40 Years

bxb · August 8, 2008 3:01AM

Dug out an old box of beat up baseball cards from the back of my closet today.

All Topps 1968s collected by me in the summer of 1968, 40 years ago.

Guys like Frank Robinson, Mays, Aaron, Rose, all heavily creased, and pinholed at the same place on top, right where I proudly displayed them on my board 40 years ago, with my initial "L" penned on the back to distinguish them from my brother's collection.

Creases, pinholes, pen marks - what would PSA say?

But you know what, those cards, I will never sell, they are worth more to me than their weight in gold.

Hard to believe, 40 years has gone by.

perkdog · August 8, 2008 3:05AM

Thats great that you actually saved them all this time! I would love to see some scans if you get a chance, I love the look of beat up cards- they have a bunch of character IMO!

Goot · August 8, 2008 3:30AM

That's awesome! I agree with Perk, try and get some scans or pictures up if possible.

My dad always tells me about his collection from when he was a kid. He said he had every Namath, Csonka, Warfield and Griese card he could get his hands on along with a ton of others from the late 60s / early 70s. He wasn't too into baseball at the time but said he mainly had a bunch of Phillies like Bowa and Dick Allen because of where he lived.

They were in his mom's basement and then a MAJOR flood swept through Central PA and ruined every one of his cards while he was off at college. It's great that you were able to actually keep your cards!

CDsNuts · August 8, 2008 3:40AM

I can offer $30 for the lot. LMK, Paypal ready.

Stone193 · August 8, 2008 4:05AM

<< Creases, pinholes, pen marks - what would PSA say?

But you know what, those cards, I will never sell, they are worth more to me than their weight in gold.
>>

I totally agree - 40 yrs? Long time - and as we get older, we enjoy MORE looking back to those days - truly for most the days of innocense.

And the pen marks etc. - they were called playing/trading cards back then - and that's exactly what we did with them. Kids today would never dream of taking a rubber band - wrap it around your team set - and stick it in the ass pocket of ones Levi's - perhaps armed with a few good cards for trading?

Thanx for sharing.
mike

Stone193 · August 8, 2008 4:09AM

<< I can offer $30 for the lot. LMK, Paypal ready. >>

You're a funny guy Lee.

mike

ChasingDyarMiller · August 8, 2008 4:53AM

I've been going through the process of sorting through all of my cards, which have been scattered in various boxes marked miscellaneous and "mid 80's baseball." In that effort, I stumbled upon the Topps lockers that have housed the sets that my brother and I put together in 1979, 1980, 1981, and 1982. Despite having been stored in the lockers (or perhaps because of that) the cards are mostly in terrible shape -- oddly, doubles that were kept in various shoeboxes and even ziploc bags seem to be in better condition. But nothing in the world could convince me to give up on those cards because there are just too many memories of sitting on the driveway in the middle of the summer, opening packs, using pen to mark up team checklists with the long-sought missing cards, and then putting the team set back into its rubber band. Crappy cards now, but priceless memories for me.

lawnmowerman · August 8, 2008 5:12AM

<< Thats great that you actually saved them all this time! I would love to see some scans if you get a chance, I love the look of beat up cards- they have a bunch of character IMO! >>

That would be cool to see. I say scan them too

Do it, Do it

nightcrawler · August 8, 2008 8:12AM

Very cool

WinPitcher · August 8, 2008 8:26AM

I have some from back in the day as well.

Steve

bxb · August 8, 2008 9:53AM

OK, here are some pics:

bdunndchi · August 8, 2008 10:07AM

Very cool! Time flies by

mojorob · August 8, 2008 11:07AM

Hey Larry,
When you were a kid ..... did you even think about centering?
I know unless the card was grossly miscut, I never did.
We are pretty close to the same vintage.

Kirk

Stone193 · August 8, 2008 11:40AM

<< Hey Larry,
When you were a kid ..... did you even think about centering?
I know unless the card was grossly miscut, I never did.
We are pretty close to the same vintage.

Kirk >>

Kirk

I didn't even put a premium on centering as far back as 1992 - that's kind of scary.

Back when I was a kid - we looked at the pic - read the cartoon - checked out the stats and that was it.

I did like the team logos - especially ones like the Red Sox and the Cubs.

I didn't even realize there were series - and that was pain - that's how ya wind up with 10 Gino Cimoli's and no Duke Snider!

Still - ya gotta love that era.

mike

HighChopper · August 8, 2008 11:47AM

Thanks for the story. I hope there are more collectors like you out there.

Odd phenomenon ... Looking through a bunch of '74s I collected as a kid and most are in decent shape. Submitted a Munson that was even graded PSA 8. For some odd reason, though, all of my White Sox are absolutely beat to hell. Have no idea what happened.

Goot · August 8, 2008 2:38PM

<< 

I didn't even put a premium on centering as far back as 1992 - that's kind of scary.

mike >>

Heck, I didn't even realize that not all cards are centered the same until I joined these boards.

70chip · August 8, 2008 3:23PM

Cool read and I am sure it brings back lots of memories.

lawnmowerman · August 8, 2008 3:41PM

<< For some odd reason, though, all of my White Sox are absolutely beat to hell. Have no idea what happened. >>

Have you always been a Twins fan Rick or did you like the W Sox at one time?

Piman58 · August 8, 2008 11:29PM

bxb...your 68's look a lot nicer than mine. Funny what a ten year old will do to baseball cards.

larryallen73 · August 9, 2008 12:59AM

For some odd reason, though, all of my White Sox are absolutely beat to hell. Have no idea what happened.

Same with all my Dodger cards from mid/late 70's.

I have no Yankees from a few years as I sold them all to a friend, Robert Kurtz, for about $2 in 1978 or so. Darn it! Robert I want to buy them back!

40 Years

Comments