Baseball Cards Are Stupid: A Story on How I Got Into Collecting

I remember telling my older brother, John, that baseball cards were stupid.  He was a huge collector at the time, and I remember him getting excited over Wade Boggs cards, but I couldn't understand why.  I was maybe 7 or 8 and didn't know what the point was in opening packs of baseball cards and hoping to get your favorite player.  You see, I wasn't even a baseball fan back then.  I had no idea who the Baltimore Orioles were.  I had never been to any kind of a game (as far as I knew).  All I knew was that John loved baseball cards.  That was his thing.

Not too long after telling John that baseball cards were stupid, we got one of those Troll book order forms from school.  My mom would always let me circle the books I was interested in, and she would always add a few extras that she thought I may like.  We weren't very well off at that point in time, so getting those new books was pretty exciting for us.  When the order came in, for whatever reason, Mom had selected a small book about baseball cards that came with a little album and a pack of cards.

I knew John thought these things were like gold, so I was happy to be getting some cards that I could hold and say "Nyah nyah, I have some cards that you don't have!"  I spent that afternoon laying on my bed and reading each and every card.  I remember two of them, Hipolito Pichardo and Fred Lynn.  They were 1989 Topps cards, and I remember thinking that I liked the design.  I wish I could say that I still have those cards, but the truth is, I'm not sure.  My best guess is that I do, and they are in my completed 1989 set, since I had collated those in order years ago and put them up before I got into making sets.

So, after that afternoon of looking at all of those cards, I decided that I did, in fact lie baseball cards and I wanted to get more.  How do I go about this?  Well, even though we didn't get along very well (typical of most brothers around that age, I believe), I reluctantly asked John how I was supposed to go about adding to my collection.

He responded by asking, "What is your favorite team?"  I didn't know.  I knew that with him being the older brother, I wasn't allowed to copy him by saying the Boston Red Sox.  I knew my brother Philip liked the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants, but I couldn't copy him, either.  That sucked because by then, I knew who the A's were, they were the team that you could select on our Nintendo game and win every time.  Darn.

I couldn't even pick the A's most of the time on the game, because of my older brothers.  So I would have to pick some other random team.  I had always found myself picking the Orioles on that game because they had these crazy looking neon orange uniforms.  So, to answer John's question, I said, "Well, I guess the Orioles."  John said, ok, you should look for Orioles cards when you open packs.  He went to his room, and I went to mine.  A few minutes later, John came into my room and handed me a stack of cards.  "If you like the Orioles, this is their best player.  You should look for his cards."  I don't think I have to say who that player was, because I'm sure you all know it was Cal Ripken.

My mom used to take me to two different card shops in the Winston-Salem area when I was younger.  There was Season Ticket, a card shop owned by Chandy Greenholdt, who is now a fellow vendor of mine at the Raleigh card shows.  The other shop was Sportscards and More, which was owned and run by a guy named Jeff Hayes.  Jeff looked just like Rafael Palmeiro, which is one of the reasons that I liked Raffy growing up.  Mom would always take me to the shop, and the both of us would buy a bunch of packs.  Neither could wait to open them at home, so we would sit in her car and open them in the parking lot.  This is actually something that I still do, to this day.  I will take Chris to the card shop, buy our packs, then the two of us retreat to my truck and open packs.  Many times, I have to go back into the shop to show Wendell what I pulled, and buy a magnetic case or two.

The two card shops in Winston have since closed.  I got out of collecting when I turned 16 and had to get a job.  It wasn't as much fun spending my own money on cards, plus I had to pay for my car, insurance, gas, etc.  Every now and then, I would look through cards, and even buy a pack of two looking for the newest Ripken, but I was pretty much done.

