Your very first card...

Guru

Do you remember what your very first sports card was? And if so, do you still own it?

Mine was a 1968 Topps Jim Kaat that my grandfather bought for me at a flea market. I still own it and it's a centerpiece in my collection.

vintagefun

The first card my dad bought me at a card shop was a 72 Mays. I do not still own it, it was taken in a burglary with a lot of other stuff almost 20 years ago. However, I did recently replace it.

FavreFan1971

1984 topps football set from the JC Penny Cat a log from Santa. Destroyed those cards. Unfortunately I don't have any left but they have been replaced.

dytch2220

I don't remember my first card, however, I do remember my first and only in-person autograph. Steve Lyons, Chicago White Sox, 1988 Fleer #405. I do still have the card to this day in the same condition as the day it was signed. I was 11 and didn't really know anything centering about so the card is OC, lol.

MrNearMint

My first, most memorable card was a 90-91 fleer Michael Jordan card. Not sure if I pulled it from a pack or my brother gave it to me. I still have it in the snap down case, back then I actually thought those cases protected your cards.

billwaltonsbeard

1986 Topps Eric Davis. I found it on the floor at Walmart and stuffed it in my pocket.

runningman

Easy, my first pack, 1969 Topps baseball, first card on top was Aurelio Rodriguez !!! Years later I found out the card featured the bat boy Leonard Garcia.

scmavl

Mine was a 1981 Donruss Ron Oester. No idea where it went but I did replace it a couple of years ago. I think I wrote all over the back too, as I was just 4-5 at the time.

Nikklos

1977 Topps cello pack with Chris Chambliss showing. Bought from a bodega in the Bronx NYC! I must still have it and I am sure Chambliss looks like a dog got to it.

Tishasheree

My first card was a 1983 Topps Ryne Sandberg rookie. I still have it.

esquiresports

First card I remember buying at a show was a 1972 Topps Joe Morgan. Ten cents, I recall. I was six or seven years old.

Gemyanks10

I don't actually remember receiving a particular card, but I remember my very first set. 1988 Topps baseball holiday factory set . I remember getting it Christmas morning and it didn't stay sealed long lol. I can remember taking some of the cards and putting them in my bike spokes and also some of the star cards like Nolan Ryan and Mattingly, I can remember taking a thumbtack to them and sticking them on my wall kind of like posters lol. I don't have the cards anymore, but they are fairly easy to replace at anytime.

Jimmy

GB5HOF

Packs of 1980 Topps...no clue who the first card out of the first pack was..

LarkinCollector

Non-sports: Empire Strikes Back rack, still have the cards though most have been upgraded since
Sports: 1985 Topps wax, thought I struck it big with an Eric Davis Rookie and I'm sure it's still around here somewhere.

gemint

Not sure of the first card but I do remember a 1975 Topps Frank White that was somewhere within that first pack of cards I opened. I think I still have it but I'm not sure if it's that same card or a replacement I got along the way. I do still have the 1976 baseball set that was the first set I built as a kid.

BostonAmericans

I don't remember the first card, but the first set I collected was 1974 Topps BB. I still have some of the cards, including Tom Hall and my personal favorite - Gary Matthews. It's my favorite because it contributes to my most embarrassing card collecting memory. His card was landscape picture of him sliding into 3rd base (Link to a pic). Bottom of the card says "Gary Matthews OF San Francisco Giants". Always thought it was curious that the card didn't list his position. The card only said Gary Matthews of the San Francisco Giants. Did I have something rare?

Took me until I was an adult to figure out the OF stood for outfielder.

mlbfan2

<< <i>I don't remember the first card, but the first set I collected was 1974 Topps BB. I still have some of the cards, including Tom Hall and my personal favorite - Gary Matthews. It's my favorite because it contributes to my most embarrassing card collecting memory. His card was landscape picture of him sliding into 3rd base (Link to a pic). Bottom of the card says "Gary Matthews OF San Francisco Giants". Always thought it was curious that the card didn't list his position. The card only said Gary Matthews of the San Francisco Giants. Did I have something rare?

Took me until I was an adult to figure out the OF stood for outfielder. >>



Ha ha. When I first started collecting, I thought "rookie" meant the player was very good.

Brock21

1971 Topps.

My mom brought home a pack from the grocery store, and the first card was Steve Carlton, which
I took the scissors to so it would fit in my wallet in the pictures part.

