Reason 77: Finding cards you have never seen before that belong to a set you collected as a child.
Reason 78: Learning the grim reality that you are lucky to get 20% of what Beckett guides say your cards are worth; but looking on the bright side, maybe that knowledge somehow gives you some kind of an edge in some of your card dealings.
Now here's the cool link promised:
Just turning you on to a really cool baseball cards page. It's full of fun stuff! Introducing: Heartbreaking Cards
It'll make you smile like this guy:
Who knew that old Monte Irvin was still around to enjoy my birthday shout out to him for his 95th?!
A bit of trivia now. Who led the league in RBI in Willie Mays' rookie year 1951? Monte Irvin did.
The card is a 1953 Bowman color.
What a crummy-looking card for a guy who maintained a .300 career average over a twenty-year career. The card featured a quite realistic-loooking cap, jersey & undershirt. Not! Good grief, they even fired a total blank on the back of this sad speciman of a baseball card. Happy birthday to Manny, anyhow.
The card is a 1973 Topps. Shame on 'em.
A happy birthday, to mighty Willie McCovey, old "Stretch" himself. He nailed down first base for the San Francisco Giants for years and nabbed Comeback Player of the year later for the Padres.
I had his 1960 Topps rookie card (yes, one of those awful horizontal 1960s Topps), but it didn't auction for much because, on the back, taking up nearly all the surface, some dunce had scrawled "1960" in thick marks a lot. Boohoo.
Card shown is a 1970 Topps All Star card.
It's always sad when the baseball season is about to come to an end, but kids like me who never grew up realized a long time ago that the season never ends when you collect baseball cards.
XXGrandpa's 1930's perpetual motion invention