So here's a vintage card I own, and have shown here before:
I bought this at a card show in Kingston, Ontario, Canada in the late Summer of 1989. It was back when there seemed to be a show every weekend within a 25-mile drive of my house, and this one was interesting because it was a little farther than that and involved a trip over the border for me. The price? $7.95 Canadian, or $5 and change in U.S. currency (the exchange rate was more favorable to me back then).
I was 16 then. At the time, it was my first Williams card from his playing days. It was card #1 in the set, and the first Hall of Fame player I managed to add to my 1958 Topps set (which stood at about 10-15 cards). Those were all great reasons why -- as a collector -- I enjoyed getting this card.
Today, there's another reason I like it. When I was 16, I still wasn't working and my discretionary spending needed to be approved by The First National Bank of Mom. And she balked at the price. For that kind of money, I could find something that didn't look as ugly as THAT card.
The seller seized the opportunity. "Actually, Ma'am...if it were in top condition, it would be worth $375." He had watched me look through his cards. He saw the way I flipped through stuff but stopped at that Williams card and considered it for a while. Perhaps he'd used the technique before, but it made Mom do a double-take and pull out the money.
And that's what I think about now when I see this card. It isn't all the things I considered in 1989. It's the remembrance of a time that seemed simpler, when going to card shows was a family activity. Back then, it wasn't too uncommon to see a parent and child looking through cards; today, it's not really as common. Mom's still around...and sometimes I have to remind myself that I'm fortunate to have her, because several of my friends have lost theirs in the meantime. But this card -- as ragged and beaten-up as it is -- will always be a reminder of a time in my life where she was willing to chauffeur me around nearly every weekend and let me indulge in my little cardboard addiction.
After 23 years...my perspective has changed.
0 Comments