Comments (144)

1. When I was 9 or 10, I was getting ready to try to sell some of my cards in grab bags at my aunt’s garage sale for a buck a piece. In order to entice buyers, I’d try to include one star player in the front of the bag. I wanted to run the cards by my older brother first to make sure I wasn’t giving away anything too valuable, but in one of the packs I had a Fred McGriff 1993 Donruss Elite card which was worth about a $100 at the time. I traded it to one of my friends after the value dropped to $20 or so, and now I think I’d rather have the dollar.

   posted by Chris 2 on 4-15-2010 at 5:40 pm

2. I remember getting started collecting when I was about seven or eight years old. The first sets I remember actually having were the 1990 Topps (the ones that looked like they were cut from the back of a Cheerios box) and the 1991 Fleer (ugly yellow ones that looked like they could have been designed in MS Paint) cards. My collection of old cardboard scraps are still with me and I still keep them in shoe boxes under my bed. To me, it’s something that I can pull out and go through every once in a while and think back to the days when life was simple.

   posted by Brent on 4-15-2010 at 5:57 pm

3. My friends and I started collecting cards in 1985–packs were $0.30. So, we’d take a dollar, hop on our bikes and buy three packs of Topps (you could only get Fleer or Donruss on the other side of town) and a few nickel suckers. The next spring we we took that same regular order to the counter but packs were now $0.35. The old guy saw how crushed we were to put the suckers back that he would toss one of his own nickels in the register so we could still have our three packs. He got tough on us the next year when they went up to $0.40. I quite collecting when packs went over a dollar, about 1992.

   One last thing, my dad gave me a box of 1986 Topps a few years ago and I couldn’t help trying some of that gum. The hesitant first chew of 22 year-old gum brought back a flood of memories, followed by the waxy stick disintegrating into a sickening powder. Any one else dumb enough to eat decades-old gum?

   posted by Garth on 4-15-2010 at 6:38 pm

4. That ’89 Upper Deck Griffey was the best of my cards. I also had about 30 Gregg Jeffries cards that didn’t turn into the retirement fund I’d anticipated.

   posted by Ben on 4-15-2010 at 7:40 pm

5. I missed the gum and useless baseball cards. I would chew the gum and place the cards on my bicycle wheels when I was five. Great times.

   posted by smart1399 on 4-15-2010 at 8:24 pm

6. Hidden in a vault far far away is a box. In that box are many many T205 and T206 baseball tobacco cards from 100 years ago.

   About 25 years ago a kid on my husband’s block was selling the box of cards at a garage sale. The kid was asking $10, hubby offered $5. They decided that if the kid could get $10 for it from someone else, fine. If not, hubby would give him $5. At the end of the day the kid rings the bell and gives the box to hubby, for free.

   Not sure if there are any Honus Wagners in there, but there are several Christy Mathewsons and even a couple of Babe Ruth’s as a pitcher (for the Red Sox I think).

   My son’s college tuition is locked away in that box.

   posted by Madam X on 4-15-2010 at 8:25 pm

7. When my family went on road trips during my childhood, we always made sure to stop at Denny’s. They never had any Denny’s restaurants in Brooklyn, so when we saw one somewhere down south or Upstate New York, we’d go there just to get the hologram cards they used to give you when you bought a grand slam breakfast. I still have my Joe Oliver hologram card and I’ll never give it up.

   posted by Dan on 4-15-2010 at 8:26 pm

8. I had a Billy Ripken with the obscenity blacked out. Good times.

   posted by Dan on 4-15-2010 at 8:32 pm

9. I believe cards cut out from Hostess Twinkie or Ding Dong boxes. But my non-card favorite is my Thurman Munson 7-11 Slurpee cup.

   posted by Mark on 4-15-2010 at 8:33 pm

10. I remember collecting like crazy as a kid…funny thing is though, you can’t get anything for cards. I have a few Clemente cards worth a few hundred bucks that I couldn’t give away!

    posted by Julio on 4-15-2010 at 8:35 pm

11. I started collecting at age 7. I still treasure that 1970 Topps issue with the gray borders and the names written in script. We’d ride bikes down to the 7-11 and buy a pack or two. You could also get them from the ice cream trucks on occasion. One day, one of my Mom’s friends gave me a shoebox full of cards that her grown son didn’t want anymore. I took them home, wild with anticipation, and sure enough, there were Koufaxes and Mays, Mantles, Aarons and Bankses, all sorts of early 60′s cards, most in great condition. I swear, it was one of the happiest days of my life.

    My favorite card is a 1956 Jackie Robinson which sits in my office. Wouldn’t part with that for anything. I traded a Mickey Mantle for it at a card show. My biggest card regret was not buying a 1952 Satchel Paige when it was only $30 back in the early 1980′s.

    For non-expensive cards, my favorites are a couple of Jim Boutons, because “Ball Four” was my favorite sports book ever, the one and only team card of the Seattle Pilots, and every Manny Mota card, since he was this kid’s favorite Dodger.

    posted by Wallis Lane on 4-15-2010 at 8:37 pm

12. I still pick up packs of cards just for the fun of opening them and seeing what I get. I’ve tried gum from ’86 – tastes like glue and chalk…mmm… I’ve gots some cards made my Mother’s Cookies and they probably taste better than the cookies!

    posted by Alex on 4-15-2010 at 8:56 pm

13. I probably should have sold as many of my cards as I could have 20 years ago, when they were worth something. Most of the players that looked like sure-fire Hall of Fame candidates either couldn’t keep up with the players that were on steroids, or used steroids themselves, ruining their legacy. That, combined with the greedy baseball card manufacturers that saturated the market, made all of my formerly valuable cards virtually worthless. I have not even bothered to look lately, so I am not sure what my most valuable card would be. 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. rookie? 1987 Donruss Barry Bonds rookie? 1985 Topps Roger Clemens rookie?

    posted by Derek on 4-15-2010 at 9:07 pm

14. I still have all my cards from my youth and actually worked (illegally) at my local baseball card shop when I was 12 and 13, making $2.25 an hour. I gladly would have worked for free.

    Card values have continued to decline and I couldn’t care less. It just means I can now get all the cards I wasn’t able to back then at a tenth of their old prices and I still love them just as much.

    As for great card stories, I have too many to list, but I do remember wanting the 1978 Eddie Murphy Topps rookie card so much and finally finding it and buying it. I wasn’t even a huge Murphy fan but I loved how it looked and wanted it for months. I was also surprised one Christmas with a 1935 Diamond Stars Lefty Grove from my parents, which is probably still the jewel of my collection.

    I’d also like to point out something misleading in the quiz. While Donruss and Fleer might have both put out sets in 1981, Fleer had previously put out baseball cards in 1963. I have a Brooks Robinson from that set, another one of my favorites.

    posted by Matt on 4-15-2010 at 9:15 pm

15. Matt — I wouldn’t call that misleading; the question asks when they appeared together. Had we added 1963 as a possible answer, however, that would have been cheap.