3stars

1979 Topps Larry Bowa. Remeber this one bcuase of the all star banner

hyperchipper09

1978 Topps wax , I can remember that. Don't recall who was in it. As for first card shop purchase, 1974 Topps Steve Garvey

goraiders

1982 Lawerence Taylor,boy did I want to be like Lt as a middle-school player,still have it
and got it auotgraphed a few yrs back.

Stone193

I have to confess. No.

I probably opened my first packs when I was around 6.

The latest year I remember opening is 1957 but the first card? Clueless.

I would save the cards in a drawer, carry a "rubber banned" stack in my Levis for flipping.

My mom did save them in a shoe box. They were passed down to my youngest brother. Then a mess of them went to my son. Talk about beaters?

I don't have an example in my photobucket anymore. Will check and post later.

Alfonz24

<< <i>1971 Topps.

My mom brought home a pack from the grocery store, and the first card was Steve Carlton, which
I took the scissors to so it would fit in my wallet in the pictures part. >>



71 Topps also. Jim Colborn from the cubbies. still have the card and have thought about getting it graded, but is in pretty bad shape as it shows the wear of the black borders.

It was given to me by John Haas (later called him Jack) in second grade.

1980scollector

My father bought me a cello pack of 1984 Fleer at a local gas station.

I pulled a Yaz, my older brother liked that card and the rest is history.

jordangretzkyfan

Mine was a few packs of 1982 Topps football. I was a Lions fan and remember pulling an Eric Hipple out of the first pack. I have been hooked ever since. The other card I loved as a kid was the 1987 Topps Darryl Strawberry...something about that photo the year after the Mets won the World Series. Both cards are still in my collection.

Sethro

My first card, given to me my a pre-school classmate. I still have it!






Bought this from a board member a couple of years back. Would love to find a cello to go with it:

grote15

<< <i>My first card, given to me my a pre-school classmate. I still have it!



[URL=http://s1199.photobucket.com/user/sethro21/media/06-30-2011022327PM.jpg.html][/URL]



Bought this from a board member a couple of years back. Would love to find a cello:

[URL=http://s1199.photobucket.com/user/sethro21/media/08-20-2011014124PM.jpg.html][/URL] >>



That is a classic! Gives new meaning to the term a "touched corner" LOL!

PhilG

Do I win anything? My first cards were 1954 Topps. I use to buy packs at the local candy store. Nowadays I am happy with my 93 Finest refractors.

Phil

stillyz

First cards were 90-91(I was 6) Hoops Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. They were well abused. I still have them somewhere.

Then for one Christmas(7 yrs old), my grandparents got me 1991 Score and Topps football factory sets.

Most got abused/destroyed/thrown away, although I enjoyed sorting and categorizing them by team, position, colleges, etc.

When dad and I would watch the games, he'd ask who so-and-so was, I would usually recognize the name, and fetch the card to show him.

I liked to make believe an actual football game between the Topps set and the Score set.

Somewhere along the lines, I got a 1989 Topps wax box too. Took better care of those though.

But it's what got me hooked on cards.

calaban7

I don't remember my first card but I know it was from the 65 Topps set . The first set I remember collecting was the 68 Topps set . --- Sonny

Giantsdude24

The first sports card I ever got was a 1973 Topps Willie McCovey for $3 at a card store in Jamestown, CA in 1985. My dad was a SF Giants fan and McCovey was his favorite player. The card was in really good shape and the owner even put it in a plastic sleeve for me, which I thought was really nice at the time. I had that card for 6 years before I traded it and all of my other nice vintage cards for a Super Nintendo and 15 games. I lost in that trade bigtime....

jmaciu

I can't remember what my first card was per say, but I know it had to be a 1979 Topps baseball card, as that set was the first from which I opened packs.

Stone193

Here's the quality of the cards that were kept by my mom.

This was just about the last year that I remember buying cards on a regular basis till I got old and nostalgic.

hammered

The first card I remember having was '76 #550 Hank Aaron
It was on the front of a rack pack at Newberry Drug Store in Ventura, CA
My dad bought me a rack and helped me pick the best one
Those were the days

miwlvrn

1982 Topps Jorge Bell, first card from my first pack, which I got in a party favors goodie bag at my neighbor's birthday; still have it, and some of the others from that pack too.

ldferg

77 Seahawks checklist. Bought at a 7-11.

cjaccardi

I must have been around 5 years old and clearly remember taking a bath with them . I could not stop looking at them. lol

mattinglymint23

i have a craig nettles and rivers from 78 topps - both have some crayon - and a rose which was in decent shape when i found them.
was my first wax pack and cards... hoping to find the rest of the pack in my star wars stuff
my first LCS purchase was a Clemens 85 topps and a 64 Elston Howard

