Favorite Baseball Card Memories

[cumberlandreds]

Here's a neat article I found on ESPN's website with some of their talking heads telling about their favorite baseball cards when growing up.
I can remember the first Red I got when I started buying packs back in 1971. It was a 1971 Topps Ty Cline and I was thrilled that I had finally gotten a Reds player after buying many packs. I still have that card today.


http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...t&lid=tab3pos2

[macro]

I guess my best single moment was the day I pulled a 1974 Reds team card from a pack. I was pumped up the rest of the week, and couldn't stop staring at that thing.



My other general memories are keeping all my Reds seperate from the others with a rubber band around them, and buying those cardboard (later plastic) "locker" things to keep the cards sorted in.

We had a really good discussion about baseball cards last summer, and oddly enough, it was running exactly one year ago today.

http://www.redszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41168

[HotCorner]

My two favorite baseball card memories ...

1) Completing the 1986 Topps set by purchasing pack after pack. I still have the set in a binder with the protective sleeves. It was the one and only set I completed in this manner.

2) Topps had a baseball sticker book in the early '80's. You bought the book and packs of the stickers to complete the book. Very similar to collecting a card set but a lot less expensive since the packs of stickers went for .25 or a jumbo pack for 1.00. I only saw this book one year and never saw it again.

[HotCorner]

Originally Posted by HotCorner

2) Topps had a baseball sticker book in the early '80's. You bought the book and packs of the stickers to complete the book. Very similar to collecting a card set but a lot less expensive since the packs of stickers went for .25 or a jumbo pack for 1.00. I only saw this book one year and never saw it again.

Found the book on E-Bay ...

http://cgi.ebay.com/1984-Topps-BASEB...ayphotohosting

[Blimpie]

Originally Posted by HotCorner

My two favorite baseball card memories ...

1) Completing the 1986 Topps set by purchasing pack after pack. I still have the set in a binder with the protective sleeves. It was the one and only set I completed in this manner.

2) Topps had a baseball sticker book in the early '80's. You bought the book and packs of the stickers to complete the book. Very similar to collecting a card set but a lot less expensive since the packs of stickers went for .25 or a jumbo pack for 1.00. I only saw this book one year and never saw it again.

I did this with the 1982 Topps set as well. Topps collation standards were so poor that by the time I got my final missing card (Gary Lavelle-SF Giants), I nearly had two complete sets for that year...

[beb30]

1) Getting a 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. RC for my bday back around 1993 or so.

2) Trading Several cards including Pedro Martinez Hat card and Cash for 2000 Upper Deck Autographed Game Used Jersey Ken Griffey Jr. which at the time was booking for $800

[Johnny Footstool]

I bought a box of 1986 Donruss for the shockingly high price of $20 (big bucks when you're 13 and it's 1986) in hopes of getting a Jose Canseco rookie card. I finally got one in the 4th-to-last pack I opened. Too bad it's almost worthless now.

I also remember trading a 1985 SportFlic (briefly available in the mid-80's) card of Kirby Puckett to a friend because I didn't know who Kirby Puckett was and he did.

My favorite card:

[OesterPoster]

Originally Posted by HotCorner

My two favorite baseball card memories ...

2) Topps had a baseball sticker book in the early '80's. You bought the book and packs of the stickers to complete the book. Very similar to collecting a card set but a lot less expensive since the packs of stickers went for .25 or a jumbo pack for 1.00. I only saw this book one year and never saw it again.

I have to agree with this one. I loved those sticker books, and I almost completed an entire book. They had them for more than one season, so I'll have to dig mine out and check. The one thing I remember was a page dedicated to the top HR hitters of all time. Those stickers were thicker and sort of shimmered. I think there was an All-Star page on the very last page of the book.

My Grandpa used to buy packs and packs of cards, then give me all the gum and all the Reds players. Now I try to buy cards for my son, and they end up costing an arm & a leg. My God, they've gotten to be expensive.

[Rob Dicken]

I remember when I was little getting a 'hot pack.' Which was a pack of cards with NOTHING but inserts in them. I took the whole pack to the local card show, and made about $70 off that pack. I was definitely smiling ear to ear then....

[Dom Heffner]

The 1976 Topps set is great: Love the Joe Morgan and Johnny Bench cards.

Also- the 1977 set is cool in regards to the Bench, Foster and Rose cards.

I bought a 1971 Garvey rookie off of ebay just so I could have it as well as the 69 Bench card, which is simply classic.

The 1950s Aaron and Mantle cards are special, too.

[MrCinatit]

The first Red I got in a pack, the great Bill Plummer in 1978.
Finally completing that 1978 set, 10 years later.
Opening my very first 1989 Upper Deck pack ever - and getting the Ken Griffey Jr. card on the very top.
Recently completing my 1968-1972 sets.
Presently, getting each 1933 Goudey card - I have 118 cards of the 240 card set (38 of the 66 HOF cards).

