Why do you collect what you collect?

[cdn_collector]

These types of posts fascinate me. I enjoy reading/hearing about how folks got to where they are, in terms of what they collect.

My collecting started in the 80s. Junk wax galore. But I read about baseball constantly. I don't recall price guides going back further than 1948 Bowman, so I thought those were the oldest cards, until I learned about the T206 Wagner in around 1991 or so (I think I still have a clipping from our local newspaper talking about Gretzky and McNall buying their famous Wagner). Still, I always dreamed of owning a 1951 Topps RB Berra and a 1948 Bowman Spahn.

When I returned to collecting in the early 2000s, I started collecting 1948 Bowman and 1951 Topps RB. Gar Miller helped me build those sets, and he also introduced me to early T & E cards. To think that nearly 100 year old cards could be affordable blew my mind. About the same time, I started reading what I would call 'adult non-fiction' baseball books. That really brought baseball to life for me, and my collecting has basically followed what I read. Read a Jackie Robinson bio, buy a Robinson card. Read about Joe DiMaggio, buy a Joe DiMaggio.

Eventually I read Lawrence Ritter's Glory of their Times, found out about George Gibson, and the rest is kind of history. My collection now is mostly focused on Gibson, but in the past two years or so, I have branched out and started to pick up pre-war cards of other Canadian guys. Almost like a Canadian type card collection, really, though I am also working on a C46 Toronto team set.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving everyone

Richard.

[skil55voy]

Started in 1962. I was 6. It's still my favorite set. Lifelong Tigers fan. My grandfather was on the ground crew at Briggs Stadium during World War II. My mother was a huge fan. She met Hank Greenberg. He through a Christmas party for the ground crew and other staff in 1945. She also met Ty Cobb. I collected full sets until 1986. I sold them to buy a house when I got married. I kept my Post Cereal and Jello cards since my mom used to cut them off the backs of boxes. I have master sets of the 3 US baseball sets. A near master set of 62 US Football. Also have the Canadian sets from 62 and 63. I kept most of the Tiger things she had: Goudey Wide Pens, Butterfingers Pictures, a couple of 52 Bowmans etc.. I have rebuilt my Tigers cards from 1953 on up. Need a couple to finish. I have continued to collect Post Cereal and Jello cards through the years including hockey cards released in Canada. As for now I am working on a 2012 Topps Gypsy Queen set. (Just something to keep me occupied) Really like the stories in this thread!

[Touch'EmAll]

Why do you collect what you collect ? Because it is fun and a great hobby of Americana. Because I collected as a kid, still have much interest as an adult. Because I prefer the old vintage more rare stuff. And I collect top tier HOFers because I feel spending my hard earned money on this type of cards has investment upside.

[jchcollins]

I was introduced to cards as collectibles in 3rd grade at age 8 with the Topps Garbage Pail Kids, which were all the rage at the time. The packs cost a quarter down at the local 7-11, and we all took them to school in the pockets of our jean jackets, stacks with rubber bands around the cards. You had to be careful though, because the cards were gross and some teachers were banning them. I even remember there being an article in our "Weekly Reader" newsletters about them.

I had a GPK collecting buddy who once boasted to me that he had the entire 1985 Topps set of baseball cards, which I thought was impossible. 700 some cards? This led to me getting curious and buying some packs of '86 Topps baseball when they came out. I remember getting a Dwight Gooden record breaker in that first pack.

So, from 1986 on I bought packs of new cards, but at some point - maybe a year or so later - two things happened which I really consider as having ignited my passion about cards in general. One - somewhere I came across a price guide (this was not Beckett, so I'm guessing it was CCP or something like that) and discovered what old cards were. I was immediately smitten without ever having even held an old card. I don't know how to describe why, but I immediately knew even as a kid that this was going to be a great "interest" of mine. I immediately began scheming on ways to acquire "old" baseball cards. This included writing a letter to Topps, which they politely responded to and attempted to explain that they did not stock old inventory to resell. I believe they sent me a list of popular dealers, but as an 11 year-old or so, I didn't know what to do with that. The second big thing around that time that happened was that I discovered a stash of "old" cards for sale at a local antique mall. The cards turned out to be from the collection of former major league catcher Paul Burris (Milwaukee Braves backup to Del Crandall...) who was from and still lived in the area near my hometown. The collection was random, but the prices were good and I remember being allowed to take home a few treasures, including a 1955 Bowman Andy Pafko, and a 1962 Topps Gil Hodges.

These two events set the hook, and while I continued to collect "modern" cards from packs at the time, nothing about them ever really compared to my love for what we today call "vintage" (then simply called old...) cards. As it was the late 1980's / early 90's - I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by card shops for much of my coming of age. My mother was my partner in crime and would take me to the card shops and even one pawn shop that doubled as a card shop - to buy the old stuff. I'm sure she got in trouble with my father upon occasion, but she understood my passion and rarely said no. The result was by the time I was about 15 years old - I had amassed a pretty decent collection of old cards for a kid - including examples of Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Duke Snider, and other Hall of Famers. Nolan Ryan became a big thing in terms of collecting nationally in about 1990. We all wanted the rookie card, but the best I could do at the time was an off-centered '73 Topps. But man how I cherished that card - it was from his greatest single season, after all.

