Baseball cards

The demise of the baseball card industry started in the mid '80s when it became all about the speculation and the fan got left behind. People were more concerned with speculating on who the next HOFer would be that they could load up on rather than just the having a card experience. My friends (in their 20s then) loaded up on thousands of Cansecos, McGwires, Mattinglys, etc. rookie cards hoping to strike it rich. Becketts pricing guides fanned the flames. Then the prices of cards with Upper Deck started getting up.

 

A friend of mine (big card collector) told me Panini (who seems to have bought out every card company other than Topps and Upper Deck) are producing cards that have a microchip in them and a viewable screen, and when you touch a button or something on the card the screen shows highlights of that player. I am not kidding.

I still have thousands and thousands of cards. I am trying to collect evry Topps set from when I was born to now, and even a few before that. I am working on most sets from 1967 to now. My favorite is the 1971 set because those black borders are hard to keep nice, and if you have a good one it is an actual collectible. Plus, the Garvey rookie and a Clemente.

My most valuable card is a 1953 Mantle. My favorite is the 1985 Topps Eric Davis rookie because I bought about 300 of them when they first came out for a dime each...and sold all of them except one for $15.00 each when the card reached $18.00 in the Beckett. I will never forget it, a card shop owner in Cincinnati paid me $4,485 cash at a card show at Moeller High School. Had quite a party that weekend.

 

There really is nothing more satisfying as a baseball card collector than unloading a card at precisely it's peak. I did that with Jeffries in 1988 and the Canseco rated rookie a during his 40-40 season.

During the McGwire-Sosa HR chase, I mailed 50 McGwire Olympic cards to my buddy who sold them for $75 to $100 apiece. At the time they were selling for twice that, but every once in awhile you just know that there is no way a card is going to sustain it's value when the price skyrockets.

By the same token, I held on to my Mattinglys way too long...

I like the 1971 set a lot, but as you said, those cards are impossible to keep in decent condition. You barely touch them and they look like they've been manhandled.

 

I still have an 800-count box of 1987 Cory Snyder rookies if you are interested. I traded a dirt bike for them. Really, if you need a door stop or kindling I have them, ready to ship out. The card I cashed in on (other than the Davis) was the 1991 Stadium Club Steve Avery. That card was smoking hot for about a month.

I still will buy a case of cards a year (the wife is very kind). This year I went with Topps Football. Fun cracking a case and sorting it down. I have so much stuff put away for the two boys when they get older. With my luck they will be into drama and band.

 

I have a box of 500 1990 Steve Avery rated rookies from 1989 or 1990. I think I paid a penny a card at the time and then tried mostly unsuccessfully to unload them for 25 cents apiece when they were selling for around a buck. I'm sure I made my money back, but I laugh every time I stumble on that box.

 

Didn't see a link, so ... Bill Simmons at the 2011 National Sports Collectors Convention: http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6871305/memorabilia-madness

 

I have a modest collection nowadays. Nothing spectacular.

Although, I do remember pulling a Michael Vick autograph numbered 7/7 variation card out of Donruss Gridiron Gear 2007.

Of course, this was after his fall from grace. If I had pulled that card before he was convicted, or if he had never been convicted, I'm sure it might have been worth a few hundred bucks at the lowest.

 

The only autographed card I've ever pulled was a Browning Nagle.

 

I've pulled some very nice cards.

Felix Jones 2nd year numbered to 50 is my favorite obviously.

My best pull (besides the Vick) came out of the same box.

Hines Ward jersey 5-color jersey swatch. It was the center of the Steelers logo from a jersey he wore during a game. Sold it on the spot for $45.

I have seen some really sick pulls though. Just wish it had been me.

 

That\'s funny. I pulled the Hank Aaron out of the 1991 Upper Deck. Traded it for 10 more boxes, plus a box of Stadium Club and $50 to the dealer I bought the pack from.

My most interesting pull was a 1999 Flair Showcase Matt Williams Masterpiece 1/1. It was really cool to pull that card. Still probably worth some jack.

 

My best card pull ever happened in March/April 2001. I stopped by a Quik Trip and they had an assortment of packs from 2000 for half price. I bought the three packs of Press Pass NASCAR cards. One of the packs contained a Dale Earnhardt "Press Pass Signings" autographed card.

 

Damn. Don't know how I forgot about this but I also pulled a Jim Brown autograph #d 25 variant. That was pretty sweet.