Do you have a card that tells a personal story?
frankhardy
Posts: 8,097 ✭✭✭✭✭
I posted this in my Cardinals Auto thread. I wanted to share with those that are not familiar with it. Do you have a card that tells a personal story? If you do post it and lets hear about it.
This is mine. I had this card signed at a private signing in February of this year.
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This card has vaulted to one of my favorites in my entire collection. Not only does it have tremendous eye appeal, it has a story behind it as well.
It was the summer of 1998. I had just married my high school sweetheart on June 6th. We are still happily married with 2 children (son 21 and daughter will turn 19 in a few weeks), but I digress. After the frenzy of a wedding and a honeymoon we settled into our rental house just in time to see Michael Jordan and the Bulls win their 6th NBA championship. Even though I had steadily kept up with the Cardinals and the home run chase, I focused my "sports attention" solely on McGwire and the Cardinals.
My wife had never been a baseball fan at all. She told me she had heard of a few players from when she was a child. She remembered getting a Darryl Strawberry baseball card out of a cereal box when she was little but never cared anything about it....until the summer of 1998.
With the McGwire and Sosa battling it out all summer long we were both keeping up with the chase every single day. We did not have cable or satellite TV at the time, so we were making plans on how in the world we would see the record breaking home run when it happened. Then I thought.....why don't we just get tickets for later in the year in hopes that we see it live! So, we did. I figured McGwire would get tired and the pressure would get to him a little, but he would finally pull it out in the final series of the season. I made a calculated guess that he would break the record on the second to the last day of the season, so we bought tickets for that game, which was on Saturday, September 26. Turns out it was really just a guess out of thin air.
The first of September rolls around and we could see clearly that McGwire was going to break the record well before September 26th. The only question was, "Would Sosa do it first?" The answer would be, "No", and we would confirm this on September 8th.
By this time, my wife was all in on the Home Run Chase of 1998. She was now a die hard Cardinals fan and could give you the starting lineup off the top of her head. On September 7th, we found out he had hit number 61, so we were determined to see him hit number 62 somehow. We decided to drive 45 minutes away to my grandmother's house who had cable TV. This is what we saw that night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TiO-6VmDRk&ab_channel=MLB
With the record broken, all that was left was to see how many he would hit and what the final number would be. My question was always....would it be better to have seen number 62 or the final number, which would theoretically be the number every player would be chasing for the rest of time. Since we had tickets on the second to the last day of the season, we decided that, of course, it would be better to see the final number!
On Saturday, September 26, we made the 3.5 hour drive from the western part of Kentucky to St Louis to see the Cardinals in hopes that Mark McGwire would hit a home run. We got there early for batting practice, and, boy, did he put on a show. One practice HR hit the scoreboard. I remember the sound it made. It was spectacular!
Not only did McGwire hit a home run that day....he hit 2 of them! He hit number 67 and 68 that day. I don't think I have ever heard a crowd of people cheer so loud! As a side note, every time McGwire came to the plate, I had my 35 mm camera ready to take a picture. I was able to get number 67, but it wasn't very clear. But the best news was that I was able to get a fairly decent picture of number 68. You can see it in the picture below. The ball is in mid flight, but I have looked at this picture for years and cannot determine exactly where it is at. All I know is that this is the swing that struck number 68 and the picture was taken by me. Here it is!
If you will pause this video at the 25 second mark, that is the exact instant that I snapped the picture.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b3_EPCKJ2c&ab_channel=St.LouisCardinals
After that exciting day, all we could think about is that we saw history! Little did we know that the HR mark would only last about 24 hours because he would hit 2 more the next day for a total of 70. However, it was an exciting day of baseball that I will never forget!
As a side note to my collection, in my non signed Cardinals team set, when it comes to the 1999 Topps #220 card, I started off years ago with having only #67 and #68 in my team set. A few years ago I was able to get all 70 variations of those cards. However, with my signed team set, I would go broke if I was so OCD that I had to get all 70 cards signed. So, I settled for number 68 for my signed collection. I think it is fitting since I was there!
This card is one of the four cards I had signed at a private signing.