    Dave’s book covers that ’63 Fleer set. I remember seeing it listed in old Becketts and wondering why they disappeared until the early ’80s. Just one of many cool stories I learned.

    posted by Jason English on 4-15-2010 at 9:26 pm

16. I started collecting baseball cards in 1985. My cousin suggested that I try to collect different cards of my favorite player. I didn’t know much about baseball so I picked Tim Raines out of the 10 or so cards I had at the time. I have since gone on to collect over 300 different cards of ‘Rock’ Raines and he’s my all-time favorite athlete thanks to my cousin’s suggestion.

    posted by Howard on 4-15-2010 at 9:28 pm

17. I have never forgotten the day when my dad came home from work and gave me a pack of baseball cards. It was 1956, I was only 6, and when I opened the pack I found a card of Ted Williams. I was so excited that my dad, who would usually only grin, started laughing out loud at me. I still have many of the cards from my childhood, but not that very special Ted Williams card. What fun card collecting used to be.

    posted by Guy Marszalek on 4-15-2010 at 9:30 pm

18. Best graded card is a Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card

    posted by pao31 on 4-15-2010 at 9:37 pm

19. All I know is that in elementary school I was such a foolish, die hard Cardinal fan I traded a Ken Griffey Jr. rated rookie for a 1989 Opeechee Tony Pena. I still feel like an idiot.

    posted by Will on 4-15-2010 at 9:45 pm

20. My Dad has an incredible baseball card collection. He actually found it and tried to give it back to the owner but never tracked him down, so he kept it. I don’t remember what exactly it includes, but there are autographs from an entire Mets team, among other things.

    posted by Kelly K. on 4-15-2010 at 10:07 pm

21. I actually never collected baseball cards, but I was obsessed with basketball cards. The best card I ever bought was Magic Johnson’s 1981-82 Topps piece. I think it was about $30, which was a lot of money for a 9-year-old to save up for. A few years later, I hoarded Dennis Rodman cards because they were going up in value dramatically. Now, they’re worthless. :-)

    posted by Adam on 4-15-2010 at 10:09 pm

22. Growing up, Will Clark was my favorite player, so I tried to collect every card made of him. I still have my binder of 9 card plastic sheets of Clark cards, in chronological order. Without doubles, I think I have over 400 card of “The Thrill”.

    My favorites would either be the 1987 Topps with the wooden border, or a signed 1986 Topps. I mailed it to Clark during spring training one year, and received it back, signed, over a year later. I’ll never forget that day.

    posted by Eric K on 4-15-2010 at 10:29 pm

23. Loved that gum that came in the Donruss packs of the late Eighties, though I don’t think it was supposed to be crunchy! It would disintegrate as soon as it hit your tongue…HAHAHA

    posted by Ben on 4-15-2010 at 10:31 pm

24. As a kid, I would often go to baseball card shows with my father and got to meet some pretty cool people. At one show, I met Joe DiMaggio in an elevator. He was charging quite a bit for his autograph, but I was able to get him to sign something for me for free. The whole time he was signing, he was grumbling something about “girls”…

    posted by Emily on 4-15-2010 at 10:52 pm

25. I must have spent all my money for 6 months trying to pull that Billy Ripken “f*** face” card when I was a kid.

    posted by Stephen on 4-15-2010 at 11:01 pm

26. I used to have that Billy Ripkin card, but I’m pretty sure one of my friends “borrowed” it from me, never to return it.

    posted by Yianni on 4-15-2010 at 11:17 pm

27. I have about 15 Rickey Jordan cards that I thought would be worth a mint. Now, combined, they are probably worth the price of a dinner mint.

    posted by Dave B on 4-15-2010 at 11:44 pm

28. Our local mall was hosting a baseball card show in the early 80s (no longer done due to the absurd costs) and vendors were lined up on both floors. Anyway, I had $2 on me. One vendor was selling a Tim Raines rookie card for $2. Another vendor was willing to buy one for $3. So, I took the last two bucks, bought the card and sold it again for a 50% profit! Capitalism! That same weekend, Rickey Henderson broke Lou Brock’s single season stolen base record, and my two Henderson rookie cards doubled in value overnight!

    posted by Steve D. on 4-16-2010 at 12:52 am

29. My two favorite cards I own are a 1939 Bowman Ted Williams rookie card and a 1999 Upper Deck Piece of History 500 Home Run Club Babe Ruth Card. That was the first set to include an actual piece of a game-used bat or game-used jersey built into the card. Unfortunately, it proved so popular Upper Deck (and every other card company) inundated the market with similar items. Still pretty neat to have a piece of one of Babe Ruth’s bats!

    posted by JoeD on 4-16-2010 at 1:05 am

30. My dad has several hundred Topps and Bowman’s from the 1950′s. I can remember going into his sock drawer as a kid. Taking off the rubber bands and just thumbing through the history. 1953 Bowman Mantle, 1956 Topps Ted Williams, Duke Snyder, Roy Campenella, Mantle, Berra and Bauer, Umpires in TV frames, etc… But, he never had a Pee Wee Reese, a local boy that did good. For his 65th birthday, I bought him a Reese, split legged and firing. He grinned as wide as I imagined he would! One day I hope not too soon I get them all, but for now I’ll let him enjoy them awhile longer.

    posted by 4thbook on 4-16-2010 at 7:11 am

31. As for me, I grew up in the late ’70′s, following the Big Red Machine, just up the river. I can remember carrying cartons of coke bottles a 1/2 mile to the Winn Dixie. Redeeming them for a dime apiece, 8 to a carton meant 80 cents. And 3 cartons was the most I could handle at one time, and that was with stopping a few times along the way. Taylor Drugs, next door, had $.35 Topps wax packs and I would buy and buy. I even had store credit, they knew I’d be back! From the cards I possess that I actually pulled from the wax: My favorite, Dale Murphy, a big Center Fielder like me. My most valuable: Cal Ripken Rookies. I haven’t pulled those out in years. But, maybe it is time I should pull them from their plastic sleeves and wrap them with a rubber band. While my son can’t reach my sock drawer yet it won’t be long.

    posted by 4thbook on 4-16-2010 at 7:32 am

32. When I was a teenager, the local card store had a raffle for a facotry set of cards (I have no idea what year, now). I had enough of my allowance for either 5 entries or 1 entry and a Barry Larkin rookie card. Barry Larkin was my favorite player, so I grabbed the rookie card and got one entry. Each of my friends had 5 or 10 entries. A week later I came home and the card store had called. I won the set with my sole entry! I sold it about a year later, for $50. My mom said I should have saved it but I’m glad I didn’t. The way cards have depreciated, it would have been worth less than that!

    posted by Michael on 4-16-2010 at 8:01 am

33. Too bad they aren’t 1989 Upper Deck!

    posted by Mike on 4-16-2010 at 8:04 am

34. I remember in 1992 or 1993, I visited a card store and found some 1991 Upper Deck packs on clearance for 25 cents each. I bought four (a buck well spent), and amazingly pulled a Nolan Ryan autograph! That’s still the crown jewel of my collection.

    posted by amaneaux on 4-16-2010 at 8:28 am

35. My crown jewel is a Topps 1969 Ernie Banks card. Growing up it seemed like I could never get any cards of the good Cubs, Banks, Santo, Williams. Sure, I’d have triples of the back up catcher, but no Ernie Banks. But somehow I ended up with not only a good Cub, but Mr. Cub himself. As an adult I got all the Cubs cards, and upgraded a lot of the creased ones I had as a kid. But not Ernie. I am proud of my slightly creased, but well loved 1969 Ernie Banks

    posted by Paul on 4-16-2010 at 8:30 am

36. Love reading all the comments. I got into collecting around 88 I believe. I remember waking up one christmas morning at 4:00 am… My mum was so pissed. After opening our presents I sat up alone and put my entire 1991 Upper Deck set in perfect order (packed at random I believe)… with, miraculously, no cards missing…. possibly my favorite christmas ever… and that box is still in my attic back home

    posted by joel on 4-16-2010 at 9:00 am

37. In 1975 Michigan was a test location for the topps mini card size. I have both a Yount and a Brett rookie card from that year.

