Baseball Cards and Other Collectibles

[no pepper]

With extra time at home on our hands, it's always fun to root through old stuff to see what treasures may be discovered. My grandpa collected coins, my dad collected stamps, I collected beer cans and sports cards/memorabilia. My son collects used batteries. Young people have no passion for these hobbies it seems.

Most of my cards are 1971-1991. Unfortunately the values have decreased significantly over recent years, even cards that were produced before the overproduction years. For example, the Yount rookie was one of my gems, 1975 Topps. Also, the Brett rookie year. I think you are lucky to sell one for around $50 these days; in the mid eighties you could have used it to make a car payment.

I was never in it for investment purposes. Just fucking loved baseball, everything about it. My faves were Aaron, Clemente, Mays, Ryan, Bob Gibson when I was a kid. Would ride my bike to the drugstore and load up on wax packs with money from my paper route. With a cheek full of sweet and bitter bubble gum, I raced home to carefully sort the new cards, consult my checklists and file the cards numerically.

I would write letters to the teams and ask for any autographs, schedules, press guides that they could send out for free. Favorite items:

I told the Braves that Aaron was my favorite player and received a sweet 5x7 autographed color photo of him at the launching pad, holding his bat.

Post Raisin Bran box cards -- got Killebrew, Clemente and Mantle

Upper Deck Griffey rookie, Nolan Ryan rookie, 70 Bench

Caught a foul ball off Barry Larkin at old Busch on the fly. Smacked my hands so tough the usher runs down and fills out a "report" of some kind with name, address and stuff. A couple weeks later I received a certificate in the mail -- Official Off the Field Outfielder -- signed by then-manger Joe Torre.

Got a bunch of non-sports trading cards too. Got a Planet of the Apes Dr. Zaius rookie and some bitchin Starsky and Hutch trading cards.

Beer Cans -- love those old Iron City cans with 73, 74, 75 Steelers team photo, Olde Frothingslosh, Tennants (with the sexy chick photos on the cans)

So fifty years later they are still with me. Beer cans too. I'm going to get some of this stuff in a frame of sorts and hang it on the wall, along with my Cheryl Tiegs posters. So let's hear what you guys are collecting or once collected.

 

[Keyser Soze]

I too collected baseball cards, also started in 1971 which is still my favorite set of all-time. Those black borders are so sweet if you can find them in Mint or even NRMT-MT condition. I still have my complete'67, '71,'72 sets with just a few cards that need upgraded to have the entire sets NRMT-MT...I had a sports card store in '90 and pre-orderd 50 UD Griffey's at $7 a pop. Never thought I would see them when teh price skyrocketed but I actually did. Pissed off a bunch of other dealers at the card shows because nobody could compete with my prices on them. Still have 3 left. I could talk baseball cards all day long.

I also collected beer cans in middle school and since I lived in Pittsburgh I had all of the Iron City variations as well as Olde Frothingslosh in all the different colors. Still have an Iron City cone top and the flat top here at the house for old times sake. Also the one that says "New Pull Tab"........Ahhhhhh, those were the days

 

[yyz]

Anyone remember the kid who bought up every Gary Sheffield rookie card he could. It was thousands of dollars. Wonder how that finally worked out?

 

[jas4bama]

I bought 100 of each of Bo Jackson rookie baseball and football,,Topps,Donruss,,Fleer,,and was well on my way to retiring until a hip injury destroyed us both,,:SIB

 

[kickserv]

Back in the 80's I collected hockey cards (like pretty much every other kid in Canada). My prized possession was a Gretzky Rookie card.

Of course when the sports cards market went to shit pretty much all my cards were worthless. I did end up selling my Gretzky card in the late 90's for a good price, although I kind of wish I still had it, oh well.

I have no clue if the sports card market is up or down now, but it looks like you can still get a decent price for the Gretzky rookie card (depending on condition of course). In 2016 a "Gem Mint 10" (highest grade) sold for $465,000.

I did not get $465,000 for my Gretzky card:142smilie

 

[kickserv]

And oh yeah I also collected Garbage Pail Kids, anybody remember them?