Fast-forward to 2005; I took a friend of mine to a series of Orioles game against the Yankees.  I had still followed the Orioles all those years, and was finally able to go to games, myself.  I had been to a couple Orioles games in 1999 and wanted to try to take my own trip.  So, this friend and I made a trip of it and caught a couple games.  In the second game, Brian Roberts hit a walkoff home run in extra innings.  When I got home from the trip, I had the urge to start collecting again, and this time, I would look for Brian Roberts cards.  The old Sportscards and More had reopened as All About Sports, and a lovely lady was now the main person behind the counter.  She was really awesome in helping me find some new cards to get into, and also helped me search the dolar boxes in the shop for Roberts cards.  We would go on to become good friends, and after shopping there a while, she offered for me to help out at the shop in order to make some extra money.  If you hadn't guessed by now, that person was my friend, Babe.  She was instrumental in helping me get back into collecting.

Finally, while working at the card shop, I met two guys who came in fairly regularly.  We would hang out at the shop and talk cards while the Yu Gi Oh tournaments were being held.  Pete and P. A. were both bloggers and tried to convince me that I could tell some pretty good stories about the different cards that came through the shop.  I had only done a little blogging on my Myspace account (Myspace?  Was that really a thing? Haha!), so I figured it wouldn't last long and would be pretty lame.  However, I decided to give it a shot.  I couldn't think of a title, so I tried to think of the lamest thing in baseball.  "Walking in a run with the bases loaded" was way too long, so I settled on foul bunt.  I didn't even capitalize it, because I felt that is was insignificant and unassuming.  I feared that I would write a couple posts and forget to maintain it.  I started the blog, thinking that it would only be about a few cards and the card shop, but it evolved into something more.  It has become my showcase for everything in my collection.  It helped me start a branch of my collection (HOF signed baseballs) that hadn't yet begun.  It helped me do one of the things I'm most proud of (my Virgil Trucks interview).  I have even blogged about non-card stuff like wrestling, and music.

My musical taste has evolved just as much.  From being a huge Bon Jovi fan at 8 years old, to falling asleep to Guns N Roses (Use Your Illusion I is still, to this day, one of my favorite albums of all-time), to being really into Aerosmith during college.  I now am a huge Pearl Jam fan.  I always got into music late, and didn't really discover Pearl Jam until college.  I do, however, like all of those aforementioned bands.

Thank you all for taking a trip down memory lane.  I am asked a lot of times about how I got into collecting, and how I became an Orioles fan, even though I'm not from Baltimore.  Speaking of that, I actually have to remind people on Instagram that I am from NC, and not Baltimore.

Please take a moment to check out my friend Frankie's blog.  He is currently doing a contest over at "My Life In The Sports Card Hobby" and is interested in hearing about how everyone got into collecting.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

2015 National Autograph Signing - Hulk Hogan

A late addition to the autograph lineup, I was so excited that Hulk Hogan had been added.  My son, Chris, is a huge wrestling fan, as I was at that age.  Chris was promised $100 if he passed his EOGs (end of grade testing), so when I saw that Hogan was added to the signing list, I thought Chris may want to upgrade.  I called him; well I called my mom, since Chris was staying there for a week this summer, and I asked Chris if he wanted to get to meet Hogan.  There was complete silence on the phone.  I asked him again and he said, "Yeah, of course I want to.  I'm so excited I might die."  So, I bought a voucher for Chris, and one for myself.  I also bought a photo op for Chris, just to be sure my nervousness didn't result in a crappy, shaky photo.

I ordered a few 8 x 10s to get signed, and the original ones were damaged in the mail.  Instead of risking them not getting here in time, I decided not to fight the company I ordered them from, and just re-sent my order.  I'm glad I did, because the second batch came in without any damage, and I was all set to go.

In the days leading up to the National, Hogan met some controversy in the mews based on some comments he made a few years back.  I'm not going to get into that here on my blog, but the comments were very unfortunate, and I'm certain Hogan now regrets them.  We all have made mistakes in our lives, and as the great Buck Showalter says "We all hope that our lives aren't judged by our worst mistakes."