    posted by Brian Ross on 4-16-2010 at 9:27 am

38. I’ll never forget it…when I was 11, a friend of mine found an old box of cards in his attic. We used to trade from time to time, but he really didn’t know much about baseball. It was then that I pulled off the heist of the century: I traded him a 1989 Topps Tim Teufel (a common worth about $.03) for a 1958 Topps Frank Robinson, worth about $100. Should I feel bad? Probably. But hey, it was business!

    posted by Greg on 4-16-2010 at 9:39 am

39. My favorite card is a Mattingly Topps Rookie card, I think it was one of the first big rookie cards. I also have an 85 Fleer Roger Clemens that I got in a trade (don’t remember what I gave up for it). I followed Mattingly because my dad was a huge Yankee fan. I now despise them, but I still have an album full of nothing but Donnie Baseball!

    And I can’t be the only one on her that used stats on the back to practice my math skills!

    posted by Neil on 4-16-2010 at 9:55 am

40. I, for some reason, was obsessed with the colorado rockies when they were an expansion team in the early 90s. My brother hated them. He took all of my fanciest (i.e. the ones with metallic glittery design) rockies cards and put holes through the players eyes with a thumb tack. I was angry. now i realized THOSE are the cards I should have saved. they looked like zombies.

    posted by MC on 4-16-2010 at 10:03 am

41. I collected so many cards in the late 80′s that I was able to make my own complete sets a couple of years. I loved going through and making sure I had every card.

    posted by Eric Y. on 4-16-2010 at 10:33 am

42. I used to get a box of baseball cards for Christmas every year. Dad and I would watch “Field of Dreams” or “The Sandlot” or some movie like that while opening the box on Christmas morning.
    One year (I guess it was ’97), we got a box of ’97 Upper Deck. It was the first time they had included “game jersey” cards. There were only 3 players who had these cards – two relative no-names and Griffey, Jr. We pulled the Griffey! It was pretty awesome.
    We were big Ozzie Smith fans, so we ended up trading it for a Jeter/Ozzie signed “Passing the Torch” card.

    Good times.

    posted by Cory on 4-16-2010 at 10:47 am

43. My dad bought be my first pack of baseball cards in 1984. By the 85 season I was hooked, biking down to the card shop each month to buy the becket guides and calculate how much my collection was worth. I was positive I was going to retire on my 5 Darryl Strawberry rookie cards, but now they are going for a penny each on ebay. :(

    Even though I won’t be able to retire on them, I will never forget the thrill of opening up a new pack.

    posted by Andy on 4-16-2010 at 10:47 am

44. Wow, a lot of people want to be elligible for a pack of cards.

    posted by Jason on 4-16-2010 at 11:15 am

45. I was six years old when my dad bought me my first couple packs of baseball cards, 1981 Donruss. I still have several of them in a safety deposit box for nostalgia. Among them are Greg Luzinski & Gary Templeton.

    posted by Bill on 4-16-2010 at 11:21 am

46. I collected cards with my older brother. Our favorites were Bo Jackson (baseball & football of course), a Jerry Rice rookie, and a Jordan 2nd year card. Those are in a binder somewhere at my parents house…

    posted by EJ on 4-16-2010 at 11:29 am

47. I got into the card collecting habit when I was about 9 (1988 or so). I would buy cards at the local farmers market where the candy shop sold them and any other place I could find them. I collected had about a thousand cards when one day, my dad said “hey I think I have a cigar box full of old cards.” he gave me the box and I almost lost my mind. He had Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Harmon Killebrew’s rookie card. It was amazing. I had a Beckett card pricing book and found out that these cards were worth a lot of money. I immediately told my dad who said “They’re only worth that if you can find someone to buy them.” He also pointed out that he and my aunt had drawn letters and numbers on them to play games with them.

    My favorite cards are two or three signed Richie Ashburn cards. In late 1996 or early 1997, my dad an I went to a Phillies hot stove banquet where Richie Ashburn was speaking. I brought some of my dad’s old cards from the 60s. Upon seeing them, Mr. Ashburn exclaimed “well these are pretty old, huh? I look a lot better there then I do now.” He passed away about a year after that. I don’t think I’ll ever part with them.

    posted by mike on 4-16-2010 at 11:37 am

48. My crown jewel has to be my 85 McGwire, it took me forever to acquire it and I will probably never part with it.

    posted by RoofGod on 4-16-2010 at 11:40 am

49. My crown jewel would have to my collection of Cal Ripken 1982 Topps Traded cards. I think I accumlated around 50 of them growing up.

    Best memory is simply going to card shows and the local shop with my dad growing up. It was a way of connecting the old with the new. Makes me miss those innocent days.

    posted by Father and Son on 4-16-2010 at 11:40 am

50. My crown jewels were the top rookies from ’83 Topps… Wade Boggs, Tony Gwynn and Ryne Sandberg.

    Being a Phillies fan, the one jewel I always wanted for my crown (but never got) was a Mike Schmidt rookie card.

    posted by Brian R. on 4-16-2010 at 11:50 am

51. Growing up in Seattle my collection centered around the Mariner’s and they are really the only cards I have left. Mostly Griffey, all kinds, from promo’s at local fast food resturants, to his UD rookie. Also lots of Edgar Marintez and the rest from the mid 90′s.

    posted by k on 4-16-2010 at 11:53 am

52. Since it would cost too much to collect everything, I decided to pick a player I thought would head to the HOF and collect every one of his cards. I picked Jim Abbott and had all the cards for the first four years of his career (including a #1 pick card and an olympic card) when my place was robbed and all was lost :(

    posted by Wayne on 4-16-2010 at 11:55 am

53. I remember trading 2 Greg Jefferies & 1 Mike Grenwell for a 1969 Hank Aaron card. After the trade, I had buyers remorse. Not so much any more.

    One of my favorite cards is the B&W Bo Jackson Football/Baseball cards.

    posted by Joel on 4-16-2010 at 12:03 pm

54. I was only 7 years old and just started watching baseball. My older brother was a big Eric Davis fan and was making fun of me because I liked the Royals and didn’t even have a favorite player. I was looking through my cards at the time, picked one up and declared him my favorite player. “I do too have a favorite player!! Bret Saab-err-hog-in!”. He and my dad laughed, corrected my pronunciation, and told me he was actually a really good pitcher! That card was a 1987 Topps card and I proceeded to collect those cards. I think I have about 75 of that card now and, to this day, Bret Saberhagen is my favorite athlete of all time. I appreciate that 1987 Topps card even more than my 1975 George Brett rookie card as it brings back that memory every time I see it.

    posted by Bryan Mack on 4-16-2010 at 12:11 pm

55. Since I grew up in South Louisiana, the nearest MLB team was 5 hours away – and even then it was just Houston. HA! My only links to my favorite sport were baseball cards, Braves games on TBS and Cubs games on WGN (I hated it when they played each other!) Because those teams were the only 2 I knew, of course my favorite players were from them. Ryne Sandberg and Dale Murphy. I can’t tell you how many times the boys on the school bus ripped me off for my Mark Grace Rated Rookie, or my Jim Abbot Olympic card because I was willing to give anything for a Dale Murphy. They thought they were so slick! Who’s laughing now, suckers!

