Evolution of collecting habits (aka "slow Thursday")

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Posted By: Jeff O

A very interesting topic...

I still have the first card that I can remember ever pulling from a pack - a 1977 Topps Greg Luzinski, which was a really big deal for a 6 year old kid in Philadelphia who loved home runs.

I have collected cards ever since, but didn't enter "The Hobby" until I encountered my first card shop in 1983. I remember buying a 1956 Topps Carl Erskine and taking it home to show my dad, who grew up in Brooklyn in the 50's... he immediately went out and spent $20 for the Campy from the set, and the rest is history.

Within the year we were putting ads in the local papers looking to buy collections and setting up at shows. By 1987 my father had quit his job and opened a baseball card shop, which he owned and operated (along with promoting shows) for about 8-9 years.

My collecting started with building the 1956 Topps sets and collecting cards of specific players. I eventually got into hockey cards in 1991 because it was something new, and tobacco cards about a year later for the same reason. I also got really, really into old hobby periodicals for about 2 years, and I have an extensive collection - complete run of Trader Speaks, run of SCD from the first issue through 1987, Sport Fan, The Old Judge, ACC, the Sports Collectors Bible...

I bought my first Seattle hockey stuff in the early 1990s as well, and that has been my primary collecting interest for about the past 3 years... I've been selling off my other items to get more money for Seattle hockey stuff.

Jeff O
http://www.seattlehockey.net