General Forum

I spend some time thinking about my own interest in sports cards in historical terms. Why was I first drawn to collecting cards in the spring of 1974? How did my sex, race, class and regional background shape my decisions as an 7-8 year old consumer? What did the cards mean to me in terms of my evolving understanding of the world? How did cards shape my views on race and gender? How did world events--Watergate, Vietnam, the energy crises--shape my collecting experience? 

I'm curious to hear others' reflections. What did collecting mean to you in personal and in broader historical terms? How was your collecting experience shaped by your various identities and historical events?   

I'd say my initial jump into collecting in the mid-60s was due to a couple of factors:

1. My discovery and participation in team sports, namely baseball and football, probably in the summer of 1966. My two best friends were an influence, too, as they were high on a local boy from Del Rio, Texas, that had made it to the AFL - Sidney Blanks, a runningback with the Oilers. I'd mentioned watching his younger brother, Larvell, play high school football and ending up in the major leagues with the Braves and Indians.
2. My 6th grade teacher won the World Series pot and my recollection is that she'd gotten me interested in baseball with her brief recaps on the games and celebrating with her as a class when she won. 

Long hair on men is a societal issue from the 60s that influenced my love for Chris Speier who played for the Giants when he came up. It was refreshing to me to see someone I could identify with in regards to hair with his wildly flowing hair under his cap. I also began noticing and truly appreciating Charlie Finley's Oakland A's with their relaxed hair restrictions and their markedly different uniform colors (and white shoes). Today, a player I collect is Larry Fitzgerald, part of which is I love his dreads.

I've never been in the military, and I don't come from a family that served, but I was brought up to love America. I'm Hispanic, and I've seen prejudice up close and personal, but thankfully only blatantly harsh a couple of times, yet my love for the US has always remained. Most of my life has been around a melting pot of friends from black to white to Asian, and ever so often a Hispanic . The opportunities we have here in the US allowed me to come out of a low economic background (we didn't know we were poor) to a master's degree and a successful career, first in business, then as a school administrator. All that ties into collecting in that I love sets and cards that depict Old Glory, the American Flag. I still get teary-eyed when Americans win Olympic gold medals, though I'd not watched an Olympics since our children left home to marry. The 1994 Fleer All-Star set is one of my favorite sets for its use of the United States flag. Rick Monday is a player I collect for his act of removing a flag from a guy who'd run out onto the field to burn it.

Unfortunately the political climate in our country has affected my collection of current players primarily in that it's led me to lose interest in sports (NBA and NFL, and MLB may soon join them). It's disheartening to me to have polarizing politics infiltrate my diversion.

Over the years I've had a greater appreciation for players who played in the early years when segregation was prominent.  They had more than just playing baseball to deal with. Not saying current players have it easy nor trying to minimize current experiences. 
I also admire current players who are active in social justice or at least aware. NBA players are more vocal in this regard. 
As for collecting, I've believed for a few years now that 50s cards will lose value as the hobby demographics and mlb fan base changes. 

Honestly, it didn't. I've always known and respected people who looked different than me and had different customs. It has made me terribly sad to learn about the abuse they have endured (and continue to) and that has contributed to the general feeling of hopelessness and despair I feel at pretty much all times. These are people I look up to, and I sometimes have difficulty grasping the hate they get, because it makes zero sense to me. 

I have noted and even commented on the lack of diversity in the hobby. Speaking primarily as an NBA fanatic the lack of Black folks collecting cards seems strange to me. I hope that they are out there somewhere but even if they are it's sad that they don't feel comfortable interacting with the hobby community. 

I don't think I've ever met a woman card collector in person. That's what, half the population of the world? (Not counting my mom, who I give my Jason Kidd, Terry Labonte and Marc-Andre Fleury duplicates to) You know there are plenty of women sports fans, any look at the grandstand of literally any sporting event is all the proof you need. So why aren't they in the hobby? I know a few...we even have some who are regular contributors here...but it's still a disproportionately low number.

This is also a problem with literally every hobby I take part in, besides cards : cars, scale models, comic books, numismatics. I don't know how to fix it. These are all great hobbies that could bring joy to a lot of people that currently are missing out. There is some progress being made in cars at least. 

I really hope it's a lack of exposure to the hobby, that they don't know it exists, rather than some people making them unwelcome. If I ever find out someone I thought was a friend is contributing to making them unwelcome, we are done. No one cares what I have to say, but I will not associate with that kind of person. 

I actually have had a sneaking suspicion that racism may be why the NBA constantly gets the smallest card sets and least amount of coverage in the hobby...but I can't prove it. I don't even know how to start proving it, it's just something I feel.

Powerful testimonies. Look fwd to more

Card collecting is not for the socio-economic lower-classes. Unfortunately, it appears that many minorities fall into that category. Many non-minorities also fall into that category and I only was able to continue in the hobby because I started working in the hobby. (If I didn't have a card shop connection and then the company connection, I never would have been able to get what I got.) When it's a matter of "food on the table" vs. "a set of <insert sport> cards", guess what's winning out? It also helped that I was the only child when the collecting started (my older brother had passed away about 6 years earlier). I don't think we ever could have even thought about collecting cards had there been two of us doing so. I understand I was very fortunate that I was able to get into the hobby. I knew of 2 or 3 other kids in my grade who were into cards at all around that time.

