Nostalgic Wax: 1981, The High Point

When Fleer and Donruss returned to the baseball card scene in 1981, I was annoyed. They were cheap imitators - never mind that I never actually bought a pack of either.

At 12, I wasn't quite paying attention. I had pre-pubescent things on my mind by this time. Don't ask. I knew nothing of card company court cases and monopolies. I think I mostly feared that Topps would go away and, to me, Topps was (ahem) tops.

I cherished my 1981 Topps. They were, well, groovy.

I loved the hat with the team name, position and team colors within it. I thought the photography was an improvement, certainly from the year prior.

I still love 1981 Topps. Even the still shots - and there are plenty.

In 1981, I was at the zenith of my childhood obsession with baseball cards. I collected for two more years but my interest was likely never higher than in 1981. I turned 13 that summer. Girls had hit my radar. By 1984, I was out of the hobby - returning only briefly with random pack purchases in 1988, 1989 and 1994 before coming back full steam last year.

In 1981, I spent countless hours toting around baseball cards, studying them. I was still concocting elaborate games - sort of my own private Strat-o-matic - using my cards. I'm certain that my 1981s spent more time in my hands than any other set. I know this because while 99.9% of the cards I collected as a youngster are in the best possible condition one could expect, several of my '81s show much wear and tear.

Clearly the cards directly above were among my most loved/most frequently used in my various games. No, I wouldn't mind crisp, clean versions of those cards - although I'll of course always hold these exact cards dear to me.

Stay tuned, in the next day or so I'll highlight a recent trade involving a fine shipment to help my growing '81 set collection. I'm still dozens and dozens and dozens away but considerable progress was made this week and I'm grateful for that.

1981 is currently my number three priority set to chase and once I find the final dozen 1976 cards I need, '81 will move to number three. At that point, 1978 will move into the top spot.

Potch Wheeler Turns One

Back in my card-collecting prime of 1978 to 1983, pre-teen me of course never imagined the cards in my hands would be some of the same cards 43-year-old me would be writing about on a blog well into the 21st Century.

We didn't know a "blog" from a cog or an "internet" from a hairnet. We only knew that by 2012 we'd be getting around in flying cars and have robots cleaning our homes. Baseball cards, of course, would be holograms that could talk with you, answer baseball questions and teach you how to drop the perfect bunt or throw a devastating curve ball.

I'm glad I rediscovered baseball cards. I'm glad I rekindled the passion. I don't know if I'll eventually burn out on the blog and wander off into the ether, but I'm pretty sure that baseball cards will always be a part of my life. Going forward, I see myself building my pre-76 "vintage" collection, which is anemic right now, and completing the sets I collected as a youngster ('76-'83) and surely chasing the yearly Heritage offering.

February will mark my first anniversary of coming back to the hobby. Last year I sampled (sometimes heavily) everything released. I enjoyed it, mostly, but I plan to stay focused going forward. My random spending has left me with some great cards I certainly want - but an awful lot of trade bait too.

I won't collect the 2012 base set, but I did sign up for a couple of breaks just to get ahead on my favorite teams and maybe get a little bit of trade bait. I do plan to buy Heritage in March and April while it's still around.

I really don't plan to buy much else but I'm sure the lure of opening packs means I'll be picking up some here and there. I'll also admit that I'm concerned Gypsy Queen will hook me - but I'm going to do my best to resist.

As for the blog, I have a couple of periodic series: Hoosiers on Cardboard and, my pet project, the Fun-Time Baseball Hall. "Hoosiers" is a nice way for me to acquaint myself over time with players from my home state. The Fun-Time Hall is my way of getting closer to the game's history by examining the best players from each franchise. You've already helped me induct the first-year Tigers and now we're wrapping up voting for the Angels.

In February, as my way of celebrating a year with the blog, I'm going to debut "Cardboard Heroes" - a series with brief write-ups on the favorite cards in my collection. Many of you have done this, of course, so this isn't breaking new ground.

But, I like to think that keeping a record will be nice to refer to over time and, frankly, will be a good way for my young daughter - who looks to be the eventual owner of my favorite cards - to know precisely which cards meant the most to me - and why. I'll even indulge the thought that a future grandchild of mine will inherit my old favorite cards and get to know a bit about why I held them dear.

Will this card make the list? It's a fair Gamble. (Well, actually, it's a sweet Gamble.)

This one seems to be on many such lists. I love mine but I'm willing to, ahem, bet it won't make the Heroes list.

These cardboard heroes (and the phrase has always meant as tongue in cheek as I only have a few true heroes and I know them all quite well) won't necessarily be cards that are the most valuable dollar-wise (although a few might be); but they'll be the cards most valuable to me.

