First Pack of Cards

[cardinalcollector]

First pack was 1968 Topps from a GEM department store in St. Louis. I was immediately hooked. I couldn't wait for them to arrive each year. I remember reading the classified ads in the back of The Sporting News for the 2 or 3 baseball card dealers that were active back then. Boys Life also had baseball card ads. I was calling the local 7-11 in late March in the early 1970s asking if the new cards had arrived yet, I know I drove them crazy. I think it was 1973 when I actually called Topps to see when they would show up in Wichita, KS, where I was then living. I remember my Dad yelling "who made a long distance call to Brooklyn?" I have collected every year since 1968 without any gaps. Baseball cards have always been part of my life.

[ValKehl]

First pack was 1955 Topps, most likely from the local 7-11. Can't remember what cards were in the pack. I collected Topps cards through 1960. Sometime in the early-to-mid 1970's, Mom called on day out of the blue to ask if I wanted my cards that she had just come across while cleaning out a storage area, before she tossed them. I retrieved them, thinking that one or more of my rug rats might get interested in collecting cards when they got older, but they never did. I resurrected the collection and began collecting again in the mid-to-late 1980's, and I have thoroughly enjoyed collecting ever since.