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An introduction...and why 1955 is so great!
buddyholly
Posts: 33
Hey guys,
I just joined PSA last month (finally) and it really feels good to get back into the hobby. I figured I'd bore everyone for a minute with an introduction. I began collecting in 1980 as a 9 year old kid and loved every minute of it. I followed the game closely, but still preferred the historic players and teams of the 20s - 50s. I read everything I could get my hands on about the early Yankees (Lou Gehrig is my all-time fav player w/ Mattingly a close second) and Hall of Fame players etc. Growing up in a small town in western Kentucky, I didn't have access to any card shops or good sources for information except Beckett and when I first stumbled upon a Baseball Encyclopedia (good god!) it made me even more hungry.
Now my dad was a straight up drunk, but one day in 1981 he came home with 22 1955 topps cards for me and my brother. We split them one at a time: key cards: I got the Spahn, he got the Monte Irvin. Still to this day, have no idea where he got the darn things. Those 11 cards meant the world to me and I spent countless hours with Spook Jacobs, Rip Repulski, and the handful of others...time passes....
I quit collecting in 1992 for the same reasons nearly everyone quit collecting in 1992...
Dad died in 1997 and my brother died this past year. While helping mom clean out his stuff, I found his 11 1955 topps still in his card box. Understand that my brother would sell anything he could get his hands on, so it was unbelievable that he still had his Irvin, Bob Grim, etc.
Guess he had some sentimentality after all! I re-united these card with my own and it really made me want to collect the set. I am shooting for 6's and some 7's cause that is about all I can afford. Most of my original '55s are whupped, but even if my Spahn grades a 2, it is going to be a part of my set. What is a 2 to someone is a gem mint 10 to me because this one card is what really made me want to learn everything I could about the history of the game.
I have enjoyed reading these boards and learning from all of you and can't believe some of the cards I've seen here!! WoW!
I have submitted my first cards for grading including my Reggie Jackson and Johnny Bench rookies and I received my first PSA graded card in the mail...I won a Big Ted Kluszweski in a 6 off ebay...seeing a '55 that clean almost makes me cry...it's like seeing the set for the first time.
Anyway, I've bored you enough. Just wanted to say howdy and keep up the great posts!
Shawn in ole KY
I just joined PSA last month (finally) and it really feels good to get back into the hobby. I figured I'd bore everyone for a minute with an introduction. I began collecting in 1980 as a 9 year old kid and loved every minute of it. I followed the game closely, but still preferred the historic players and teams of the 20s - 50s. I read everything I could get my hands on about the early Yankees (Lou Gehrig is my all-time fav player w/ Mattingly a close second) and Hall of Fame players etc. Growing up in a small town in western Kentucky, I didn't have access to any card shops or good sources for information except Beckett and when I first stumbled upon a Baseball Encyclopedia (good god!) it made me even more hungry.
Now my dad was a straight up drunk, but one day in 1981 he came home with 22 1955 topps cards for me and my brother. We split them one at a time: key cards: I got the Spahn, he got the Monte Irvin. Still to this day, have no idea where he got the darn things. Those 11 cards meant the world to me and I spent countless hours with Spook Jacobs, Rip Repulski, and the handful of others...time passes....
I quit collecting in 1992 for the same reasons nearly everyone quit collecting in 1992...
Dad died in 1997 and my brother died this past year. While helping mom clean out his stuff, I found his 11 1955 topps still in his card box. Understand that my brother would sell anything he could get his hands on, so it was unbelievable that he still had his Irvin, Bob Grim, etc.
Guess he had some sentimentality after all! I re-united these card with my own and it really made me want to collect the set. I am shooting for 6's and some 7's cause that is about all I can afford. Most of my original '55s are whupped, but even if my Spahn grades a 2, it is going to be a part of my set. What is a 2 to someone is a gem mint 10 to me because this one card is what really made me want to learn everything I could about the history of the game.
I have enjoyed reading these boards and learning from all of you and can't believe some of the cards I've seen here!! WoW!
I have submitted my first cards for grading including my Reggie Jackson and Johnny Bench rookies and I received my first PSA graded card in the mail...I won a Big Ted Kluszweski in a 6 off ebay...seeing a '55 that clean almost makes me cry...it's like seeing the set for the first time.
Anyway, I've bored you enough. Just wanted to say howdy and keep up the great posts!
Shawn in ole KY
Shawn
55 Topps - 26.7% / 5.91 / #67 cf
hey! I'm workin' on it !
55 Topps - 26.7% / 5.91 / #67 cf
hey! I'm workin' on it !
0
Comments
WOW. Welcome!
Great, touching story.
I got back into collecting about 6 months ago, and like you was a child of the 80's (born in '76). Also, like you, I preferred vintage (20s-50s) and began assembling the '60 Topps set when I was a kid. About 7 months ago I picked up "The Player" by Philiip Seib -- a good book about Cristy Mathewson. It got me to thinking about my cards and next thing I know am neck deep into collecting again. I'm now assembling a PSA 8 set of 1960 Topps --- to finish what I started 20 years ago.
Glad to have you a board and I'm sure there are a ton of guys on this board that have PSA 5-7 quality '55s they'd be happy to get into your hands.
Btw, I finished High School in Evansville, IN (Mattingly country), went to WKU in Bowling Green my freshman year of college, and lived in Nashville, TN for 6 years after that. I'm in Los Angeles, CA now ---- but Ky/Tn folks are good people... great people in fact!
-Tom
------- 1960 Topps Baseball PSA 8+
------- 1985 Topps Hockey PSA 9+
Welcome to the boards! Your story wasn't boring at all. Thanks for sharing and good luck collecting your set. It sounds like you're in it for all the right reasons.
P.S. I think it's amazing how the gift of baseball from our fathers stays with us forever. My father died of lung cancer when I was 10 and because of that I don't feel like I had a close relationship with him. However, one of my most cherished memories of him (and one of the things that I hope to use as a model for my own life) is that even when he was feeling his worst he did everything he could to go out in the back yard with me and play catch even for just a couple minutes.
Seeking primarily PSA graded pre-war "type" cards
My PSA Registry Sets
34 Goudey, 75 Topps Mini, Hall of Fame Complete Set, 1985 Topps Tiffany, Hall of Fame Players Complete Set
Mike
1955 Topps is awesome.It was one of the last raw sets I put together.Have fun.!!
Good luck on your quest.
Steve
Great Story
Dave
1957 Topps 99% 7.40 GPA
Hank Aaron Basic PSA 7-8(75%)
Doug
Like everyone always says around here, it's the journey to the goal that's the fun part.
Have fun!
Late 60's and early to mid 70's non-sports