They likely will be pulled heavily from my prime collecting years as so many of those cards take me back to a very innocent time in my life, but I expect there also will be some pulled from cards I've chased down this year - including vintage acquisitions.

I'm a list kind of guy so eventually I'll surely select a top 100 or top 111 or top 726 - who knows. I'm a bit of an oddball, so we'll see where I go with that.

Whatever happens here on the blog, it's been a fun first year. Trading with literally dozens of fellow bloggers and readers has been an amazing way to build and improve and winnow my collection.

Of course reading the great blogs out there also has been phenomenal. I've learned a lot about the hobby from these fine blogs and not just from the blogs widely considered to be the best around.

Everyone seems to have their place, their unique perspective. It's been a blast discovering my own private cardboard nation.

Nostalgic Wax: Pa

My grandpa turned 89 on Saturday and we had a family party for him. 

I bring this up on the blog because "Pa" is probably the biggest baseball fan in the family. Well, I'm surely tied with him at this point - but he's been one for much longer. He used to talk a lot about listening to the Cubs in the World Series in 1945. That was about the time he left the Pacific and World War II and returned to Arkansas. Waiting for him there was his wife, my grandma, and his two-year-old son, aka "my Dad."

Pa has listened to or watched probably thousands of Cub games in the past 70-plus years. In his youth, growing up outside the tiny town of Amity, Ark., he remembers hearing the New York Giants, New York Yankees and Cubs and the radio. He gravitated to the Cubs - which worked out pretty well when the family moved to nearby Indiana for work in the late 40s.

In case you're wondering, yes, I'm a lifelong Reds fan - and a near lifelong Tigers fan. Why am I not a rabid Cub fan? Because in the '70s, my formative baseball years, my Dad was sick and tired of the Cubs and so we headed to Riverfront Stadium and Tiger Stadium instead. Dad moved to Arizona a few years ago and really isn't much of a baseball fan. He lightly cheers for the Cubs (and the Diamondbacks).

But I don't think Pa ever wavered.

Last month, my family of three moved out of Pa's house, where we lived for several months after selling our Chicago home and heading close to extended family in Indiana (not far from Ohio). It was nice as I got a chance to watch a lot of baseball with him. We watched plenty of Cubs - but also a lot of Reds and Tigers (as the local cable picked up all of the games for both teams). We stayed up until, I think it was 12:30 a.m., watching Game 6 of the World Series. Pa will sit and watch entire games but nowadays unfortunately doesn't remember who won the game a few minutes after it's over.

The Cubs will always hold a special place for me because of Pa. I plan to get my daughter to Wrigley a few times (although Great American Ballpark will be her first big league venue). I cheer for the Cubs, except when they're playing the Reds and I'd love to see them finally win a World Series. I wish Pa would have been able to see them win one too - when he was still aware enough to fully enjoy it, remember it and talk about it for weeks.

But, as I've been reminded in a very harsh way in the past few days, life just doesn't always work out as planned. I've heard this one before, but it hits home: "You make plans; God laughs."

The Grass Is Always Greener With Vintage

Gaining focus.

It's one of my top collecting goals moving forward. This year, I jumped all over the map after returning to the hobby following a three-decade nap. I sampled bits and pieces of nearly everything new.

I couldn't focus. I couldn't find my collecting wheelhouse.

The year wore on and I struggled to complete sets I liked. I changed my mind a few times about what I liked. I got a bit disorganized.

I waffled on Heritage before buying all-in and truly falling for it. I sort of liked Lineage but couldn't get past the simpleton backs. Still, I went full force collecting the retired guys in Lineage.

I had to cut corners somewhere so I soon backed away from the much beloved Allen & Ginter. I hung on to a few favorite players and chased inserts - many that I love. I still have plenty of A&G for trade.

Topps Chrome came along and I was hooked again. The feel of these cards lured me in but not so next year. Too expensive. I have other thoughts about where to allocate my collecting dollars.

To sum up the year: Series 1 (yay), Heritage (YAY!), Gypsy Queen (paper frames!), Series 2 (looks familiar but sure), Lineage (boo), A&G (meh), Kimball Champions (YAY!), sampling Bowman (ick), Topps Chrome (yay), Update (hey, it's cheap)... on and on it went.

But at some point, it occurred to me that while I enjoy many new baseball cards - I get a bigger thrill out of and working on completing the sets of my youth (1976-83) and finding baseball cards pre-dating those years - specifically quality vintage cards from my player and team collections.

This is where the ever-generous SewingMachineGuy comes into the picture. Look at what he included just for the heck of it - with a few cards I had requested!