In addition to the recent controversy, on Friday, Hogan lost one of his best friends when former wrestler and fellow WWE Hall of Famer, Rowdy Roddy Piper passed away unexpectedly, due to a heart attack.  Ric Flair, who was also scheduled to be at the National on Saturday canceled his appearance.  I spent the few days leading up to the National fully expecting Hogan to do the same.

Not only did Hogan live up to his commitment to all of us who bought autograph vouchers, he also was very courteous and gracious to all of us who showed him support on Saturday.  The first thing he said when he stepped out from behind the curtain for the photo ops was thanks you to all of us for our support, and that he loved us all.  How many times have we gone to autograph signing, only to have the celebrity or athlete just toss our items back to us with nothing more than a grunt.  Some don't even say thank you.

I spoke to Hogan, after filming Chris getting his auto, and told him that I was a huge fan of his growing up.  My brothers and I all looked up to him; we practiced the "Immortal Legdrop" on each other on our trampoline.  We watched WWF/WWE every chance we got.  He said thank you.  I then told him that I had been thinking about him during this rough time in his life, and that I still looked up to him and loved him.  He responded by looking up at me, looking me in the eyes and said "Thank you, Brother.  I love you, too.  I really appreciate your support."  Then, he shook my hand and signed my photo - "To William, my brother.  Hulk Hogan."

As we were walking past him, he grabbed Chris by the arm and said "Hey big man, do you know what your most important job is?"  Chris said, "What?"  Hogan then looked at me and said "Take care of this guy.  That's your job."  I teared up (I ended up letting a few tears loose as we walked back to meet up with Max and Andrew).  Here is a guy that I saw on TV so much during my childhood.  Most of those guys have died young, but Hogan is still around.  He is still honoring his commitments to the fans that made him so popular.  Yes he has been in the news for all of the wrong reasons lately, but I am a firm believer that we shouldn't be judged by our mistakes.  We should be judged by our actions.  This man took the time out of his life and schedule and allowed a father and son to share a memory.  Something my son will remember for the rest of his life, as will I.  I have lost respect for many a celebrity after meeting them in person, but Hulk Hogan gained so much more that I ever could have imagined.

The photos are already framed, and are about to be put on the wall, once I complete this blog post.  Chris is still in disbelief that he met Hogan.  I am, too.

So, I close this entry with the video that I shot of Hogan signing for Chris.  I hope that people learn to forgive him for the things he said.  I also hope that if by chance Hogan ever were to read this, that he knows that he really impacted my son and I during those brief minutes at the show.  Thanks, Hulk.

Hall of Fame Signed Baseball - Bobby Cox

I got my 115th Hall of Fame signed baseball as a throw in when I bought the Harry Caray.  The vendor had just had this ball authenticated by JSA and hadn't adjusted his prices.  I had seen that he had three or four Bobby Cox baseballs for $45, the best price for him that I saw at the show.  I saw those on Wednesday during the sneak peek, but I couldn't remember where I saw them.  Luckily, on Saturday, I found the vendor again and bundled this with the Caray ball.  When it was all said and done, I only added an additional $25 to my purchase, so I really got a steal.

Cox (b. 1941) played briefly in the majors in 1968 and 1969 for the Yankees.  Originally a third baseman, he gained far more notoriety when he became a manager.  He managed the Atlanta Braves from 1978 to 1981, the Blue Jays from 1982 to 1985 and then back to the Braves (after a stint as their general manager) from 1990 to 2010.  In all, he managed over thirty seasons, winning the division 15 times (once with the Blue Jays and a record 14 straight with the Braves).  He went to 5 World Series, winning once (1995).  He was also a 4-time Manager of the Year (AL - 1985; NL - 1991, 2004, 2005).

Cox was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 2014.

