The Joy of Collecting Sports Memorabilia

I began collecting sports memorabilia around 1968 or 1969, mostly football and baseball cards. I was only seven years old and had no money, so I’m unsure how I obtained these cards. Perhaps my mother or father bought me a pack or two as a birthday gift, or maybe it was a neighbor. It wasn’t a lot of cards, but it was enough to spark my interest.

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I learned a lot about sports from reading the backside of the cards. Back then, most of us still had black and white televisions, so seeing the vibrant colors of the uniforms on the cards was a big thrill. I also remember how interested I was in the logos for each team. Some of the designs were very creative and I still get a thrill from looking at those old logos

60s and 70s: A Perfect Time For Collecting

The late 1960s and early 1970s was a perfect time to start collecting, because “inserts” were the new thing, and Topps (the #1 card company back then) was getting more creative ideas.

“Inserts” were something they would randomly insert into a pack of cards. In 1968 they had 5 x 7 folded-up mini-posters. They weren’t in every single pack, so it was exciting when you got the poster. In 1970 they had 8 x 10 folded-up mini-posters and a slightly smaller card with a glossy finish randomly inserted.

1970 was a big year for Topps, as they also sold packs of 4 x 6 Super Cards, which were bigger and thicker than regular-sized cards. The Kellogg Food Company and the Fleer Card Company also got into the act. Kellogg’s came out with 3-D cards in 1970 and 1971, and Fleer came out with World Series cards.

In 1970 a pack of cards was ten cents, but ten cents wasn’t easy to get at eight years old. My parents didn’t believe in giving an allowance to their children. Their attitude was you did your chores because you were supposed to.

So my only hope of scoring some loose change was to dig into the couch and the car seats or find some that someone might have accidentally dropped on the sidewalk. When I did find some, it always went towards buying sports cards.

My Biggest Buying Years

My biggest years for buying cards were 1974 through 1976. By then I was old enough to earn money, which usually came from cutting people’s lawns, raking leaves, and shoveling snow. Naturally, some of that money was spent on cards, although I did save some of it. My father made sure of it.

In 1975 my parents had a little party for me to celebrate my confirmation into the Catholic Church. I received some gifts (mostly cash) from those who attended. The next day my father took me to the local savings and loan bank and we opened a savings account. He talked to me about being responsible with money and explained how I could earn interest on my savings account. I had no objection, until a couple of weeks later when some sports memorabilia caught my eye.

Our parish had a fair to raise money for the church and I was there with my family. It had the usual amusement rides, food, and games, and it had those spinning wheels where you put down a quarter, and if your number came up you won a prize. These weren’t the wheels that had a hundred numbers; I think they only had six numbers. Well, one of the prizes was full-size posters. Many of the posters were of famous athletes of that era.

We had a basement and I had a picture in my mind of how cool it would look to have these colorful posters hanging on the walls. So, I asked my father if I could use some of my confirmation money for the posters. He asked me how much I thought I would need. I answered that I only needed a small amount, maybe $15. He handed me $3 and said we would make the withdrawal from the savings account on Monday. I told him that wasn’t fair because it was my money and I should be able to spend it if I wanted to.

He reminded me who paid for my confirmation party and that those who came to my party and gave me their hard-earned money as a gift, wouldn’t appreciate me blowing it on posters. He was right of course, as he almost always was. I won four posters on that wheel and went home a happy thirteen-year-old.

Unlike today, packs of sports cards weren’t available for purchase 365 days a year. Baseball cards came out in March and football cards came out in August. There wasn’t a specific date that they were released, so my friends and I would hop on our bikes and go from one mom-and-pop store to another, harassing the owner with the most important question on our young minds, when are the sports cards getting here? Their answer was always the same, maybe tomorrow. The next day we’d be back on our bikes again.

When the day finally came when the cards arrived, we couldn’t contain our excitement. Seconds after purchasing our cards, we were on the sidewalk, oblivious that we were in everyone’s way, tearing into our wax packs with sheer delight. I can still smell the aroma of the stale bubble gum wafting through the air. If you got two or more of the same card it was “trade bait”, and “let’s make a deal” would begin. The trading could get intense.

By 1977 my friends and I were all in the 14 to 16-year-old range, and although we still occasionally bought a few packs of cards, our thoughts were on other things, like girls and trying out for our school sports teams.

By 1980 I had stopped buying cards but my magazine collection grew. Although I occasionally purchased a sports magazine, I didn’t consider myself a collector of them. But that changed when “Artie the Junk Collector” heard I was a big sports fan.

Artie was a local buyer and seller of junk and he would drive around early in the morning before the garbage trucks made their rounds to see what people were putting out by the curb. My father had a bike shop in our garage and my mother was a garage sale person, both buying and selling.

So, anytime Artie saw a bike, bike parts, or anything he thought my mother could sell at a garage sale, he’d load it into his old station wagon. When he learned I was a sports fan he started giving me all the sports magazines that people left out by the curb. I still have them all these years later.

Picking The Hobby Up Again

Once Artie died I figured my collecting days were behind me and I didn’t have any desire to continue with it. I figured enough was enough. But when I was in my late thirties I was working with a guy who happened to be a big-time collector, and the spark returned.

The next thing I knew I was purchasing more sports memorabilia than ever. That went on for about ten years. After I no longer worked with him I stopped collecting and I’ve bought very little sports memorabilia in the last 15 years.

I enjoyed my years of collecting and although I am now more focused on selling than buying, I will not part with certain items, particularly items that bring back good childhood memories.

This isn’t a cautionary tale. Although there were times I got carried away with collecting and spent too much time on it, I never let my collecting interfere with my responsibilities and I was never financially irresponsible with my collecting. It can be a fun hobby and outlet, provided you realize it’s nothing more than that.

I hope you enjoyed the article and the podcasts and that it brought back some happy memories for those who grew up in that era.

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Mark Morthier is the host of Yesterday’s Sports, a podcast dedicated to reliving memorable sports moments from his childhood days and beyond. He grew up in New Jersey just across from New York City, so many of his episodes revolve around the great sport’s teams of the 70s for the New York area.

He is also an author of No Nonsense, Old School Weight Training (Second Edition): A Guide for People with Limited Time and Running Wild: (Growing Up in the 1970s)