Baseball Cards

[RICHARDMILTER]

scorehouse said:[quote:7005f6062e]i've collected for years. most of mine is 1957 graded cards and unopened cello and wax packs from the 50's and 60's. my favorite is a gai graded cello fron 1957 with the mickey mantle card on the back. sweet! Shocked Wink[/quote:7005f6062e]


Wow! Those are some serious items you have there. I am almost shocked that someone had the foresight way back in the 1950s to NOT open wax, and cello packs. Also I did not even realize cello packs where THAT old. I give you props for NOT opening them, I would have opened them years, and years ago!!!! I almost wonder if you would be better off opening them and getting them into hard plastic cases, but I am sure you know what you are doing. Enjoy! :shock: 8-) 8-) :shock:

[longgandhi]

I stopped collecting about 10 years ago, but still have most of my cards. I have given a few away, like a framed display of rookie cards of Bill "Spaceman" Lee, Roger "Rocket" Clemens and Blue Moon Odom to a good friend who works for NASA. In addition to cards, I collected odds and ends like the CocaCola bottle caps that had the player's pics in the top. It was licensing fees from these that first funded the Player's Union. My favorite oddball item is a pair of 1964 Phillies World Series tickets. They printed them before they had clinched the pennant and their epic collapse made them a collector's item. I also have about a half dozen World Series balls from 1994.

As for player signing stories, Steve Carlton was surprisingly affable. Will Clark is without a doubt the most impersonal of any of the players I've ever encountered. It wasn't that he was rude; he just wanted to get finished and get out of there. He was averaging about 6 people per minute. I was with a friend of mine who went to high school with him and he spent all of 30 seconds with us.

[scorehouse]

they are in hard plastic cases unopened. i've also got a few of the unopened early 1900's cigarette packs that have a card in them. could be sitting bull or honus wagner? :lol:

[askaufman]

If your Strat cards were anything like mine, they were worthless because of so much use. For collection purposes should buy two sets, one to use and one to keep pristine. I love the CD rom version better than the cards but everyone gets nostalgic for something they like as a kid.

I also have a few signing stories.

I live in Orlando and have gone to many spring training games over the years. The best signer by far was Cal Ripken. He would spend 20 minutes before and after games signing anything. Living in Orlando I was and still am a big Twins fans. Gary Gaetti and most of the Twins were great, however, Kent Hrbek was a big jerk. Would never sign anything and had an attitude with everyone. I will never understand that kind of behavior to kids. Hope he has mellowed out in his old age.

One player who didn't was Tony Oliva. I was at a spring training game in the early '90s and specifically brought a Tony Olivia card because I knew he was a coach. During the game saw him in one of the cages hand tossing balls to a player. I waited until he was finished and approached him. He growled at me about not signing anything during a game but signed it anyway. It wasn't a regular game and he wasn't on the field for this game. And this was behind the bleachers when I approached him. I would have thought he would be glad that someone knew who he was. I apologized for bothering him.

My funny story was a "can't miss" player was playing the Twins minor league team and I had his rookie card and wanted to get it signed. Met him after the game and he was glad to sign it and even handed me two hot dogs he got for the after-game meal. Kid's name was Jeff Juden and as far as I know he never had much of a career but I will always remember the hot dogs.

[Palmtana]

[quote:ea5bf3f2a3="askaufman"]My funny story was a "can't miss" player was playing the Twins minor league team and I had his rookie card and wanted to get it signed. Met him after the game and he was glad to sign it and even handed me two hot dogs he got for the after-game meal. Kid's name was Jeff Juden and as far as I know he never had much of a career but I will always remember the hot dogs.[/quote:ea5bf3f2a3]

8 teams in 8 years. Got a nice payday after a good '97 but then......

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=judenje01

[RICHARDMILTER]

scorehouse said:[quote:46b1d7e2c3]they are in hard plastic cases unopened. i've also got a few of the unopened early 1900's cigarette packs that have a card in them. could be sitting bull or honus wagner? Laughing[/quote:46b1d7e2c3]


That is unbelievable!!!! I mean I believe you, but it is totally incredible. I think I would have opened them years ago! I hope they are insured.

[Jerlins]

RMilter,

Sorry for the late response to your questions, but I find myself checking out the forums less and less. Lets see if I can answer your questions in order.
1. RI
2. No, will not be attending the show in July as a seller or a buyer. Just don't have the time or desire.
3. I'm not a big proponent of Grading. I don't think some minimum wage worker with little to no experience can accurately grade a card, regardless of the parameters given to him. It is a good tool if you are buying and selling online to give you a "general" idea of what your buying. I've seen some pretty bad cards with a decent grade and vice versa. And of course, the more business you do with a company, the better grade you will receive when submitting a card.
4. Business has slowed a bit in this economy, creating some very good bargains in the marketplace. While personally, our business has slowed as well, it's had less of an impact on us, as we wholesale to most stores within our 50 mile radius, as well as our retail outlet.

It's never too late to get into the business, btw.

[the splinter]

collected avidly as a kid....late 60's through late 70's.

Sold them all but a few personal faves and choice cardds(rookie etc) in order to make down payment on my first home in 92, Got about 7G's for my collection.

[RICHARDMILTER]

Jerlins,
I really appreciate your answered questions. I find your take on graded cards MOST interesting! It will help me getting back into the hobby. Thanks and I hope business is good for you! Take care.