The rest is pretty typical, I suppose. I quit collecting most new cards in high school around 1994 as I gradually began to become more concerned about girls and cars and more worldly things. The cards remained mothballed in college, but as a senior I was lucky enough to find out about online auctions and "list servs" - which was a new thing even before eBay - that held my interest briefly as a young adult. I remember getting a beat up '53 Yogi Berra from an auction on one of those and thinking "Wow, this is so much cheaper than this same card would have gone for in a shop back in the day." I again put any hobby ambitions away before going back to grad school part time in the early 2000's - there simply wasn't enough time for it. After that, still considered a newlywed, I had plenty of other things to do including first houses, first children, etc etc.

I would say I got back into cards for good as an adult about 5 years ago - after realizing upon several random occasions that I missed the hobby and had not done anything about it - and that repetitive thought was sad to me. So after Christmas in 2015, I think - I took some some cash that had been a gift and blew it all on cards on eBay. Today, my main focus is still postwar Hall of Famers, because that was what always captivated me as a kid. While I like the idea of prewar, I also made the decision recently not to focus on it simply because of the expense. To me quantity can be a sort of quality, and I'd rather have 5 nicer midgrade cards of 50's and 60's HOF'ers than one lower grade prewar star card. I've always for some reason related better to postwar players too - I suppose because part of the thrill of it all for me is collecting things my Dad might once have had growing up. I have tried for some time now to say that I'm a set collector - but this is not really true. Sets and large groups of commons in general have never really been able to hold my interest the way the nicer cards of stars and HOF'ers have. I am currently trying to put together a midrange set of 1972 Topps, simply for the experience - I do want to complete at least one vintage set in my time here on this earth.

All in all I would guess pretty typical. I've put the cards down from time to time, but they have always come back around. The hobby is my escape from the rest of the world, and has come back to help me in times of trouble recently like a few years ago during the time of my mother's illness and subsequent passing. My motivation now is really that original feeling of nostalgia associated with something from another era, and knowing that you possess something "real" from it. I like to imagine now how simple certain times gone by were, and how the cards relate to that. As a kid it seemed to be much more about the game and the players only - but now I kind of have broadened out and am interested in aspects of the historical hobby as well. Since joining Net54 maybe 5 years ago - I've learned that talking about the hobby and cards can be a hobby in itself!

[Paul.Fleetwood]

I collect what I collect because it brings back memories. Opened packs in the 1950's and the 1960's, therefore I collect the 1950's and the 1960's.

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

I collect because I have become addicted to the cardboard crack.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by skil55voy

I have continued to collect Post Cereal and Jello cards through the years including hockey cards released in Canada.

I did not know those existed; can you post a few here?

[riggs336]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

I did not know those existed; can you post a few here?

I'm a hockey ignoramus, so I did an eBay search for "post cereal hockey" and got 1,763 hits. Another Net54 learning experience.

[ullmandds]

As a Kid I had a HOF binder...where I had all of my HOF'ers grouped by player in chronological order...and I had a NY Yankees binder for only yankees. Sold my collection to replace a totalled car in high school.

When I got back into the hobby in the early 90's I focused on rare backed t206's and started type collecting. I basically wanted to do what Leon almost did...I was motivated by the Sport Americana Price guide that had color pics of types in the center from the halper collection.

After 10-15 years of this...completed an e94 set, an e90-2 set and a n43 set but set collecting really isnt my thing. For similar reasons I tired of type collecting...spending lots of money on common players because the set is super tough...and common players within sets wasn't satisfying.

I sold most of my rare types and I'm mainly collecting babe ruth and ty cobb in the vintage realm...and some other top tier HOF'ers. Also trying to add to my dots miller run...which satisfies the type collector in me.

And I restarted a yankees binder...and a HOF binder which comprises most of my buying these days.

[edjs]

I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t even watch much baseball.

[Huysmans]

Originally Posted by riggs336

I'm a hockey ignoramus

Don't worry, this is the case for most people south of the border
I'm only teasing, my American friends...

[skil55voy]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

I did not know those existed; can you post a few here?

Can't get the pics to load. Doesn't matter the format jpg, gif etc..

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by skil55voy

Can't get the pics to load. Doesn't matter the format jpg, gif etc..

jpg works but the pic needs to be 1.2mb or smaller.

[Brian Van Horn]

"Why do you collect what you collect?"

I'm nuts.

[conor912]

With so many other aspects of life being out of my control, I enjoy mixing the curation process with the game I love.

[skil55voy]

Originally Posted by skil55voy

Can't get the pics to load. Doesn't matter the format jpg, gif etc..

Managed to cut pics down. To load. Sorry it took so long.

[Casey2296]

This thread is full of great collecting stories, thank you all for sharing.

[kmac32]

I got the bug as my great great Uncle Elmer Miller played for the Yankees in th teens and with the Yankes MLB team in 192 and 1922. He is literally the first Yankee to get a hit in a World Series and Ruth drove him in making him the first Yankee to scor a run in a World Series. I collect Elmer Miller cards and photos from the 1920’s and have his original signed contract from 1919 along with the signiatures of Ban Johnson and Jacob Rupert.

I also am a diehard Cubs fan so I have collected every card including errors in Topps from 1951 to currnt, a near complete front/ reverse set of T205 Cubs (148/151 cards), T207 Cubs front/ rverse set with all possible backs, S74 Cubs (if they ever com back from SGC, and starting a 1910 T210 Jacksonville Jays as I live near JAX.

Love collcting my teams