Why did you buy your first pre-war card?

I studied pre-war cards for a long time before I dove in.
Picture the moment in my studying when I discovered that there was a Maines (sic) Old Judge!
How long would a newbie be looking at pre-war before he found that?
Having discovered this, it was less than six months for me to own two varieties.

By that time, I had decided upon my year sets theme approach.

even as a kid, my favorite cards in sets were the ones that featured that all-time leaders. I also loved the backs of team cards that listed all-time franchise record holders. It's didn't take much for me to buy my first tobacco card at the first show Lee and I went to at the Thunderbird Motel in 1980.

I honestly couldn't tell you what the first card was, but it was a t206. I do remember my first t205 was a Matty. My first 19c card was an n172 Caruthers. The first card is in this picture somewhere.

I owe it all to Topps turn back the clock . They actually got me interested in older cards as a kid. I dont remember what my first prewar card was, but the purchase was inspired by the Ken Burns Baseball series.

I probably bought my first prewar card when I was about 15, give or take a year. I was smart back then and used to read a lot, mostly biographies and other books about the history of the game. Unable to travel through time and experience firsthand all the great players and moments, I turned to old cardboard as a way to connect to baseball's past. I had already been collecting for about 10 years and buying postwar vintage for a few years, so it was a logical hobby progression. I wish I could recall my first-ever prewar card, but a Diamond Star Pepper Martin was certainly one of the first.

I have always loved the history of the game. I ran into Bill Mastro at a card show at the Metrodome around 1981, all he had was 2 briefcases. They were full of T cards, I thank him for letting this young kid look through them I eventually bought a T202 Just Before the Battle Bresnahan/McGraw. I still own the card and love the set. Since getting on ebay in Oct. 00, I have obtained the complete set. The only know preWWII card I have bought since getting on ebay is a 53 Topps Satchell Paige.

Lee

My first Vintage Card was a T206 Cobb Red Portrait (with a common Piedmont 350/460 Fact. 25 back). I knew the Green Port. was more desireable, but the red was cheaper and I really liked the red background over the green for me personally. I overpaid for the card at the time, but wish I would have kept it.

I was in 8th grade at a local card show here in Illinois. A T206 Marquard - Portrait for a cool 8 bucks. I would never ever sell that card...

Well I started for the sole reason of having something new to collect. It seems that I pick up something new every year. The longest I have collected anything is 10 months. I'm already beyond that with vintage cards as I started in January of 2007, and this is the first time that I don't want to give up a hobby to pursue another. I started with the T206 set, liquidated my entire collection after 7 months, and am now type collecting. My first card was an Ed Abbaticchio with Blue Sleeves.