Sports Cards

[Patrick]

Hey all,

When I was a kid, I collected cards. And when I reached a certain age, I stopped. But I still have all of my cards, all in great or pretty good condition, plus the cards my Dad gave me.

Recently, I got the urge to get back into it and have been buying cards when I can find good deals (have to be careful not to get too deep, haha). Picked up a bunch of 1970s and 80s hockey cards (never really collected hockey, but getting into it a bit now), plus some baseball ranging from the 1950s through the early 1990s.

It's been fun to revisit something I loved so much, and I'm enjoying being back in it and discovering new cards.

Anyone else find themselves back into this hobby?

Patrick

[Spodo Komodo]

They were never big in the UK, but I do collect Sun Soccer Cards. These were the football equivalent of tea cards that came in packets of PG Tips tea in the 60s/70s and featured technology, history and natural subjects. The cards were about 1"x2" and featured a sometimes less than accurate portrait of a famous UK or international soccer player rendered in ink and wash. A short biography was on the back and there were 1000 in the set. I have about two-thirds of them. They were nowhere near the production quality of US baseball cards but they have a certain naive charm and they are cheap as chips. There are no rarities and you can still get a dozen for a pound.

I have a few UK hockey cards issued by the Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers in the 80s but they never caught on. Ice hockey remains small in the UK due to the lack of ice rinks, despite us breaking into the top tier of world hockey occasionally. It's a shame really because I love Ice Hockey but I rarely get to see a game, it is often sold out.

US football cards were briefly available in the UK when Channel 4 started showing selected NFL games, Topps made them I think. My friend managed to get a full set of Miami Dolphins but I never got more than a handful of my beloved Denver Broncos. The packs seemed stacked in favour of east coast teams all the time.

The nearest UK equivalent of US sports cards is definitely the Panini World Cup/Euro sticker collection of which I have quite a few. These have the added attraction of being swappable over the whole of Europe, all the text being in the album rather than on the sticker.

[bushido_man96]

I have not gotten back into collecting sports cards. I do have quite a few, and am planning on digging it up and going back through it one of these days. My wife absolutely loves Peyton Manning, and I mentioned to her that I had some of his rookie cards, so she wants to see them.

Since I've gotten back into Magic, that's where most of my hobby money ends up going.

[sensei8]

I was heavy into collecting cards, mainly sports, when both my sons were kids. Interest changed as I got older whenever I was a kid myself, and the same happened to my sons whenever they got older.

All 3 of us enjoyed trading and collecting over those many years. But when life gets in the way, those cherished moments faded into loving memories that I'll never take advantage of, or lose its enchantment.

Neither of us saved cards, but sold or gave them away once the luster of it all faded away; I miss those days, and wish they'd/Us/I hadn't replaced those yesteryears echoes for something else because once gone, then they're lost forever. New memories are exciting, but somehow, they're never the same as they once were.

Also, I know the three of us spent quite a lot of hard earned money, however, like the MasterCard campaign elegantly reminds us all, those memories are simple...priceless.