    posted by J.T. on 4-16-2010 at 12:15 pm

56. I miss my Mother’s Cookies cards. It was my first exposure to how companies without an MLB license = Ryne Sandberg doesn’t play for the “Cubs” but for the “solid blue hat and pinstriped uniform team of unknown affiliation.” Also, the b&w Charles Conlon collection cards from the early 90′s were AMAZING!

    posted by Robert on 4-16-2010 at 12:31 pm

57. When I was about 10, I had 2 Jerry Rice rookie cards. At the time it was only worth about $10, so I sold one for that amount. Fair enough. Unfortunately, I bought the hype on Jerome Walton and traded my other Rice rookie for his ’89 Upper Deck rookie which was about $8 at the time. I have loathed myself ever since. Oh and my brother used to keep his extra Michael Jordan Fleer rookie in his wallet…but at least he kept one!

    posted by Simonsdaddy on 4-16-2010 at 12:35 pm

58. FYI Robert…the mother’s cookies cards all had the proper uniforms. But the Post cards and Pepsi cards all had plain hats and uniforms

    posted by Simonsdaddy on 4-16-2010 at 12:37 pm

59. I got started collecting when my dad got a box of 86 Topps for my brother and I while I was in the hospital. I’ve been hooked every since. My most favorite items in my collection would have to be the Nolan Ryans I’ve managed to get over the years. I’ve got around 350 individual cards, along with other treasures (autographs, stamps, plaques, etc..). Still collecting and growing the collection.

    posted by Mike on 4-16-2010 at 12:41 pm

60. Any Comment.

    posted by JayS on 4-16-2010 at 12:53 pm

61. Nice story Madam X but I’m pretty sure there are no Babe Ruth tobacco cards with him as a pitcher…

    posted by Simonsdaddy on 4-16-2010 at 12:54 pm

62. Pulled two Michael Jordan’s from 3 packs of ’91 upper deck baseball cards in one day. Sold one on the spot for $20, and as a kid, was a lot of money!

    posted by jamie on 4-16-2010 at 12:55 pm

63. 2001 sp authenticated chirography albert pujols

    posted by jay on 4-16-2010 at 1:02 pm

64. My favorite card was always the 1976 Topps Traded Oscar Gamble. He had this huge afro that sticks out from underneath his hat and looks a little like Bozo the Clown.

    posted by John on 4-16-2010 at 1:04 pm

65. “Loved that gum that came in the Donruss packs of the late Eighties, though I don’t think it was supposed to be crunchy! It would disintegrate as soon as it hit your tongue…HAHAHA”

    Donruss had puzzle pieces, not gum….

    posted by Simonsdaddy on 4-16-2010 at 1:05 pm

66. I hate to see what has happened to the card collecting industry. It used to be a fun activity that helped kids get in touch with a sport. Now it’s just not for kids anymore…not when you only get 5 cards in a pack that costs $6, and there are so many different types of cards that it’s hard to keep track of.

    I really started collecting in 1987, and I put together an entire set of Topps cards. I ended up getting 785 out of the 792 cards in the set, and got the last 7 commons for a nickel each from the guy who ran the baseball card shop that I frequented. When the packs were on sale, I could get them 3 packs (15 cards per pack!) for a dollar. With my $2 allowance, if they went on sale once a month, I’d take my $8 and go buy 24 packs (that’s 360 cards!!!). I’d carefully sort through them, pull out the ones that were more valuable (McGwire, Canseco, etc.), and then go through my binder to see how many holes I could fill in. Once I got all the checklist cards (remember those?) I made a copy of them so I could keep track of it on paper. It was so much fun.

    Those are some really fond memories that would be great to share with my kids, but it’s just not the same anymore. I know sometimes people say stuff like that about other things (even if things have truly improved), but I think that collecting has really gone to a bad place.

    I bailed on collecting when the strike cancelled the World Series. Early on in my boycott, it was tough to walk past the displays and not buy a few packs, but as collecting morphed into what it is today, I have no regrets about walking away when I did.

    posted by Scott on 4-16-2010 at 1:14 pm

67. My most valuable is a Ken Griffey 89 rookie card, but I do have a Terry Francona, and, my personal fave, a Kent Tekulve. Oh, and I also have the infamous Al Leiter card.

    posted by Karthik on 4-16-2010 at 1:21 pm

68. I started collecting baseball cards around 5 years old, my uncle got me started with a small collection of various 80s rookies. My favorite memory (or embarrassment then) was hearing Nolan Ryan had completed 5,000 career strikeouts in 1989. Hearing that on the national news, I figured his card (any card) had to be worth 1000s of dollars. So I convince my parents (insert childhood lesson here:) to take me to a sports card shop to confirm my small fortune. Sports card dealers have never been very gracious when it comes to actual vs. assumed value and that day was no exception, even if I was a 5 year old kid looking for the rich stuff. My 1988 Topps Nolan with a bent edge wasn’t worth the big bucks but that didn’t stop me; still have it mounted on the wall reminding me of lost innocence.

    posted by rccola on 4-16-2010 at 1:22 pm

69. There are a couple of good rookie cards in there. Sosa and Juan Gonzales..maybe Bernie Williams if you are a Yanks fan.

    I think the best cards I ever had were the Topps Stadium Club cards. Packs were expensive (like 5 bucks a pack at the time) but the pictures on the cards were great.

    posted by Michael on 4-16-2010 at 1:32 pm

70. Collected cards throughout the 90s, even worked at a cardshop and got paid by having free reign at a dozen packs or so at the end of the day. Still buy a few 90s era packs when I see them in vending machines.

    posted by abe on 4-16-2010 at 1:50 pm

71. I finally got the 1969 World Champion team picture of the NY Mets during the summer of 1970. I was 8 years old. I put the brand new pristine card in my front pocket and ran to all my friends houses looking for someone to show it too. All my friends where either at camp or not home. I finally found my best friend Adam playing baseball with his older brothers at the local field. When I pulled the card out of my pocket it was so wrinkled you could not even identify one players face. The card went from brand new to 50 years old in an hour.

    posted by Russell on 4-16-2010 at 2:06 pm

72. Ever since Dan bought Rickey Henderson’s 1980 Topps rookie card, Dan hasn’t been able to stop referring to himself in the third person.

    posted by Dan on 4-16-2010 at 2:12 pm

73. I get worked up every time I see, hear a mention of or even think of the Griffey Upper Deck rookie card. As a child, I had the presence of mind to trade mine for a colorful Darryl Strawberry card (I think a Donruss). Ugh, I can’t finish this comment without upsetting myself…

    posted by Preston on 4-16-2010 at 2:27 pm

74. As a traditionalist, I was all about getting the cards of my favorite teams (Reds, Cubs, Braves, in no particular order.) Love the Chris Sabo cards, as he looked like a total dork, and Lenny Dykstra always had a jaw full of baccy. Sweet!

    posted by Chris Smith on 4-16-2010 at 2:29 pm

75. I was at a baseball card show at the local fire dept. There was only 20 tables, but I figured I’d buy some packs of cards. At one table a dealer was selling autographed mini helmets for $10 just trying to clear out his inventory. I found a Joe Mauer Team USA autographed one and the guy sold it to me for $10. It was after Mauer’s rookie year, so the dealer didn’t realize it might be worth more. Even though Mauer got hurt that year, I’d figured it would eventually be worth more than $10. I think its probably worth a little more now.

    posted by Tom on 4-16-2010 at 2:41 pm

76. In the late 80′s Jose Canseco was my favorite player and I tried to get all of his cards at the time. I ended up getting most of them, with the exception of a couple of his rookie cards (maybe Fleer and Donruss). Now they sit in plastic sheets in a binder and where his ‘roided physique will live forever.

