Author: deftone20@bellsouth.net

The Hobby of Confusion

As a longtime sports card collector, I’ve often taken for granted the information that I’ve picked up over the years. I run into a lot of former collectors that are my age that want to get back on the hobby. And I find that really cool. But inevitably, they have a lot of questions and as they begin to ask them, I totally understand why!

There are several reasons I see people wanting to jump back in. Cards have been making a nice mainstream comeback with social media, documentaries, podcasts, and television shows. For example, I’ve really enjoyed MLB Networks “Carded”. I even saw a baseball card commercial the other day, and it felt like 1992 all over again.

For those old collectors from the 80’s and 90’s that experienced the Junk Wax Boom, it reminds us of a simple time when we would rip packs from the local drug store and look up their values in the monthly Beckett release. We’d scour the show calendar in hopes of one being close enough for us to talk our parents into going. There is a lot of nostalgia in collecting sports cards.

But just like any boom, when the hobby started to fade into an abyss of products, overproduction, and baseball strikes; many of those collectors walked away and got involved in other hobbies. Hunting, fishing, golf, baseball, and especially girls, became more important than the cardboard from when we were 10-15 years old.

While many walked away, putting cards away for good; some of us never strayed too far. While the day to day buying, trading, and sorting was pushed aside, I kept my cards and was still watching sports religiously. I hung on to the idea that maybe those Griffey’s would blossom into Mickey Mantle prices one day so it couldn’t hurt holding on to them for a while.

I went cold in 1994. I picked up a stray pack here and there. I bought a lot in 1998 chasing Peyton Manning. Then, 1999 was a really nice rookie class for the NFL. Lebron caused me to drop a little change on packs in 2003. But I don’t think I officially un-retired until the great search for the 2006 Alex Gordon Rookie Errors. I jumped back in with both feet and I haven’t looked back since.

Because I never left completely, I was aware of changes and innovations like grading, the early proliferation of autographs, and the introduction of parallels/variations. But overall, there wasn’t a total culture change in the hobby over those years. The hobby was just sort of humming along; off the high of the junk wax era and well ahead of the future COVID explosion.

In 2020, the hobby as we know it changed immensely. Values were through the roof, grading was a top priority, retail products were flying off of shelves, and influencers were popping up in all corners of social media to tout “investment buys/sells” and sell you their method for making money in the hobby.

I’ll never forget 2020. There was the Project 2020 craze, the introduction of NBA Top Shot, cards from the junk wax era selling for hundreds of dollars again, and people fighting in Target over $25 boxes of retail Score Football. Why? Because those $25 retail boxes were selling for $75-$85 on the secondary market. Boxes that were $100 just a year before suddenly became $600-$700, and high end boxes exploded into the thousands!

It was an absolutely crazy time; especially for those of us that had been in the hobby for any reasonable amount of time. It was weird to go from being able to buy just about whatever you want to being priced out of even the lowest tiered products on the market. I’m not complaining because I still bought cards, but it was a big change and made me rethink how I was going to spend my money. No matter what happened, I was not going to drop $200+ on Score and Donruss base products. But that didn’t stop others from doing it. And to each their own.

I did try to hone my skills in singles buying and focused more on cards that I wanted for my collection as opposed to cards that were hot at the time. One thing I’ve learned in life is that supply and demand has its ebbs and flows and when prices skyrocket, patience is usually a virtue. So I didn’t go out and get secondary market blasters and jump into overpriced retail breaks just to scratch the card itch. I found what worked for me and I stuck to it.

Since cards exploded in 2020, I have seen more and more older collectors come back. Locally, people know me as the guy who collects sports cards. Online, I have my “DubMentality” junk Wax persona. And I’ve been fortunate to appear in Beckett and a couple of other publications that helped me get my name out there. Because of that, I do end up in a lot of conversations with collectors trying to re-enter the hobby. And those conversations are generally always tough because a lot has changed since 1990 and it can get quite confusing.

So I thought I would write about a lot of what is discussed in those conversations. Maybe it will help somebody who stumbles across this post. Or maybe somebody can help me explain the hobby better than I’m doing it right now. In the end, I want people in the hobby and I want them to know as much as they can as they start to spend their hard earned dollars. Some of this may seem harsh but you have to know the truth.

Your 80’s/90’s collection from childhood is not worth much money.

I told you this could seem harsh. And this may sound surprising coming from me. But if you’ve followed me for any reasonable amount of time, you know I place a different kind of value on the junk wax era. So don’t go throwing your cards away. You likely have some really cool cards that I own myself. They just didn’t turn out like we thought they would when we were planning our retirement as 15 year olds.

There are a few reasons why these cards aren’t worth much. But the main one is production. There is simply no scarcity to 1988 Topps Baseball, 1990 Hoops Basketball, or 1991 Score Football. There are even a few sets that have been rumored to still be printing. I’m looking at you 1990 Pro Set!

So you may have a ton of Jordan, Griffey, and Montana cards. But unless you have a few specific ones that aren’t that easy to find, you have some cards that are worth a few dollars. Some of us love to own and show off those cards from our youth. I could open 1989 Donruss until I pass out. But to me, it is a card collection; not a trust fund.

All too often, I talk to collectors from my era and they want to know how much their old star cards are worth. The cold truth is that every major rookie from that era can be had for about $30 or less. There are a few exceptions like the ‘89 Upper Deck Griffey that is about $50, and some sought after sets like early to mid 80’s football, 1989 Score Football, or 86-87 Fleer Basketball. But on the whole, you can buy any rookie what you want for less than a trip to Outback – Tony Gwynn, David Robinson, Barry Bonds, Shaq, Emmitt Smith, Bo Jackson, Don Mattingly, Cal Ripken, Frank Thomas; you get the picture.

So as much as it pains me, you’re not going to jump back into the hobby and cash in on your childhood collection if you’re 35-45 years old.

What should I buy at Target/Wal-Mart?

As will be the answer to multiple questions, it all depends on your end game. There are products for kids, products for collectors, products for prospectors, and products for the investor.

If you want to get your kids into collecting, there are a few products that they may enjoy. Think Triple Play circa 1992. Of course, some kids may like the regular sets and that’s cool too. But Topps Big League and Topps Opening Day are very cheap options and provide all the big players plus some fun extras like mascots and pictures of stadium eats.

If you’re just a person that likes to collect, there are plenty of options for you. I like Archives and Heritage because of the throwback designs. A lot of people like Gallery for the artist renderings. There’s Donruss Football, Hoops Basketball, Topps Baseball, and many others. if you’re all about the players and cards, you just need to find the design you like.

If you’re prospecting, just look for the name Bowman. There’s Bowman Baseball, Bowman Chrome, Bowman Platinum, Bowman U Football, Bowman U Basketball, and probably others I’m forgetting. Those Bowman 1st Cards are all the rage with the prospectors.

And finally, the investor is a hot button issue in the hobby. I’m not here to judge on that for this article. I’m just here to put out some information to the folks that want to jump into collecting. The money making products are pretty limited to Prizm, Optic, and Select. And that’s strictly NBA and NFL. I’m not here to say that there aren’t cards worth any money in the other products out there. But these are the most sought after with the modern day collector. But the Pro Prizm releases are superior to the Prizm Draft releases.

Should I get my cards graded?

Well, it depends. I’ll start off by saying I do very little grading. I will buy graded but I can count on one hand the amount of times I have submitted my own cards for grading. And when I have, it’s been of the group submission variety with my local card shop. But I ONLY group submit with my local shop. You have to trust the submitter 110% to turn over your cards and money to them.

I’m not very good at grading with the eye test. I have thought something was a 10 and it came back at an 8. I thought something was a little off center and the surface came back at a 6. I haven’t guessed at all and it came back at a 9.5. It’s so subjective that I just send in what I think looks good and I just accept what it is when it comes back. That’s why I don’t submit a lot. Plus, the process is a little cumbersome to me. I’d rather spend my time sorting instead of filling out forms.

But enough about me and my preferences. There is a lot to like about graded cards. The encapsulation is something I like about vintage and junk wax. It preserves the card in its present state and is much more protective than toploaders and the like. And depending on how you want to present the card, each of the big graders provides a different label. PSA is the long standing leader in the hobby. But many collectors like BGS, SGC, and CGC. There are others but I don’t venture outside of these four.

The older the card, the more you can expect lower grades. If you have a 2022 card that grades an 8, you’re better off not grading. But if you have a 1962 card, your best case scenario may be that 8. No matter the year, pulling 10’s is sheer luck, trust me.

Different products present different challenges too. You may have a great looking 1989 Griffey Upper Deck but the hologram on the back could be chipped. Modern Prizm is notorious for being off centered. 1989 Fleer sometimes looks like it was cut with a jigsaw. The shinier the card, the more you worry about surface. The thinner the stock, the more you worry about the corners. Grading can be overwhelming.

So there isn’t a catch all answer to the question of whether to get your cards graded or not. In simple terms, if you have a card that comes back a 10 (or 9 for older cards), you can enhance the value of your collection. But there is a lot to consider if you aren’t certain you have a mint card. When it comes to grading, just do what you want to do. If you want to encapsulate your card and take a chance on the grade, knock yourself out.

What is this “breaking” I keep hearing about?

One of the biggest changes from when we collected back in the 80’s/90’s is the sheer number of ways to get your product. There are shops, eBay, social media, online retailers, apps, you name it. But there is also a way to get what your are specifically looking for in a product. You just have to be prepared to pay the asking price and take a chance.

Breakers have introduced a way to get your hands on what may otherwise be considered too expensive if you were just buying on your own. Take a hobby box of 2023 Prizm Football. You could go out and buy a box for about $1,000 and you can have every card in the box, good and bad. But if you don’t have $1,000 to spend on a box of cards, you can let somebody else spend that $1,000 and you spend $60 or so and get all the cards from your favorite team. You may get lucky and hit an autograph. Or you may get a kicker and 5th WR. It’s a gamble. One that some enjoy taking and one that some can’t handle.

Just like anything else, if you’re going to step into breaking, you need to find somebody that you can trust. There are some great breakers out there; Buck City, Midwest, Crackin Wax, Deep Fried, Top Shelf and many others. But there are also a lot of fly by night breakers that hit the scene and last about a month. Just know who you are spending your money with. Maybe watch some break streams for a little while and see where you may feel most comfortable. But again, no matter who you go with; it’s a gamble.

Where do you buy your cards?

