Hobby. Passion. Life.---- CONTEST ENTRY

[70sbestcardboard]

The year is 1988. A world where The Cosby Show is the top TV show and George Michael is ruling the radio airwaves. The most influential milestone to happen to me already transpired as I graduated high school the previous year. What I didn’t know was that a chance encounter with a stack of stray baseball cards was about to change my life forever.

What 18-year-old starts collecting baseball cards? Was I intruding on little kids’ territory? I didn’t collect baseball cards in my formidable years. I had no idea my older sibling collected baseball cards during the very great years of 1971 thru 1974. I may have been a late starter to this hobby but soon I would find the passion, discipline, and respect that would transform my early adult life and carry on through 24 years later to today.

During the first year of collecting cards I was hungry! For knowledge that is. For all who are old enough to recollect there was no Ebay, no Internet. Buying Beckett’s and going to card shows and getting catalogs in the mail was how I taught myself different values and most importantly being able to distinguish a 1981 Topps from a 1982 Fleer from a 1983 Donruss. I tried voraciously to memorize everything there was to know about collecting. Oh how fantastic it was when I found a store near my house that was actually selling 1987 Donruss! Being able to buy cards that were a year old and getting the chance to pull a McGwire rated rookie was too good to be true. There were no card shops near my house or anywhere in a 30 mile radius as I recall. So buying baseball cards consisted of cello packs at the grocery store. Full box sets at Walgreens. Packs at a local neighborhood drugstore. That’s it.

As time passed so many things changed. Relationships have come and gone. I’ve seen the introduction of the refractor card, the jersey card, the autograph card and cards that incorporate all three. I’ve seen the concept of grading cards come to fruition. Tried my hand at buying bulk at shows and selling singles on Ebay. Tried my hand at setting up a booth at a local card show. Found a whole new world of collecting unopened wax and cello packs from the past. Even once owned a Michael Jordan RC. Sadly this is not the case anymore. But see, the heartfelt emotion in all of these endeavors alone and any card collector, especially myself, understands the connection between collecting cards and ones moments in life.

My collection has followed me through two states, four cities, and one storage locker. The one common denominator through all of that change has been my cards. They are a part of me. I really don’t look at this as a hobby. It’s much greater than that. When I can look at certain cards and then remember exactly where I was, how I acquired said card, who I was with, what city I was in and the like then the deeper purpose of this addiction is actually a part of my core. I’m 42 years old now and still cherishing the cardboard. Maybe not as active in buying as I used to be but you know what, browsing over my way looked over collection as if it were brand new is just as thrilling as opening some product of today. Needless to say I plan on collecting until I am not able to.

So that stack of cards I found that fateful day, you might ask, what were they? Rubbish as referred to by most collectors but those are looked upon by me with a description as beautiful as a field of flowers because of what they represent to me. That stack was ’88 Donruss. And you might be wondering what happened to my brothers cards. Luckily he held onto them and I am now in possession of them.

[Pheebs888]

Hi,

Contest entries must be at least 700 words, yours has 660. Can you please amend it so that it meets the requirements?

Thanks
Karine