What I like about our hobby...how about you?

MantleFan23

I know that there have been a lot of posts lately about investing, speculating on future prices, and while that is OK to do once in a while....I did want to shift the focus a bit on to what I and of course you like about our great hobby.

Its amazing to think that I started collecting when I was eight years old when my dad first exposed me to collecting by taking me to the local gas station and letting me buy packs of 85 topps baseball. In seeing Ryne Sandberg on the box, all I wanted to do was pull that card (I was a cubs fan/and big Ryno fan from watching games on WGN). Everytime my dad would go to the gas station subsequent, I would beg for him to get me a couple of packs to rip. The innocence of youth, right? I could have cared less about what the cards were worth.....

I guess in doing the "local show circuit" in the mid to late 80's skewed my view a little bit as it became more about the money, and I digress, but yeah, I could get caught up with it even as a 12 year old. Still, they are memories and lessons learned. I remember I was one of the first "dealers/collectors" in our local community to complete the 1992 fleer ultra award winners set and I thought I was the coolest kid on the block, and was obscessed with the Beckett and what the cards were selling for. Still, throughout all that were the memories of collecting with my dad...him joking with me that I could never leave anything unopened, him coming home some days from work, and seeing wrappers of 91 upper deck in the basement as I chased for the Michael Jordan SP1 card (without his permission, of course) :-)

Fast forward basically 20 years later as I re-entered the hobby, stumbled on this board and how I became passionate again about times long gone. I think that throughout it all reconnecting with my father about collecting, sharing new experiences, seeing him get his white whale in his 65 mantle card at last year's national, the car rides to Chicago talking about cards, life, and just everything else as I'm a new father and the trials and tribulations that come with it. Its brought us closer together...even though it seems most of the calls/texts/conversations revolve around collecting!

While I've had some profits, I've always just reinvested them into more memories or interests. I think it really hit me as far as the innocence of the hobby as I playing with my son Cooper and showing him cards, and most notably his pack pulled Ken Griffey Jr. PSA 9, and all he cared about was shoving the card in his mouth. Thank god for the drool proof holders, right? :-)

I think as well, the connections that I've made here and in my local community with collectors. While I can say that some in our local community could care less about others and are out for a buck, its great to run into those select few that share a passion, want to share that with others, and how they light up talking about days gone by or current collecting focuses and goals. My dad and I set up at a show a few weeks ago, and the highlight wasnt the sales (they were few...LOL), but the stories shared with a local dealer setting up for his first time and what he was passionate about and in turn his interest in what I liked as well. He was an unopened collector and it seems like I meet few of those in the area, so its almost like a small fraternity in many respects.

I also think of how my son will take to collecting, how I should introduce him into cards, and how I will deal with it if he doesn't care. Sometimes, I have the expectation that he will take to it as I did with my father, but I have to remember that I'm not him and he may not enjoy it like I do, and that is OK.

So those are the things that I like about the hobby and what keeps me going. I've also learned to recalibrate my focuses which are unopened and my PSA 1956 baseball and to stay disciplined and not waver when the funds aren't like what they used to with the young one now and him draining my wallet daily :-)

What are the things that you like about our hobby?

Jeremy

BTW....have to include the picture of Cooper putting his "seal of approval" on his Ken Griffey, Jr. card...

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Stewie

I like what you just did.

I like that my son was also keenly interested in collecting as a youth, and now that's he's a full grown adult with a wife and a full time job, he has 0 interest in the hobby right now. But, I still have his collection waiting for him when he's ready to jump back in. Sound familiar?

I like that I can remember the very best days of my own adolescent experience as a sports fanatic through these cards and pieces of history. There's plenty of subconscious stuff in my head just waiting to surface. I just purchased a nice '68 Topps Rose to add to my collection. Collecting Rose cards in and of itself is my guilty pleasure. But, the '68 card has special meaning because it's the first year I attended a game at Dodger Stadium when the Reds came to town. My uncle took me to the team hotel on the way to the ballpark and we watched the Reds file out of the lobby, one by one, until we saw Pete come out. We sat behind the visitors dugout that day in a misty cloud of joy, as my uncle raved about this team of guys who were destined for greatness. Mind you, this was 1968. The Reds WERE about to make a statement in Major League Baseball. And my uncle was a huge Dodger fan.

Now I'm stuck loving all these guys and chasing their cards from here to the Milky Way and back. That's what I like the most.

flcardtrader

During a job interview nearly 20 years ago, my future boss asked me, "what do you do for fun? do you have any hobby's?"

I told him I had been collecting sports cards for many years and enjoyed the hobby immensely. He gave me a strange look and responded, "yeah, I used to collect when I was younger and then I found out about girls - why do you still collect?"

My paraphrased response:

Collecting cards is a microcosm of life - it requires you to be organized, it requires you to be a go-getter, it requires you to be consistent today, tomorow, next year, etc. Collecting cards has taught me a lot of how to live my life - cherishing those things that are important to me while learning to let go of the things that are not. The best part of it all is, each collector collects different things - yet we all have similar traits. As a result, we learn from one another but maintain our individuality. Every day in this hobby, its a learning experience.

After he acknowledged the answer as being meaningful, I followed up with, "oh, and I found out about girls too, I just found one who collects cards along with me!"

I was hired on the spot and enjoy those things most about the hobby.

esquiresports

I really enjoy the hunt for items that almost never/never show up. I enjoy working on displaying my collection and just looking at it. Never gets old. And I enjoy tying together cards and memorabilia into a "story" of sorts.