Would you believe me if I said, “it depends”? My first look is always the closest big box. They have the most reasonably priced options if I’m looking for a small rip. They only have modern so if I’m feeling nostalgic, that option is off the table.

Second, find a local card shop that you like. My local shop isn’t so “local” but it’s worth the trip when I go. Middle Georgia Sports Cards is about a 2 hour drive but the service and selection make it an easy trip. Charlie Heinisch and his family run the shop and I would trust Charlie with my entire collection. The shop has unopened boxes from the 80’s to brand new releases. There is football, baseball, basketball, wrestling, soccer, pop culture, and even pickleball as of my last trip. There are jerseys, helmets, supplies, and tons of singles to peruse. If you can find a shop like that, it will be your number 1 resource.

eBay is always an easy option because it’s at your fingertips 24/7. Gratification is delayed with shipping though. You can buy your cards on a Saturday and it may be then next Saturday before you can hold them in your hands. But availability on eBay is unmatched anywhere else. If it exists, you will find it on eBay. Research the seller though before you spend your money. Seller feedback, the length of time they have been selling, and the listing itself can give you effective background information to make an informed decision. But with eBay; you are at the mercy of the seller and postal service, always.

There are other online retailers I like to use, like Dave and Adam’s, Steel City Collectibles, Alt, and COMC to name a few. There are auction companies like Goldin that can give you an opportunity to buy higher end stuff too. Fanatics is starting to offer more and more online as well.

Art by Josee Tellier

When it comes to jumping back into the hobby after a long hiatus, you just have to understand that there have been changes and innovations that you’ll need to learn about. It’s not like it used to be. And that’s a good thing. Sure, I miss the simple times of buying .50 cent packs at Rite Aid and sorting them in my binder by value in the price guide. But I can still do that when I want to. But now, I can also see somebody’s collection from 1,000 miles away. I can see hobby artists turn some of the most iconic players and moments into sports art. I can talk with likeminded collectors on the other side of the world. Back in 1991, my hobby talk was limited to the other side of the neighborhood.

There are some parts of the hobby that aren’t for me. I’m not an investor. I don’t break often. I don’t grade many cards. But there are plenty of collectors that do all of that stuff. The fun part about opening up to the hobby in 2024 is the ability to find your niche. Whatever you like, there is a place for you. You just have to find it.

But if I can stress anything to collectors coming back, or even brand new collectors. Making money is not easy. The collectors who make money buying and selling have spent years honing their craft, developing contacts, establishing their reputation, and learning by trial and error. While some people have made money, plenty have lost it. So don’t come back with the mindset that you are coming back to make big bucks. While that is a possibility in the hobby; it takes a lot of knowledge, a lot of work, and a lot of luck. Like any other hobby, you have to be good at it or you have to be ready to learn how to become good.

My goal in this great hobby is to break even. If I can find a way to enjoy the sports cards I’ve always enjoyed and somehow break even with my spending, that is my ultimate dream. I’m still working on that because the spending always seems to outweigh any money coming in. It doesn’t help that I want to keep all my cards so I rarely sell. But I’m more of a collector than anything else. But I’ve found my corner of the hobby and I’m happy here. So no matter the reason you’re coming back or joining, make that your goal. Find your corner of the hobby and enjoy!

Happy Collecting!

Dub

The Comeback Edition

I’m not going to lie; I’ve been floundering lately. I haven’t written about sports cards in almost a year; June 18, 2021 to be exact. Seeing that date really puts it into perspective for me. It’s been a while. A lot has happened since that time; and very little of that has had anything to do with cards. Though I am still surrounded by them every day.

I haven’t even been opening much. I pick up the stray blaster from time to time at Target but I haven’t picked up a hobby box in ages. I have really been buying singles on eBay and satisfying my card itch that way. I’ve been sorting old common boxes and opening old wax packs that I have stashed in a shoebox. But I can count on one finger the amount of times I’ve been to the card shop in 2022.

I do have cards to open here at the house. I have a hobby box of 2021 Topps Chrome that has been sitting unopened since some time last year. There is a Mosaic Basketball Mega Box, and a couple of 2021 Update Hangers staring me in the face. I have 2 plastic totes full of football, baseball, and basketball boxes from 1987-1997. I tell myself every day that “tomorrow is the day that I get back”. I have been telling myself that since Christmas.

I go to bed with the best of intentions; and awaken in the same fog I was in the day before. That seems to be the only way to explain my existence since last October. I still love the things I loved before; I am just distant. I’m watching the Braves, I am just not living and dying with them right now. I was excited about signing day and the draft for the Bulldogs, I am just not losing any sleep over what is going on. I’m collecting and sorting cards regularly, I’m just not sharing it with the world right now.

Where is the passion? I don’t know. Will it come back? I hope so. Do I miss it? Of course. Am I in literature class right now and asking myself questions in this post to meet a word minimum? No; I just have a lot of questions and I talk to myself a lot. That is where the blog came from to begin with, so I guess it is a part of the process.

Passion is a foreign word to me at the moment. I need it but it eludes me. I feel nothing for the better part of being awake. Just empty. I am going through the motions but the excitement is just so hard to find. So I thought I would sit down in front of this laptop and just start typing. Maybe it will spark something; even if for the short time I’m writing this. And maybe I will do it again, and again, and light some sort of motivational fire along the way.

I find solace in nostalgia. No matter how I feel right this minute, I can get lost in old retro commercials or an old movie and momentarily go back to a time when I knew nothing but happiness. I have been playing old seasons on Tecmo Super Bowl and Tecmo Basketball lately; just focusing on the old 16 bit graphics and letting the old NES game sounds wash my brain.

I’ve been watching a lot of Hardwood Classics on NBA TV. I’ve spent far too much time watching movies that weren’t even good but were movies that were on the shelf at the video store I worked at and always thought I wanted to see. And listening to music that would have been blaring at the skating rink when I was 14. I am on this weird Samantha Fox kick right now. I’m telling you, I am searching.

Nostalgia is great for the soul. It is soothing, calming, and helps take weight off of my shoulders when I feel like I just can’t carry any more. But all of those things that are a part of nostalgia are also remembered more fondly in our minds. The “living it out” part is not always sustainable. I love playing RBI Baseball but after a game or two, the nostalgia wears off for the time being. I used to be able to play full Tecmo Seasons in one long night. It only takes a 3 game stretch now.

Maybe I have matured beyond being satisfied by those games. Maybe my brain can’t carry on the fantasy of an 80’s horror movie like it used to. Or maybe I just realize that the nostalgia is a temporary emotion that is going to fade. I know that I am not going to be cracking a Mountain Dew and joking with my friends at 3 am while trying to conquer Contra on 3 lives. Pizza Hut really doesn’t have those frosty glasses anymore. There is no video store uptown. There is no 1989 Sports Card Release that I am going to experience for the first time again.

I love nostalgia but it can also be a painful reminder sometimes. One such baseball card set that fits this description quite well, is 1989 Bowman. Wow, the memories that come with this set. I remember thinking that 1989 Bowman was going to be such an asset in the years to come because it was Bowman coming back to the hobby. I was only 12 but I knew that the old cards my dad and uncle had were Bowman cards. I knew what that name meant. And in 1989, I was all in.

1989 Bowman even teased us kid collectors with reprints of the old Mantle, Mays, and Robinson. Holding that old lo0king design on what felt like old card stock (compared to Fleer, Donruss, and Upper Deck from that same year) just made it even more exciting. So in 1989, Bowman was playing on nostalgia with older collectors who had their kids joining the hobby during the 80’s boom.

1989 Bowman has a lot of redeemable qualities. I liked the card stock. I knew what the other companies were doing by innovating but I felt like Bowman, for what it was supposed to be, was a great feel for old school collecting. I still miss the rough, cardboard feel of baseball cards today. Everything that comes out of packs today is shiny and almost plastic feeling. “Wax” packs are foil packs now. “Cello” packs are fat packs. And gum has been replaced by “Kid Reporter” cards or awful reprints that don’t really feel like throwbacks at all.

I liked the old nod to the facsimile autograph on 1989 Bowman. At 12 years old, living 2 1/2 hours from my closest major league ballpark, autographs were not a big part of my collection at all. Pulling them out of card packs was unheard of. So, seeing how players signed their name on the cards was interesting stuff for me. I don’t think they aged well for a world of in person and through the mail autographs, but for that particular moment in time, they got my attention.

While I was not a huge fan of the backs of the cards from a statistical perspective; one thing I did enjoy was the “Player is making his Professional Baseball debut in 1989” for the rookies. The cards didn’t have standard Rookie, Future Star, Rated Rookies, or Prospects identifiers; but one look at the back could immediately put you on notice for the chase card of my generation, the Rookie.

There were some solid photographs in the set as well. Bowman did not specialize in action shots. For the most part, they went with the old school pose approach. These are the cards I remember seeing as a little kid when I would see some of my uncle’s collection. Players were posing with the bat over their shoulder or crouched down taking a ground ball. The quality of the photos have not held up as well, but again, for what they were going for, I appreciated it.

1981 Fleer Dan Ainge in front of 1989 Bowman Wade Boggs for Size Comparison

The one major flaw that collectors can’t get past is the size of the card. While all major sports card releases had moved to the 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inch measurements, 1989 Bowman took it back to the old days there as well. The release put cards in our hands that were 2 1/2 by 3 3/4 inches. That 1/2 inch in length really doesn’t sound like much. But it was impossible to find card sheets or protection for a card that was larger than the standard in 1989. Thus, just like my uncle’s old collection, it was hard to find mint cards from the set after owning them for a couple of weeks. The tops of the cards eventually folded over like a bookmark in an old Baptist Hymnal.

For all of the good parts of 1989 Bowman, the overall concept, the rookie class, the wax wrappers; it was all undone by the oversized cards. To this day, it’s easy to brush past 1989 Bowman because of the odd length. They are still tough to find in mint condition and even tougher to keep that way if you do find them. You just can’t store them with the rest of your cards. And that is a shame.

Bowman figured that out and released a very similar product in 1990, but with the standard sizing of a baseball card. But I feel like the damage had been done a year prior. The rookie class wasn’t as strong as 1989 and new players like Leaf were furthering the push for modernizing the card printing game. They would eventually have to rebrand as the “Home of the Rookie Card” and they are still flourishing today in that role.

But in 1989, I think the timing was perfect for that product to have been a truly memorable release for all the right reasons. It had nostalgia, good rookies, an “against the grain” design, and the chance to captivate young collectors. Instead, one major flaw has made it memorable for the wrong reasons.