A Few 1969s For The Set

This is the sort of calm before the storm.  I am now home from The National, and have begun the arduous process of sorting through the piles and piles of cards and balls that I brought home.  I don't have a set plan on how I want to tackle all of this on the blog, but I have started showing off some of the stuff I got.  I have shown a few of the HOF signed baseballs that I got (I'm about halfway into them, believe it or not), and also some cards.

Now, I will show a few simple ones, just to get them out of the way.  At one of the tables on Friday, I picked up a couple 1965 Topps for my friend, Eric.  At that same table, I figured I would knock a couple cards off of the 1969 wishlist, since 1959 was completed the day before.  I had no intention on finishing '69 at the show, I'm still too far out on that one.

I found four cards that I needed for the set.  None of them were stars, but they helped take a couple numbers off of the list.

I hope you all are itching with anticipation to see the big ticket items that I brought home from the National.  I'll do my best to try to get at least two posts done a day, so I don't drag this out too much.  I do have company coming into town tomorrow, so I will be stretched for blog time.  We'll have to see how all of that shakes out.  Until then, take care!

If You Were a Hot Dog, Would You Eat Yourself? A New HOF Baseball - Harry Caray

I added my 114th Hall of Fame signed baseball on Friday at the National Card Show when I made a bundle deal for this Harry Caray signed baseball.  I got another Hall of Famer thrown in with the deal, but Caray was the one I was really after. I figured that getting a Caray ball would be a good addition, since I was in Chicago.

Caray (b. 1914 - d. 1998) was a broadcaster for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1945 to 1969, the Oakland A's in 1970, the Chicago White Sox from 1971 to 1981 and the Chicago Cubs from 1982 to 1997.

Caray won the Ford Frick Award in 1989, making him a Hall of Fame broadcaster.  He is my 5th broadcaster.  I still don't have a single winner of the J. G. Taylor Spink award, so I probably should be looking for some of those at some point.

I'll close this blog entry with a clip from an SNL sketch that most people may associate Caray with these days.  Thanks, Will Ferrell:

Hall of Fame Signed Baseball - Tom Glavine

I picked up my 113th Hall of Fame signed baseball at the National Card Show when I got a steal on this Tom Glavine signed ball from the BBC Exchange booth.  I know they sell wax boxes at good prices, but I guess they have branched out into the signed memorabilia market a bit as well.  They had a lot of signed baseballs at really good prices (even Maury Wills at $10.00).

Glavine (b. 1966) played in the majors from 1987 to 2008 for the Braves and Mets.  He was a huge member of the Braves rotation (along with John Smoltz and Greg Maddux) for years.  I already had the other two, and adding Glavine completes that trifecta.

He finished his career with a 305-203 record, 3.54 ERA and 2,607 strike outs.  He was a 2-time Cy Young Award winner (1991 and 1998) and a 10-time All Star.  He won 20 or more games 5 times.  He was a member of the 1995 World Series Champion Braves.  Glavine was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2014 (his first ballot) with 91.9% of the vote.

Hall of Fame Signed Baseball - Al Lopez

I added my 112th Hall of Fame signed baseball on Thursday when I got a nice deal for this Al Lopez ball.  The ball is toned and faded, but still looks really cool.  Getting Lopez for the price in which I got it was definitely a steal, since he usually goes for north of $150.

Lopez (b. 1908 - d. 2005) played in the majors from 1928 and 1930 to 1947 for the Dodgers, Braves, Pirates and Indians.  He had 1,547 career hits, 51 home runs and a .261 batting average.  He was a two-time All Star (1934 and 1941) and finished as high as 10th in MVP voting (1933).

Lopez isn't in the Hall of Fame based on his playing career.  He is in there mostly because of his managing.  He managed from 1951 to 1956 with the Indians and 1957 to 1965 for the White Sox.  He also managed several games in the 1968 and 1969 seasons.  Excluding those few games in 1968 and 1969, Lopez never had a losing season as a manager.

He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1977 by the Veterans Committee.