while I cut grass next to it and a real grave while growing up in a small potato town.


Here are 3 of those cards.





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[Keep_it_warm]

In the early 1980's, my mom took me to a local card show where Kaline was signing autographs. I got two autographs - one on a promo photo, the other on a pale orange index card that I brought with me. I was super excited to meet him and after receiving the autographs, I wanted ao fine an Al Kaline card. For whatever reason, I ended up buying this beater. This card, and my fascination with it, lead to wanting to complete the 1956 Topps set. Approximately 40 years later, I am down to needing only 5 more cards. My completed (basic) set will number 343. It will include two #20 Al Kaline cards. A PSA 7 to match the condition of the other major stars...and this card. The first 1956 card I purchased all those years ago.

[IMG][/IMG]

[orioles70]

Very nice story...thanks for sharing.

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[Exhibitman]

This is the first vintage card I ever owned:



Got it when I was a kid in NYC, about 1972, 1973, and I have had it ever since.

I was mesmerized by the colors and the art. Nothing like in in the early 1970s Topps issues. It was a like a hit of collecting crack: I was immediately obsessed.

[ALR-bishop]

Milt Pappas post baseball life might make for an interesting mini series

[LuckyLarry]

Jim Slaton was from my hometown Lancaster California and graduated from the same High School I did Antelope Valley High School. He was a couple years ahead of me, but my oldest sister Pamm went to school with him. In the 70s Pamm lived in Anaheim and when the Brewers came to town, I think they would "hook up" at least that's what my sister told me.
Larry

[Volod]

Originally Posted by TheNightmanCometh

Ummmm...explain, please. Two different stories, same card.

My ancient memory of the torn card obviously failed me. It was so badly taped up it was thrown away long ago and I could not recall the exact player. Sorry about that.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

This is the first vintage card I ever owned:


I was mesmerized by the colors and the art. Nothing like in in the early 1970s Topps issues. It was a like a hit of collecting crack: I was immediately obsessed.

I can totally relate to this experience. For me it was the look of the '58 Mantle / Aaron card, which resembled nothing like what I was pulling out of packs in 1988. The 50's cards and some of their tinted artwork were something different entirely. Collecting crack indeed!

[orioles70]

Good stories guys...keep them coming

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[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by LuckyLarry

I think they would "hook up" at least that's what my sister told me.
Larry

LOL reminds me of the story of a teacher in junior high school. She supposedly went to UNC with and dated Walt Weiss (at the time of the Oakland A's) - and later manager of the Rockies.

Just a weird proposition as a kid, "ok, so I collect baseball cards of this guy, and you used to hook up with him..."

[TheNightmanCometh]

Originally Posted by Volod

My ancient memory of the torn card obviously failed me. It was so badly taped up it was thrown away long ago and I could not recall the exact player. Sorry about that.

No worries

I thought it was funny.

[orioles70]

Bump

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[Fuddjcal]

My first 1956 and oldest card I had when I was a kid. When I sold my entire collection after a divorce in 1994, this is the only card I kept. It's in the shadow box with other keepsakes.

Ticket stub from Campy night that my grandparents attended. My mom and dads first date in 1958, stubs marked Joe's & "Mine". They went to school with Drysdale @ Van Nuys high and he pitched that night.

A couple of birthday stubs from 71' with my grandpa and the 1974 World Series game I went to with him.

[orioles70]

Good story Fudd...a meaningful card for sure

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[Harliduck]

I have a good example here that's on subject...I started collecting when I was 8...got my first "old card" when I was 11, a common 1969 Topps card. I was blown away to have a card a year older than me, and fell in love with the design...a work of art.... Anyhow, when I was about 13 some small shows were starting to pop up and a shop less than an hour from me had some old cards. It became my mission to collect the entire 69 Topps set after getting a small chunk through trading with friends. Without the internet and being a kid with no money, I had to rely on every friend and friend of a friend I could...and I finally finished the set when I was 19. I had to mail order my final card, a Norm Cash from a shop in Boston, ordered out of the back of an old Beckett! Had to send a self address stamped envelope along with a check for 1.25$, I'll never forget it. I was stoked, and I held a set that was G - VG at best, but I didn't care. I still remember every important milestone...one of which was when I was able to trade some Star Wars action figures to an old baseball coach for the #100 Hank Aaron and #190 Willie Mays, two of my favorite players, when I was 14. Steal of a deal, I had long gave a crap about my original SW figures. ANYHOW...when I was 21 I was at a show and bought two new Hank and Willie cards, as now my job was to upgrade that 69 set. When I did this, I put my old two cards in my wallet, for good luck. I LOVED those wrinkled up cards and wanted them with me at all times...they didn't have a whole lot of value even back then in the condition they were in, but I still have never lost that feeling that I actually own these HOF cards...my 9 year old DREAMS.