As far as females, I think that is also simply exposure to the hobby. My wife collects, and got into it because her 2 uncles on her mother's side have large collections going back into the 1950s and they were buying cases (and splitting them) in the 1970s and 1980s and would give/sell to the nieces and nephews who wanted them. She was one of them.

Nicely stated by those that have commented here!  My perspective is rather unique, being a legal immigrant brought to the USA, by my Mama from communist Cuba.  Served in the military and wore the NAVY Uniform for 40 years.  Plus Our Son played Baseball for a Division II HBCU (Virginia State University) and graduated last year.  Our current Baseball Team is a nice mix of multiple cultures.  Basically, We believe that We are differing shades of brown and do "go down that road" of black & white too much.  Sad & tragic to see what happened to George Floyd and justice should be meted out against those bad cops that did Him wrong.  However, many evil group have "hijacked" the cause of justice and created a disturbing disunity and enhanced racism that is not welcome in any of Our Communities.  Most professional athletes that I have associated with, over the decades< have been wonderful Men & Women that love their Families & Communities.  Those are truly have been fine Folks that I am blessed to have associated with and they have made my Life &the Others around me better.  Looking forward to what lies ahead for those of Us in this unique Community that We have through TCDB!!  May each of You have a most wonderful Week ahead!!!

Yours in the Journey - Felix

 Been hoarding collecting cards and other jun.. STUFF my whole life. Having older siblings that collect will influence the collecting. I never think about race while collecting.

I'll admit though that after puberty hit I started collecting more images of women.

I think for me what collecting has done is exposed unknown prejudices. I grew up in rural Ontario as a radio only baseball fan. The only way I got to see the players was through cards and the occasional newspaper picture. 

It softened surprised me when I was surprised by a guys skin color. I would think "Willie McGee sounds Scottish to me." Then realize I had prejudices I didn't realize. In this case maybe not detrimental but indicative of how I believed things based on just my own ideas. I know that I have privilege as a white male. I know that this issue is not just a matter of dealing with a few racists, it is systemic, and deeply rooted in most of us. As a 49er fan it deeply bothered me that Kapernick seemed to lose his job at least in part because of his willingness to stand for something by kneeling. Football has faded away for me because of concussions and Kap. Wish it was different but it's not. 

I guess overall cards exposed a sheltered, rural,  white kid to heroes of different shades from me. My collection still focuses on Tim Raines and Gary Carter and Vlad Guerrero. What a great way to lower the negative thoughts I may have (had) by getting to see these guys close up.

Born in '67 and a Midwestern kid from the Southside of Chicago suburbs my whole life; sports was all we did.  We never saw girls collect cards or minorities for that matter.  Truthfully there weren't any minorities around my neighborhood then.  My friends and I met at the park every single day and played sports. From age 8 to 15 it was sports after school and Strat-o-matic of what ever season we were in at night. Every sport was played It didn't matter. It wasn't until playing on sports teams and traveling to other gyms and fields that I met people different than me.  But guess what they weren't different.  They loved sports, cards, athletes etc.  They just looked different than me. I've grown away from baseball as I got older and the hobby through my 20's when beer, girls and work dominated my conscience existence. In college, hockey took center stage and has been my true love ever since.  It's all Blackhawks to me. I will lead the world in individual Hawk cards owned on this site shortly.  When I settled down, got married and bought a house I went head first back into the hobby.  I've bought out 2 stores and a storage locker that needed a 20 foot U-haul to move.  I sorted, sold, traded and donated tons of cards in the last 20 years.  When I finally had things where I thought I wanted them my storage locker was broken into and I lost evey single card I owned under $1.00 in value.  Easily a couple hundred thousand cards.  This site has allowed me to rebuild my Hawks collection though.  Recently though I'm very energized to see what my White Sox will look like and it's gotten me back into baseball.  My collection (75% not on here yet) reflects a hoarding, speculating scatterbrained collector.  I'm in the process of correcting that.  Who really needs 35 Dan Marino 1989 Pro-Set cards.  I agree with other posters in that it's become such a big expensive business.  Kids, no matter what color, can't get the cards that adults do.  Adults use the hobby as their job.  Growing up we had Topps and Topps until the 80's.  I never saw an OPC card until I was in my 20's. You could get cards at the drug store or the 2 card shops that I knew of.  It's just a different world now.  E-bay, comc, tcdb etc... What the heck is an e-card or digital card for God sakes.. LOL. Don't even get me started on the scammers etc... So moving forward at the advanced age of 53 and unsure what the future holds I'm concetrating on the players and teams I love.  Most of my hoarding collection will make it's way onto the FS/FT list eventually.  That's my story.