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.