I sold that set when I was 25 to a local shop...I got way more than I should for it, but in 1995 a vintage set like that was a rare thing, and that shop really wanted that set (and a 65 Topps Namath RC I had, another story). Shop went out of business like a month later, lol. The only cards I had left from that set was the two original cards I was now carrying in my wallet.

Fast Forward to 2005, now I'm 35...and I got a new wallet. I had totally forgot I had those two cards STILL roaming in there. I pulled out what was left of them and put them into protectors. 14 years they were with me every step of my life!! I hadn't collected cards in years...and these two got me scratching a new itch. I decided to collect cards again, and start by building the 1969 Topps set once again. A little easier this time as obviously my means were different, and cards were so accessible online. I finished that set quickly, moved to other sets, rest is history...I am a set builder. I did upgrade that 69 set and quickly found out I almost had another set...haha...a sickness...I am still now working on my 4th 69 set...why not. My best set is now NM, and my second is close. It all started with my two wallet cards.

I read this post, and had to go get them...the only two cards I have from my youth besides my hand put together 1979 set that I always kept from when I was 9. I'll have these two cards till they day I die, and passed on to my son...completely worthless...yet priceless. Had these two cards for 34 years!!

[Harliduck]

Btw...LOVED reading all the other stories...these are what keeps the passion of the hobby going for guys like me, and always draw me back. Great post!!

[orioles70]

A wonderful story...thanks for sharing...love the pic of those 2 beat up but very meaningful cld cards...I really enjoy reading these stories especially with the pics of the cards

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[orioles70]

Both of those 1969 Topps cards definitely get a grade of VML 10...Very Much Loved

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[orioles70]

Bump

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[orioles70]

Bump

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[Exhibitman]

I bought this card, raw, from Mike Berkus at one of his Anaheim CA shows in the 1970s. Either Memorial Day or Thanksgiving weekend. It cost me $12, which was a lot for me at the time, but I wanted a WaJo. The slab came many years later.

[orioles70]

Very nice card

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[Chris Counts]

I regretfully sold off a very nice collection of cards by the time I was 18. But the one card I kept was a beat-up 1948 Bowman Pete Reiser. I was always impressed by how hard he played, even if it meant wrecking his career by running into walls. About two decades later, I discovered eBay, and I've been rebuilding the collection ever since. But one card occupies a unique place in it, not only because it's in worse shape than any other card I have, but because I've had it longer than any other.

"I bought this card, raw, from Mike Berkus at one of his Anaheim CA shows in the 1970s. Either Memorial Day or Thanksgiving weekend. It cost me $12, which was a lot for me at the time, but I wanted a WaJo. The slab came many years later."

Adam, my original collection came mostly from SoCal shows in the 1970s. I'll never forget walking into my first show at the Disneyland Hotel in '73 or '74, and seeing John Parks selling T206 singles for $1 each and HOFers for $3 each. There were hundreds, and all were high grade. Those were the days!

[orioles70]

Great story...how about a pic of that 48 Bowman Reiser

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[orioles70]

Bump

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[orioles70]

Bump

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[seanofjapan]

My 1987 Topps Don Mattingly acquired in a schoolyard trade on Ramstein Air Force Base, West Germany, in 1987. Found it in storage at my parents' place last month and it brought back memories:

https://baseballcardsinjapan.blogspo...s-house-1.html

[orioles70]

Sean, I read your story and it is precisely the type I thoroughly enjoy...it is a hobby and I get as much joy out of looking at several of my beat up cards that bring friends and places to mind as any expensive card I own...thanks for sharing

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[nat]

"potato grader operations"


Wait, they're grading potatoes now? Just when you thought PSA couldn't go any lower...