 

[no pepper]

Keyser, yeah I remember we traded some "needs" on here a long time ago... Think we were both trying to fill '75 sets. You had those minis too from that season I believe.

yyz, those sheffield rookies cost more to ship than their value now.

jas, that was a good move at the time. Bo was a solid rookie card. Did you have the Becketts with him on the cover B&W holding bat wearing shoulder pads? I loaded up on Kevin Mitchell and Roberto Alomar. Mitchell started assaulting people and Alomar was kinda blackballed when he spit in that umps face.

kick, I remember Garbage Pail cards. Shit, I remember "Wacky Packages" that were like spoofs of brands in the late sixties.Maybe those were just stickers.

 

[kickserv]

kick, I remember Garbage Pail cards. Shit, I remember "Wacky Packages" that were like spoofs of brands in the late sixties.Maybe those were just stickers.

Yep, Garbage Pail Kids rocked:00hour And oh yeah, if you have a complete set of those bad boys (from the 80's) you can get a lot of money for em now.

As for "Wacky Packages" I remember them, and I think as you said they were just stickers.

 

[jas4bama]

I had a lot of a lot,,,Then life ,wife, kids, and job popped up. I still have a lot of cards in my moms house and I have a lot at my house..I have a 16 year old son who plays baseball in high school and he has a set from every year since he has been born...If the world don't start spinning again soon he and I will dig some of the old ones out!

 

[kickserv]

Anybody ever sell their collection for big cash?

 

[BuckwheatJWN]

Check out the KOBE cards on EBAY :scared

Started selling my childhood collection off a few years ago...A dealer from Wisconsin bought my 1963 Topps Set with Pete Rose's rookie in it. He said "Boy, this is in nice condition. Where did you get?" I answered "Wilson's Grocery Store in 1963. Cost me $10 , and it was my dad's $10" Ended up selling it for around $2500.

 

[kickserv]

Cost me $10 , and it was my dad's $10" Ended up selling it for around $2500.

Well that is one hell of a profit:scared

 

[Box and one]

big time card collector...somehow put all my most precious cards in a converse sneaker box and had about 5 rubber bands around it... when off to college and like millions and millions of mothers they threw out all their sons baseball cards..but because of my protected converse box with rubber bands protecting the cover my mother didn't throw them out...in that box is a 1953 Mantle ,54'55'56'57'- 1967 all mantles also Ted Williams Hank A aron and many more '56 and 57' super stars ...many stars and very few commons

I told this story here many years ago I had a 1953 mint condition Mantle.. the 1952 card was his rookie card but did't have any 52's but the 1953 was an even cut,great borders,no crease.. you don't find mint Mantles..usually the cut the creases bring the value down so in 1969 I take that card out of my elite converse box and pack it up with all my stuff going off to college to Denton,Texas .. At North Texas I get some puddy like material and put it on the back of the card and put it on the door of my locker in my dorm room...I move 3 more times in my 4 and a half years at NT and always display the card on the wall in my closet or over my bed ...when I left North Texas in the early 70's the baseball card business became more popular I took the card to a baseball card show and they guy looked at and offered me a lot.. I really forgot the offer think it was $800..then he flipped the back and saw about 1/3 rd of the back print was destroyed by all the stuff I had put to hang it up over the the years .. think he offered me around $200...I said no because I really had no intention to sell. so its sit on my bookcase and I put it in a thick acrylic holder ..I show it to people and as long as they don't turn it over to the back side its a $5000 card .. at another time I told this story here before many years ago ....there might be a few MJ's old timers that remember it

I am a phillie fan and have collected almost every Phillie player since 1956 to about the mid 80's when I gave up collecting...but I bought from Rothman in Mass 10,000 Juan Samuel Cards it wasn;t his rookie year but maybe his 2nd year.. it was an investment .. think I paid about $400 for the bulk order ... because I knew Juan would be the next Willie Mays could hit doubles,triples and had power .. this was my real 1st investment but he never was a superstar but a good player .. when he was traded to the NY Mets just maybe this card would become more valuable ..but it never happened and to think I have right now 1 mike Schmidt rookie worth $200 or more .. picked the wrong guy to become a super star

But what I did with the 10,000 cards is another long and boring ass story..I told it here many years ago,,, and maybe will come back here and explain.. as a HS principal I used all those cards out at 3 high schools I worked out as hallway passes ... to this day I still get former students of mine on face book telling me they still have a Juan Samuel card...think I have about 50 left.. the graduation story I told here years ago still makes me teary eyed..
Austin is in a lockdown .. miss playing raquetball every day think I sold the house in NY waiting on the bank
hope everyone here is doing well My granddaughter and I did a video on "march sadness " even though I was the director of the clip we have to get permission for my granddaughters father to post it..

