As so many of the baseball card collecting world is focused on the "new" cards of 2009 (and as I understand the over 300 different sets and subsets to collect), I am resisting all temptation to "get with the times" and am saving my money (as little as that might be these days) to supplement my "vintage" collection.
40 years ago, collecting cards was "pure" . . . little investment required, tremendous joy in finding stars and non-stars and the games we played with these cards. There were no Walmarts or Targets to rush to, no card shops to hound, just the local five and dime to head to after school on our bicycles. The joy we found in opening up packs of cards back then is the same joy felt today by so many . . . however . . .
We played the popular flipping games, competed in "how many cards can we fit in our bicycle spokes" and calculated trades with friends. My best friend back in those days was a White Sox fan and we spent hours trying to make trades that were "fair". We compared batting averages, homeruns, doubles, and triples; era's, strikeout to walk ratios and wins vs losses record. We made trades "fair" based on production on the field not monetary value. Such a idyllic thing to do.
Those were the days . . . here are my favorite Cubs from 1969 . . . just to help me remember the "good ol' days" . . . . 
So in fairness, I still "play" with my cards, though "play" now includes, page protectors, top loaders, and blogging.
Above are the three Chicago Cub Hall of Famers (from "those days"), the three backbones of the Cubs from the late sixties and early seventies, the three Cubs who stood tall amongst the rest.
I am still testing my resistance levels . . . 40 years ago life (baseball and card collecting) was so different . . .
I think if you get into blogging enough you'll be tempted to pick up a few new cards.
ReplyDeleteI've found that I'm old enough now where I can pick and choose what new cards I will buy. I'll test as many as I can, but if I don't like them at first glance (like this year's Upper Deck), that's it. I'll forget about collecting them.
I never stop trying to get vintage, though.
Steve, good post. I think our memories are very similar. We grew up in a 'simpler' time.
ReplyDeleteI love the police officer standing in the background of Billy Williams' card.
I wonder if Topps had to pay him?
Hi Steve,
ReplyDeleteFergie wrote a book on pitching that my son and I read when my son was just learning to pitch in the early 1980's. We learned a lot and it helped make him into an All-Star.