What Baseball Artifact Brings You Back in Time in the Deepest Way?

[dbussell12]

Originally Posted by ctownboy

Not an actual baseball item but.....freshly mown grass in early May.

Back in the late 1970's I lived in a small town with my mother and younger sister. We didn't have a lot of money so what money I received for an allowance (if I even got one) was very small. To supplement this, I mowed grass and rode my bicycle along our small town roads looking for discarded glass soft drink bottles to be able to redeem.

When I had enough money, I would go to a small grocery store nearby and buy packs of baseball cards. I would then rush home and open them hoping to find Cincinnati Reds cards in general and Johnny Bench cards in particular. Living in southern Indiana, close to Louisville, Kentucky, being a Reds fan at that time was GREAT!!!

Now, almost fifty years later, every May when grass is starting to be mown and that fresh smell hits me, I go back in time and remember the miles of mowing grass and the miles of bike riding I did just to be able to buy new packs of baseball cards.

David

This is fascinating David; its really quite something how this happens biologically/chemically. I'm sure there are some more in depth studies scientifically about how powerful sense memories function and are triggered when we experience them again; how they are formed initially.

Did you get any of those Bench cards? His Sporting News All Star cards from the early 70s are some of my favorites.

David

[ctownboy]

I wasn't a baseball fan (or any sports fan for that matter). But I was in third grade and had a crush on my teacher. Her father was the mayor of a nearby larger town and he was originally from Boston.

My teacher told us that she was going to be gone for a few days because her father had tickets to the 1975 World Series games in Boston. Not knowing anything about sports, I decided to watch the games to see if I could see her in the stands. Turns out I was watching one of the best World Series ever and became a fan because of it. My two favorite players became Johnny Bench and Yaz and the Reds became my favorite team.

I started collecting cards in 1977.

Yes, I did get some Johnny Bench cards from those packs.

David

Edited to get the year straight....it was late when I posted.

[dbussell12]

Originally Posted by ctownboy

I wasn't a baseball fan (or any sports fan for that matter). But I was in fourth grade and had a crush on my teacher. Her father was the mayor of a nearby larger town and he was originally from Boston.

My teacher told us that she was going to be gone for a few days because her father had tickets to the 1976 World Series games in Boston. Not knowing anything about sports, I decided to watch the games to see if I could see her in the stands. Turns out I was watching one of the best World Series ever and became a fan because of it. My two favorite players became Johnny Bench and Yaz and the Reds became my favorite team.

I started collecting cards in 1977.

Yes, I did get some Johnny Bench cards from those packs.

David

Ha!! What a way to get started with the sport. You have a truly great story here! I wonder if you would consider writing about it and telling it in full? I am a big advocate for writing and writerly pursuits... especially intertwined with early childhood and baseball.

[Casey2296]

Originally Posted by dbussell12

This is fascinating David; its really quite something how this happens biologically/chemically. I'm sure there are some more in depth studies scientifically about how powerful sense memories function and are triggered when we experience them again; how they are formed initially.

Did you get any of those Bench cards? His Sporting News All Star cards from the early 70s are some of my favorites.

David

-
Of all the senses, the sense of smell has the strongest link to memory recall. The olfactory system has a direct connection to the hippocampus and amygdaloid, brain regions crucial for memory and emotional processing.
-