A Trip In To Me Past

A few weeks back Night Owl wrote about the reminiscence bump and baseball cards. A couple of bloggers have written about their own memories and connection to card collecting and I wanted to do it, I guess I am now, but due to some medical issues my memory is not what it used to be, beyond the “old age” memory loss problems us old guys get.

I have short term memory loss tied to fibromyalgia, also called fibro-fog, but more devastating is that my long-term memory is deteriorating due to extended use of one of the medications I require. So, my reminiscence bump may not be as complete as I would like it to be, but I’ll do my best.

1977: I was 5 years old and my world revolved around Star Wars. I grew up in a small town in New York and there was a store called Hampton’s, kind of like a scaled down department store. At the registers were packs of Star Wars cards and my mom would pick up 3 packs for me and my brothers to open. 

I have a fond memory of being with my mom when she stopped at a flea market one day and picked up 3 Jawa action figures. 

1979: I moved to Tucson and there was a Circle K convenience store that I would walk to with my friends. I wasn’t a big sports fan but I did enjoy opening packs, so I would pick up whatever was on the shelf. For some reason this 1978-79 Topps Jack Sikma card is burned in to my brain. I am sure it isn’t the first basketball card I ever owned, but it is the one I remember, and it is my introduction to the Sonics.

1980: I am 8 years old and in 3^rd Grade, Mrs. Anderson’s class. The Empire Strikes Back are the packs I rip. We would bring our cards to class and keep them in our desk and trade them during recess. I would sit there during quiet time and draw the cards from memory, wonderful times.

1983: Return of the Jedi comes out, but I was 11 and I wasn’t as interested in trading cards, but Salacious Crumb was among the cards I had. I always liked his character even with such limited screen time.

1987: I come across 1987 Topps football rack packs at Kay Bee Toys and I was interested. The 1987 Topps Football set was the first set I ever built, but as a 15-year-old I was more interested in playing sports than collecting sports cards so the cards got stored in a box and forgotten about for many years.

1993: It was early 1993 when I returned to collecting cards. I just started working at Applebee’s and two of my co-workers, who weren’t card collectors, heard that Shaq will be big and the set to get is 1992-93 Stadium Club basketball. We hit every card shop that we can find and clear them out. The 1992-93 Stadium Club Series 1 set is the second set I build, all by packs. 

1995: I decide to cut down on what I collect because money was limited. I really like the Skybox Emotion release, so I built the set. 

1996: I stick with the premium sets, Pinnacle’s Aficionado. The set smells like bubble gum, honest to goodness bubble gum. Pinnacle was ahead of their times with this one. Another set built. 

1997: After some personal issues I go on a short card collecting hiatus and instead turn to action figures. Todd McFarlane’s Spawn and Movie Maniacs action figures made up a good portion of my figure collection.

2000: I am now 28 and my son was just born. I return to collecting and start with a nice Shaun Alexander PC. 

2001: I begin to have some health issues that doctors are having difficult pin pointing. I am always in pain and very tired, to keep me spirts up we go to my LCS every week or so. One trip we pick up a box of 2001 SP Legendary Cuts. While I drive my wife picks a row of packs and begins opening them. She pulls a bat card and asks if it is any good, she shows me Babe Ruth. Yup, that is good, but she wasn’t done. A few packs later she pulls a cut signature of Joe DiMaggio. 

2002: My big splurge of the year was a box of 2002 SP Legendary Cuts and my wife’s hot hand continues with a Mickey Mantle relic card. Sadly, I had to sell the card last year to help pay medical bills. 

2003: I was in the hospital for a 7-day seizure study and my wife came to visit with a surprise, a box of 2003 SP Game Used football. I sat in my bed with my son and while I opened packs he played with the wrappers. One of my personal best pulls ever came that day, 2003 SP Game Used Significant Signatures Peyton Manning Tier 2 auto #03/50.

  
2009: Pack War is founded and I have documented my collection for nearly 10 years now.

2018: I return to the set that started it all, I decide I want to have fun collecting and start building 1977 Topps Star Wars set. With my incoming COMC order I will have completed 1977 Topps Star Wars Series 1-4 and about 90% done with Series 5.