I still look back on the set fondly. I have memories of ripping packs in the backseat of the car after grocery shopping with my parents. I opened a lot of it over at Fort Gaines thanks to the Wal-Mart in Eufaula AL. Those memories always make me smile, because they come with so much more attached; fishing, skiing, tubing.

I guess the moral of the story is that not all comebacks are perfect. Some have potential, some fall flat, and some miss because of an error in execution. I guess time will tell if this comeback post is met with excitement or reservation. I enjoyed writing it, and I suppose that is what really matters. That is why I started the blog in the first place. This is where I document my memories and thoughts on the sports card hobby. While I’d rather be the 1990 Leaf of blogging, I suppose there are some positives to be had if I wind up being the 1989 Bowman as well.

J-Dub

Be Cool

Almost 28 years ago, I met a girl that would one day become my wife. I didn’t know that then, but I am thankful every day that it happened. When I met her, I also met a family that would become my family. I met a younger sister that I would learn would have my back even when Alicia and I would inevitably spend some time apart. As most young relationships are; we were on again off again a couple of times before we decided to make it forever. Now Ashley is my sister and I am so blessed to have her.

I also met a mother that I “think” liked me from Day 1. I don’t know what I did for that to happen but if it wouldn’t have, I may not be typing this particular piece today. As a young lad, you learn quickly that if the mother doesn’t like you, it will be an uphill climb. As a second mother, Mrs. Charlotte has been so good to me. We kept in touch during those “times apart” and our relationship has always been great. There are people who don’t get along with their mother-in-law. I can’t relate to those people. I am probably second among her favorite son-in-law’s but I still think she likes me. I hit the jackpot with the mother-in-law sweepstakes.

I also met a father who may not have liked me as much as Mrs. Charlotte did in the beginning. And I can’t really blame him for that. I know that I am not going to like my daughter’s boyfriends either. It could have been that I was a city boy. Or it could have been that the first movie I brought to the house was a horror movie, “The Crow”. Or it may have just been that I was showing an interest in his daughter. And he was never mean to me; I just knew that I was going to have to prove my worth to him to be accepted.

So I started way back then trying to show him that I was a good guy that was going to treat his daughter right. But most of the work I did on the good side was offset by some of the things that got on his nerves. I would call way too late at night or try to call in the morning before school; just to talk for a minute. I kept bringing horror movies. And I was clearly not much help as a farm hand back in those days. Alicia had to teach me that getting muddy and swimming in a cow trough would not give me some rare disease. But I think I got there to some degree.

Mr. Lee was a dairy farmer at the time Alicia and I started dating. He was at work when I got to her house in the evening and I only saw him for a little bit while we ate supper. He was usually tired or getting ready to go back to work again. One thing that was apparent early on was that he worked a lot. It didn’t matter what day it was or what time it was; if work needed to be done, he was there doing it. Except on Sundays. He went to church and took his naps on Sundays and we left him alone.

That was another thing I learned early on. Mr. Lee was a fervent Man of God and he devoted a lot of time to singing in the choir and was in church every time a service was to be had. We were expected to be there too. And I am thankful that the woman I would marry had that background. I had that background too and we have had to lean on our faith many times during our marriage. That faith was built in us by both of our parents.

Mr. Lee gave to his church throughout all the years that I knew him. He was a committed choir member, and even spent his little bit of spare time working on the building and the grounds. If an air conditioner needed fixing, he was there. If a door needed replacing, he was there. If floors needed work, he was there. Even two weeks ago, he was leading the choir as the interim choir director. He was devoted to God and his church; and I always admired that about him.

As the years passed, he left the dairy business and moved over to the poultry business with his family. He still worked day and night. I remember us waiting on him for supper or planning trips around when he was free. Up until a few years ago, I never knew what kind of work went into managing a chicken house. But I certainly learned a lot about it later on in life.

He loved fish. From the time I remember going to Alicia’s house when we were teenagers, he had always had a salt water aquarium. He would spend much of his free time managing that tank; feeding fish, changing water, looking for new fish. He would spend off days in Tallahassee at aquarium shops just looking and learning. And he would also spend a lot of time eating oysters. That was his go to in Tallahassee!

The one aquarium grew to multiple and he even built his own koi pond in the yard. He started out with a pond that he built himself. And when he and Mrs. Charlotte moved into his old childhood home, he had some professionals come and build a beautiful in ground pond with lights, waterfalls, and rock walls. Man, he loved that pond. And we did too.

Like me, he loved the Atlanta Braves and the Georgia Bulldogs too. I took him to his first Georgia game in 2014 when Todd Gurley, Nick Chubb, and Sony Michel rushed for 301 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 45-21 route. Gurley also had a 100 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The atmosphere was electric and I will always remember that game with him.

When Bailey was born, we saw a new side of Mr. Lee. He became “Granddaddy” and his love for her, and all the grandkids that followed, was such a sight to see. He would let them push him way farther than we were ever able to. He let them get away with so much more but it was beautiful. He was such a great Granddaddy.

We had some great times over the years. We took trips, spent holidays together, and watched sports. But as close as we had always been, all of that changed and we got even closer in 2020. When COVID hit the US, I started working from home and the school had gone virtual, so Alicia didn’t have to report for work at the campus. We looked at our options for the short term. We both had parents that were compromised in some way and didn’t need to be exposed to the virus. We also had very little info on the virus and we were scared.

Mr. Lee and Mrs. Charlotte opened their home to us and we moved in with them from February until October in 2020. We all took turns going to the grocery store, cooking, and cleaning. Though, make no mistake about it; Mrs. Charlotte carried the lion’s share of that work as she always does. We just tried to help out where we could. You never get as close with someone as you do when you live with them. I lived with my parents for 18 years. I have lived with Alicia for 21 years. Those are close, close relationships. And I really got close with Mr. Lee during the time we lived with them.

I had my own 9-5 that I was working with my laptop. But being on the farm, the day doesn’t end at 5. I would head out with Mr. Lee in the afternoon and we would make rounds at the chicken houses. We would repair broken feed lines, check for water leaks, take inventory of feed bins, replace broken fans, check temperatures, and everything else that comes along with that line of work. I learned a ton during that time. I have always been a fairly light do-it-yourself guy and would lean on him or my dad to help with big projects. With the chicken houses, I learned a lot that I never thought I could do on my own. He even started to trust me with doing some of the odd jobs by myself.

My brother-in-law, Michael, lives on the farm and was already waist deep in all of that work. But when COVID hit, he and Ashley stayed quarantined because of her work and I had to pick up the slack. Then there were cows that needed to be moved from grazing to pasture. There were electric fences that had to be checked whenever it rained or the wind blew too much. There were fish to feed. There was always something to do and I think keeping busy helped me cope with my own fears about what was going on in the big world at the time.

I was also struggling with my dad’s diagnosis and being unable to spend much time with him. I had an ever present fear of him getting sick if I had been exposed by a farm worker or from groceries at Wal-Mart. During that time, Mr. Lee was there and talked with me about what I was going through and kept me busy to keep my mind from going to too many dark places. I will never forget that. We would just sit in the truck with the Braves game on in the background and we would talk about what was going on in the world, with my dad, and with our families. We talked to each other about things that we just didn’t talk about with other people. I felt safe to do that and I was honored that he felt the same.

While I haven’t blossomed into a full blown Farmer; I did my share of chopping wood, culling chickens, changing water out of koi ponds, checking on wells that weren’t working, answering alarms that needed attention, helping wrangle up cows that were to go to the sale, and clearing up downed fences to keep the cows in their pasture. I found out that there was another side of me that I didn’t know was there. I have been an office man for 24 years. But there is a little bit of a country fella in there too. I just had to dig for it and he had to teach me how to do it.

Our relationship grew as strong as ever over the last couple of years. Even though I was still trying to impress him like when we first met, he had truly become my second dad and a friend. He was there when I needed to complain, or vent, or tell a funny story too. He always had advice and was always receptive to what I had to say. I would never trade the time I was able to spend with him in his element.

When we lived with him; we had dinner together, we worked on things together, he shared ice cream with Georgia, he taught Bailey how to handle the Kubota, he shared fish pictures with Alicia so they could decide which ones to buy, and started a little goat farm (though that was not exactly my doings). We sat every night and talked about random things. We watched “Counting Cars”, “Dual Survival”, and “Dr. Pol”. I couldn’t get him to watch “The Office” but that was about the only thing we didn’t do together. And then, when he was headed to bed, he would turn to Georgia and say, “Be Cool.” That became a nightly thing. And I still say it to Georgia from time to time today. I would love to hear that again.

When we lost him on February 23, 2022; Mrs. Charlotte lost her husband, and Alicia and Ashley lost their father. I lost my buddy. I lost somebody that would complain about Braves losses with me. I lost somebody that understood the pain that came with 40 years of no National Championships. And I lost someone that knew what it was like to be outnumbered in a house full of girls.

When I watched the Braves win the World Series at my mom’s house in October, he was the first person that called during celebration. He said, “How about that?” and we both were so happy. We didn’t miss a game when I lived with him. Then, when Georgia won it all in January, he was again the first person to call me. We could not believe that we had experienced a Braves and Bulldogs Championship in the same season. It was the mountaintop for our sports allegiance. And we were invested together.

I don’t know how I will react when I watch my next game. I don’t know what emotions will come up when the Braves decide what they are going to do with Freddie Freeman. Mr. Lee was not ready to see a Braves team without their leader. He was worried about that just a few weeks ago when we were talking about the lockout. I also don’t know what it will feel like when I have an urgent need and he and my father are both gone. I just don’t know. I didn’t think I would have to know this soon after I lost my dad.

But what I do know is that Mr. Lee loved his family. He loved all of us. He said it on multiple occasions when we were all together over the last couple of years; whether camping or just having dinner. He remarked at how blessed he was to have his whole family sitting there together. I know what he was talking about now. I took it for granted while it was happening; but I get it.

He will be missed by many people. That was evident at his funeral. He was a strong community man and a proud member of his church. And he was a lot of things to our family; husband, father, father-in-law. But I think what he was most proud of in the last couple of years was his being “Granddaddy.”

I am going to miss you, Granddaddy. I am going to miss everything about you. I am going to miss you being grumpy because everybody didn’t wait on you to eat. I am going to miss our brainstorming sessions of trying to figure out how to set-up the camper for the first time. I am going to miss looking at new fish that show up in a box on the front porch. I am going to miss the chicken houses. I am going to miss when you ask the girls to give you that hug when it’s time for us to go home. I am going to miss you telling Alicia to “Let nature take care of itself” every time she wants to save an animal. And I am going to miss your head shaking when the bullpen gives up a run.

