BY MARK A. LARSON
Over the past three and a half decades or so, the sports collecting hobby has changed dramatically. Let me offer the following as a test of your memory. Do you remember when … ?
◼️ There was bubble gum in all issued packs of baseball cards.
◼️ A “rookie card” only meant there were two or more unknown players on the same card.
◼️ Cards were actually made out of cardboard – not the shiny coated material used today.
◼️ Packs of cards were only 5¢ each and included five cards, an insert and gum.
◼️ Topps was the only major card company.
◼️ There weren’t any price guides.
◼️ You were considered a candidate for a mental institution if you were an adult who collected cards.
◼️ Most collectors still kept their cards in shoeboxes.
◼️ There weren’t any shows … or clubs … or major hobby publications.
◼️ Packs were sealed in wax and there were wax stains on cards.
◼️ Collectors read the back of their cards … again … and again … and again.
◼️ Baseball card sets first appeared on store shelves in March or April around Easter, not in November before Thanksgiving.
◼️ There weren’t any sports collectible shops and certainly no Ebay or internet stores.
◼️ Collectors traded as much with each other as they did buying and selling.
◼️ Baseball card sets were issued in six or seven series from early spring to late summer.
◼️ Hobbyists could find a hoard of great old cards at garage sales, flea markets or in someone’s attic and pay next to nothing for them.
Are things better now? Or, are things worse?
Prices are higher and there’s great emphasis placed on value. But it’s nice to have shows, stores, clubs, Ebay and hobby publications. And it’s great to have more than one company produce card sets, to have more information on card backs and not have wax stains on cards.
The hobby nowadays is probably neither better nor worse .. it’s just different.
• • • • • •
• Originally Published in July 2004 “Twin Times” •
THIS ARTICLE FROM THE “TWIN TIMES” NEWSLETTER – OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE TWIN CITIES SPORTS COLLECTORS CLUB – IS REPRINTED WITH THE PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR. IT HAS BEEN RETYPED, BUT NO CONTENT HAS BEEN CHANGED (EXCEPT FOR VERY MINOR ADJUSTMENTS, CORRECTIONS TO ANY TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS AND THE ADDITION OF GRAPHICS). COMMENTS OR INFORMATION IN THE ARTICLE MAY BE OUT-OF-DATE.
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