longwest

I started collecting cards in 1981, a rack pack of Topps at the supermarket when I was just 5 years old. I had caught a glimpse of my dad's cards a day or two before and was instantly mesmerized.  I collected as much as I could all through school, both baseball and football, without any real focus...just stuff I liked the designs of, until I graduated high school in 1993.  I ended up selling my collection before joining the Navy, and for several years I did not collect anything.  But, the bug bit me again in 1999, and I decided I was going to focus my collection this time on rookie cards and inserts.  I spent countless hours researching rookie cards in every major set (baseball and football) from 1975 through 1993...and what a blast.  I spent Saturdays in card shops throughout the Florida panhandle and Alabama, sorting through boxes of random unsorted cards for the rookies and inserts I didn't have, regardless of actual monetary value.  I'm sure those shopkeepers thought I was nuts spending $50 on a 300 count box of random commons from the junk wax era.  I got most of the collection done before having to sell it off due to financial difficulties in 2008.  

But here we are, 18 years later...and I'm starting over from scratch.  I miss opening packs, and fortunately a lot of junk wax sets have cheap wax boxes.  So what are my goals with my collection?  I dunno. Maybe it's collect every set?  Maybe it's collect every rookie and insert again?  Maybe I don't really need a goal?  I'll figure it out as I go.

As far as my lists, I'd prefer to trade to get what I'm missing, but I'm ok with buying.