    I also collected hockey cards during that time and ended up with a couple of ’89 Topps Gretzky’s (where he is holding up the LA Kings jersey) and a couple of ’89 Topps Brett Hull’s. They were valuable for awhile, who knows now?

    posted by Mark on 4-16-2010 at 3:10 pm

77. I once bought a pack of 1983 Fleer that contained three Ron Gardenhire cards.

    posted by Andrew on 4-16-2010 at 3:19 pm

78. Baseball cards are so 20th century. I had quite the collection myself, but sold them on eBay about 3 years ago knowing my son would never care when he grew up.

    posted by bubba on 4-16-2010 at 3:24 pm

79. Oh, and Madam X is a liar. 25 years ago the baseball card craze was in full swing. Not a chance that anywhere besides Papua-New Guinea or some newly discovered extra-solar planet could that happen with a box of T205s or 6s. Funny thing about anonymous comments. They tend to be all lies or talking smack. Done it myself.

    posted by bubba on 4-16-2010 at 3:28 pm

80. I was a late start to baseball card collecting, when the Montreal Expos came to Montreal. I don’t have a favorite card but some incredibly fond memories of the early days at Jarry Park.

    Still hurts to think of them moving away.

    posted by Jim Burke on 4-16-2010 at 3:34 pm

81. Well before Big Mac was caught cheating my McGuire signed baseball was worth some dough. But now it’s my Wayne Gretzky rookie, followed by my Troy Aikman rookie.

    posted by John Szabo on 4-16-2010 at 3:54 pm

82. I was always a fan of Topps, Donruss, and Upper Deck. I also had the 1985 Cincinnati Reds team set. Not sure whatever happened to it, might be in the basement somewhere.

    posted by Aaron on 4-16-2010 at 4:25 pm

83. My grandfather got me started in 1969. 1972 was the first year I started buying for myself. I even use a picture of the psychedelic wrapper from ’72 as an avatar. Groovy, Man!

    posted by John Steward on 4-16-2010 at 4:26 pm

84. I was a big fan of Upper Deck when they first came out in 1989. In 1990, I bought a couple of boxes. I had the bright idea to keep one box for myself and sell the other by pack at school. Day one of my new baseball card business went well. Unfortunately, one of my customers used his lunch money to buy a pack. Being unable to buy his lunch, he threw a tantrum in the lunch room…leading to a trip to the principal’s office. The next period, he comes back to class with a note for me to go see the principal. He ratted me out! The principal was shocked I could sell packs of baseball cards for more than $1. If I promised to shut down my business, he promised not to call my parents. Being the wise 7th grader that I was, I accepted his offer. I was very happy the kid that told on me didn’t get anything decent in his pack.

    posted by Mike on 4-16-2010 at 4:36 pm

85. In 5th grade (1985) a classmate talked me into trading my lone Dwight Gooden rookie card to him for a card featuring George Brett and his brother Ken on it. When I got home from school I was so excited about my trade because of his amazing sales pitch. I showed my mom the George Brett card and told her the story. Having sucked her into the baseball card scene (since I needed her to finance my hobby) she knew immediately it was a horrible trade and that I had been robbed. That night she called my classmate’s mom to tell her he needed to trade me back. I got my Dwight Gooden card back the next day.

    posted by Aaron on 4-16-2010 at 4:39 pm

86. In 1992 I traded a bunch of brand new baseball cards of no value to a friend who traded me his brother’s 1980 Philadelphia Phillies collection. A couple of them were autographed. He got in a little trouble but I smoothed it over with a couple extra junk cards. I recently got the set framed and hung on my wall. He laughs everytime he sees it.

    posted by Jim on 4-16-2010 at 4:53 pm

87. I was an avid card collector in middle school, and Jose Canseco was all the rage (not roid rage as far as we knew then). It was either 1987 or 1988, and Canseco’s 1986 Donruss Rookie card was a hot ticket. I bought five packs from a local dealer and opened them on the spot. What do you know? I pulled a Canseco Rookie out of the bunch. An adult collector offered me $100 cash on the spot. I turned him down, which seemed wise at the time. I wish I had the hundred bucks now!

    posted by Chris on 4-16-2010 at 5:17 pm

88. I was always a big Yankee fan even though I grew up in Toledo, Ohio. Every summer my Dad and I attended numerous Mud Hen Games (Tiger’s AAA affiliate) and I always hung around for autographs. One night the Columbus Clippers were in town who were then the Yankees AAA team and I was lucky enough to meet Derek Jeter and have him sign one of his 1993 Topps Draft Pick Cards. He talked to my Dad and I for several minutes about life in the minors and after that I decided he would be my favorite player if he made it in the pros. I still love that card and have it sitting on my dresser.

    posted by Neil on 4-16-2010 at 5:56 pm

89. I still remember buying ever single pack of ’89 Upper Deck I came across in search of the ever-elusive Ken Griffey Jr card.

    posted by Chris on 4-16-2010 at 6:52 pm

90. I’ve always wanted a 1984 Fleer Update set with the Puckett and Clemens rookies. I had craved the 1984 Donruss set for years until I bought it ten years later. I have a 1952 Topps Reprint set that is my most expensive set out of 100,000 cards boxed away.

    posted by Mark on 4-16-2010 at 9:32 pm

91. special parts of my collection are cards of specific players-Rickey, Paul Molitor, George Brett, Cal Ripken and the reprints of the “old” Hall of Famers; also love the odd-sized cards like the minis and the postcard-sized Topps and Donruss. Mothers Cookies sets-great!

    posted by maggie on 4-16-2010 at 11:35 pm

92. I forget now what company put them out, but have and love the sets that were put out of Nolan Ryan, Hank Aaron, Reggie Jackson, Willie Mays, Ted Williams…I think card-collecting has changed but my cards will always be special to me and be part of my love of the game.

    posted by maggie on 4-16-2010 at 11:40 pm

93. Another any comment

    posted by NLUFAN on 4-17-2010 at 12:55 am

94. 1989 Upper Deck Griffey Jr. RC was (and still is) my most prized baseball card; received the entire factory set for Christmas ’91. Also got my parents to buy me a box of 1990 Upper Deck foil packs (exactly like the one pictured…wow, those packs look so fresh) when they were just released and was able to land 4 second year Griffeys (which were worth 5 bucks each at the time) along with a few Reggie Jackson insert cards (never found the signed one though). Such a great feeling to open a new pack while imagining the seemingly limitless possibilities of its contents. The early years of the premium card era were nothing but good times, no doubt. Great quiz!

    posted by Magic Juan on 4-17-2010 at 3:20 am

95. When I was seven or eight, my father tried to get me involved in baseball cards. I could never do it. There was a Robin Yount Rookie Card that he was exceptionally proud of, and we were at the game when Yount hit 3,000. It was at that game that I realised the emotion behind my father collecting cards as a kid and wanting to pass that on to me. Recently, I managed to procure a Harmon Killebrew signed card – not a Rookie. But it’ll make a nice gift for my father. Adding a 1990 pack would at least make the gift a little heavier!

    posted by afinch on 4-17-2010 at 4:37 am

96. @Jason- Dude, it goes way deeper than that!

    posted by 4thbook on 4-17-2010 at 6:50 am

97. My first year collecting baseball cards was 1979. At 6 years old, I was becoming a hopeless Yankee fan. Whenever I opened wax packs that year, any Yankee player I pulled was special. hen, on August 2nd that year, Thurman Munson’s plane crash made me search my small collection, only to discover I didn’t have his card. I was sad about that.

