I had a $20 gift card from Amazon. I did not know what to do with it. So I did something against the rules. I bought non-Reds baseball cards. Specifically, this...
This is the set that started all the madness for me. This is 1991 Topps. My Reds had just won one of the best World Series of all time in 1990. Reds Fever was all over southern Ohio. My parents bought me some cards and an album to put 'em in. Oh, what a tremendous monster they unwittingly released. I even remember precisely what was purchased. Three complete team sets from '91 Topps: The Reds, the Cubs, and the A's.
I dropped my gift card on the base set, then spent six more bucks on the 'bay to get the Traded set. Feels good. Of course, now I need to splurge on 103 pages (no doubling up, chumps). Also, this may begin a quest for my other beloved junk sets, which is no good. Slippery slope, man. For now, the only sets on my mind are 1990 Donruss, 1991 Donruss, 1993 Donruss, 1987 Topps, 1993 Topps, and 1991 Fleer. I hope that will be enough. And I certainly have no desire right now to pursue them. But I can see it coming.
--------------------------------------------------------That represents, now, a healthy majority of the non-Reds in my collection. The others:
1909-11 T206 Mike Donlin. My first hyper-vintage card. A present from my dad when I was 12 or so. Nice.
There's my Hall of Fame Collection (tab above) where I'm trying to find one card of every Hall of Famer. It has come to a nasty halt. Turns out there are a lot of HoFers that the card world doesn't care about, particularly players from foreign leagues elected by the Veteran's Committee. I'm currently at 254/306, with cards of the four most recent inductees on the way, which will bring it to 258/310.
1962 Topps Mickey Mantle 'The Switch Hitter Connects'. Another gift from my dad, casually sneaked into a bag of McDonald's. Friggin' sweet.
1964 Topps Mickey Mantle. A gift from my grandpa Jack. He spent 5 days a week at the jockey lot in South Carolina (flea market, for us northerners, but I'll honor my southern roots with their word for it). He was always making crazy deals with the vendors (and by vendors, I mean hillbillies with a pickup truck full of crap and a table). He traded four used tires for this card for a Christmas present for me. If I was only allowed to keep one card, this would be it.
And that's it. I've been pretty good about not straying from the team of choice. Discipline, children, Discipline.
Go Reds.
That '64 Mantle is super sweet, good job grandpa Jack. I really love that Tigers card too, though I can't make out who the fella is.
ReplyDeleteHank Greenberg
DeleteFour used tires for a '64 Mantle? That's a trade for the ages.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I agree. That's a much better deal than what the Cubs got back when they sent Will Ferrell to the Diamondbacks the other day: a churro dog and a d-bat dog.
DeleteMy Reds got him off waivers that day, but had to release Norm MacDonald to clear a roster spot. Terrible decision.
DeleteIf you decide to start pursuing those sets, drop me a line. I may have extras of one or more of them and in exchange for something to help somewhat compensate for the shipping I could be convinced to part with them.
ReplyDeleteLove the Mantle trade as well.
I'm a laser-focused team collector myself, but a Hall of Fame collection is an intriguing enough idea to at least make me consider picking up some non-Cubs. That Donlin is pretty superb as well!
ReplyDeleteIf you ever catch junk-era Bowman fever, let me know. I have spare sets from 89 and 90 I'd happily trade for, well, just about anything else.
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong with having a few complete sets in the collection. Especially if it's from the era that started you off in the hobby
ReplyDelete