1516 - Gervise Ford, My First Hobby Friend, Part 1

Two longtime friends reminisce about how a one-shot 1969 classified ad in the SMU campus paper connected them and changed lives, leading to trades, softball games, and deeper involvement in the national baseball card hobby. They compare early collecting experiences—starting with 1954 and 1956 Topps, trading for Bowman cards, idolizing Stan Musial, and seeking complete sets—while recalling sources like The Sporting News, Coin World, and dealer Sam Rosen. The conversation covers buying boxes cheaply, doubling money on card lots, discovering pre-war issues like T205, T206, and T207, and the challenge of selling in early days. They also recount starting a 1974 card show and association, the hobby’s growth after 1975, and its rapid expansion through 1980 and beyond.

 

00:00 The SMU Ad That Started It

02:06 Late Bloomers in Sports

02:59 Trading With Older Collectors

04:54 Buying Boxes and Hustling

06:08 Discovering the National Hobby

07:40 First Trades and Set Building

09:22 Coin World Finds

10:10 Starting Shows and Going Midwest

12:50 Big Collections and Selling Challenges