How I got started

My baseball card collection started in the early sixties as most of us kids back then did. Unfortunately, the gum was as important in those days as the cards and most of those cards were long ago lost, thrown away, destroyed or forgotten about in family moves.

In the early 80’s (prior to marriage I must add) I began to re-“invest” in the cardboard of yester-year and began to acquire cards of players I enjoyed watching as a youth; mostly players of the 60’s and 70’s and the Chicago Cubs. My collection is not large (under 10,000), mostly in very good or excellent condition and each tell a story.

I dabbled into buying sets but lost the interest quickly when, for me, the “fun” is being able to look at the faces, uniforms and the action depicted as well as the backs of each card. I always like the backs of cards; the statistics, the brief stories of players, tidbit trivia, miniature drawings, comics, stories of players and comparing year to year accomplishments. Sounds “nerdy” but the back of the card is where we actually can learn something about each player and uncover surprises (1964 Topps had rub off area) . I have since sold all of those factory sets and cartons and that certainly did help pay for my family to move to Sarasota Florida in the summer of 2002.

As a Chicago Cub fan my whole life (yes since birth as many of you will agree, it is in our blood), one of my first goals was to acquire as many Cub cards as possible. A friend gave me the idea to look for and complete team sets for the Cubs of the years we loved and I was able to do this with little trouble. My collection grew slowly (budget constraints) but I always kept them in plastic holders or page protectors.

In the summer of 1990, another hometown friend of mine and I were rummaging through “garbage” in his attic and came across a gem. An original cloth banner from 1969 stating: Chicago Cubs Eastern Division Champs 1969. As many in my generation and before know the Cubs did not win the pennant that year, more aptly put, they broke our hearts that year. As Rick Tally states in his book titled “The Cubs of ’69”; the Cubs were “The team that should have been”.

That pennant and my cards of the 1969 Cubs (the cards are 1970) is the pillar and motivation behind my collection and memories.

The Cubs of 1969 . . . my favorite team . . . my favorite players . . . my favorite year . . .


So this site is now dedicated to all those Cub fans who cheered in 1969, who remember more from that baseball year than any other year, and to all of us in our late 40’s who collected cards, lost or destroyed them and still reflect back.


I will talk about the cards and players; superstars, HOF’s and the not so popular players of yesterday (mostly from the 60’s and 70’s), share some baseball memories and talk about what is on the back of cards. I may even regress further into childhood and share a story or two not related to baseball cards. I am not a serious collector, nor am I a true hobbyist but what I am is a Cubs Fan and a kid at heart. I hope you enjoy my trip back in time.
Wait ‘til next year . . .