Great thread...sorry if I get a little wordy, but I have a lot to say :)
I started collecting trading cards in 1988, when I was 4 years old. I come from a collecting family..by the time I was 4 years old I was already collecting 1/64 diecast cars (Hot Wheels size, although more than just Hot Wheels), action figures, and comic books...which I have been into since my brother read me my first one at 5 days old. Although I have to admit at that time period I was not collecting any series, just various books that my brother would buy me. (As an aside, he still buys me my comics to this day) I collected action figures until 2007 on a regular basis, and I've added to the collection as recently as November 2015 although I'm mostly in retirement these days. My dad was also a collector, he collected car parts. Used car parts. After he lost his battle with cancer and we were left to clean up his collection, we found he had collected, for example, over 200 used windshield wipers. So, collecting is in my blood.
In 1986, I became a monster truck fan. At that time it was still a form of motorsports- now, sadly, is really just wrestling on wheels- you know who is going to win before it starts, and you know that it's no longer a question of speed and skill but simply a wreck-fest. I stopped watching long ago but in 1988 it was the peak of monster truck greatness- and the first card set was issued for them (of only 4 ever done, two of which are not on the Database yet as I can't find checklists). Some packs of the 1988 Leesley Bigfoot set became my first cards. My brother shortly gave me the duplicates he had from his 1970s and 80s packs of Star Wars cards- for many years I thought those were my first but he remembered that the Bigfoot cards came first.
I've never stopped collecting cards, although my focus has changed.
From 1988 to 1992 I collected non-sports almost exclusively- I was not a ball sports fan at that time, that came later.
For Christmas 1992 my uncle, at my mom's idea, gave me a big box of Racing Champions 1/64 cars. That became one of the most important days of my life. I became a NASCAR fan instantly, that moment, and for many years it was the most important thing in my life. My 1/64 NASCAR collection numbers over 5000 different pieces- it's the largest known among the internet forums for NASCAR diecast, although not all of them are in good shape; aside from the fact that I've had some since I was 8 years old, about half of them I am not the first owner of and came to me in less than perfect condition. I don't care, I am just happy to have them.
That also kicked off my NASCAR card collection. They all came with cards at that time, and then in 1993 I discovered that there were other NASCAR cards available. From 1993-96 I collected NASCAR cards mainly, with non-sports slowly fading out of the picture. The best year ever for NASCAR cards was 1994 and it was also the year that I chased them the most when they were new.
By 1996, I was now firmly a sports fan. NASCAR was the #1 thing in my life, but, in the 5th grade now, I was the only one collecting NASCAR in my school. (Practically) Everybody else collected basketball, but I had no real idea what it was at the time. Until February 14th, 1996, when my mom gave me a pack of 1995-96 Fleer Series 2 for Valentine's day. Later that night I found the Knicks-Hornets game on TV, and I became a fan that day.
Then things took off. Every day was spent thinking about, talking about, and sorting my cards. Even when we were playing floor hockey in school- my favorite sport to play, even more than basketball- the team I was on all collected basketball cards. I'm still friends with most of my teammates- at least on Facebook, some I have not seen in person in over a decade- but I'm the only one who still collects cards. For me it's more than a hobby, it's my life.
As time went on I was collecting only the NBA. I would usually get one or two packs of NASCAR at the most, and the last non-sports set I chased- even Star Wars- was in 1997. There were a couple NASCAR sets I really liked and chased a bit- 1998 Maxx 10th Anniversary being the key one- but for me it was all-NBA, all the time.
In 2002, my dad lost his battle with cancer. I used cards as a distraction- it's not a coincidence that I got more cards in 2002 than any other year of my life. They still are my distraction from the pain of normal life. I don't really like to talk about it too much but I have a lot of health problems- I'm in pain 24/7, 365. The cost of the medicine that keeps me alive has forced me to basically give up my 1/64 NASCAR collection. It's also cut my card collecting significantly. In the 2000s I used to get 1 or more boxes of every set issued. Now I am lucky to get any boxes at all; some sets are totally out of reach that years ago I would have done a box of. But I still get what I can, and I am thrilled with every card I get...in fact I think I appreciate them more now than I did when I was getting 1000 cards a month on a regular basis.
In 2003, at the Target in Kingston, NY, I purchased a single retail pack of a NASCAR set- I don't remember which one- and pulled a Dale Earnhardt Jr. Autograph. That remains one of my all-time favorite pulls, as he is my favorite active driver- tied for all-time favorite with Ernie Irvan and Wendell Scott- and that got me back into NASCAR full time. Since 2001, Press Pass was the sole producer of NASCAR cards, and I couldn't stand Press Pass. They couldn't grasp the concept that a NASCAR set should show cars, but they gave us junk like subsets about the driver's "star signs". They also made very short sets- 50 to 72 cards was the norm, with only one set a year that hit 100. But, it was the only game in town, and from 2003-06 I got a box of every set that was issued except one, which I've never been able to hunt down.
