The baseball card (and other sports cards) thread

[f_trizzy]

I used to be big into card collecting but have gradually gotten out of it over the last 2-3 years. In fact I probably haven't bought a pack of cards in well over a year.

Football cards used to be my thing. Probably the best card I have is a Topps Bart Starr autograph. I pulled that one a few years back when all the card companies were moving towards the retro look.

Also had an Alan Trammell/Paul Molitor rookie card that my neighbor had given me years ago. It was up over $100 when I first discovered it. The last time I checked it was down to $80 or something and I'm sure its even less now.

[artmonkforHOF]

I collected cards for a little while, then I had every card collecting kid's dream: my dad (recently laid off) decided to open a sports card business. Our family vacations revolved around driving south and stopping at as many card shows we could find to find some good deals. My dad would then sell those cards and others at shows around us.

I stopped collecting at around 14 years old, which was also when card companies started producing more than 1 set for each sport a year and all those crazy special insert cards came out.

I still have most of my cards, a lot of "worthless" mid 1980's baseball, football and basketball sets, plus every Tony Gwynn card from 1983 thru 1992. They all sit in a trunk in my house, safe from light and moisture.

[Larry Brown #43]

I started collecting baseball cards in the early 80s, when I was about 8, and collected until about 1990 when I was 15. I still have a lot of them, and I have some pretty good stuff, but unfortunately the value of baseball cards seems to have bottomed out.

Some cards that seemed like gold at the time aren't worth jack anymore. I'm trying to figure out what to do with the cards I have. My wife and I have a little boy on the way, so I guess I'll pass them down to him. But from looking up the values of cards that used to be really valuable, it seems that a lot of them are barely worth the paper they're printed on anymore.

[gsuggs]

I've been collecting since 1980 and have accumulated what I think is a pretty good collection. Besides buying since 1980, I also bought the collections of my older neighbors and older guys that I went to church with for hardly nothing. They all had cards from the late 60's and all through the 70's. Before kids came along I would hit the shows in Raleigh and spend $400-$600 a weekend. In 1997 I started doing the autograph shows(I've got alot of great autographs to) that Tuff Stuff would put on in Richmond and Chantilly. Mickey Mantle was a favorite of mine to collect also, since his cards are worth more than the average card from the 50's and the 60's. I would buy the ones that were a little creased and had rounded corners. I got his 1958 Topps that is worth $1000 for $150. I've got alot of 50's cards of Williams, Musial, Aaron, Mays, Berra and more all for less than $100 apiece. I sold all of my football and basketball cards except the really good rookies. Now I go after autographs of the hot shot rookies that come thru Kinston, Durham, Greensboro and the new home of my Cincinnati Reds AA affiliate the Carolina Mudcats.

[wshngtn1]

Oh yeah, great thread SS. I had the 1989 - 1992 U.D baseball set, and I used to collect Donruss baseball cards too. I also had a couple of complete Donruss baseball sets too(think from 1988 - 1992). The grain of Donruss were the Diamond King collection. Not sure what it's worth, but I remember the Diamond Kings made that set worth something. Who in here remember's Action Packed football cards?

Wow...I forgot all about "Diamond Kings"...those were gold back then.

Were the Acton Packed cards the ones that were kinda puffy like...or 3Dish?

[Spaceman Spiff]

Hard to believe now, but that card really was the Holy Grail for my generation. I had it, sold it, and regretted my decision for a number of years until a few years ago when the Internet brought about the destruction of the baseball card market. (Really, to me, the only bad thing ever brought about by the Internet Era.)

I never got one of these. I collected mainly Topps, for some dumb reason. I mean, I still like Topps, but I didn't start collecting Upper Deck until 1990. I don't know how I missed 1989.

It still burns me up that I never got the Griffey Jr. Upper Deck, and it was the Holy Grail of collecting at that time. IRRC, they revolved a Baywatch episode around that card.

I wanted the Griffey Jr 1990 topps card...I tore through pack after pack after pack looking to get one. I got a ton of Griffey Sr in his Reds uniform, but never Jr. Had to go buy the single.

I wanted to buy one for awhile, but then I realized there wouldn't be a thrill to it, you know? One of the best things about card collecting is that it's like a lottery...you don't know what you'll get in each pack and it's a thrill when you pull a great card.

So the next paycheck I get, I'm gonna buy a box of 1989 Upper Deck on ebay...36 packs that sell anywhere from 50-60 bucks. I figure I should get at least one in there

I loved collecting and still buy a pack or two every so often, but they're so damn expensive, so many sets, so many inserts, blah.

Gimme 1987 topps any day of the week.

[FearDaSpear]

Be careful with buying the boxes of 89 UD, they can be searched...

