Remember the Joy of Collecting
Ask anyone who has been collecting vintage baseball cards for a decade or more how they know the hobby (errr, industry) is on fire right now and I assure you they’ll have a firsthand story to tell.
Here’s mine. Recently I received an email from Dallas-headquartered Heritage Auctions telling me an anonymous client has made an offer for one of the vintage baseball cards I bought from it a few years ago. I didn’t even know Heritage provided potential buyers with this option. Now I do. Anyway, the latest offer was $2050 ($1,845 after Heritage’s commission of 10 percent) for my 1955 Topps Jackie Robinson (#50) in a SGC 8. Back in April 2018 I paid $1560 for this card. My profit, if I accepted, would be about $300. I know, not huge bucks. But this was the first time I received such an offer and it took me by surprise. I immediately clicked on the “reject instantly” option.
I could have changed my settings so I would never receive such offers again. I thought about it for a minute and decided to let any future offers trickle in if for no other reason then I’d be curious to know what collectors are willing to pay for cards that I own.
Yes, I’ll admit I do keep track of the rising prices of vintage baseball cards that I already possess. Amid all this hubbub (which may or may not last, especially for modern sports cards), the thought that resonates in my brain right now is: Don’t forget the joy and memories collecting brings. But how can I make this happen again? I decided the best way to accomplish this was to pull out my all-time favorite baseball card set: Topps 1967. I was 12 when I started collecting it. It’s classic, in my opinion, because of its many closeups, bold colors, and simple design. I started going through this album, page by page, to see what kinds of memories this act would evoke.
The first card that brought back a vivid memory was Elston Howard (#25), catcher for the New York Yankees, the team that I grew up with living in New Jersey. A gentle soul. Decades ago when I attended one of my first Yankees games I carried a Sporting News with me. After the game I hung out by the ballplayer exit and he signed it for me. I still have that autograph.
When I came across the Roger Maris card (#45 as a Cardinal) I saw pain in his eyes. I couldn’t help but think of the struggles he went through in 1961, change Babe Ruth’s single-game home run record of 60. The intense press attention (for back then) had to be tough.
Horace Clarke (#69), second baseman for the Yankees, was from the U.S. Virgin Islands. Popular guy. The bad Yankee teams from 1967 to 1973 are known as the “Horace Clarke era.”
Dooley Womack (# 77), pitcher for the Yankees. What a great name.
On card #150 the closeup of Yankee Mickey Mantle’s smiling face is sweet. He was my hero when I was a kid. I even got to see him hit a home run in person the next (and his last MLB) year (in June 1968). However, after reading “The Last Boy” a few years ago I finally fully understood what a flawed man he was. But what a ballplayer.
The Mets’ Ed Kranepool and Ron Swoboda share card #186, Met Maulers. A couple of years later the Mets would win it all. Yes, I was a Yankee fan but the excitement in New York City was amazing. I’ll never forget it.
Ernie Banks (#215) of the Cubs is smiling straight at the camera with a bat over his shoulder. He was a great ambassador for the sport.
Curt Flood of the Cardinals (card # 245) has a determined look in his eyes as he holds his bat. A few years later he fought against the reserve clause that kept a player tied to one team for life.
Frank Howard (#255) of the Senators is listed at 6 ft 7 in. On the back of his card. I remember being at Yankee Stadium before a Yankees/Senators game when I was 13 or 14, trying to get autographs and looking up at him. He seemed huge to me back then. But very friendly,
Jim Bouton (#393), pitcher with the Yankees, would later go on to write “Ball Four,” a must-read for any baseball fan. He made a lot of enemies with this book but gave us all a slice-of-life look at major leaguers.
Bob Clemente (#400) of the Pirates was a true humanitarian and an amazing ballplayer. I was privileged to see him play the Mets at Shea Stadium.
Ralph Houk (#468), manager of the Yankees, fought in World War II. It shows in his face. Tough.
Fritz Peterson (#495), pitcher for the Yankees, made news when I was 18. That’s when everyone learned he had swapped families with fellow Yankee pitcher Mike Kekich. It was a shocker. On this card he has a big grin on his face.
This was a fun exercise that brought back a lot of wonderful memories. Even if you have older sets you can reminisce about how you obtained this or that card. Doing this had nothing to do with the condition or value of individual cards or the entire set. It was all about pure joy. And in this current pandemic, isn’t that a good thing? Give it a try. You won’t regret it, I assure you.