For a short period of time I was doing both NBA and NASCAR full time. But I was no longer really enjoying the NBA. The games became less about basketball skills and more about trying to get on SportsCenter. My favorite player went down with what seemed like a career ending injury (although it wasn't- he's still in the league) and the cards being issued just weren't making me happy anymore. It was less about documenting the game and more about the "gimmick of the week". In late 2006- sometime between September when I got my last box and Christmas, but I don't know when for sure- I determined I was done with the NBA. I didn't look at my NBA cards, or do anything with them at all- between 2006 and 2011. I also strayed away from the game, watching only one or two games per year, but in 2011 I got back into it during the playoffs. It was FUN again, and in September 2011 I found a new card shop, in Queensbury NY, that unfortunately has since closed. I started getting some cards again, but at that time I was convinced I was only going to get the cards marked down cheap at Target- at that time Target always had marked down cards from the past several years- and I remember opening a pack of 2008-09 Upper Deck in the parking lot at the grocery store in September 2011 while my mom was in the store shopping. It was the first NBA pack I had opened since 2006. That lasted for all of a year...in 2012-13, I got back into the NBA full-time. I'm into it more now than I was before- League Pass has become my main birthday present every year, and I've already watched more than 150 games this season. (I am keeping track on an Excel chart for the first time ever). I will watch as many as 4 games in a day, when one goes off, I switch to another, until I have either seen them all or they stop showing the repeats.
I need to backtrack a bit. In 2007, some things went on that saw me move away from cards somewhat. I can't really explain it, but on thinking back a bit I think it was more me getting mentally burned out on cards. I was still collecting but only barely; I was fed up with Press Pass's continuing ineptitude and I was done with the NBA. I still got some NASCAR cards in 2007, but not many. 2008 was even worse. I have a grand total of 14 new cards documented from the year...I usually keep very detailed records, because I am OCD. I know I got more than that, but I was so out of it I didn't even bother to write them down. For me that says a lot. In 2007 most of my available hobby funds was spent mostly on my 1/64 NASCAR collection and on plastic models, which I began building in 1999. I don't remember what I spent it on in 2008, it's possible I didn't spend it on anything- my memory for most things post 1998 is sketchy at best.
In 2009, my card renaissance began. A trip to my local Target- literally under 10 minutes away by car but my first visit there in over a year, I believe- I got some NASCAR packs and actually enjoyed them. Specifically, it was 2009 Element. That got me back in. I've been going full on in the hobby again, and stayed with NASCAR full time until Press Pass went out of business, I got back into the NBA again full time in 2012, and in later 2009 I got back into Non-sports cards- more on that below- and now most of my days are spent with cards...doing something with cards. Usually scanning them for posting here and on my personal website, which I have operated since 2004, or writing blog posts for Cardboard History.
The Database is actually a large part of why I began collecting the NBA again. I began scanning my entire collection- fronts only at that time- in 2009, and I did my NASCAR first, then Non-sports. In 2011, I began working on my NBA collection, but I found I couldn't remember what some sets were, meaning, which subsets and inserts went with which set. Compound the fact that I hadn't looked at my collection in 5 years, and health issues have taken a toll on my memory, I needed help. An internet search brought me to the Database in 2011 and from 2011-October 2012 I used it for checklist purposes only. Then something clicked - I don't know what- and in 2012 I started adding my collection to the Database. I had a lot of fun doing it, it brought back a lot of memories, and I paged through my paper listing for the first time in years- to me, the paper listing I've created for my card collection is sometimes more fun than the cards themselves- and it played a large role in getting me back to collecting.
For non-sports, I got back into them in 2009 and since then I have gotten more into them than I ever was before, even in the early days when I collected them solely. Not only am I enjoying them more, with the help of the internet and a new dealer with old cards, I've greatly expanded my knowledge of the non-sports world (with lots left to learn) and I've gotten back farther than I ever imagined possible. For many years my oldest non-sports cards were the 1977 Star Wars cards, but now I've pushed my collection back all the way to 1908. Getting back into the 1800s is a dream I hope happens some day.
Today, cards mean more to me than they ever have before. As my health has faltered in recent years, and I've had to give up things I used to love- cards have remained. They are the one thing I know that can always make me happy- even though I do tend to whine about what they are doing currently a little too much. Without my cards I would have very little reason to get out of bed each day. I know that's not a good thing, but it's honestly the truth.