James Raymond Greengrass (born Oct. 24, 1927) played five seasons, from 1952 until 1956, for the Reds (known as the Redlegs for part of his tenure) and Phillies. He hit a lifetime .269, 69 home runs and 282 RBIs.

Glorious vintage Cincinnati Red! This is a friggin' 1953 baseball card! In terms of vintage, it is like nothing I've owned before.

SewingMachineGuy again demonstrated extreme generosity. Just a few months ago, he threw in a George Kell autographed card, for cripe sake! Mr. Greengrass capped an already great packet of cards - that including three short prints to help me move closer on the Upper Deck Masterpieces '08 set

Mr. Greengrass came at just the right time. (Is there ever a wrong time for glorious vintage?)

He came to wake me up to what I knew all along. Vintage is king. Fact is, I just feel better when I spend money on quality old cards. That speaks volumes. 

He came to slap me around and remind me about the importance of focus. Thanks Mr. Greengrass and, oh yes, Mr. French.

Nostalgic Wax: The Three Kings

Bench. Rose. Morgan.

Thirty-three years ago, these were my heroes. It sounds silly now, as a grown man, but I know most collectors can relate in some way. The 1978 cards of these icons felt like gold, like Disney World, in my hands.

I wanted to be them. Oh, I already knew that playing pro ball was pie-in-the-sky. A couple of black eyes from neighborhood games with the older kids made me jittery in the batter's box from age 7 on.

Instead, I wanted to be cast as legends on cardboard like them. (I guess I hadn't quite put two and two together.)

These three cards were true cardboard heroes to me. They remain among the favorite of my collection, entirely because of the memories they stir up. As a kid, I carried these cards everywhere  - and the wear on them proves it. I studied the stats, memorized them.

The history of their earlier years was hard to grasp. I only owned these cards. It was as if they had just arrived on the baseball scene right along with my interest in the sport. Never mind that they had won two World Series championships just a couple of years earlier. Never mind that arguably all had just passed their peak years.

That was a time I wish sometimes I could return to and that may explain a good bit of my preoccupation today with baseball cards. Life is much harder nowadays for me, of course. For all of us, I suppose.

Looking back, that age of innocence was oh-so-fleeting. But it's nice to be able to look back through the window that our old baseball cards open.

In 1978, I had a Mom, Dad and older sister - all together in the same house - the perfect family of four. We were happy - all flowers and sunshine.

To my parents credit, I was ignorant for a few more years about the trouble brewing. In 1983, I stopped collecting cards, coincidentally about the time my parents' divorced. Of course, other things were happening with me as well. Girls, for one.

My sister was already out of the house by this point. I was just hanging on - and soon got into my own fair share of trouble. Nothing too crazy or illegal. Mostly just losing focus. Sometimes I'm still stunned I got it together, went to college and graduated.

My cards were packed away by 1983 - maybe at Dad's house or maybe at home with me and Mom. I don't know. I probably didn't know then. They were relics of a childhood gone. They were kid's play.

I no longer feel that way.

At an age when this damn Charles Bukowski line has a hold on me: "The days run away like wild horses over a hill" - it's a comforting feeling to look at these old cards.  

Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan haven't been my heroes for some 30 years. But their 1978 baseball cards again make me smile.

Nostalgic Wax: Why I Returned To Card Collecting After A 27-Year Break

Several years ago I discovered my old late '70s/early '80s sports card collection in my mom's basement. I packed them up and gave them a brand new home. My basement. And there they rested for a few more years.

Many, oh-so-many, years ago I had given up baseball cards. I think I was 14. I'm not sure why I packed away what had meant so much to me - probably the start of high school and new interests. Well, one new interest.

Girls came into focus right about then. Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and blame girls.

I had discovered baseball cards at age 9; football cards roughly a year later. The Hostess cards found on the bottom of packages of Twinkies and King Dons provided my gateway to the hobby.

With the cards in my own house, and because I'm a fairly orderly person, the long-neglected collection in the basement nagged at me. I needed a sense of order. I finally felt compelled to sort through them - and sort and sort and sort.

I loved doing it. Memories came flooding back. I remembered being 10 again. And, I learned a few things.

First, I apparently had snagged a few packs in 1989, 1990 and 1994 but I have no recollection of doing this. It was clear that the love I had for the hobby frittered at some point in 1983.

Second, I realized that after more than a quarter century of living, I liked reconnecting with the person I was all those years ago. It's probably impossible to understand if you're not a collector but something about those old cards that had passed my fingers countless times as a kid made me feel great. Not necessarily young again but, yeah, a little younger. It brought me a little comfort and a lot of peace to look through those cards - particularly the '78s that I first collected.

But another set kept calling for my attention.