    Two days later, I bought another pack of cards and sure enough, Thurman was in it. I’ll never forget the moment I saw it, how I realized he was gone, yet still lived on that baseball card…and I still own that card today.

    posted by Chris Stufflestreet on 4-17-2010 at 3:06 pm

98. The crown jewel of my collection was and is a Jose Canseco 1986 Topps rookie card. Jose Canseco was my favorite baseball player as a kid. A close second is my first baseball card ever – a 1986 Darryl Strawberry card from Drake’s. That’s right, the cake company. It probably came in a box of Sunny Doodles or Ring Ding Jr.’s. I also once had a 1989 Donruss “Rated Rookie” Griffey rookie card but gave it to a friend as a birthday present.

    In 1993 and 1994, my friends and I feverishly collected Donruss – Triple Play cards. Every summer morning, we’d go to our favorite comic book/baseball card store and buy a bunch of packs of them. Sometimes we’d be there before the owner. Early in 1994, I was under the impression that there was no Canseco card in the set. I later found out that he was indeed in the set. Either my friends or I misread the checklist, or more than likely my friends were just messing with me. I was so upset before I realized the truth, I wrote a letter to the card company. I was 13 at the time. To my pleasant surprise, they wrote back. I received a letter from Leaf Inc., which I think was Donruss’s parent company at the time. I still have the letter. It is dated May 6, 1994. It reads:

    “Thank you for your letter. It is always a pleasure to hear from one of our good customers and it is obvious that you are one of them.

    In response to your letter about 1994 triple play. Unfortunately it is too late to put a Jose Canseco card in the 1994 triple play set. Once production has been finished we do not go back and make more cards.

    Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

    Cordially,

    Consumer Response Group – Leaf, Inc.”

    I don’t know if this is a stock response to card inclusion requests or they didn’t check to see the card is already in the set. Maybe they just didn’t have the heart to tell a kid he was completely wrong.

    posted by Kedar on 4-17-2010 at 3:48 pm

99. I remember hoarding 1989 upper deck and donruss luis medina’s because I thought he was the next Mantle..I was 13 :(

    posted by joe on 4-17-2010 at 7:56 pm

100. Oh and having my mom buy me a 1986 donruss canseco rookie for $70 at a show for my birthday

     posted by joe on 4-17-2010 at 7:56 pm

101. I remember spending many hours searching the local discount store that had rack packs and carefully searching the cards to find the best rookie cards. Also the neighborhood mini mart sold boxes of cards at cost. Too bad it was 88 Donruss but we had fun collecting Gregg Jefferies, Kevin Seitzer and Ellis Burks rookies.

     posted by John Layton on 4-17-2010 at 7:57 pm

102. I was introduced into the world of baseball cards with a complete set of 1983 Topps, given to me by my great uncle Richard. By 1986, I was lucky enough to be working part time in a card shop owned by my seventh grade social studies teacher.

     The crown jewel of my collection is a beat up 1956 Topps Mickey Mantle. It’s so beat up, I’m not sure it would even register on the grading scale! It cost me $15 back in 1986, and is probably worth about that much now, but I loved the larger size and the way the ’56 cards were laid out.

     posted by Eric on 4-17-2010 at 8:50 pm

103. Still waiting for my 1987 Mike Aldrete rookie cards to go up in value.

     posted by Paul on 4-17-2010 at 10:22 pm

104. I was never a fan of the new stuff growing up. At a young age I could appreciate the value in an old card…that meant some pretty insane birthday gifts for a kid who wanted an old piece of cardboard for a present when other kids asked for video games. My prized possession was (and still is) a 1934 Goudey Lou Gehrig that is one of the most beautiful pieces of art I’ve ever seen.

     posted by Alex on 4-17-2010 at 11:46 pm

105. My dad was a big fan of card collecting when I was young. Except we didn’t collect baseball cards, we collected basketball cards. I have “taken over” the collecting and am still an avid collector even in this dying hobby. I am always going to remember the great products produced in the mid 90′s.

     posted by Melissa on 4-18-2010 at 3:35 am

106. I wish I had held on to all the cards I had from my youth, more than anything, just to pass down to my kids.

     posted by John on 4-18-2010 at 3:12 pm

107. After my grandpa died, my dad and I were going through some stuff in the attic of my grandparents’ house in an effort to get my Grandma ready to move. We found a box of my dad’s old baseball cards and took the box home with us. The cards were all from the early 60′s to early 70′s, and since my dad and his brothers were kids when they got them, most of them had writing on them from the various games they would play with them. In the collection, however, was a pretty mint combination rookie card with Jerry Koosman and Nolan Ryan (when he played with the Mets, obviously) on it. At the time, the card was appraised at about $2000. I’m not sure what it’s worth today, but whatever it is worth monetarily it’s worth more to me sentimentally. The card had just been sitting in my grandparents attic for over 20 years before we found it. Pretty crazy.

     posted by Brodie Hacken on 4-18-2010 at 5:09 pm

108. My dad was in the Army and we were stationed in Izmir, Turkey when I was in 6th and 7th grades (1979-81). I had begun collecting baseball cards in 4th or 5th grade, but they weren’t available for us overseas. I made my own cards instead, cutting down 3×5 notecards and pasting photos cut out of magazines on them. I added stats from the newspaper on the back. Funny thing is that I still have those cards (I made 10) – and they are still my favorites.

     posted by Mark Coleman on 4-18-2010 at 5:28 pm

109. As a kid, I would keep my cards in Velveeta cheese boxes (perfect size). I would carry these around the house and yard all the time, sorting and resorting them. One day, I left a box on the back bumper of my mom’s car, and she drove off. I cried and cried until some neighborhood friends found most of them and returned them to me. Though thankful for the ones returned, I wonder which cards were lost forever.

     posted by Vince Weaver on 4-19-2010 at 8:49 am

110. I remember when Upper Deck hit the market – They looked so much more sleek and colorful than the others on the market at the time. Plus the tamper proof packaging provided comfort knowing that the people who worked at the local card store that I frequented were not opening packs, replacing the good cards and then resealing.
     Only problem was, they always cost more…

     Last year my wife and I took a trip to Cooperstown, in that city I went crazy going into the card shops and reliving the memories…too bad my amazing McGwire collection will never amount to much…I had alot riding on his success in the early 90′s…

     posted by Justin Tanner on 4-19-2010 at 10:02 am

111. I was 10 when the 1990 Score set came out with the black and white Bo Jackson in the football pads. I wanted that card so bad I could taste it.