Until we meet again Granddaddy, “Be Cool.”

J-Dub

Remembering A Smile

How do you make sense of something that doesn’t make sense? One of the things we learn as young children is the principle of causation. You know; touch a hot stove and you get burned. I learned that I couldn’t swallow ball bearings, or jump down a flight of stairs, or climb up a chest of drawers. The results were never good.

But sometimes, causation gets thrown out of the window. Sometimes bad things happen and there is no real explanation. There is no answer to the question, “why?” There is no level of understanding to be found. And that is hard to accept. We all want to know why this thing has happened.

The thing about those really difficult “why’s” is that you can never really prepare for them. Sometimes you can see them playing out and still not be ready. We always think there is a tomorrow that we’ll have to face. But eventually, that tomorrow becomes today.

My family has had to face two of those “today’s” in the last 10 weeks. I lost my dad on October 1, 2021. He had been sick for over a year. He had his ups and downs but he had been sick. Yet, I still thought I had time. The morning he died, I was headed to my parents’ house to stay the weekend. I knew about the possibility. But I didn’t accept it. I kept thinking, “we still have tomorrow.”

A few months after my dad got sick, my uncle was diagnosed with the same brutal disease as him, albeit in a different form. A disease that we had very little experience with as a family took hold of two of the most important/influential men in my life. There were three men in my wedding party; my dad, my brother, and my Uncle Greg. And within months of each other, dad and Greg were both facing the same difficult battle.

In June of 2021, for my dad’s birthday, we gathered together for what would be the last time as a family. Dad was in good spirits. Greg was there; tired but laughing and talking about fun memories. We took this last photo that I’ll hold dear for the rest of my life. I look at it often. I remember it vividly.

In 3 short months, we lost my dad. Ten weeks later, we have lost Greg. Selfishly; I ask why? Why did we lose two great men in the same season? Why did they have to go through what they went through? Why did this have to happen? I’ll never have an answer to any of these questions.

I can only try to honor their memory in the way I walk through this life moving forward. I wrote about how important dad was to me HERE. If you haven’t read it, I ask you to do that – just to understand what kind of a man I was blessed with as a father.

As for Greg, though he was my uncle, he was sometimes like a big brother to me. He was closer to my age than he was to his own brothers. He was about 15 years younger than my dad and only 9 years older than me. He was still in high school when I was about to head to middle school. When most kids were looking up to high schoolers they didn’t know, I had Greg.

He was a star in baseball and football. He was a great basketball player. He was funny. He was tough. He would let you think you were going to beat him at something and then turn it on at the last minute. He taught me how to race bikes around my granny’s house. He taught me wrestling moves on the trampoline. And he even tried to convince me that Auburn was better than Georgia.

Greg was the unintentional reason that I met Alicia for the first time. He was the head of the city recreational fields and had me making some extra cash as an umpire while I was in high school. And my wife, as I’ve written about before, was almost tossed from a game for arguing with me about being out at first base. I didn’t know her before then. We would start dating a year or so later.

I remember going to my first men’s softball game when I was about 15. He played for the “Dodge Boys” with several of the guys from his high school team and I don’t remember them losing very often. Like my dad and Uncle Speedy, Greg knew how to handle himself on a baseball field. I worked scoreboards, umpired, and played bat boy for some of those men’s teams and I know it’s where my passion for weekend softball came from.

Greg loved his high school alma mater like me too. He played football at Mitchell-Baker where he won “Best Hands” one year as a wide receiver. When he graduated, he wore the mascot gear (a big eagle) for a couple of years. In the late 90’s, we started doing the stats for the team and traveled together all over the state of Georgia for a few years.

We watched the coaches lose their minds in Fitzgerald. We experienced elation at Greene-Talieferro. We experienced heartbreak at Cedartown after watching a 12-0 season. We watched one of the craziest plays ever in Early County that we laughed about the last time we talked. We really did experience it all on those Friday Nights. I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything in the world. And I’ll never see a Mitchell County game the same way again.

We saw our share of Eagles Basketball too. We went to Macon every year the Eagles made the Final Four during the 90’s, which was a lot. We saw them win a State Title and we saw them not make the playoffs. Alicia was with us the night he got a chicken sandwich from Wendy’s in Perry. We got about 10 miles up I-75 when he thought he bit into a cold tomato. Turns out it was an uncooked chicken breast. Salmonella was no laughing matter; but we laughed.

I watched the 1993 Suns/Bulls finals at his house. We pulled for the Suns because Barkley was from Auburn. I watched the A’s in the World Series at his house because he loved “The Bash Brothers”. I stayed all night to watch the George Bush/Al Gore election and one of the last things I said to him was, “we have a developing situation in Broward County.”

I played softball on the same field in Baker County with Greg the last time he played. I was at first and he was at second. He demolished his achilles and hung em up after that night. I kneeled over him to check on him. The guy I watched from the dugout when I was 14 had played his last grounder with me on the field beside him 25 years later.

We gathered on Sundays at my parents house to watch NASCAR. We all had our drivers and we were relentless with each other. Dad was an Earnhardt guy. Greg liked Gordon. My guy was Tony Stewart. My mom liked the Labonte brothers, and Alicia was a Sterling Marlin fan. We all put our $5 on the TV Stand at the beginning of the race with the driver who finished highest winning the pot. We really bashed each other during those races.

But if I had to pick one memory that stands out more than any others, it would be the 1997 Auburn/Tennessee SEC Championship. Greg asked me to go with him and I was excited for a few reasons; although neither of those teams are on my favorite list. First, I had never been to an SEC Championship Game. I was only 20 at the time and wasn’t traveling around to major sporting events. Second, I had the chance to watch Peyton Manning play. And finally, it was a trip with Greg so it was a no-brainer.

We got a hotel in downtown Atlanta and took a fairly short cab ride to the dome. Our first issue arose pretty quickly. We found out the tickets we had at the top row of the lower section didn’t have physical seats. We had a spot that was actually for wheelchairs. We would wind up sitting in metal folding chairs at the top of the section.

The game was exciting, with Tennessee winning 30-29. Auburn had several chances during the game but couldn’t quite close the deal. That’s when Greg coined the nickname for Karsten Bailey; “No Hands”. He had some critical drops in the game and anytime he said “No Hands” over the years, I knew exactly what he was talking about.

After the game, we decided to take the Marta back to the downtown area where our hotel was. It was my first experience and was quite a ride with hundreds of drunk college football fans. When we got off of the Marta, we walked and we walked and we walked. Remember, there were no cell phones with GPS back then. I had zero experience in Atlanta and just knew we were staying in a Holiday Inn.

After we walked in circles for what felt like an hour, we finally gave up and picked up a cab at a red light. We told the driver that we were going to the Holiday Inn. He took an immediate right at the light and stopped, about 20 yards from where he picked us up. He turned around to Greg and said, “that’ll be 8 bucks Holmes.” A 30 second cab ride that took us 20 yards was $8 (in 1997). When I tell you we laughed about that 20 years later; believe me, we got a lot of miles out of that story.

I am blessed to have these memories of Greg. We spent a lot of time together over the years. We experienced a lot of laughs and a lot of sadness over sports together. He was there on stage with me at my wedding. He was there at my graduation for me. He was there with me on the softball field when we were old men.

And he’ll be with me forever in my heart. I’ll never understand why he’s gone at 53. I’ll never understand why my dad left just 2 months before him. I don’t know how somebody is supposed to feel after experiencing this kind of loss in such a short period of time. I’m sad, I’m anxious, I’m reflective, and sometimes I’m just lucky to feel any emotion at all.

I know I’m not the only one. Everybody in my family is dealing with this in their own way. My mom is facing it. My granny is facing it. Brothers, Sisters, Aunts, Uncles, Nieces, and Nephews are facing it. Greg has a daughter and son that are going through the same thing I have been going through. We are all facing this moment with each other but it’s hard not to feel alone in it at times too.

I am just thankful I had the life I had with them. I am thankful God gave me the family he gave me. I couldn’t have had a better father than Dewey Shiver. And there could never be another Greg Shiver either. I’ll see his smile forever. He had the biggest smile. Somehow, we will go on. We will never forget; but we will go on.

J-Dub

One Day Farther Away

I’m in a bit of a weird place right now. There’s been more introspection lately. That’s saying something for me. I spend a lot of time in my own head and emotions. But more so lately than ever before. I don’t really know where it’s leading but I’ve always been one to just let it pull me along. In a life where I have to have so much control, it’s the one aspect of my personality that I let drift.

I couldn’t think of a better word to describe my mindset when I get like this; other than drifting. And for good reason I suppose. I read once that “drifting” was when you “make a decision by not deciding.” That seems appropriate. I’m not moving forward and I’m not going backwards. I’m just drifting.

That’s where I’m at right now. I’m just living day to day and letting it unfold. It’s been both good and bad. I lay down a lot of nights wondering if what I did that day really meant anything at all. But then I lay down some nights and my mind is totally at ease; which isn’t a normal occurrence for me.

And before you think this is a cry for help; let me assure you it isn’t. This is all a part of my current introspective state. I’m trying to figure it all out. I’m not suffering in my own thoughts. I’m finding out a lot about myself. Some of the things I like and some I don’t. But that’s a part of reconciling who we are, I suppose.

My passion for nostalgia has been hypersensitive lately too. As a part of putting life in perspective, I think a lot about where I came from and what experiences make up who I am. I’ve spent a lot of time over the last couple months in and around the house I grew up in. It has changed a lot over the last 35 years and some memories are less vivid than others. But when I’m there, I always end up seeing something that makes me feel something I haven’t felt in a long time.

Sometimes it’s as simple as pulling a 1989 Score Ron Gant baseball card in the bedroom I grew up in. Or listening to the ceiling fan I installed myself when I was 16 or 17 years old. It’s still the only room in the house with a fan. I know that’s probably weird; but it’s a memory. It’s something that puts me back in a small moment in time when I wasn’t carrying all this weight around (mentally; before you crack a fat joke).

Sometimes the memories aren’t so simple. Sometimes I have to seek them out. I’ll ride around the neighborhood in my dad’s golf cart and stop in front of a house where I played basketball. Could be a house where I spent the night with a friend and we played Nintendo all night. Or sometimes I’ll just walk around the yard itself and mentally picture the baseball diamond in the front yard or the extension cord I stretched around in the backyard that made a 3 point line for my basketball court.

