1987 Topps Baseball Forum

That was an interesting read for sure, I will officially admit that yes by far I seem to be the rookie with a capital R!!! Wow most were just toddlers or younglings when they started collecting, the only thing I collected at that age was punches from my two older sisters!! I did have a Smash Em Up Derby Collection (dad's lol) and a Stretchy guy collection whatever they were called (again my dad lol) other than that a few SW toys but I had zero hobbies growing up, farm boy with not much money sadly. Keep them stories coming, and Switzr my boy that was short but intereting for sure LOL.

I can't say for sure but I started collecting in the early 90s.  My initial focus was on non-sports cards, mainly Magic the Gathering.  I got into Magic right around went the Revised set (3rd edition) came out. At some point during my collecting I decided I wanted to collect the whole Revised set. I would be so excited when for my birthday my parents would buy me a whole box and I would spend the evening opening up each pack. With the whole family watching too!  At some point I finally collected the complete set and I felt so proud.  However, I have no recollection where half of those cards went so I will be really sad if I cant find them again.

During this time I also collected some other non-sports (mainly X-Men) and basketball. I remember one shop would give kids some store credit depending on how many As they got on their report card.  I was a huge basketball fan growing up so I loved collecting them.  As I got older, my love of collecting died down.  I would buy the random pack here and there but nothing too serious.  

I've only gotten back into collecting/sorting the past month or so.  All my cards had been stored at my dad's house and I finally had to move them out of there.  Figuring there must be a good way to catalog all my cards so I could eventually sell them, I did some searching and eventually found TCDB.  I am just amazed at how awesome of a website this is.  This has to be THE resource for trading cards.  So many sets added, scans, players, etc.  The community is great too.

I don't know if I will be doing much collecting at the present moment as my wife wants me to get rid of them but for now I'm happy going through my collection, adding cards, filling in information, and adding scans.  

Welcome to the site, Kman. Whether you end up selling or being reinvigorated in your collecting passion, you are right that this is the place for you. Enjoy. 

V3

Ditto to what V3 said! You are in the right place here.

I want to add something though. If you go through your collection and it brings back memories and brings you some joy, don't let her dictate what you want to do with them in the future. That is your collection!

ketchupman36 wrote: I can't say for sure but I started collecting in the early 90s.  My initial focus was on non-sports cards, mainly Magic the Gathering.  I got into Magic right around went the Revised set (3rd edition) came out. At some point during my collecting I decided I wanted to collect the whole Revised set. I would be so excited when for my birthday my parents would buy me a whole box and I would spend the evening opening up each pack. With the whole family watching too!  At some point I finally collected the complete set and I felt so proud.  However, I have no recollection where half of those cards went so I will be really sad if I cant find them again. During this time I also collected some other non-sports (mainly X-Men) and basketball. I remember one shop would give kids some store credit depending on how many As they got on their report card.  I was a huge basketball fan growing up so I loved collecting them.  As I got older, my love of collecting died down.  I would buy the random pack here and there but nothing too serious.   I've only gotten back into collecting/sorting the past month or so.  All my cards had been stored at my dad's house and I finally had to move them out of there.  Figuring there must be a good way to catalog all my cards so I could eventually sell them, I did some searching and eventually found TCDB.  I am just amazed at how awesome of a website this is.  This has to be THE resource for trading cards.  So many sets added, scans, players, etc.  The community is great too. I don't know if I will be doing much collecting at the present moment as my wife wants me to get rid of them but for now I'm happy going through my collection, adding cards, filling in information, and adding scans.

I started in 1983, I was nine.  Would buy a pack or 2 of 83 topps when my mom went to Murphy's.  84-86 my dad bought the factory set for me for Christmas, while I bought a few random packs.  1987 I dove in full force when I got my newspaper route.  Always jealous that my best friend could spend unlimited on cards. He has a stack of Canseco rookies to show for it now.  Fell out when I went to college, seems to be the theme of the thread.

Fell back in in 2010 when I needed a hobby to distract me from real life and a friend was drafted by the Rockies.  Stumbled on a 500 card PC of Kerry Wood on eBay which started that PC and have rekindled the Topps set collecting.  So Daniel Winkler, Kerry Wood and Topps Sets are the main focus of my collection now.

My favorite set is still my 1983 Topps set with rounded corners.  I was not able to complete it until 2010.  Ironically I could never get Sandberg (my favorite player of the '80s) in a pack. Then the card got too "expensive" for my teen age self.  It was one of my first purchases of my "rebirth".