     I went around to all the neighbors asking if I could pick up the pecans in their yard. After several hours in the hot west Texas sun bent over filling brown paper grocery sacks with thousands of nuts, I finally had what I considered to be enough. I got about $20 for the pecans at the weigh station and figured that would get me enough packs to ensure I’d get the ultimate card. After throwing my bmx down on the pavement, I ran in and asked between gasps for as many packs of Score as I could get with the money I had laid on the counter. They had one pack left. I was devastated.

     Dejected, but still hopeful, I opened my pack and began to sift through the cards. Bo Jackson was the fourth card down; I had just won the lottery. There’s only handful of times in my life that I remember being as happy as I was that day.

     posted by smarmy_mcfadden on 4-19-2010 at 11:40 am

112. Wow, I used to have so much fun tearing open packs of cards hoping to find my favorite player or some hot rookie cards!

     My first favorite pull was from the 1991 Topps set, a Chipper Jones rookie card! I also remember some assorted gold cards being very, very cool.

     posted by Doug on 4-19-2010 at 11:42 am

113. I can remember collecting back in the early 80′s. I enjoyed going to flea markets and yard sales to find obscure baseball cards. I loved collecting team picture and manager cards. At one time I had every manager in the league. One card that I enjoyed was my Super Joe Charbonneau card. He may have been a flash in the pan, but his legend lives on in my card collection.

     posted by Greg on 4-19-2010 at 12:03 pm

114. I have over 0ne hunderd thousand card filling an entire closet, most from the late 70s to 1990. I especially liked to collect Pete Rose cards, reasoning that he was a lock for the hall of fame. OOPS!

     posted by Eric on 4-19-2010 at 1:40 pm

115. my biggest trade was a 66 aaron for a 70 bench. that 70 bench card in the bomb and i’m an o’s fan… go figure

     posted by Moze on 4-19-2010 at 3:37 pm

116. My favorite cards are my 1956 Topps set, some T206 HOF’ers, and the members of the Big Red Machine 74, 75, 76. If I had to discuss one though, it would be the 1961 Topps Yogi Berra that was given to me at a young age, in a big box from my older sister’s then-boyfriend. I was so humored by the name, that I ripped it a little, over the A, so that it would read Yogi Berr.

     posted by Allen on 4-19-2010 at 3:43 pm

117. My Sammy Sosa Upper Deck rookie card was my crown jewel. I was also very fond of my Tino Martinez Wonder Years card, basically because I thought it looked cool. I remember getting a Ben Grieve rookie card too. I’m an A’s fan and he was an uber-prospect, so I thought that card was really something. That obviously never worked out.

     posted by Cody on 4-19-2010 at 6:10 pm

118. I used to have a fantastic collection, but I have no idea where they went. I especially want my signed Ripken Jr. rookie…

     posted by Andrew on 4-19-2010 at 8:00 pm

119. My 75 mini set still brings a smile to my face when I look at them !!

     posted by AJ on 4-20-2010 at 9:40 am

120. I am a life-long Phillies fan. A kid who lived down the street from me was a huge Dodgers fan. This kid insisted I trade him all my Pedro Guerrero cards…in exchange for all his Mike Schmidt cards. Yeah, I got the best of him on that deal…

     posted by Chip on 4-20-2010 at 11:31 pm

121. I still have a Roberto Clemente rookie card (he was called Bob back then). However, in an attempt to really tick off my younger brother, I gave away my complete 1971 set to his best friend. Who’s the loser there?

     posted by gewurz on 4-22-2010 at 7:28 pm

122. I used to have (lost in one of many moves) a complete set of Desert Storm trading cards … yes, cards commemorating the first Gulf War. I wonder what a mint condition Schwarzkopf would go for these days.

     posted by Chris on 4-23-2010 at 10:39 am

123. When I was 14 I made a trade for the 1989 upper deck Ken Griffey Jr. rookie. I spent the night at a friends house and after 4 hours of proposing trades I finally got it by giving up A-Rods 1994 Upper Deck SP Rookie plus 15 Frank Thomas cards! I don’t regret it though, it’s still my favorite card!

     posted by Dustin on 4-24-2010 at 8:48 pm

124. For my Bar Mitzvah I was given my dad’s friends childhood shoe box of baseball cards. Inside was a Steve Carlton RC, 5 different Mickey Mantles, Joe Morgan RC, ’66 Willie Mays and many more and the crown jewel was the Pete Rose RC. I cherished that card until I got the bright idea that I should trade it at a card show for cards of players that I liked.

     Long story short, I got taken for a ride by the dealer and got cards in crappy condition and not an even trade. Other dealers at the show were chastising the dealer, but he did nothing. It’s my biggest baseball card regret ever. Well that and breaking up complete sets to trade the expensive RCs.

     I may not be the smartest collector, but I love baseball cards.

     posted by Grant on 4-24-2010 at 9:24 pm

125. I acquired a love of baseball cards from my father. From birth, he bought me a sealed factory set of each year that I was alive. After about 20 years of buying factory sets, the tradition ended. I still have the complete sets sealed, with the exception of the 1990 Donruss set that came with the Carl Yastrzemski puzzle. I had to crack that one open, put the puzzle together, and frame it for my study. Yaz was easily my favorite player growing up.

     posted by Jesse on 4-25-2010 at 1:55 am

126. One of my favorite cards was a 1970 Nolan Ryan that my father bought me in 1990 for $18. At the time he didnt really support my hobby and thought that he way over paid for the card. But none the less he bought and gave it to me just because. it wasnt my birthday or Christmas- it was just an I love you gift. (my wife later sold the card in a garage sale with a Eddie Murray Rookie for $50)

     posted by Jeremy on 4-26-2010 at 5:23 am

127. I started collecting baseball cards in 1981. I also got to see my first baseball game that year – Fernando pitching in Dodger stadium! So being from Colorado where we had no baseball team, I was hooked as a Dodger fan. My first pack of cards was from the 1981 Donruss set and the only Dodger I got was Davey Lopes. I still have that card, though it is full of creases and has a pin hole in the top from being stuck on my bulletin board.

     In high school I made more money selling cards at shows than I did from my summer job. Baseball cards were a blast in the 1980s, I’m glad I quit buying them when I left for college in 1991.

     So it’s not a baseball card, but the most valuable card I ever had was my Fleer Michael Jordan rookie. My mom had a friend who had a job that had something to do with distributing Fleer’s candy. I’m not sure exactly what it was, but she was given some sample packs of Fleer’s new basketball cards to give to stores to try to get them to carry it. She knew I collected cards and gave me 10 packs. I got a Jordan rookie, which I luckily kept protected. Right after I got married I had the card professionally graded and sold it for $750.