The memories may come from driving over to the old Legion Pool, or the building where the old Video Superstore was, or the softball field where I played with Corey, Jared, Jason, David, and other friends. I don’t know how many times I’ve driven really slow around my old middle school and showed my daughter where I traded baseball cards on the playground or played basketball. She doesn’t really care all that much anymore but she humors me.

Every day that passes takes me farther away from those memories. I don’t want to ever lose them. So I constantly remind myself of them; even if I’m repeating them over and over to people that get tired of it. It’s just who I am. I never want to lose the experiences that shaped me. So if I write about the same thing from time to time, be like my daughter and just humor me, please.

I know that when you lose someone, you go through some weird stages. Maybe that is what this is. I’m thinking so much about old memories. Those memories lead me down a path that holds other memories. Then I start to think about how long ago some of those memories are. Some of the people from those memories are gone. I don’t want the memories to go too. So I find little ways to tie them together. And sports cards have been a major conduit for those memories. That’s why they remain so special for me.

Sometimes it’s a tangled web of memories but it works for me. For instance, I’ve told the story about the 1990 Fleer Mark McGwire card that always makes me think of my grandmother. That card has sent me down so many roads. I pulled the card at my parents house not long ago and I had to drive out to the apartments where she lived much of my childhood. The apartments were owned by my great uncle, which unlocked memories. I had an aunt that lived there, which unlocked memories. Sort of like a reverse butterfly effect.

I ripped a box of 1990 Pro Set Football recently. Of course, that led me to Tecmo Super Bowl; which unlocked memories of sleepovers with friends and family. Those sleepovers unlocked memories of getting in trouble for staying up too late or watching horror movies I shouldn’t have been watching. I keep those memories alive today by playing NBA 2K with my cousin and his boys late at night when my kids have gone to bed. The same cousin that would stay up with me until daylight playing Coach K Basketball on the Sega Genesis.

I’ve written about the 1989 Topps Orel Hershiser that always reminds me of when I opened a pack of cards when my dad told me I couldn’t until we got to the lake house. He took the pack and I didn’t get it until the weekend was over. All I could think about was the Hershiser I saw on the back of the pack. But when I see that card now, I think about spending time at the lake – fishing and skiing.

1989 Bowman makes me think about those same lake trips. My parents bought me some packs when we would go to the grocery store in Eufaula to stock up for the weekend. There were also packs at the Pataula Creek Bait Store, back when cards where EVERYWHERE. Pataula Creek was where me and my dad would Crappie fish on the “Stump Row” and keep our eyes peeled for gators. Or we would bream fish along the rocks of the Pataula Bridge until mom got breakfast ready and would come out on the dock and yell for us. Yes, a 1989 Bowman Nolan Ryan can take me there.

I have a couple of 5,000 count boxes that have Atlanta Braves players in alphabetical order. It wasn’t an easy project but I’ve reached a point where it’s manageable when I get new cards in. I go through that box regularly. I skim through Dave Justice, Steve Avery, Andruw Jones, Brian Hunter, Javy Lopez, Sid Bream, and Terry Pendleton. Those cards take me back to sitting in our old dining room eating supper and watching the Braves on TBS. My mom was, and still is, a big Braves fan. We watched them when they were terrible in the 80’s and were rewarded with the great teams of the 90’s.

Our whole family would gather during the playoffs and cheer for the Braves while we yelled at Kent Hrbek, Kelly Gruber, and Jim Leyritz. Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, Cousins; all in our living room yelling like we were in Fulton County Stadium. I’ve watched most of the playoffs with my mom over the last several weeks and it has been such a great experience. This past week, she even found her old T-Shirt with the AJC Headline and photo of the Braves swarming the plate and Sid Bream in the 1992 NLCS. I was there when the Braves went to their World Series in 1991 and I was there last week when they beat the Dodgers to go again.

I’m going through a lot of memories right now. A lot of it is helping me cope with everything going on in life. A lot of it is helping me stay in touch with my roots. A lot of it is helping me reconcile who I am and where I came from. You may read one of my posts about an old baseball card and not think twice about it. But more often than not, when I’m posting a picture of some random, seemingly meaningless piece of cardboard, there is a ton of thought behind it. That piece of cardboard is a door to my past. The year, set, or player usually determines where that door leads. But it always leads somewhere.

I don’t know where I’m going with this other than just putting in writing what is rattling around in my head. I see so much negativity on social media in the card community about who/what people collect and why. You never know the reason behind what they do when it comes to their collection. You may have never thought that deeply into why people collect. But it’s not always about money. Sometimes it has a much more personal reason. Sometimes it is a link to memories that are so cherished that you’ll go out and spend money on boxes of 1991 Fleer when nobody else will.

My only piece of advice in this post is to do things for you and your happiness sometimes. Obviously, you need to care for those around you and make yourself available to them. But when it comes to preserving your peace of mind, memories, sense of self, etc; do that for you. If it means old baseball cards from the Junk Wax Era, so be it. It could mean so many other things to each person individually. Just make it mean something for you. Every day is a step farther away from the past. Hold on to the good times and the good memories. You’ll need them one day.

J-Dub

The Legend

I am a lucky man. I’ve lived 44 years on this earth and my dad and mom have always been there for me. No matter what I did, they were there. They weren’t always happy to be in the situation but they never backed down in their support.

We all have various types of relationships with our families. Some good, some bad, some indifferent. Sometimes we experience all of that in our relationships. I did my absolute best to drive my parents crazy when I was a kid. I broke every bone in my body, climbed everything, jumped off of everything, and tried to eat everything.

I probably shouldn’t even be here today based on some of the things I did when I was a kid. In my “finest” moment as a kid, I don’t remember all the details. But I do remember being told my dad was seen sitting on the floor of the hospital, head in hands, crying for me. That level of fear is born out of love for someone. My dad loved me.

When I was a teenager, I continued my tormenting ways, just with a different means of attack. I pushed buttons. I didn’t do my school work. I grumbled every time I was asked to help work on his truck or tarp a load. I tore up every lawn mower we owned because I wouldn’t pick up sticks or rocks in my path. I left fish in the livewell to be found days later (unintentionally). I interrupted Sunday afternoon naps with constantly going in and out of the front door. I did so much more, but there aren’t enough hours in a day to go through it all. But over the course of those teen years, I always knew my dad loved me.

When I got married and started my young adult life, I called my dad for everything. “Why is this light flashing on my dash?” “How do I charge this battery for the boat?” “How do I get around Atlanta?” “How long before I have to change my oil?” “My sink is clogged, what am I supposed to do?” “My truck is making a weird noise, what is it?” The boat won’t crank, what am I doing wrong?”

But every call – every single one – he had an answer for me. It didn’t mean that he wouldn’t make fun of me at some point for not knowing that maybe the kill switch was disengaged on the boat and that was why it wouldn’t crank. But he didn’t deny me for not learning more than I should have when I grew up doing all of these things with him when he worked on his truck. He never left me in a bad spot. Because he loved me, and he wanted to see me do well for myself in life.

I didn’t learn how much he loved until I became a father myself. When I became a dad, I realized how debilitating it could be to worry about your kids when they were hurt. The love you have for your kids is all you think about when they are in trouble.

I didn’t learn that my dad was right about most everything until I started to argue with my own kids about how important it is to do their homework, or to put their things up when they are done, or to not lose (or break) things that they use that are mine. They grumble when I ask them to do something. They tell me I don’t understand how hard it is to be a teenager. And they usually don’t remember anything I tell them. But my love for them doesn’t waver. I learned that from my dad.

When I think back on it, I’ve learned a ton from my dad. I learned how to fish. I learned how deep to fish in certain temperatures. I learned what color BAB Fly to use depending on how muddy or clear the water was. I learned what a slab is. I learned what a titty bream is. I learned how to clean those fish. I learned all of this from the greatest fisherman in the world.

I learned how to drive. I learned how to change my own oil. I learned how to change a tire. I learned to pick up those sticks when I was mowing. I learned how to trust people and when to be leery. I learned how important credit was. I learned how important honesty was. I learned how valuable it was to have people be able to trust you. I learned to be a man of my word. I learned that from my dad. We are talking about a man that mowed the grass in a dress to pay off a bet we had about the Braves making the World Series in the early 90’s.

I learned that Rick Hendrick was a “nasty sucka”. I learned that Terry Labonte didn’t have the nerve to compete with Earnhardt. I learned that the great late 80’s baseball player’s real name was Joe’s CAN-suh-ko. I learned how to throw a curve ball, though never as good as his. I learned that you had to keep your head down on a ground ball, even if you were scared. I learned all of this from a man that outplayed his competition in Sunday Church shoes on the baseball field.

I learned an awful lot from my dad. I learned things from him until this very week. I learned how to fight. I learned how to keep pushing, even when you feel bad. I learned how much he loved my kids and how much they loved him. I learned just how important family is. I’m lucky. I can come to the same house I came to 30 years ago and see what a family is supposed to be based on; believing in God, working for your living, taking care of the people under your roof, and teaching those you’re charged with caring for how to survive in this world.

That’s what being a dad is all about. And I had the best. If I learned half of what he taught me, I’ll be just fine in my daily walk as a father and husband. He loved my mom. He loved his kids. He worked hard. He took care of those around him. He was honest, trusting, faithful, and a man of his word. I want to be like my dad.

I’m going to miss him a lot. The older we got, the better our relationship got. Because I understood more and more what he was trying to tell me all those years along the way. Love you Dad! A lot of people do. Despite what the seminar taught, a lot of people gave a damn.

J-Dub

The Value of a Memory

I’m going to go on a bit of a rant here. I don’t necessarily like doing so but I’ve heard the same comments so much in the last 3 weeks, I can’t help myself. I’ll try to go ahead and get it out of my system and hit you with some nice Junk Wax Photos along the way as a peace offering.

I had the fortune/misfortune of going somewhat viral on Tik Tok with a video of myself opening up a pack of 1987 Topps Baseball. Of course, I was looking for Bo, McGwire, and Bonds. If you collected then, you know why.

I don’t necessarily try to go viral with anything because it comes with both good and bad. I just make fun little videos about sports and cards and usually live with my 10 likes or so. But the combination of wood grain and yacht rock seems to have hit home with the Tik Tok algorithm. As of today, the video is sitting on 828k views, I’ve gained 7,500 followers and picked up 20k likes; all in a few weeks.