Got started in 1968 when I began playing Little League at age 7.  We had a very large yard and the neighborhood pickup games were at our house.  My younger brother and I were in charge of cutting the yard and other chores and each  week we would receive $1 and would jump on our bikes and ride to Stop and Go where we could buy 10 packs each. (Mom would chip in an extra nickel each for the tax)  Collected mostly baseball and football with a small amount of basketball here and there all the way through college and into marriage.  Wifee made me go with her to a huge monthly flea market in Canton, Texas in 1991 shopping for antiques and there I discovered Stadium Club Baseball.  Still my favorite set that I have completed, and I am still obsessed with that brand.  First child was born the next summer in 1992 and I would buy a factory set for each year to put away and put together my own set for me.  After child #2 and too many activities, put the hobby on hold.  From 96 until last year when I discovered this site, I would buy a few packs here and there for my kids to compliement their Pokemon cards.  My oldest is now an avid Astro fan and has a mild interest in the cards, but he doesnt know that he has a box set of Topps baseball since the year he was born.  I guess my daughter will get my hand collected sets and they can just fight over my older stuff.

dang.. thinking back, prob in the early to mid '70's. use to love begging my parents for a buck or two, then riding my bike up to the local convient store and buy wax packs w/ gum for about .25- .50cents a pack. always tried to get the complete Topps sets then, used whatever i had left to put cling on the bike spokes or whatever. never put any mind into the actual cost of what they worth-- if i only knew then what i know now.. geeezz. then time and being teen got in the way and eventutally off the military. started back again in the mid 90's, had a nice little collection going when.. wham.. house fire! and there she goes! so back at it again, a few years back and see what happens now. 

Well it's the 90s....

1990 -and another collecting strategy. I always thought I could collect every set for BB and FB....boy, was I wrong, with everybody jumping in with 2 or 3 sets, gold sets, chase cards, SPs and the like, I just resigned myself to collect what caught my eye at least 1 set/year. Armed with a super inventory of cards I was able to pull off some shrewd deals for cards and sets I missed in the meager years. A super collection was giving birth. I also decided that;  #1 I had a collection and #2 I had cards to trade or sell....I would never sell "my collection cards" AGAIN! Deals and deals brought in every card imaginable..basketball, hockey, non-sports and other collectible items as well.

I got divorced and eventually found a new family that shared card collecting interests to boot. Interesting note, my 1st wife made sure that the card collection was part of the divorce settlement...Great....a few changes and I was back on track. Mostly everybody realized that the collection would be going to my 3 sons and grandsons ...the new girls really weren't interested.

------the year 2000 and some more changes....[to be continued]....

So-so true....Chuck...

2000 - and beyond. In the year 2000, we decided to build...1 town over...5 BR...full basement house. The Card - Man Cave was in the plans...I finished the basement----1 Eagle / Model Train room with lotsa toys and collectibles ---- 1 card display room, also big screen ready for the guys ---- 1 ---card storage room. with racks and racks of cards. The rooms was temp. controlled [cool], humidity controlled [dry] and dark unless I was working. -Perfect-. As the years went buy, I moved shipping to my upstairs office,  and I added more to the collection, my new wife was a garage sale nut and would bring home boxes of stuff---all different card+ collectibles. One time she came home, told me of this guy with a massive card garage sale...so we went back...looked...negotiated...backed up the truck....and the rest is history. I remember when we 1st moved into this house, I had to rent a box truck and move the collection box by box until the truck was loaded out. At the new houset they had a brief stay in the garage and then by conyeyor to the basement rooms. We say now...can't move again....too many cards...lol.

As more time passed, cardshops were all but history, local shows were drying up and I have 1 million + cards! Ebay to the rescue, what a deal....1st sold by site, then opened a store [see my posts], I made many collector friends, some still call me asking for this-n-that. One such friend turned me onto Sportlots, another wanted me to join COMC. Ultimately, I found a true home with the TCDB....what a great forum and marketplace.

In closing, my collecting style has changed directions many times, now my collection is my collection, thanks to TCDB members I add all the time....I have soooo much to trade / sell. Many of you already know my passions, my fave cards, teams, players etc. The members have unknowly forced me into better organizing, I'm trying my best....but with so much stuff, it's time consuming. I feel so bad when I can't complete a trade as requested, I know I have the cards in some box, somewhere. All members I have traded are so good and patient with me...hopefully total organization is close at hand. My apologies to all the trading buddies...I will get it right!

Thanks to all members that have followed my Card Collecting saga, you are all great, TCDB is super.

~BOB~

This has been an interesting string.