At some point in the late '70s, maybe 1980, Gramps bought me a sack full of 1976 Topps at a garage sale likely not far from my grandparents Ohio home. The cards, if memory serves, had been stripped of Cincinnati Reds, my team, but there were probably close to 300 in the sack. It included randomness such as seven Bill Buckners and six Jim Wynns.

I hope I showed my appreciation to Gramps but the sad truth is I didn't understand these cards at the time. Maybe I couldn't figure out the obvious question of why there were no Reds. Plus, I had a deep connection to the cards I ripped from wax, the '78s and '79s. These '76ers were interlopers. Who were these players? They were sooooo old.


Older and, arguably, wiser now, I've fallen in a big way for 1976 Topps.

Which brings me to my third revelation that occurred upon uncovering my collection; a strong desire to finish what my grandpa started for me so many years ago.

I must build the complete 1976 set.

In the past few months, I've had great fun picking up cards from this set at area card shows. I've even added several of the missing Reds.

Once settled next week after an out-of-state move, I'll post my favorite cards from this set with the caveat that they'll be chosen from the cards I now own. There are plenty I still need - and plenty to trade to others chasing this set.
I grew close to my grandparents in my 20s. I had moved from Texas to within 30 minutes of their home in the last four years of his life. I know Gramps would have liked not only that I'm getting reacquainted with the cards in that old sack but that I'm finally chasing down the rest of the set.

Nostalgic Wax: The Hostess Collection

I have a confession. I love oddball baseball cards.

I love the store chain-issued cards - the Kmarts, the cards from Ames and Hills. I love the 3Ds from Kellogg's. I even like the Post cereal cards - flimsy, yes, but nice.

But I suppose few cards - save the 1978 Topps - can top my love for the small assortment of baseball cards I personally cut from the bottom of boxes of Hostess Twinkies and King Dons in the late '70s. Yes, "King Dons". Yes, I'm snickering. No, I'm not 12. [Editor's Note: For more on King Dons, click here and scroll down.]

You see, these were the baseball cards that first graced my hands - the reason why Mom and Dad picked me up a handful of packs of '78 Topps for me a year later.

The Fidrych and Bell here - and a few others in my collection of 50 or so - were the true firsts for me.

I have about 50 Hostess cards - in a range of conditions. While I took excellent care of all of my baseball cards as a kid, the Hostess cards had to survive not just my youthful, over-sugared, hands but scissors too. Mixed results, you might notice.

It's also likely Mr. Bench and Mr. Rice (pictured below) partook regularly in the various statistically driven baseball games I came up with to amuse myself. They apparently were extra well loved.

Dave Kingman = Goofy

We weren't a huge snack family but clearly I successfully convinced my mom to pick some of these up from time to time. I was always much more thrilled to get to the cards than to the snack. At least that's how I remember it now. I also recall being bummed when mom would come home from the grocery with Hostess dupes - of which I still have a few.

I always liked the backs of these cards too. Plain, simple and easy to read - and full names that sometimes amused - "Bertram Ray Burris"? Sometimes the names barely fit. To wit:

So there you have it - a peak at some of the first cards I ever owned.

I adored these cards then and hold them even more dear today - knowing they kick-started what has been a fantastic hobby.

I'd love to hear if anyone else feels this particular way about a certain year, brand or even just a single card.

Nostalgic Wax: Youthful Pursuit

Like many, I recently got the urge to get back into a hobby that once made me very happy - collecting baseball (and some football) cards.

When I was 9 to about 13, nothing made me happier than opening a pack of baseball cards. My parents got me started by gifting me with several packs of 1978 cards. I was hooked and that set remains the one I love the most. I collected cards through 1983.

And now I'm back.

The other day, I decided to search the world of blogs to find out who - if anyone - is writing about baseball cards. As it turns out, many people are - and many are doing it well. Nice surprise.

I'm learning a lot as I jump back into this. I bought a bunch of Topps 2010 last year and now have ventured into 2011. I've read a lot of critics of Topps, as well as those who like the recent sets (which I do). Topps remains my favorite. Old habits.

Now, having not planned my purchases in a fiscally responsible way, I hope to find some good trade partners. It's a far cry from trading on the school bus - but maybe it'll do.

Speaking of trades on the bus, I once traded a kid four football cards (I don't recall who they were) for a Walter Payton I liked. Turns out it was Payton's rookie card. Neither of us knew any better. It wasn't mint then, but the condition hasn't changed since I got it - probably about 1980.

I display that one, with a few select others, proudly.

As for my plans, ultimately I'll probably narrow my collecting focus to players from my favorite teams - Reds, Tigers, Steelers, among a few - and certain players I like. We'll see.