I’ll say up front that the overwhelming majority of comments have been pleasant and I’ve enjoyed the successful run of the video. I’ve had players’ relatives, former team photographers, and even former Creed frontman Scott Stapp commenting or liking the post. I’ve also made a few collector buddies and followed several back who have great content.

But there are a few comments that I have received over and over and over.

  • “You know those packs are resealed right?” I am aware that packs from the 80’s and 90’s can very easily be resealed. But I paid less than $30 for a full cello box and pulled two Bonds, McGwire, and Canseco. I did ok.
  • “Those aren’t real packs. Those cards came in wax packs!” Again, I am aware of how Topps released cards in the late 80’s. There were in fact wax packs. But there were also Cellos and Rack Packs. These were cellos.
  • “Why are you looking for those cheaters?” Well, I’m a nostalgic guy. Those were the cards that I wanted when I was a kid. Those are the cards I’m going to look for in 2021. I’ll look again in 2051 if I find some packs. I never even liked Bonds. But if I can pull his 87 Rookie, I’m happy.
  • “Everybody already has those cards. LOL” First off, nothing pushes my passive aggressive button faster than an LOL at the end of a statement that really wasn’t intended to make you laugh. But I have the cards too. Look at my timeline. I’m not some guy just randomly opening 1987 baseball cards hoping to pull those rookies for the first time. It’s just supposed to be fun!
  • “The gum is more valuable than the cards in that pack.” Last but not least, this gem. I am WELL AWARE that a raw Bo Jackson RC is worth about $3. But this is my biggest pet peeve as a proponent of the Junk Wax Era. I don’t collect these cards because of their perceived worth. I know their monetary value but their worth varies from person to person.

This brings me to why we are here today. It’s time to stop telling other people what their cards are worth. Anybody with a smartphone can look up the value of a baseball card and see what the market thinks. But through 15 packs of 1987 Topps; nobody got a bigger pop in the comment section than Cory Snyder. It’s not because it was valued at $50. It’s because it was a player and a name that was universally recognized by collectors from that era.

One thing I’ve tried to repeat in some form or fashion over the last 18 months is to collect what you like. Yes, Prizm Blasters are $100. That doesn’t mean you need to go out and spend that kind of money to be a part of the rush. There are people who weren’t even basketball collectors that jumped into it because it was all over the Twitter timeline so surely it was something that couldn’t be missed.

I do buy modern. I don’t pay secondary market prices. I’m not saying I’m better than you if you do. I’m saying that goes against why I collect. And yes, I love to pull a big card that I might be able to sell to fund more of my collection. But the gamble isn’t worth paying someone else a premium because they got to the shelf faster in my opinion. Again, this is about me.

I collect because it was such a part of my childhood. We lose a lot of connections with our childhood. For me; video stores are all gone, Nintendo games are dust in the wind, my childhood athletes have retired, I’ve grown apart from my childhood friends, and all I have left are the memories. And baseball cards.

Therein lies the worth for me when it comes to 1987 Topps, 1988 Fleer, 1989 Donruss, and countless others. Those cards haven’t changed a bit in over 30 years. The players are the same, the errors are still there, and even the smell of the gum is still sweet. The taste, not so much. Those are tangible memories that I can hold in my hand. And the memory is not just about “Bo Jackson”. It’s about where I was, who I was friends with, and what life was like when I held that card in my hand for the first time.

Baseball cards remind me of a simpler time. I didn’t have a power bill in 1989. I didn’t have a car payment, insurance, or a job. I didn’t have a single person’s life and safety I was responsible for back then. I was somebody else’s responsibility. Times change and the world progresses; those are accepted facts. But I never want to lose touch with who I was and the events that led me to be who I would become.

I don’t want to lose memories of middle school playground trades, exchanging video games with friends, playing ball in the front yard, going fun places with my family, or weekend sleepovers filled with horror movies and Mountain Dew. Those things are childish and immature. But even though I’m 44, I will always have that 13 year old sports crazed, video game lover deep down in my soul. With all of my might, I want to keep a piece of that forever.

The way I do that is baseball cards. Plain and simple. If I see a pack of 1991 Donruss for .25 at an antique store, there’s no way I’m passing it up. The only card in the pack may be a Ray Lankford Rated Rookie but it will take me back instantly. So it is worth it to me; whether you think so or not.

It has been well established that cards from 1987-1994 (roughly) are overproduced. They are cheap to buy. They are still readily available. Most collectors already have them or had them. And no, you won’t be able to retire on your Gregg Jefferies Rookies. I’ve come to terms with all of this. But you really can’t put a price on their worth in my opinion.

Just like your grandfather’s old handkerchief might just be a handkerchief to others. It means something to you because it represents something of meaning. My childhood has meaning. The people in my life during that time have meaning. The memories I created have meaning. And the 1988 Ozzie Smith Starting Lineup card has meaning.

So the next time you see someone enjoying some Junk Wax that you think is (and in fact may be) “worthless”; just keep it to yourself. There is a reason they are doing it. It’s their reason. If you don’t enjoy it, that’s fine. But you don’t have to be the internet hero that you’re trying to be. You’re not breaking news that 1987 Topps doesn’t carry much monetary value. But sometimes, a memory is worth way more than the card itself.

J-Dub

A Weekend in The 90’s

One of the major things I miss from my youth; is spending the night at friends’ houses or vice versa. It seemed like every weekend I was trying to coordinate various destinations and events for my enjoyment. The entire weekend would be full for me before I even got permission from my parents.

I had a few circles of friends that I could count on when the weekend came around. I had the neighborhood guys; Brewer, Jim, Rusty, etc. Then there were my school friends; Josh, David, Michael. Finally, there were my cousins; Adam, Trent, Jared, Corey, and Dusty. Each group of friends meant small differences in the way the weekend was spent, but almost every weekend had the same basic plans.

I remember staring at the clock on Friday afternoon in Ms. Lee’s computer room. The final bell would ring at 3:20 but that time from around 2:30 to 3:20 seemed like a lifetime. When it finally did ring, I would sprint to my locker and unload everything. There was no such thing as homework on the weekend for me. In reality, homework was rare during the week for me as well. But I digress.

Most of the really memorable weekends that come to mind began with a trip to Dairy Queen on the way to the Mitchell-Baker Football Game. Our football team was very good when I was a kid and up through High School. We were a small school but we could pack “The Woodyard” every Friday night!

The stadium was dubbed “The Woodyard” because of the huge wood preserving plant behind the stadium that is now on the EPA Superfund site list. We now have a stadium built on the High School property. While I will always remember the good times at The Woodyard, I would have LOVED to have a stadium right there at the school. That would have been perfect!

David is actually working – I am pretending….

I would usually spend the night with Josh or David after a football game. Josh’s step-dad was the announcer for the local radio station (and our English teacher) and we could sometimes sit in the booth and listen to the call. And David was in the band; a trumpet player. Sometimes we would all go back to Josh’s house. After the football game, we would usually spend the rest of the night playing Nintendo or something stupid like “Bloody Mary” to try to scare each other.

We were too old for Saturday morning cartoons but we were right in the thick of the drama that was unfolding at Bayside High School on “Saved by the Bell”! We would watch the “grown kids” shows and then find something to get into during the day. We went fishing, played Home Run Derby, rode motorcycle’s, played mini golf in the house, or would sit and go through sports cards to compare who had the best collection.

I would usually get back to my house sometime in the afternoon on Saturday. Upon arrival, my plans would begin for either heading over to Brewer’s or having Adam come over to the house. Saturday nights were usually the typical Pizza and a movie kind of nights. We loved cheesy horror movies and would try to find the oddest looking VHS cover at the video store to bring home.

Of course, there was Nintendo that night as well. We played a ton of RBI Baseball 3, Tecmo Super Bowl, and Double Dribble during those days. It led to some tension among friends at times, but we couldn’t get enough of the 16 bit action! It was absolutely the typical 90’s scene; Mountain Dew, Pizza, Video Games, and Horror Movies.

Here is where I list some of the awful horror movies that we watched. I list them because it is going to make me look them up to see if they are on some streaming service so I can relive the glory days. We watched The Video Dead, Return of the Living Dead 2, Phantasm (not awful but definitely weird), Ghoulies 2, Leprechaun, and Dr. Giggles. We watched some good ones too, but who wants to hear about those?

When my parents would come into the Living Room on Sunday morning, it would look like the aftermath of one of those “Living Dead” movies. We would be spread out on the living room furniture, pizza still in hand, dead to the world. Those were some long nights but were so fun! I usually didn’t know how I was going to do it, but we were less than 24 hours away from that school bus pulling up to carry us off again.

Sunday’s were all about sports. We would play sports, watch sports, play sports video games, and trade sports cards. No matter what time of year, you could find NASCAR, Basketball, Sunday Night Baseball, or Sunday afternoon Football to satisfy the sports craving. I even recorded Sportscenter back then and we would re-watch it during the week like we hadn’t seen it 100 times already. Sunday was the culmination of the week’s events.

There is one thing that was constant on Sunday’s during the basketball season; NBA on NBC. I can still hear Marv Albert, Mike Fratello, and Ahmad Rashad in my mind. The NBA was at a peak for me during the 90’s. And every Sunday brought some of the biggest stars in the league together to battle. Whether it was Jordan & Pippen vs Starks & Ewing, Reggie vs Bird, Barkley & KJ vs Stockton & Malone, or Run TMC vs Kemp & Payton; the games were loaded with Hall of Famers!

I was also at my peak in the early 90’s when it came to collecting basketball cards. And you knew that this would all come back around to cards in some way, right? I don’t care if I am the old man yelling at clouds, I will forever stand by those early 90’s players as being the best of all time. I legitimately get chills when I think about those days.

A small insert set that gives me the same chills if I haven’t seen it in a while comes from 1991 Fleer Basketball. Fleer had it’s ups and downs in other sports, but it was the King in Basketball during the late 80’s and early 90’s. And the King of inserts from the early 90’s was Pro-Vision.

Found at an average of 2-3 per box, the Pro-Vision cards were artist renderings of some of the biggest superstars. The art work was illustrated by Terry Smith. These remain some of the most aesthetically pleasing cards from the Junk Wax Era. And they remain extremely popular to collectors. Here is the 1991 Set breakdown.