     The crown jewel of my collection is a 1961 Mickey Mantle. My best friend in high school got it from his uncle and traded it to me for some Griffey cards. It’s no where near mint condition, but that doesn’t make it less special to me.

     posted by Kendell on 4-26-2010 at 11:27 am

128. Looks like everyone wants free packs! My favorites still to this day are the 96 Leaf Preferred metal cards. Didn’t have to worry about rounding the corners on those!

     posted by Garrett on 4-26-2010 at 3:58 pm

129. I think the crown moment of my childhood card collecting culminated about 30 seconds ago when I found out the 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card had more value than sentimental value. That wasn’t the case 15 years ago.

     posted by Ty on 4-27-2010 at 9:04 am

130. I once traded 15 Mark MacGwire “OLY” cards for a bunch of used 80′s hair metal cassette tapes. I kicked myself for years over that one. Now that you can get an OLY on Ebay for next to nothing, I don’t feel so bad.

     posted by Kriddaz on 4-27-2010 at 9:29 am

131. The prize of my collection was any Ken Griffey Jr. card I could get my hands on. I traded a lot of good cards just to get those Griffey’s but I still have all of them as well as a Junior jersey I got in 8th grade for my birthday. As a lifelong Minnesotan and Twins fan I still root for “the Kid” when he comes to town and he may go down as the best “clean” player of his generation.

     posted by Daingerous on 4-28-2010 at 5:51 pm

132. I was about 10 years old when my father brought home a shoe box full of cards that he bought at an action. I was so excited because these were old cards from the 60′s and 70′s. I was showing some of the cards to some friends of mine and one said that he wished he had a Nolan Ryan rookie card. I thougt for a moment and told hime I think I found one in the box. At that time, I had no idea how much cards were worth. After a couple of seconds, I produced the card to show my friend and he instantly offered me $20. I turned him down and found out the card was worth about $1200 at that time. It is worth a lot less now, but is still in my collection. I don’t think I will ever sell it!

     posted by Jon Maxwell on 4-29-2010 at 1:07 pm

133. Tom O’Malley, 1984 Topps. My first card ever, actually predated my first pack by about 3 years. I had found it while camping and being only 4 or 5, I had no idea what it was. But I loved baseball and kept in on my bookshelf for years.

     A couple years passed and I was at a Tidewater Tides game. The gift shop was selling game used bats and I had to have one. The clerk hands me the best one of the lot and whose name is stamped on it? Tom O’Malley. The bat still sits next to my childhood bed.

     posted by twoeightnine on 4-29-2010 at 5:21 pm

134. I collected baseball cards sparingly, but in the early 90′s I tried to get my hands on as many rookie Chuck Knoblauch cards as I could. I did this thinking he was going to be great for more than 3 years. I guess thats why the rookies are valuable. You have to bet on the horses early.

     posted by Brando (not the Marlon) on 5-4-2010 at 10:14 am

135. I started collecting in 1978 and that is my favorite set. I was three cards short of a full set and started going to dealers to get the last three and finally finished it off with a Chris Knapp card.

     posted by Darren Pare on 5-5-2010 at 9:48 pm

136. I remember when I was a kid I was an avid sports card collector. I began collecting around 1986 and continued to do so until the mid 90′s. I remember receiving the complete Upper Deck baseball sets from 1989-1992 on Christmas during the years of their release. One of my most memorable Christmas moments was when I found a 1989 UD Griffey RC taped to the tree and later came across the factory sealed set as well. I still have all the cards today.

     posted by Will on 5-6-2010 at 3:56 pm

137. My card craze started in 1990, I was almost 7 years old. I was given a set of 1990 topps as a gift when I broke my arm. Ken Griffey jr and frank thomas became my “Mickey Mantle.” I remember watching the Blue Jays win championships a few years later. Wish cards were worth something is right. I’m 26 and started collecting again. Not that I would sell any of my cards. I loved when Finest cards came out, then loved loved the chrome cards. My favorite cards are my 62 topps AL HR leaders w Maris and Mantle, my 69 reggie jackson rc, my ozzie smith rc, 78 eddie murray, 75 robin yount, upper deck and donruss griffeys, and all my $1 sammy sosa rcs :)

     posted by R.J. Smart on 5-7-2010 at 1:09 am

138. When I was serving in Operation Desert Storm/Sheild, Topps had sets of their cards from that year stamped with a gold foil “Operation Desert Sheild” seal. The cards were split into groups of five and then handed out to us soldiers. I had a Cal Ripken Record breakers card with that foil stamp on it, which I managed to hold on to and have it this very day. Not only was it one of the more desirable cards from that set, but it also is a heck of a keepsake from my time as a 19 year old young man in a far off place. Interestingly enough, I didn’t really start getting into the hobby until a year after I returned from overseas. My buddy who got me into the hobby saw the Ripken card and gave me a screw down holder to put it in. Like I said earlier…it’s still there.

     posted by Bryan Jones on 6-9-2010 at 11:02 pm

139. I have always loved collecting things and baseball cards was one of them. My collection only goes back to 82′ but I look for the odditiess. My dad gives me a hard time of them only going to the 80′s when he had mantles to play with. So I ask where there are he said they were to play with not collect and are all gone.

     posted by Denora Korich on 8-10-2010 at 9:17 pm

140. I traded the ’89 Upper Deck Griffey Jr. card to my brother in the early 90′s… and for what?..for the black & white Bo Jackson card that featured him in shoulder pads with a bat over his shoulders.

     I also had an entire binder full of Phil Plantier and Ron Gant cards… not sure why.

     posted by Adam Rechkemmer on 8-16-2010 at 2:50 pm

141. I’ve been collecting baseball cards as long as I can remember. My dad got me into it back in the early 80s, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Some of my best card collecting memories were busting open packs with my dad. During high school, I found out one of my best friends collected cards (I knew him for about 6 years before that and never knew) so we got into it big time. We would trade cards during our 1st period english class. Our english teacher got interested, and brought in his old cards. Boy he had some nice ones, I traded him and autographed card of some no name for a Luke Appling rookie. My favorite players were all Dodgers growing up, and one of my pride and joys is my Scoscia/Valenzuela RC. I just bought a Stephen Strausburg graded 9 Bowman RC Chrome for 30 bucks and just learned he now needs surgery and won’t even play next year. What a waste! But that’s collecting! All my friends say they love my graded 52 Mantle, but it’s the ones I got through rigorous searching that hold dear to me.

     posted by Randy Moulder on 8-28-2010 at 4:18 am

142. My best card was the ’89 Upper Deck Griffey rookie… I actually got that card by complete luck… My buddy called me and told me he had just went to the corner store a few blocks away from where we both lived and only had enough change for one pack… He bought one and there was the prized Griffey rookie… I think it was valued at $10 at the time… So, I decided in my 11-year-old mind that it made sense that if I went right down to the store and bought the next pack, then I too would find a Griffey rookie… So, I did… And I did… I was way too excited about finding a $10 card… But that’s the beauty of being a kid, I guess…

     My most funniest/oddest baseball card story is probably when I made the most random baseball card trade of all time… I had every lyric to Paul Revere (by the Beastie Boys) memorized and this made one of my friends really jealous… So, he gave me some card (I think a Bo Jackson rookie), in exchange for me writing out every lyric to the song so he could memorize it, too… Weird… Well, we both “won”, in that situation…

     No idea if all the copies of the book are LONG gone or what, but if you still have any copies lying around, I would love one… Been meaning to read it, anyways…

     -Paul

     posted by Paul on 9-2-2010 at 2:57 pm

143. I got 2 baseball cards Darryl Strawberry and Jose Canseco you is better???

     posted by Andrew on 10-24-2010 at 11:03 pm

144. Yes, I have the 1989 Ken Griffey Jr. Upper deck rookie card…. but the crown, if I remember correctly, was my Brien Taylor Yankee rookie card… probably the most hyped rookie of all time…
     I was able to trade it for the Griffey Rookie card — I may have also traded a todd van poppel rookie card ….

     I haven’t collected since the late 90′s… but I still remember certain cards…. I also have a leaf Frank Thomas error card that I remember to be quite valuable…. good times

     posted by Julian on 11-2-2010 at 4:20 pm

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