PMKAY

I remember the first cards my mom bought me when I was 6 years old. 1975-76 hockey for 15 cents per pack. I still have most of those cards, beat up beyond belief. I always thought they were OPC because they were bought in Canada but a few years ago I was thumbing through them and realized they were topps. Not sure how topps ended up for sale in a small town grocery store in Canada. From that point on I collected OPC hockey every year through 1982-83. At that point none of my friends were into it anymore so I stopped as well. I picked it up again during the craze of 1990 but that only lasted about a year and a half. I dropped it completely till about five years ago. When I got back into it I had no idea they were inserting mem / auto cards into packs and that some packs were selling for prices that completely boggled my mind. Graded cards intrigued me for a few years but I didn't really jump into it until 2-3 years ago. Am hooked on PSA now.

WeekendHacker

<< <i>I have to confess. No.

I probably opened my first packs when I was around 6.

The latest year I remember opening is 1957 but the first card? Clueless.

I would save the cards in a drawer, carry a "rubber banned" stack in my Levis for flipping.

My mom did save them in a shoe box. They were passed down to my youngest brother. Then a mess of them went to my son. Talk about beaters?

I don't have an example in my photobucket anymore. Will check and post later. >>

Would love to see more than just the 'well kept' Rival All Stars.

WeekendHacker

Not sure of the exact first card - but a 1966 Topps Manny Mota - with the Pirates if I remember right and the bright purple borders. Was close to the condition of the '75 Gibson record breaker only had more of the cardboard - but still pretty beat up.

lahmejoon

Great thread!

Mine was 1976 Topps #1 Hank Aaron RB. It was 1986 and I was 7. I was curious about baseball cards and had had heard of Hank Aaron. Being that my name is Aaron, I decided I had to have a card of his. My grandma took me down to one of the card shops and bought it for me (I think it cost $5 at the time).

I've been building 70's sets recently. I bought a near complete set that just happened to be missing #1, so I dug it up and included it in my set. It put a smile on my face.

Before this, it was Garbage Pail Kids. Didn't get in until Series 3 ( ) but loved it. That had to be the gateway drug to sports cards.

orioles93

I don't remember my first card or even the first year I started collecting cards. I just remember opening packs of cards in the late 90s on Easter every year. My dad and grandma both would give me packs in my Easter basket and I would rip into them. The first year I really remember is 2001 topps. I recall that being the year and design that really got me interested in collecting at age 9 (yes I know I am young). Sometime after that, my dad showed me his collection from the 60s and 70s and he gave me some of his cards. That's what really got me interested in vintage cards and the rest is history.

fiveniner

If I recall the first card I ever had was a 1959 Murray Dickson.

robert67

Pulled from my first pack at age 7. Still have it today.

larryallen73

The first pack I remember buying was 1974 Topps at a convenience store in or near the French Quarter when on vacation with the family in NO. I was about 6. Remember it vividly. When I sold my collection I kept my '74 Topps set (generously graded by me as "very good" condition) so maybe I still have some of those very first cards!

wrongleg

I got 13 1978 Topps Cards from a friend I don't remember who they were except that it included my first double. Bob Stinson. I still have those cards although I wouldn't know where. My first PSA card was a 1978 Kent Tekulve in a 9. I eventually built the whole set in PSA 9(with a few exceptions). Sold the set card by card a few years ago.

LarkinCollector

<< <i>Pulled from my first pack at age 7. Still have it today.


>>


That's still in pretty nice shape for having it when you were 7.

blee1

I received two packs of 1978 football for Christmas from Santa. I still have most of them, Steelers may have been traded away. Rubber band went around them for the first 2-3 years before I dove into collecting.

MikeLeamer

Mine would've been the 1978 Topps Tony Dorsett rookie card I carried around in my back pocket as a 7 year old. That thing was so creased you could hardly read it, but I would pay triple book today to have that exact card back. I wasn't even a football fan at the time, I just loved the gum and the pictures. I carried the cards around in a large paper grocery bag and used to try to draw pictures of them.

Bkritz

My first card was a 1976 Topps Traded Ralph Garr. The card called him "a fly chaser" and I just couldn't figure out what they meant, and how it pertained to both baseball and bugs. I was only 6, so forgive me....