Card #1 David Robinson – The Admiral was the College Player-of-the-Year, NBA Rookie-of-the-Year, the league’s top rebounder (13 rpg), two-time NBA All-Defense (first 2 seasons), a top ten scorer (25.6 ppg), the second best shot blocker (3.9 bpd), and the fastest center the NBA had seen up to that point. He was a game changer at the center position. This card depicts Robinson with his smooth left handed jump shot surrounded by a beautiful, cloud-filled sky.

Card #2 Michael Jordan – MJ had cemented himself as a superstar by 1991 but was still growing his legacy. He was on the way to a tremendous championship run and dominance on a scale that we would remember forever. He had led the league in scoring for 5 consecutive seasons (31.5 in 90-91), and shot at a then career-high field goal percentage (53.9%). He was named the League’s MVP and led the Bulls to the first of six titles during the 90’s. The card features Jordan rocketing into space to dunk the ball. This was foreshadowing for the 1996 movie titled “Space Jam”!

Card #3 Charles Barkley – Many people from the 2000’s or later think of Barkley as the jovial but controversial round man on the NBA on TNT broadcast. But basketball fans who got to see him play during the 90’s remember just how dominant an athlete he was. He was really unbelievable. He did not have the body type of a Jordan or Dominique Wilkins; but he had led the Sixers in rebounding from his rookie season in 84 through 1991 and had never shot below 57%. He was the MVP runner-up in 1989-90 and won the 1990-91 All-Star Game MVP with 17 points and 22 rebounds. And this was when the All-Star game was more of a game.

Card #4 Patrick Ewing – I would meet Mrs. Dub a couple years later and found out that this was her favorite NBA player. I was a fan of Ewing as well. In 1990-91, he finished in the Top 10 in scoring (26.6), rebounding (11.2), and blocked shots (3.19). He had led the Knicks in scoring from his rookie year in 1985 through the printing of this card in 1990-91. He scored 20+ points in 70 games that season while leading the team in scoring for 61 of those. The card is a beauty, with Ewing standing at the forefront of the New York skyline. Coincidentally, this is the same skyline that is seen at the beginning of Super Tecmo Bowl.

Card #5 Karl Malone – “The Mailman” was somewhat overshadowed in the Western Conference in the late 80’s and early 90’s by the last player in this set. But he was an absolute stud in the league. He would eventually get a shot at a championship in 1998 but would fall to Jordan and the Bulls. In 1991, he was 6’9″, 256 lbs of pure muscle. Over the previous four seasons, which included 1990-91, he averaged over 29 ppg and over 11 rpg; all while only missing 3 games. This card features Malone standing in front of a pane of broken glass with the ball crashing through it. That is what I think about when I see him; just crashing through teams.

Card #6 Earvin “Magic” Johnson – It turns out that as dominant as Malone was, he isn’t even the best #32 in this 6-card set. That distinction belongs to “Magic”. He was known in 1991 as the best point guard to ever play in the league. He was bigger than the average point guard but could move the ball with the best of them. By the end of that season, he passed Oscar Robertson as the NBA’s All-Time Assist Leader (9,921). He was an 11-time All-Star, 3-time NBA Champ, Athlete of the Decade, NBA Man-of-the-Year, and the MVP of the NBA Finals 3 times as of this card’s release. He truly was Magic on the floor.

I challenge you to look at any of these 6 cards and find a flaw, besides the actual condition of these 30 year old cards in my collection. The artwork is perfect, the player selection is on point, and the cards hold a place in basketball card history as one of the best inserts of all time (as per a study conducted by me and for me only).

These are the kinds of cards that make collecting what it is for me. These cards look good, feature great players, and come from an era that is full of great memories. I can look at Barkley and think about hanging out with Adam and battling for rebounds. I can look at MJ and think about Rusty wearing his Jumpsoles around the house. And I can look at Magic Johnson and think about all of the fancy passes I would try to pull off in the backyard.

And as I have said time and time again; that is what it is about. It isn’t about the flashy 1/1 autograph from the best prospect we’ve never seen play. It isn’t about scooping up all the retail boxes when find them at Target. And it isn’t about “investing”. It is about a piece of cardboard and what it means to you. It is about what the card says to you. Mine speak to me. I’m just the only one that hears them.

J-Dub

Mingle with the Singles

If you are paying any attention at all to the sports card industry, you know that it is on fire. For those of us in the hobby, we are in unprecedented times. Sports cards are in mainstream media with Grant Hill opening packs during basketball games, players looking for their own cards on social media, and huge sales being covered by national news outlets. My local media even covered the recent Kobe Bryant RC sale!

Everyone in my age range that collected when they were kids are coming back to see what the fuss is all about. I think overall, that is a great thing. There are some huge positives that can be taken away from the recent popularity.

  • Cards that were once popular, but lost traction due to new innovations in the hobby, are coming back. Cards from the 1990’s are becoming very popular again. Rookies from the 80’s are increasing in demand as well.
  • Card values via sales sites are exploding. Values for non-autographed inserts and base cards are selling at all-time highs.
  • Low population graded cards from over-produced sets are huge right now!
  • Values of unopened boxes from the Junk Wax Era are making for great finds at antique shops and flea markets.
  • The hobby community has grown exponentially; which opens up the trade and purchase market for everybody.
  • It has brought back collectors from my era, which is making more memories and conversations come to the forefront.
  • New avenues for delivering and purchasing cards have opened up. Digital, artist renderings, and exclusives are now available to collectors.
  • Social media, podcasts, and blogs are providing wonderful value for collectors today.
  • The graded card market has become a tremendous money maker in the hobby.

As a collector, it truly is a great time to be in the hobby. Unfortunately, the boom has its down-side too.

  • $20 Retail Blasters are being swept up by the cart load and collectors are unable to find these cost efficient options at Wal-Mart or Target. They are being sold on the secondary market for astronomical prices.
  • Hobby Box prices have exploded, making the purchase of said boxes only economical for breakers and high end dealers. A box of Donruss Basketball was around $120 a couple of years ago. Now they are selling for $800+!! I used to be able to go to the card shop, spend a couple hundred dollars, and walk away with multiple hobby boxes. That won’t buy one hobby box currently.
  • Scams and fraudulent sales are up. This comes with the territory. Any time there is an increase in popularity in a retail oriented product, the scammers take advantage. With many new collectors entering the hobby, there are plenty of nuances to the hobby that are unknown and make them easy marks to the unscrupulous.
  • Technology has not caught up to the popularity. Humans are having a hard time beating bots to purchase cards from websites. It is a huge problem within the community that only exacerbates the problem with finding retail products in local stores.
  • Grading cards has become very expensive and time consuming in the hobby.

With every hobby, popular culture item, collectible, etc; there is going to be good and bad. The key is to always find and focus on what makes those things good for you. I am guilty of getting down on not finding products in the wild or not being able to buy a box at the LCS that I was able to buy just two years ago. It is frustrating when a new product is going to be available online at MSRP but I get beat to it by a computer program that someone has purchased. I get it; it can be very easy to get lost in the bad.

But there are multiple areas within the market that are still available to hard core collectors that are looking to scratch their hobby itch. There are some forgotten brands from the 80’s and 90’s that provide access to great players, including hall of famers. Pinnacle and Pacific are brand’s that immediately come to mind. There are some cards from the 90’s that these companies produced that were way ahead of their time. Also, there are multiple releases from the 80’s that were either unlicensed or produced for retail locations that are very cheap.

Trading is at an all-time high. Social media and the popularity of the hobby have combined to give us the ability to network with collectors all over the globe. And every team and player has a collector out there that is looking. I know people who collect the Royals (@bigshep79) and Red Sox (@shanekatz73) and many other teams that will send me Braves in exchange for their collection items. It is a great way to network on Twitter.

Ungraded singles are easy to find and remain reasonably priced. While a graded 1988 Bo Jackson Football RC is really expensive, you can find an ungraded version very cheap. In my opinion, we are giving too much value to graded cards at the moment. That isn’t to say that there isn’t a premium that should be tied to mint condition cards. I just think there are a lot of good condition raw cards that are available for much cheaper than 9’s and 9.5’s that are on the market. In addition, second and third year cards for players are fun to look for.

To that end, I recently made a trip to the LCS for some cards and supplies. I decided to go hunting in the .25-$1.00 boxes to see what I could find. I wound up finding a few cards for a little more than $1.00 but I found tremendous stack of cards to add to my collection and spent a mere $50. You can do that on just about any budget. You can hunt with $25, $50, $75, whatever; and still find some great cards to add.

Let’s take a look at what $50 can score you at an LCS these days!

I know this one is an oddball but I had to pick up this 1976 “Welcome Back Kotter” card for .10 cents. First, it was one of my favorite shows when I was a kid and it was replaying on WGN. I loved it! Secondly, somebody mentioned The Sweathogs a few weeks ago when I posted my old picture of my curly hair as a baby.

I’ve taken some interest in Hockey recently because it is a little more available than the other sports. I was also a big hockey fan during the 90’s, thanks to video games! These “Great One’s” ranged from .25-.50 cents per card so I had to grab them!

Mario Lemieux was almost as good as Gretzky back in the day. He is an absolute Hockey Legend so these .25-.35 cent cards were also must haves!

Though Gretzy and Lemieux were in a league of their own, my favorite player in the 90’s was Eric Lindros. And Fleer Ultra was so good during this era!

How about some basketball? Remember when I mentioned second year cards? Here are several that ranged from .35-.75 cents per card! Who doesn’t love Vince Carter? And thanks to his final years with the Hawks, he counts as PC!

Is there a basketball collector on the planet that wouldn’t pick up 3 Larry Johnson Upper Deck RC’s for $1.00 with no shipping? Grand-Ma Ma is a Junk Wax Hobby Icon!

For some reason, I couldn’t get these photos to load properly; but I think you can get the idea here. These are 3 Alonzo Mourning RC’s for $1.00 per. A bona fide Hall of Famer for $3. Yes, please!

I have shown off this beauty on Twitter but it deserves another look. No photo can do this card justice. Albert Belle has had his issues in his personal life since playing but he was a huge get during the 90’s. I couldn’t pass this up for .35 cents!

Another Junk Wax Legend is Juan Gonzalez. And when I find 1990 Upper Deck RC’s of him and John Olerud, I usually pick them up. You especially don’t have to tempt me with a .35 cent price.

This sweet Mark McGwire Topps Gold was .50 cents. I am not passing up a Topps gold from the 90’s of a Superstar for less than $1.00. I’m just not going to do it!

I honestly don’t remember if this was .50 cents or $1.00 but I didn’t really even look at this price. I knew this was a card I didn’t have so I picked it up. The fact that the border is red (team color match) made it even more appealing to me. But the fact that it is “The Wizard” was enough.

