My first Gretzky card. It came on top of a stack of cards that I got in a gift bag at a birthday party. It had a rubber band around it, but I think the card was still in pretty good shape. I know I still have a copy of this card, but it might not be the same one. Great photo!

My first Blue Jay card! I got this one in a pack of cards when trick-or-treating. Much more memorable than any candy I ever got in my Halloween bag.

My brother had a teacher who had some sort of connection to Rob Pearson. A bunch of students (myself included) sent him some things that he willingly signed. I sent the following card.

While I appreciated the gesture at the time, years later I found the card to be quite an eyesore. Why? Because I also felt the need to write my name on the card so they'd be certain it was mine. I think it was my mother's idea, but using a pink pen was completely my idea. No offense to Mr. Pearson, but I ended up throwing this card out one day when cleaning the house.

I thought this card was cool, and unintentionally had several copies of it. However, as an eight year old, the accomplishment commemorated on this card didn't sound like that big of a deal to me.

"The Collector's Choice"
These team checklists are a bit like the Diamond Kings subset Donruss used for baseball. No matter what player was featured on one, it made them look legendary.

The first two of these I ever got were in the same pack: Rick Tocchet and Mark Recchi. Not only is this coincidental as they played on rival teams, the two were traded for each other later in that season.

When I was around 8, a neighbour of mine (a few years older than me) had a big box of sports cards and let me choose one. Not being very familiar with players at the time, I went purely on the visual and went with Joel "The Bubble Boy" Otto.

One Christmas (1993 or 94), my grandmother bought my siblings and I t-shirts with an image of our choice on it. My brother and I opted for hockey players, and went to our collections looking for some good ones. I didn't have a Gilmour Leafs card at the time, so I borrowed this card from my sister. Years later, I bought my sister's collection off her to finally obtain this one.

I used to buy Collector's Choice packs all the time when my family would make a trip to discount store Bi-Way (anyone remember that chain?). When I pulled this insert, it felt like I won the lottery. My collection never contained too many high-end cards, but this one I beleive was once valued at $50. That was a fortune to me at age 12. I'm sure you can get this one for well under a dollar nowadays.