Cards of the past are a window through time, an era when Baseball was king, when it was a game. But when cards were produced only by tobacco companies, children were pretty much shut out of the fledgling hobby. Card collecting really took off when popular confection makers started to produce the wonderful pieces of cardboard with ballplayers on them. The manufacturers soon realized that the cards were more popular than their gum, so they made more cards and started to produce sets. Those cards are very hard to find in nice condition today because they were just another plaything, a toy, as I mentioned in a previous Post. And today, Topps rarely puts gum inside of their products, because the cards are the thing-- it's a multi-billion dollar a year industry. With the high price of modern sportscards once again children are pretty much shut out of the hobby. Very sad. Gone are the days when my friends and I would be in front of the T.V. watching a ballgame and going through our cards to see if we had the player coming to bat or playing left field. Or if it was a football game, seeing if we had Bart Starr or Johnny Unitas, or the receivers they were throwing to.
Nowadays it's the adults that are driving the hobby, going after the Autographs, the 1 of 1 inserts, or memorabilia. Some real hobbyist's try to include their children, perhaps building a particular set together. That is very nice to see.
Have fun out there!
Nowadays it's the adults that are driving the hobby, going after the Autographs, the 1 of 1 inserts, or memorabilia. Some real hobbyist's try to include their children, perhaps building a particular set together. That is very nice to see.
Have fun out there!