I paid a total of $5 for these 4 legends! I didn’t own these and enjoy collecting all of these players. The Gary Carter was easy because of the Expos logo and uniform. I also can’t believe that I didn’t have this Andre Dawson already. And who doesn’t love Teke and Pops??

Though I already have this Frank Thomas Stadium Club (bird finger), I can’t own enough of them. The kid in me loves this card. I didn’t own this Thomas/Ventura Cornerstones Insert and it is beautiful in person. These were $1 and I had no problem with that price.

Again, this is another card I already owned but, why not? It was less than .50 cents and it’s a second year card of a Braves Legend! Add it to my stack!

More PC for this Braves Collection. I paid a couple of dollars for this lot but these are all great cards. The Graphx and Private Stock cards are very eye catching. The Jones RC was an easy choice and I couldn’t remember what condition my Justice 92 Bowman was in.

This was the big ticket item and it was still very well priced. This is the one that pushed me to the $5o total but I couldn’t pass it up. It is the Sterling Gold with the coating still in tact. It is a beautiful card and it is a 90’s Jordan, which has a huge market right now.

The hobby is on fire right now, there is no question about it. You can get in over your head quickly and you can spend some major dollars before you blink if you are chasing the hot stuff. I break occasionally and buy something that I have to have for my collection.

But there are some things that I just won’t do. I make it a practice not to pay secondary market prices for retail. I am not going to pay someone else a premium to go to Wal-Mart for me and buy the product. I am also not spending hundreds on flagship products like Donruss, Topp, Score, etc. It just doesn’t make sense.

I am also very careful about who I buy from on eBay right now. There is a seller rating for a reason. As we all know, “if it seems to good to be true, it probably is.” Study your seller if you are going to make a moderate to substantial sized purchase.

But what this blog post should show you most of all is that you can buy some really cool cards at very good prices if you open your mind and spend some time in the $1 or less bins. Can I flip these for huge gains right now? Absolutely not. But that is not “collecting”. These cards may one day have more value than they have today. But if they don’t, they will rest just fine in my collection. Or they may even turn into trade pieces when I need to obtain something else I am looking for. Who knows?

Whatever the case may be, take some time to mingle with the singles when you head to a card show or your LCS. I am personally not quite ready for a card show crowd but I see a lot of people on social media returning to those. The bottom line is, if you find yourself in front of some singles boxes, take your time and look at the cards. Remind yourself why you are in this hobby to begin with. It will be fun and worth it! I promise!

J-Dub

What Is A Memory?

If you stop and think about it, our entire life is a memory; except the one second you are living in, right now. That sentence you just read? A memory. Some memories are good and some are bad. Some we learn from and some just vanish without a fleeting thought. But memories make up our almost our entire lives.

This blog is about memories. It’s about things that I did or things that happened to me that made some sort of impact in my life. I do this for me. I appreciate the readership beyond words. But this is for me, each and every post. When I’m feeling nostalgic, I just start writing – for documentation sake, but hopefully, as entertainment for you as well.

Memories fade as the years go by. Well, the memory itself remains; but the details (the when, where, and who) become a little hazy. We also tend to bend memories to our benefit over time. Not in a bad way, but in a way that helps the narrative of our lives flow smoothly over time. Small bits and pieces morph but remain rooted in the basis of the memory as a whole.

Memories are sometimes our only link to people and places from our past. This photo is from the public library I went to when I was a kid. I have driven by it but haven’t been inside in over 20 years. I’m certain that it looks different inside but my memory holds on to what it looked like when I was a kid. I can even smell what it was like back then. It’s a good smell.

I will never walk into this library again and check out a Lewis Grizzard book. Partly because I own most of them; but also, because books are so readily available through so many other mediums. I will never walk in and check out a VHS tape again. I will never go through the newspaper rack again. Unless something crazy happens, I will never have to use the microfiche either. But I can walk through that library any time I want, in my memories. And they will be good memories.

Here is the church I grew up in. The church was downtown, right on Main Street. It was a big church for a small town. It is where I would sit next to my GaGa during Sunday morning services. It is where I was baptized. It is where I played football in the big yard just to the right in the photo. I experienced RA’s, Youth Group, and Choir here. I haven’t been back inside this church since around 1999, when I moved. But my memories are strong when I ride by.

This is my middle school auditorium. It’s been upgraded in a major way and the school grounds are now home to the board of education. But I saw Okefenokee Joe here and saw him hold live snakes and alligators. And I saw Deputy Dawg here as he scared the bejeezus out of all of us with his speech on drugs and crime. I watched and participated in many events in this little theater. The picture looks nothing like the picture I carry in my mind. I will remember it how it was when I was 14, not 44. That’s what I mean by bending the memories sometimes. The room in 2021 is foreign to me. But I have my name written on the past of that room.

This high school has changed a lot since 1995. For one, it used to be Mitchell-Baker High, but now is just Mitchell County High, because Baker has their own school. But it was, and remains, “The Eagle’s Nest”. There are a TON of memories here – both good and bad. I grew a lot from 1991 to 1995. I grew even more after, but that 4 year stretch saw love, heartbreak, new friends, new enemies, playing it safe, pushing the envelope, and just about any other push and pull you can think of. I may never step foot inside that school again. But I think the halls would remember me if I did. I like to think they would. I know I would remember them.

This is just a front yard to many. But this is my front yard. This was the yard where everybody gathered to play kickball, football, and baseball. Whether it was Jason next door, Brewer across the street, or Jim and Rusty down the road; this patch of grass holds more memories than all of the other places combined. We battled on that grass. We ran in the “rare snow” on that grass. My brother jumped in his little pool in that yard. We hooked up speakers and tinted windows in that yard. I worked on Saturday’s with my dad in that yard. That yard is so special to me. When I look out at it, I see the ghosts of the past. That’s not an exaggeration. I can tell you where every bump and hole is in that yard like it is etched into my brain.

Without memories, we become empty shells, just trudging towards our end. Everything ends. It’s the cruel part of this mortal part of life. I’ll never see my Grandaddy again. But I remember going to Western Sizzlin and the Flea Market on Sundays. I’ll never see my GaGa again. But I remember sitting in her living room floor on a Saturday night, eating a bowl of chili. I’ll never play baseball in that front yard again with all my buddies. But I’ll remember a towering left handed home run that we lost to the neighbor’s dog for the rest of my life.

This is where the blog and sports cards come into play. I can tie just about any memory to cards because they were a part of my life during all of the moments I mentioned above. We traded cards at school, I looked at price guides at the library, and we mimicked our favorite players in that yard. I even looked for cards on those flea market trips with my Grandaddy. And as long as I can tie those cards to the memories, I’ll have this extra link to my past. The cards remind me of other events that may have become otherwise hazy. And vice versa.

The set that has the absolute most memory power for me is 1989 Donruss. I’ve written about it here before but it’s time we had a little refresher. The set has gained a little popularity as the card market has turned some attention towards the Junk Wax Era recently. 1989 was a pivotal year in collecting because of players like Ken Griffey Jr, Randy Johnson, John Smoltz, Gary Sheffield, and others. And Donruss was the colorful alternative to Topps while Fleer was a drab gray and Score was all over the place. There was Bowman too, but it has its own little place in history. All of the sets are meaningful to me; but Donruss has a little extra pull for me.

The packs are some of the most beautiful pieces of wax I’ve ever seen. I recognize this more than I would recognize some of my family members that I haven’t seen in a while.

Believe it or not, one of the most memorable cards in the set for me is this Ron Washington. It is one of the least flattering photos in the set but one that always stuck out to me. As fate would have it, as of 2021, he is one of the most beloved Atlanta Braves assistant coaches ever!

The Wizard can be found with a standard base card and a sweet MVP card. These MVP’s are my favorites of the Donruss catalog. I still remember wanting to be as good at shortstop as Ozzie when I was 12 years old. He might be #1 on my bucket list of people I’d like to shake hands with.

If I wanted to be as good as Ozzie defensively, I certainly wanted to be as good as Tony Gwynn with the bat. He was one of the sweetest swinging hitters I’ve ever seen. He made us guys that weren’t the most athletic looking feel like we could make it too. And I mean that in the best way possible.

Eric The Red is another one of my favorite players from the 80’s. He feels underrated but most people from my generation still love him. I used to play with the Reds on RBI Baseball 3 just so I could use Eric Davis.

This one is for all the investors out there. This was our King in 1989. Sure, there was Ken Griffey Jr; but Gregg Jefferies was that guy that we were going to stock up on and hold for retirement. The career didn’t match Jr, but I will always keep every Jefferies I pull.

Another rookie that was highly sought after was Gary Sheffield. He started his career as an infielder but would eventually blossom into a big power hitting outfielder. He even made a stop in Atlanta for a little while. Always enjoy pulling Sheff cards!

This rookie didn’t get near the publicity of Griffey or Sheffield. In fact, Jefferies commanded more as well. But The Big Unit went on to have a Hall of Fame career as one of the most feared left handed pitchers in history. He made a habit out of making the Braves look bad.

Here is the big boy from the set; the most sought after rookie player from the Junk Wax Era, aside from possibly Jose Canseco. Ken Griffey Jr. was a favorite of every baseball fan in the late 80’s and early 90’s. There was nothing to dislike about The Kid, except for that appearance as a bad guy in Little Big League. I owned way more of these than I did the ’89 Upper Deck. But even this card has taken off in recent months.

Even though Griffey was the hottest rookie in 1989, the card that graced the front page of my binder in 1989 was this Jose Canseco. He was an absolute beast during the Junk Wax Era and I couldn’t get enough of his cards. I have always preferred the Oakland A’s cards, with this one being one of my favorites. I didn’t really like the 40/40 card that was included in the set. It didn’t really look like Jose to me.

I will never open another box of 1989 Donruss “for the first time”. But I’ll never lose the memory of the first year that set flowed through my hands. The images, the border, and the packaging will remain crystal clear in my mind’s eye. It may ride a little wave of popularity in the hobby with eyes going back to that rookie class. But it’s always been popular to me. It has always had meaning for me. I feel like it knows me. It knows that my feelings for it are pure. I’m not here for the PSA 10 Griffey. I’m here for all of it. It’s a part of my life and why I write this blog. One day, my mind may not be able to retrieve all of those memories. But this blog will remain (hopefully) and the things that I write about will always be something I can reach out to when I need that punch of nostalgia.

J-Dub