I recently got back into collecting sports cards. I know, kinda weird, but it’s fun. Honestly, I could care less about any of the new cards, I just want the ones from the 80’s that I had when I was a kid. Not sure what happened to all of mine. I think I traded them to my boy Tic for a Nautica shirt when I was in high school! Haha! Or maybe they’re just gone. Who knows. But it’s been fun rebuilding my collection, because the cards I really care about aren’t that expensive. Most of the cards I want are only worth a couple dollars, with the exception of a few rookie cards, but even those are reasonable. Ebay’s a great spot to find cards. I got a bunch of old Don Mattingly cards on there for only a few bucks, and found his rookie cards too in great condition for super cheap. He’s my favorite player to collect. And I got a ton of old Knicks cards (Ewing, Starks, Oakley, etc), and some other basketball stuff too (a Chris Mullin rookie!). And I took my Dad over to the Westchester County Center last summer for the East Coast National Baseball Card Show which was lots of fun. Got a Darryl Strawberry rookie, a Wade Boggs rookie, a 2nd year Magic Johnson card, some Rickey Henderson and Jose Canseco cards, and other old Yankees and Mets cards of players that I grew up following, without having to spend a ton of money. And he had a blast looking at all the cards from his childhood, you know, the ones I wished he held on to!
Now that I have a son, I want to make sure my collection is tight so I can pass it along to him and teach him about all the great players I grew up watching. I figure it will be a fun hobby for us to share. But in the 21st century, forget it. Sports card collecting is crazy! The cards from the 80’s are so cheap because no one cares about those. They made a ton of them! The real collectors want the new, super rare stuff. There’s autographed cards in packs now, or cards that they only make a few of, and everything is really expensive. I’ll save my money and stick to collecting Eric Davis and Mike Pagliarulo cards. Thanks but no thanks.
I guess when my son gets old enough I’ll figure out what’s hot out there for him to collect without having to spend his life savings. Maybe he won’t care about the new cards and will be more into the older players. We’ll see. I’m taking him to his first baseball card show at the County Center in White Plains next week. Even though he’s only 4 months old, I think he’ll enjoy the atmosphere, and there will be lots of cool stuff to look at. It’s fun to hunt for the baseball and basketball cards I want from the 80’s, but also look at all the older cards from the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. Most of those are too expensive to buy, but I like seeing what’s out there. And the old memorabilia is also dope. Wanna join us? More info on the show HERE.
Anyway, watch this mini-documentary about card collecting and how it’s changed over the years, filmed in Brooklyn at the Baseball Card Dugout. Pretty interesting to see what it’s like now. Lots of new types of cards (though many of the old brands still exist), but the same excitement. And even though card collecting will always be a kids pastime, it’s the adults that have the most fun with it! Forever young!
What’s your favorite card from back in the day? Anyone got some gems in their collection? Still got a stash in your parents’ attic?
Westcheddar 