[KittyDuran]

Originally Posted by macro

I guess my best single moment was the day I pulled a 1974 Reds team card from a pack. I was pumped up the rest of the week, and couldn't stop staring at that thing.



My other general memories are keeping all my Reds seperate from the others with a rubber band around them, and buying those cardboard (later plastic) "locker" things to keep the cards sorted in.

We had a really good discussion about baseball cards last summer, and oddly enough, it was running exactly one year ago today.

http://www.redszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41168

I did just the opposite (esp. the 1971 cards) - took the Reds players and scotch taped them up on my wall next to my bed, in a shape of a heart, no less! Of course, it ruined the cards - tho' I still have them and even keep Bench and Gullett in my wallet.

After the 1970 WS loss to Baltimore - I took Brooks, Frank, Earl, Boog, Jim (Palmer) cards and place them in the spokes of my bicycle. Made a great sound. Then the greatest insult... I had an extra card of Brooks (who was clean shaven), took a sharpie and drew a mustache, beard and horns.

Now the other cards I kept in shoe boxes - have multiples of Ryan, Seaver, Aaron, etc. that were not even touched - some are even mint condition (which is tough to find for 1971 Topps). About 15 years ago took those cards and transferred them to an album for safekeeping.

[RadfordVA]

I was 8 years old when 1989 Upper Deck came out and had been collecting for awhile due to a 5 year older brother. The set was so diff. I bought many packs trying to get the hot Griffey RC, but could never get one out of the pack. One night I lucked into a factory set at Hills dept. store and convinced my mom to buy it for me. That hills was pretty good to me, I also bought a lot of 1989 score football cards there just because I liked the way they looked. That turned out to be a pretty good set also, and I ended up having about 3 full sets.

[KalDanielsfan]

highlights of collecting:

The Upperdeck "motion" card of Nolan Ryan
Getting the 89 and 90 upper deck complete sets for xmas both years
Having a book filled with nothing but Chris Sabo cards (my fav player at the time) including his 1988 "THE ROOKIES" donruss rookie card
Topps Stadium cards when they first came out were exciting
1900 Bowmans being too big for my book and the tops of the cards always getting damaged! (BTW WORST PHOTOGRAPHY EVER)
Bo Jackson score card with football pads and bat
Michael Jordan baseball card
Remember The Studio Cards?

wow i could go on forever

[MrCinatit]

Originally Posted by KalDanielsfan

Bo Jackson score card with football pads and bat

Reminds me of an entertaining story.
I worked for a guy at a baseball card shop.
While the black and white Bo's were still VERY hot (more than 10 bucks apiece), he had a stack of about 50 in one of his cases.
One day, he locked himself out of his shop. One of his customers - a known thief - offered to break into the place, and let him in. The man did so.
Later in the day, Tony noticed all his black and white Bos gone.
He did not call the police. Instead, he decided it was a good idea to destroy the man's mailbox until he reached the monotary equivelant of those cards. One time, he ran over it with a U-Haul. (I did not say this guy was intelligent).
One night, we are leaving his shop. I am in the back seat, he and a friend are in the front. Then, I notice we are going towards the thief's house. The guy in the passanger seat has a large rock in his lap. I know what is up, and insist on being let out. Of course, they continue.
When they are about at the guy's house, Tony notices we are being followed. Then he notices the lights on the guy's roof.
He turns down the next road. The police car follows.
Tony turns down another road. The police car follow.
Tony turns down yet another road. The officer has had it - he hits his lights.
At that moment, we notice a pickup truck parked on the side of the deserted country road right ahead of us. Then we notice the obviously underaged kids, drinking.
When they saw us, their eyes got wide. You could see the relief in their eyes when they saw we were just a regular car. That relief was short lived as we passed them, and they saw the police officer, lights flashing.
Even though he was flashing for us, Tony kept going. We knew the officer had no choice but to visit the underaged drinkers.


Oh, I forgot a couple of my other favorite buys:
An obvious one: the 1934 Goudey I currently use as my avatar.
A 1933 Goudey Eppa Rixey.
My first pre-1950s Hall-of-Fame card in a 1933 Carl Hubble and a 1921 Christy Mathewson strip card.

Finally, there was the time a friend of mine bought over a box of cards he found in the trash. These cards included rookies of: Bench, Morgan, Carlton, Reggie Jackson, Schmidt, Concepcion, Fergie Jenkins; as well as several other very good 1960s cards of Aaron, Mays, Mantle, Clemente, Koufax, Berra...the list goes on.
I got the box for 20 bucks and a Queen's Greatest Hits record.