Introduce yourself

It's been awhile since we've had a thread to introduce ourselves and we've gotten a lot of me members so let's post a little bit about yourself and get to know each other better. It's always good to put a real name to the avatar and screen name.

I'm Jay Behrens, co-founder of this board along with Ben Fisher. Bowlingshoeguy (Lee) is my brother.

I've been collecting vintage cards sine 1980. I was very active in the 80s setting up at shows and constantly buying and selling. I left the hobby in 1992 only to get sucked back in again when Lee decided to start collecting t202s and picking my brain for info.

I'm a magpie at heart. I've collected just about everything over the years, Native American/Wild West cards, coins, stamps, board games, action figures, Star Wars, lunch boxes, beer cans, The Banana Splits show memorabilia and lots of other stuff I've forgotten about. Baseball has always been my true passion.

After I graduated HS, this what my old bedroom became



some pics of me set up Mark Macrae's show. The top pic is from 1989 and I'm wearing Dusty Baker's jersey from the WS that year. The bottom pic is from a few years earlier

Name: Melissa Daisy
Age: 21
Gender: Female
Location: Canada
Course and Year: 2nd year of Mechatronics Engineering
Favorite Console/Platform: PC. However, leaning towards my 360 these days

Mellssa:

I think you should start a thread on what the HECK 'mechatronics engineering' is. You sound way too smart for the rest of us. '-)

Mechatronics is spam-arific.

Anyways, I like this "about myself" threads and thought I'd contribute so Jay doesn't feel as if he completely wasted his time.

I grew up in New Jersey and moved to New England at age 18, kicked around different parts of New England - Vermont, Connecticut, Western Mass, Central Mass, Boston, Newton... moved to SF and came back to Boston. Now back to Newton. Living next door to my old apt, with my former neighbor.

I was a college soccer coach, also coached a lot of kids. After being really interested in Sabrmetrics in college (yes, before Moneyball even, I started early), I got into soccer because it is more like chaos theory and less quantifiable linearly.

I've been collecting since 1983 Topps came out. I was age 7 and remember getting Tony Gwynn's rookie card and liking the card because he had a high batting avg (even as a rookie). I got ripped off on the first pre-war card I ever owned and traded half my collection (about $120 worth of cards) for a card really worth $10.

Since then I have become a bit more savvy but still made some mistakes. For instance, I bought a lot of shiny stuff in the late nineties. But now I enjoy nineteenth century and like conservative cards like HOFers. It's still fun to follow the rest of the hobby.

Your post spotlights the reality of the modern collector, jbonie. We proceed from the position that we're knowledgeable, but ultimately we're guessing. Perhaps we're not guessing like beginners, but there's still an element of insecurity to what we do. The counterfeiters figure out new ways; the ones who'll crack open graded cards will figure out new ways; frankly, we're never safe. BUT: We're knowledgeable. Unlike the vast majority of schlubs who go on ebay and place bids on obvious junk, we have developed an 'eye.' We have a vision. That's invaluable. And it's why I continue to have faith in the hobby, and in my own ability to take part. Long live those who know our sh*t. Long live those who care enough about this hobby that we won't let it be taken over by charlatans.

Keep flighting liars. Keep fighting crooks. Keep fighting, period. I see it as a job. And I'm happy to be employed.

Great writing!

Inspiring words Lucas!! Glad to have knowledgeable collectors like yourself here on FC.

Hello, my name is Ty Phelan. I am 39 years old, and have been collecting on/off since 1980. I am a collector, and rarely sell but sometimes trade.

I was born and raised in Washington state, near Seattle/Tacoma, but call central Washington home. I live in Ellensburg and graduated from Central Washington University with a BA in History & Religious Studies. That way, I could think deeply about being unemployed in context.

I put myself through college working in Alaska, and have been up north off/on for nearly 20 years; in canneries, on boats, and under docks. Currently, I do pier work for Yardarm Shipyards in Bristol Bay. When in the lower 48 I am a Certified Nurses Assistant, and find work in the health care field.

Aside from vintage baseball card collecting (strip cards), I love to hunt, fish, and drink. Not necessarily in that order. I consider myself an amateur in collecting circles but have greatly enjoyed the board.

Hi. I'm Randy From Nevada. I grew up in St. Louis (which is why I'm such a Cardinals homer), spent about 10 years in the Marines, and when I got out, I married my sweetheart and settled in Carson City, NV. I haven't been collecting for 20 years like a lot of you, but in the short time that I have been collecting, I've started a blog and landed a paid gig writing for Cardboard Connection (http://www.cardboardconnection.com/)

Obviously, I enjoy vintage cards, otherwise I wouldn't be here. I'm working on the 1969 Topps set (the year I was born), and I would like to get all of the Cardinals from the big three sets (T206, 1933 Goudey, and 1952 Topps).

I've been on a family history kick lately, and I started grabbing up a few T205 cards for a couple of reasons. #1 Because my grandfather was born in 1911, and #2 because they didn't cost me an arm and a leg. My father was born in 1945, so I'm not too sure if there's anything I can do collecting-wise for that year, but if any of you have any suggestions, I'd like to hear about them.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to learning a lot from the members of this forum. I consider myself a rookie collector, so I have a lot to learn, but this seems like the perfect place to learn the things I need to know.

Thanks to everyone who shares their thoughts and feelings about collecting on this forum. I look forward to learning a lot from each of you.

Randy
82Redbirds

Welcome to the board, Randy!

Randy, welcome to the board. There are a few team issues from 1945. I must be getting old because I can't remember the sets, so if anyone else knows, please chime in. I want to say that one of the sets is of the St Louis Browns.

Welcome...my name is Pete Ullman...I grew up in Northern NJ...am a die hard Yankees Fan and started collecting bb cards in 1975 or so...acquired a few vintage cards as a kid...starting collecting soley vintage in 1992 or so.

I am mostly a type collector...trying to complete a run of e90-1-E107, T200-T217...D's...collect HOF'ers and basically any cards I like!

pete

i moved to USA in '87...started collecting late 80's early 90's donruss/upper deck/topps. mid to late 90's i got into hockey opc premier during my college days. early 2000's after college thanks to ebay i found prewar.

i believe my first card was an e90-1 lajoie, followed by an e93 wagner, and a t206 johnson pitching (3 guys i read bios about and admired). i have a soft spot for these 3 cards till this day. but as you get in deeper you see the ugly and shady side of the hobby. right now i just collect whatever pique my interest, whether it be a t206 speaker or a 1983 donruss auto of carl hubbell.

collect what sings to you...if you have to make a poll to ask what your next purchase should be it's time to pack it in.

a couple months back i got my modern grail...i remember ripping so many packs in '92 to try and get one...those were good time.

Name is Pete... don't usually post, just like to lurk. Just graduated college, like to collect nadjas and other caramels. Have a pretty nice job and had a nice internship so I was able to have a semi-decent collection at the age of 21. Probably in the younger minority here, but don't mind one bit! Love the stories about collecting, can't wait to hear more.

MelissaDaisy99 wrote:Name: Melissa Daisy
Age: 21
Gender: Female
Location: Canada
Course and Year: 2nd year of Mechatronics Engineering
Favorite Console/Platform: PC. However, leaning towards my 360 these days

David Slomer
age 65 on Dec. 3rd
Cincinnati Ohio
I am a 19th early 20th century fanatic
I like Jays desk,looks like mine,but my wife cracked down on me to clean it up
I enjoyed the dicussion about Bill Hitman,etc. I googled all the names mentioned,and I have to say ,there are some people with high IQ's on this Forum.