My History with the Cards

In 1986 a new family moved in across the street, they were from either Penn. or New Jersey and their two sons collected baseball cards. I was 10 and hadn't really been interested up to that point. So I guess I went out and bought some Topps 1987 cards and I remember having Wally Joyner in that first pack. (Thought has name sounded silly) I really didn’t watch baseball on TV at the time so I really learn the players by looking at the cards. I started trading cards with kids at school (as much as the teachers would allow), but for the most part I was a typical kid collector. Over the next few years I started going to Baseball Card shows and looking at all the latest and trendy hot cards. I ended up with like six Mark Grace rookie cards. Score and Upper Deck had come out and the market was officially flooded. I remember an old man telling me when I was 14 to try collect the old cards that these new cards which may be selling for $20 now would soon drop off. For what ever reason that tip stuck with me as I tried to collect cards from the seventies. I bought an old 1949 Bowman card for $11 at a shop one time, it was a common, but I know I had something that was really old. As I went through high school and college I stop buying baseball cards, because other things were important like CD’s and posters. It wasn’t until 2003 that I dug my old cards out of my parents house and starting looking through them that I remember how fun it was sorting them and seeing who I had. I soon discover that Mark Grace, Kevin Maas, Ben MacDonald, etc weren’t worth what they use to be. But none the less I enjoyed looking at them. I started buying packs ever now and again when my wife and I would go to Target. I soon discovered that the system of cards that I left was now in ruins. That there were over 80 sets to choose from, but Target only sold 4 or 5. Now that is 2006, some twenty years later, I am collecting once again. I have less than 3 mega boxes full of cards and maybe a handful of valuable cards, but I enjoy it.