What a great thread. I got started collecting in 1978 by "inheriting" (i.e. taking) my brother's cards from 72-76, who was in high school by that time and didn't want them anymore. Probably 2000 cards or so, mostly in EX condition. I decided I'd get into collecting too and still remember the first pack of cards I bought.......a 1978 Topps rack pack that had Rick Reuschel on top, among others. Years later I still have almost all of these original cards I bought from 1978-87, including a very dog-eared VG-EX 1978 set that will never be sold!
Since I bought that first pack at age 8, several things happened along the way.........in 1980 I was doggedly pursuing a complete set but could not find the card of my favorite player, Johnny Bench. Finally, my mom gave in and bought me a complete set of 1980 Topps from a local dealer who built them and put them into cheese boxes. A couple of years ago I looked up the same guy, who had retired by that point. I stopped by his house and bought some great unopened baseball and football from 1980-85 for some great prices. He just wanted to get rid of it.
By the mid 80's I had discovered vintage, and at age 13 put together a complete EX 1963 Topps set for the whopping cost of $676. Even then, as now, I kept track of what I spent on cards. That set me into buying vintage stars whenever I could for the next few years. I also helped out a dealer at card shows and at one show he paid me partly in cash, and partly with one free box of 1986-87 Fleer basketball. I got 2 Jordans and 1 1/2 sets.
By 1988, I had discovered vintage automobiles and to help finance the restoration of one - a restoration that continues today - I sold off a lot of the vintage stuff I accumulated (but not the '63 set.) I also sold the Fleer basketball. The balancing act between financing vintage cars and vintage cards continues, almost 20 years later.
By 1992, I had gotten caught up in the basketball Shaq craze and had forgotten about vintage. Nothing could be better than a Beam Team Shaq, right?
By 1994, I dropped collecting altogether. I paid zero attention to cards from that period up until 2001. On a November day that year, I sat at home bored, recovering from surgery. I started to cruise around Ebay and found the card section for the first time. I found a guy offering up a 1968 Topps starter set in "NM". I bought it, got it, and promptly found that most of it was EX-MT or woefully O/C. Undeterred, that prompted me into slowly completing the set and also digging into my cards, all of which I had left at my parents' house. I slowly began to organize them and sell off some of the stuff I didn't want to finance other card ventures. That process continues to this day.
By 2003, I had discovered this concept called "grading". That tells you how little attention I paid to cards during the 90's. I took a Walter Payton RC over to Beckett thinking it was a 10 and it came back an 8. Lesson learned. That year, I started to put the sets I had as a kid into binders, including that venerable old, handled '78 set. I am still working on that process.
By 2004, I was seriously into high grade vintage, finishing the '68 set and starting to upgrade it. I also found, much to my delight, a 1978 Topps rack pack on Ebay with Rick Reuschel on top. Ah, memories.
Fast forwarding to today I am now working on premium high grade vintage sets from many different years, with the ultimate goal of having a complete Topps run from 1951-87. Having completed '57 and '68, I've made a lot of headway on other years and 2007 may be the year of the 70's sets. I don't intend to sell or broadcast that I have it. I just want to enjoy it and the challenge of it all. Though it has changed in many ways, the hobby remains every bit as fun for me as the day I opened that first pack 29 years ago.
Stay classy,
Ron
Ron Burgundy
Buying Vintage, all sports. Buying Woody Hayes, Les Horvath, Vic Janowicz, and Jesse Owens autographed items
I have every baseball card I ever purchased. Started collecting in 1969. Unfortunately I coached youth baseball when I was in high school and gave all my football and basketball cards to one of the kids I coached. My basketball coach in high school was a huge collector, and we purchased lots of vintage cards from mail order dealers from accross the country, wish we would have purchased more.
Still have the old boot boxes from the early 70's full of cards. A buddy and I also ordered sets in 81 when Fleer and Donruss joined the party, thought we were gonna hold those baby's and make a forturne, oh well.
Comments
Since I bought that first pack at age 8, several things happened along the way.........in 1980 I was doggedly pursuing a complete set but could not find the card of my favorite player, Johnny Bench. Finally, my mom gave in and bought me a complete set of 1980 Topps from a local dealer who built them and put them into cheese boxes. A couple of years ago I looked up the same guy, who had retired by that point. I stopped by his house and bought some great unopened baseball and football from 1980-85 for some great prices. He just wanted to get rid of it.
By the mid 80's I had discovered vintage, and at age 13 put together a complete EX 1963 Topps set for the whopping cost of $676. Even then, as now, I kept track of what I spent on cards. That set me into buying vintage stars whenever I could for the next few years. I also helped out a dealer at card shows and at one show he paid me partly in cash, and partly with one free box of 1986-87 Fleer basketball. I got 2 Jordans and 1 1/2 sets.
By 1988, I had discovered vintage automobiles and to help finance the restoration of one - a restoration that continues today - I sold off a lot of the vintage stuff I accumulated (but not the '63 set.) I also sold the Fleer basketball. The balancing act between financing vintage cars and vintage cards continues, almost 20 years later.
By 1992, I had gotten caught up in the basketball Shaq craze and had forgotten about vintage. Nothing could be better than a Beam Team Shaq, right?
By 1994, I dropped collecting altogether. I paid zero attention to cards from that period up until 2001. On a November day that year, I sat at home bored, recovering from surgery. I started to cruise around Ebay and found the card section for the first time. I found a guy offering up a 1968 Topps starter set in "NM". I bought it, got it, and promptly found that most of it was EX-MT or woefully O/C. Undeterred, that prompted me into slowly completing the set and also digging into my cards, all of which I had left at my parents' house. I slowly began to organize them and sell off some of the stuff I didn't want to finance other card ventures. That process continues to this day.
By 2003, I had discovered this concept called "grading". That tells you how little attention I paid to cards during the 90's. I took a Walter Payton RC over to Beckett thinking it was a 10 and it came back an 8. Lesson learned.
By 2004, I was seriously into high grade vintage, finishing the '68 set and starting to upgrade it. I also found, much to my delight, a 1978 Topps rack pack on Ebay with Rick Reuschel on top. Ah, memories.
Fast forwarding to today I am now working on premium high grade vintage sets from many different years, with the ultimate goal of having a complete Topps run from 1951-87. Having completed '57 and '68, I've made a lot of headway on other years and 2007 may be the year of the 70's sets. I don't intend to sell or broadcast that I have it. I just want to enjoy it and the challenge of it all. Though it has changed in many ways, the hobby remains every bit as fun for me as the day I opened that first pack 29 years ago.
Stay classy,
Ron
Buying Vintage, all sports.
Buying Woody Hayes, Les Horvath, Vic Janowicz, and Jesse Owens autographed items
Still have the old boot boxes from the early 70's full of cards. A buddy and I also ordered sets in 81 when Fleer and Donruss joined the party, thought we were gonna hold those baby's and make a forturne, oh well.
Great thread.
Happy New year to all.
Doug
45% complete.