baseball card obsession

ESPN’s Eric Neel of Page 2 ran a story today about the memories of collecting baseball cards and had a little link to send a sound off to tell your own story about the hobby. I doubt mine will get printed, but below is what I sent in.

I should mention that I still have my baseball cards. Additionally, my father-in-law started buying complete Topps sets since his first son was born in 1985. Neither of his sons were interested much in baseball or baseball cards (turns out he should have been collecting comic books) but I think I convinced him not to sell them and to save them for his grandkids. Here’s hoping that Ethan gets a crap load of cards that he can pass off to his grandkids.

My baseball card obsession began on two fronts in 1986. I, like Kieran
Darcy, acquired a Mattingly card, but it wasn't his '86 card, it was his 1984
Topps rookie. And I didn't get it in a trade; I got it “flipping” doubles
with a junior-high friend. I was a huge Yankees fan and when I landed my
card (a double of some nobody, I’m sure) face-up on his Mattingly, I knew I had a card of value. I later told him what Beckett's had it priced at ($30
then), and told him I'd give it back. He told me to keep it—I’d won it
fair and square.

My other obsession in 1986 was obtaining every Pirate in the Topps set. I have lived in Pittsburgh my whole life and the Pirates were my second favorite team. I got the entire team and eventually had doubles and triples of most of the team. I traded the duplicates to a friend who was moving away. Or so I thought. Later, after his family moved, I discovered I had given him my complete Pirates team set.