The story begins in Hawaii where both of my parents were born and raised. In the mid 50's, they moved to Wisconsin to go to college where they eventually met, got married, and started a family. That's where and when they became Green Bay Packers fans.
After my father graduated from Milwaukee School of Engineering, he started working for Honeywell and moved the family out to Florida. Eventually he was assigned to work on a project involving the SR-71 Blackbird, so they came out to Southern California where my parents attended Super Bowl I and had the opportunity to cheer on their very own Green Bay Packers.
When the moved to Northern California in the early 70's, the San Francisco 49ers became their favorite team and for as long as I can remember they've been one of my least favorite teams. However the Green Bay Packers have always been a happy medium where we could all sit around and cheer on the same team.
The older I get, the more nostalgic I become. The Lombardi years were a little before my time, however it doesn't mean that I can't collect the guys my parents cheered for.
After years of searching for a reasonably priced copy, I managed to add this card to my Green Bay Packers PC two weeks ago:
Thanks to a best offer option and a $10 off coupon, I was able to grab this card off of eBay for $25 shipped and finally cross this card off of my wantlist.
I realize that there might be a point in my life where I won't be able to hold onto everyone of my treasured collectibles. However... like my 1956 Topps Jackie Robinson and my 1983 Topps Tony Gwynn, I hope that this card is with me until the very end, because it's more than just a piece of cardboard. It's a connection between me and my parents.
What about you...
Have you ever purchased a card because it reminds you of someone special?
Well... that's it for today. Happy Super Bowl Sunday and sayonara!
can't say that i've ever purchased a card because of someone special, but i have a lot of cards that are special to me and i can remember the moment i purchased them. one of them is the 1985 Donruss Eric Davis RC. I had saved money for weeks to buy the card (far more than what it's worth today) and ended up dropping it in the shop before i left the store. I got home and realized the missing item and my mom had to drive me back another 30minutes to the shop. i almost cried thinking i had lost it forever!!!
ReplyDeletelove the Bart Starr card!
loved SR-71's as a child too, i think i may have had that model as a kid!
My grandfather and I are really close. He used to tell me stories of his childhood growing up in Gordon, Texas. His cousin was one of his best friends and was central to many of the stories. His name was Thurman Tucker and he ended up playing a few years in MLB. He has a card in the '51 Bowman set, so I bought it to always remind me of the stories my grandpa tells.
ReplyDeleteMost of the junk wax era cards remind me of my childhood, but I've never specifically purchased a card because it reminded me of someone.
ReplyDeleteWay cool. The SR-71 is my all-time favorite aircraft.
ReplyDeleteThat's a sweet pick up. Being from northern Wisconsin I was born into being a Packer fan, which is alright with me. It's too bad we didn't get to root for them in the Super Bowl this year, but you did manage to win my Super
ReplyDeleteBowl contest door prize!
:::::Have you ever purchased a card because it reminds you of someone special?::::
ReplyDeleteOh, absolutely. I buy vintage NY Giants football cards because I spent many Sundays listening to their radio broadcasts with my father. Any card that shows them with their classic unis makes me think of those days. He was a fan of Sam Huff and Joe Morrison in particular so I pick them up when I see them.
Not purchase, but one reason I'll never get rid of my 93-94 Finest Penny Hardaway was because it was a Christmas Gift from my Parents. They RARELY bought me singles, but they knew I wanted that card so bad and they got it for me. I'll never let that one go
ReplyDeleteWhat a great history-I guess for me collecting Vintage STL Blues Hockey Cards reminds me of going to games through the 70s with my dad. His boss had season tickets so we were able to go often-even got my picture in one of those Game Day Mags-if I could only remember what the date was!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story. I also grew up a Packer fan, and was a Lombardi fan all through my youth (I was 12 at that first superbowl). Bart Starr, Ray Nitschke, Max McGee and Jimmy Taylor were my favorites from that era, especially Bart. When I was stationed at Fort Lewis Washington in the mid-90s, I had a ticket for a show where Bart would be signing autos. Unfotunately, I had duty the next day and got moved up for duty on the day of show due to someone getting sick. Starr and Lombardi were two of the Packers I'd most like to have met.
ReplyDeletecardboard hogs - i paid top dollar for my 85d eric davis as well. those were the good old days. it's funny... i loved that plane long before i ever found out my father even worked on the plane. for years he couldn't talk about it.
ReplyDeletej. meeks - very cool. i could definitely see a card like that quickly becoming a family keepsake
matthew scott - early junk wax was definitely part of my childhood. however... i was lucky to bust packs of 82t, 83t, and 84d when they were still 30¢ a pack.
billy kingsley - me too!
cynicalbuddha - thanks for the awesome contest! as for the packers, as long as they have rodgers, they'll be at least average... if not better than average.
commishbob - nice. it's really hard to top memories around the radio with your father. good times i'm sure. i wish my father was more into baseball and hockey, so i could chase after some old school players he enjoyed... but he was mostly a football guy. that's okay. the 50's and 60's packers will definitely keep me busy.
chris p - that's a nice centerpiece to your collection. i wish i still had the 1981 fleer baseball set my parents bought me back in the day. that was the first set they ever purchased for me. i ended up busting two boxes trying to hand build that set. ended up costing me a lot more than just going out and buying a hand collated set.
b man - oh man, that is sweet! i hope you're able to track down a copy of that magazine at some point. if you do, i hope you share it with your readers
comatoad - oh man that's a shame. thank you for serving our country. hopefully one day you'll add a starr autograph to your collection.