I love this forum for showing me how many different and interesting collecting avenues there are and the passion that comes with each, whether that be focusing on a particular player (LarkinFan, MyDaughtersNameIsMattingly), set (bubblebathgirl), sport (wrestlingcardking), top-100 cards, HoF rookies, games (Stone), advertising pieces, extremely rare/oddball items (Bishop), unopened (Grote), uncut sheets, minor league cards, etc.

LarkinCollector

Incredible responses so far! I can relate to at least parts of every single one. Though my dad wasn't a card collector, I had a couple uncles who were. Collecting the Reds does remind me of all the times my dad and I made the drive to Riverfront to catch a game. My son is finally starting to get interested in sports cards a bit, but his collection passion at the moment is Pokemon. I enjoy being able to share with him different strategies for sorting, displaying, and protecting his collection and hope to pass on much of my collection if he wants it. He can't leave a pack unopened, just like dad.

flcardtrader - I would never have thought to respond like that, though my last job interview was during my extended break in collecting. Well stated!

esquiresports - I too enjoy the hunt and all the collecting avenues this forum has shown me, though my bank account probably does not as I try to do several simultaneously. And it's LarkinCollector

craig44

I was influenced by my grandfather as a child. He was an avid coin collector and I followed him around to coin shows/shops. At one local shop I discovered cards. This would have been in 1988. Well, I bought my first single at his recommendation (a carlton fisk) and I was hooked. We collected together until his passing on Christmas eve of 2012. He dabbled in cards and I dabbled in coins, but we were always together cheering each other on with each new addition and constantly talking about our collections. We were very close and it really hit deep when he died, but now when I look through my collection I have so many wonderful memories of the decades we spent together collecting. That is why I collect.

Stone193

<< <i>BTW....have to include the picture of Cooper putting his "seal of approval" on his Ken Griffey, Jr. card... >>

Stunning!

Thanx for sharing your thoughts. I always appreciate when I see posts like this. Well written Jeremy.

belz

These are great...thanks for sharing. I have very similar feelings.

mcolney1

I've been collecting for 43 years. My only regret is my lack of personal connection to the hobby. My friend Jimmy Yee got me started back in the summer of 1973. We moved out of the neighborhood a few years later and we lost contact with each other. Since then, I've never connected to another collector beyond the acquaintance level. I have daughters and friends who appreciate my collection, but beyond the "that's really cool and how much are they worth?" the conversation ends there.

It is partially my fault too. I occasionally go to shows, but am not good at small talk and making quick friendships. I'm thankful for this board because I feel I can connect to other collectors and so enjoy reading stories, getting good information and even lurking in on the arguments that arise.

The only negative I have with the hobby is the cavities I got as a kid from chewing all that bad gum. At one time my mother would count my unopened packs and I would have to return the same amount of sticks of gum to her.

Positives - I learned math, improved my reading, learned organization, learned to take care of my possessions, have a connection to my childhood, made some money/lost some money, but learned good lessons from both.

Thanks for starting this thread.

craig44

I agree. Sites like this are the only place I have to interact with other collectors. Collecting is kind of dead in my area.

wilkiebaby11

I would consider myself a "youngin" when it comes to the population of the guys on this forum and in this hobby. I'll prove that point by reminiscing on my fondest memories of collecting.

My mother loved playing bingo and I would tag along every once in a while. Eventually one summer I started working the bingo halls that she'd play at. I'd make $10 from the hall and maybe another $10 or so in tips for selling winning stuff (kind of like how you tip the dealer in Vegas). Well, $20 for a preteen was a lot. ~$50 a week and I was practically rich! I don't know how it came to be, but after bingo on a certain night (let's say Wednesdays), my mother would stop at WalMart. It was there that my love of collecting came to fruition. I was allowed to spend half of my night's earning and I did so on baseball cards. I'd buy as many packs as I could with my earnings. I eventually collected the whole set from packs that summer and had plenty thousand more stored in shoe boxes. I can remember ripping open the packs in our minvan on the drive home. I would be kneeling on the floor, sorting my new cards on the seat. I'd look over my shoulder and tell my mom the awesome cards that I jsut got and she would patronize me and act liek she knew the player all along. In hindsight, my mother obviously wasn't a stickler for the seat belt. The best part was getting a star card in the elusive "Gold". The year was 1993! Needless to say, those cards are pretty much worthless, as I sorted them different ways numerous times. I still have them, in all their EXMT glory. My parents always joked around how when I was told to "go clean my room" that it would take me a whole evening because I would have to re-sort my baseball cards first; sorting/cleaning the rest of my room was secondary.

It was, surprisingly, my mother who got me into collecting and enticed me to do it. I mean, she knew that those cards would one day pay for my college. Granted, they didnt. I'm now 29 (still pretty young right?), I have plenty of junk wax and I've started in the past few years to collect postwar vintage cards. I like Roberto Clemente and Brooks Robinson and am currently working on their Registry sets.

My mother died just over a year ago in the summer of 2014 and I have since been trying to finish my first full vintage set. 1963... her birth year. She was raised in Ohio and lived in Pittsburgh, so it kinda felt right going with the set with Rose and Stargell RCs and her birth year. I'm almost done with it, about 40 cards to go, including both of those rooks. Everytime I get a new cards for the set, I think about her. That's really what collecting is all about, holding on to memories of the past.

As an adult, I still love the 1993 set, but it jsut didnt bring me the "collecting" joy that it once did, probably because I enjoy the challenge of collecting. So, I did end up adding to my childhood's complete 1993 basic set my hand collating the 1993 Gold set. It was kinda cool searching buying the "same" cards all over again, but knowing that they were the "adult price" version (well, kind of).

Thanks for starting this thread! I enjoy explaining what I love about this hobby because I get to think about and write down about some fond memories.