 

[BuckwheatJWN]

I remember your story. It was one of my favorites...?..I give my "Juan Samuel" type cards from the over production era out at HALLOWEEN. Been doing it for about 25 years now.....I get adults coming up to me all the time telling me how great it was.....Now I add candy and try to find players at least their parents recognize from the 80's- early 90's....Look for players who recently enter HOF, became known coaches, managers, actors, announcers, or did something nefarious like OJ Simpson. LOL

 

[Old School]

'Shoeless' Joe Jackson baseball card from 1910 sells for nearly $500,000 at auction

Scott Boeck
USA TODAY

https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...aseball-card-sells-nearly-500-000/3102990001/

 

[OAKAS]

Anybody ever sell their collection for big cash?

I had complete sets of TOPPS 1954,55,56,1960,61,62. and many cards in the 50s and 60s.

I ended up selling them all to a doctor from Omaha. I heard he was the biggest baseball card dealer in the United States.

I was glad I sold them when I did because the values have gone down.

My favorite sets are TOPPS 1954 and BOWMAN 1955 (the television set series).

 

[kickserv]

I had complete sets of TOPPS 1954,55,56,1960,61,62. and many cards in the 50s and 60s.

I ended up selling them all to a doctor from Omaha. I heard he was the biggest baseball card dealer in the United States.

I was glad I sold them when I did because the values have gone down.

My favorite sets are TOPPS 1954 and BOWMAN 1955 (the television set series).

:0071

 

[BuckwheatJWN]

I had complete sets of TOPPS 1954,55,56,1960,61,62. and many cards in the 50s and 60s.

I ended up selling them all to a doctor from Omaha. I heard he was the biggest baseball card dealer in the United States.

I was glad I sold them when I did because the values have gone down.

My favorite sets are TOPPS 1954 and BOWMAN 1955 (the television set series).

Actually in good shape (Graded 6-8), old cards, "vintage" is what the experts like to call them,are selling very well, even during these bad economic times.

 

[Box and one]

I always loved the '56 and 57' topps sets ... they were the best for card flipping ...I was so good at flipping I could do 50 heads in a row or 50 tails in a row.. once you got the hang of it ..it was easy .. also we played knocksies ..not sure if anyone knows what that game was about we played it in the stoop of our Bronx apartment if you went 1st you lined up about 8-10 cards on the wall ..you had to have a few superstars like Mantles,Aarons Ted Williams and some commons . you spread your superstars out with commoms around them then who ever went 2nd would have to knock them down flicking them ..if you knocked one down you got what you knocked down ..if you missed the knock down then you surrendered that card so you could have a common knock down a Mantle and it was yours ...but if you used a Mantle to flick and missed knocking any card you owned the mantle ..hard to explain this game but it was popular .. we would have to see what superstars would you be risking Yankee fans had to use Yogi Berra,Ford ,Mantle etc

 

[Keyser Soze]

I had complete sets of TOPPS 1954,55,56,1960,61,62. and many cards in the 50s and 60s.

I ended up selling them all to a doctor from Omaha. I heard he was the biggest baseball card dealer in the United States.

I was glad I sold them when I did because the values have gone down.

My favorite sets are TOPPS 1954 and BOWMAN 1955 (the television set series).

I always loved the '54 set. The thickness of the cards was incredible and the artwork seemed to jump off of the card.

Also, love the '71 set because of the black borders. It's os difficult to find those in MINT because of the black borders chip so easily. I guess that's why I really appreciate finding the rare ones with super clean borders and corners. I will still buy really clean '71's when I rarely run across them.