For starters, this card is really rad looking, as it's designed to look like a genuine Hall of Fame plaque in Cooperstown, which is pretty cool. Also, back in 1995, the rounded top edge of these cards really seemed as badass as wizardry. The idea of a card being more that a rectangular piece of paper just seemed downright incredible to me. On top of all of its resplendent beauty, this card was serial numbered and limited to only 5000 copies. It was among the first cards to be issued in such a way, and this was another aspect of it that made it desirable to me.
On September 6, 1995, Ripken played his 2,131st game, breaking Lou Gehrig's record streak for consecutive games played. That alone assured Ripken would have a real plaque in the Hall, but he'd had a great career all along. This card, along with all of his others, went through the roof in value after his accomplishment. At its peak, it was selling for $160, an unimaginable sum for a kid.
Well, it took me years, but I finally landed one: number 3,093 of 5,000. It seems like nothing ever gets cheaper, but this card had gone down in value just a little bit. I picked it up for a measly $3.99.
The other card I've finally gotten my hands on is a 1997 Bowman Chrome Refractor rookie card of former Cub Kerry Wood. I'd opened pack after pack of these cards looking for this particular piece of cardboard, but had failed to find one. Mostly, I wanted this card because it looked like the Cubs had landed the next Nolan Ryan--a tough Texan with an insane fastball and a mean curve. In his fifth career start, he clobbered the Astros, striking out 20 batters. It was a dominating performance--some say the most overpowering in the modern era--and it looked like Kerry would have a great career, but arm problems plagued him and ended his career as a starter. Currently, Kerry is the closer for the Indians.
The Cubs are my team, and Kerry's 20 strikeout performance, which actually took place on the afternoon of my 15th birthday, made me want to get ahold of one of these cards. I mean, it really did seem like Woody was going to have an amazing career, and this was one of his only true rookie cards. With regards to aesthetics, it looks a little plain I guess, and the one pictured doesn't shine like the one I purchased. But there's also something classy about its looks. The design is simple and not to flashy, it's clean. Plus, I really like the tiny Cubs logo in the bottom right corner.
Just like with the Ripken card, the Kerry rookie went up in value very quickly, way before I could get one cheaply. At around $120, this card was way out of my reach. But again, this was one I felt that I had to have in my collection. The worst thing was that the packs cost a lot of money, around $5 for four cards. Even though the odds seemed stacked against me, I took my lawn mowing money to the flea market and bought as many shiny wrappered packs as my cash could buy.
One of these cards sat in the dealer's glass case on the table where I bought the packs. I could see it shining, taunting me with its coolness and its enormous price tag. I remember that I considered just saving my money and buying the card, but that would have ended the search, and with that kind of money I could have bought most of a box of the packs. Surely in that many packs I would come across one of these cards, though that wasn't guaranteed. It did seem like finding the rookie myself would make adding it to my collection all the more rewarding. Buying the single, I thought, would be like giving up.
Almost 12 years later, I gave up on the search. I did have to watch ebay for a little while before one of these became available, but that hardly counts, that is not as thrilling as tearing open the wrapper of the pack, thumbing through the paper player pictures, and finding the card, the one you've been dying to carefully place amongst your other cardboard treasures. The battle for this card came down to the wire, with two of my bids being rejected in the last two minutes. I wasn't going to lose out this time, though, so I bid higher than I'd really wanted to go. When the clock came up to 0 and I was the highest bidder, I felt like I'd accomplished something. The very same card that had eluded me for so long was now mine, and it only cost me $15.
I'm not completely sure what this post is about. Part of it is about getting awesome deals on things on ebay, which I'm just now beginning to understand. Anything you want seems to be available on the site, including all of the things you missed out on as a kid. That's a big part of all of this: finally managing to get your hands on something that has long eluded you. My brother and I talked about how great it feels to finally get something you wanted a lot as a kid. It sort of sucks that buying things brings me this cathartic feeling, but it just does. There's nothing I can do about that. Admittedly, at a younger age I probably would have been more thrilled about getting the cards. I would have been ecstatic over receiving the cards in the mail all carefully snuggled in little bubble wrap lined envelopes. But getting the cards now did provide me with some joy. Certainly, I'm glad that I didn't work too hard as a kid to save up for and buy things that ended up being worth only a fraction of their former value--though I did make this mistake with plenty of other cards. I guess, more than anything, I admire these miniature artworks--I pull them from my desk drawer and examine them all the time now--and I am struck by just how cool little pieces of paper with overpaid athletes on them can be.
I agree with the first two comments!
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