Shane
Comments
This happened to me in 1977 when I left a Ben Franklin store (105th Ewing South Side Chicago) after buying a few wax packs I was walking out of the store and being the age of 7 and opening a pack of cards on a windy day, I found out that opening packs on a windy day don’t mix, a card landed face down on the concrete sidewalk and I stepped on card so the wind would not blow it away. Yes I still have that 1977 Jim Kaat right here.
I look at this way: I think that I still have some concrete DNA on the card, so that’s kind of special to me.
I bought this card raw in a card shop in Tannersville PA back in 1993 or so. My brother and I, being only 10 and 12, were rummaging through cards in the store to buy. I knew little about cards, even though we collected since the late 80's, but I knew this was a Mattingly rookie so I paid the measly $20 for it.
In 2016, when I started collecting again, I decided to get it graded (was one of the first cards I ever sent to PSA). I knew it wouldn't grade high, but to me, it was worth it. It was the first real card I ever bought with my own money with my brother in our younger days. To this day, it sits in my collection along with a few others from my childhood which I refuse to sell or get rid of. You can see the surface wrinkle that caused the grade on the upper right.
myslabs.to/smzcards
I had just started collecting cards as an adult around 1989 when FB went from just one supplier to 3 (Topps, Score & Pro Set). I was visiting a card shop close to work during my lunch break and they had older wax and a bought a pack of 1981 Topps for $12 and pulled this Montana RC. I sent it in to Beckett to be graded and it came back BGS 8.5. In 2021
I decided to switch over to PSA and broke this card out of it's BGS case and send it in....it came back PSA 7. So all in I've invested about $30 for this card, most of it in grading fees.
NFL HOF Set
https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/398345
Shane (Shane and I are fellow western Kentuckians),
I don't have a card that tells a story, but I can't help but follow up on your story of the 1998 home run battle with McGwire and Sosa.
I saw nine of those McGwire HRs. When my son was 10 years old and was on Spring Break, my wife, my son, and I went up for one game and saw #'s 5, 6, and 7, all on the same night. Then, my son and I went back for one game with a couple of my friends and saw #38. Then, my wife, my son, and I went back for one game and saw #61.
Finally, my wife and I went up for the last weekend and saw #'s 67 and 68 on Saturday, followed by #'s 69 and 70 on Sunday. My son elected to go to a stay over at a friends house, a decision he later regretted because of what he had missed.
I understand the steroid controversy, but that takes away none of the excitement that the baseball world had in 1998. As we were leaving the stadium on Sunday afternoon, people were walking the aisles buying ticket stubs, and as we were leaving through the gates, hundreds of fans who did not have tickets were pouring in the stadium just to be a part of the celebration.
David B.
Always looking for Mantle cards such as Stahl Meyer, 1954 Dan Dee, 1959 Bazooka, 1960 Post, 1952 Star Cal Decal, 1952 Tip Top Bread Labels, 1953-54 Briggs Meat, and other Topps, Bowman, and oddball Mantles.
I had no idea you were there the same day. Of course, we didnt know each other at that time. Ironically, I wasn't even into cards then. We met in 2002 I think.
I agree.... Steroids tainted it in hindsight, but while it was happening it was epic! I will always have those memories!
Shane
Back in 1959 and 12 years old, I got my first BB gun. I started collecting 1956 at 9 years old, and did 57-58-59-60; all of which I still have. Anyway, I needed a target to practice my BB gun skills and, for whatever reason, used this 59 of Jim Pendleton. It is a card I will never part with - may go to my grave.
This card is from a gentleman I befriended who collects the same player. Over the years, I sold him a few items he needed, usually at a good price on items that I had doubles of, and eventually I asked him to return the favor and he happily gave me a really good deal on this one. They’re not all that easy to find to begin and this one was already slabbed:
It’s not perfect but I love it and it reminds me of our friendship.
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/987963/1951-wheaties-premium-photos-set-registry#latest
Early 2013. My then 79 yr old Mom managed to get a family member to get online and check a list of cards / players I had been looking at. I was on the fence about collecting anymore(long story). Then these showed up as a birthday gift. Ended up creating the Scott Stevens registries. The Stevens buying has slowed but 9 years in and enjoying collecting more now than ever.
. Mom right as usual "do what you love doing"
From my first ever PSA submission a few years ago. The Lebron/Kobe chrome is my first gem mint 10. I don’t think I could ever sell it. And to think that just last year it was at $12k.
Hey Norcal,
love your Patrick's