Ebay Resource:

Buyers should beware of both loose 1989 Upper Deck Baseball packs as well as unsealed boxes. The most common listing is for loose packs but the occasional unsealed box will show up from time to time. The reason buyers should be leery of these items is quite simple. The 1989 Upper Deck product has a pack/box sequencing pattern that I will not describe here in detail as the information could be used by unscrupulous sellers not yet familiar with the technique. A person familiar with the pattern who has a full box can open a few packs and quickly determine if the box has the coveted Ken Griffey Jr rookie card as well as any other Star Rookie card. Once the person has the Griffey card in hand he can replace the missing packs from another cherry picked box then sell it like new or simply sell the leftover packs. Do not buy a box of 1989 Upper Deck that is not sealed or you risk getting scammed. Definately avoid loose packs of this particular product unless you know a reputable seller.

For the cost of packs you are probably better off flat out buying the Griffey card. The 1989 Upper Deck Griffey card is often found off-center so even if you made the lucky pack hit the card may not be gem mint. You should be able to find a well-centered Griffey in the auction listings in graded or ungraded form. If you are shopping for the 1989 Upper Deck Griffey card be sure to visit my eBay buyer's guide for the card simply titled: 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr.

[ncskinsfan71]

When I was a kid it was all about the '84 Fleer and '84 Topps. There was a Revco drugstore near my house that had the Fleer's in a super pack for a set price. It was like 10 packs in one. I remember the Fleer looking better than the Topps set. I got back into it with my little brother in like '92 when the cards started looking like photos with the UV coating. (Fleer Ultra)

I got started on Basketball in the 90's with Shaq, Zo and that class. It dawned on me that the value of basketball cards went up faster because it didn't take long to see if a basketball player was worth it or not, where a baseball rookie could take several years for his card to appreciate.

In hindsight, I wish I had focused on basketball in '86 because that was the Fleer set with Jordan, Barkley and Ewing.

Rookies I have are Ripken Donruss '82, Mattingly and Strawberry '84 Topps and Fleer, Shaq Upper Deck '92, Grant Hill and Jason Kidd Rookie, and countless others.

[DCranon21]

Wow...I forgot all about "Diamond Kings"...those were gold back then.

Were the Acton Packed cards the ones that were kinda puffy like...or 3Dish?

Yeah those were the "ground-breaking" cards back in the day. I think they are still worth something. I should go to my pops house to pull those cards out. But I was looking on ebay just now, and that '84 Topps football set is selling for no less that $120 bucks. So that set is still worth something.

[bigred7576]

This is the card of all cards. The Billy Ripken f*** face card. I cant believe I didnt bring this card up earlier on this thread. But I am a proud owner of this card

[Spaceman Spiff]

This is the card of all cards. The Billy Ripken f*** face card. I cant believe I didnt bring this card up earlier on this thread. But I am a proud owner of this card

20th anniversary of that card, someone sent me a link yesterday to an article about it.

One of the most famous cards ever and I have no idea where mine is. I'm gonna go buy another one.

[buenosdiaz]

bah i love cards! i tried to start this thread before...i gotta finish some work up but i'll check some old boxes tonight and let you guys know

off the top of my head

my derek jeter and a-rod rookies

my champ bailey rookie card (well i had like 3 hes the man!)

i had that 1990 griffey card, and like a ton of other griffey cards

i had maddddd david justice cards hahahah that was my boy

and my vince carter and jason williams rookie cards were huge deals when i got them

[wrccoach2001]

Been a card collector since I was like 6, used to buy packs from the local dollar store, like 3 packs for a dollar, dont remember the year but was donruss. I have collected every sport basically nothing really great in rc terms but have pulled a jeter autograph i think was my big auto. When cards started to have piece of whatever in it depending on the sport, I managed to pull a piece of fire suit from dale earnhardt sr. and a piece of tire from jeff gordon and these were over 300 a piece when i first got them. I didn't sell, really never have sold anything just kept but as years have gone on the price has dropped and market become saturated with same idea from other companys. I agree with earlier post its the thrill of waiting to see whats in the next pack when opening.

[Drex]

Ah, the memories of childhood!

I collected baseball cards for about five years. I enjoyed the high-tech nature of the Upper Deck cards while also collecting the other brands (Donruss, Fleer, Score, Topps).

Some of my favorite cards:

1990 Upper Deck Ben McDonald rookie card (was a big fan of the original "Big Ben")

1990 Score Bo Jackson (the one with Bo holding the baseball bat with shoulder pads on).

Fleer Ultra- loved the borderless look.

1989 Bowman Set- they were bigger than the normal cards...only wanted the set because of the Ken Griffey Jr. RC.

Sportflics- loved the changing images on each card.

Any Steve Avery rookie cards- I enjoyed the worst-to-first 91 Braves and Avery was my favorite pitcher on that team. Thought he was going to be a great one.