OT - Any Hockey Card Collectors?

[ska-T Chitown]

Just wanted to see if any fellow 'spacers are into card collecting. I was really into it in the late 80's and early 90's (the junk card gold rush), but stopped once I discovered girls, lol.

Got back into it a few months ago and find the Reddit threads on cards a bit ... awful?

I won't post too long in case this just gets mothballed, but my current work in progress is trying to put together a binder with a card from every player in the HHOF. I think I am at something like 220/297 - skipping all the founders and refs.

Holla if this is you!

*Disclaimer - not intending to sell any, nor am I secretly planning to troll for cards on SS, just interested in some nerdy conversation!

[Taro T]

Collected as a kid, but when Topps stopped making cards for 2 years and did stickers instead, stopped collecting.  Got back into it briefly when Upper Deck and Pro Set and Score and Bowman all joined the ranks but there were just too durn many to bother with it.

Someday might start back up.

Hope you have fun rekindling your youth.

[ska-T Chitown]

4 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Collected as a kid, but when Topps stopped making cards for 2 years and did stickers instead, stopped collecting.  Got back into it briefly when Upper Deck and Pro Set and Score and Bowman all joined the ranks but there were just too durn many to bother with it.

Someday might start back up.

Hope you have fun rekindling your youth.

Thanks! I totally get the wanting to avoid the Flood. And it has decimated card values from that era - you can get a Forsberg, Lindros, Kariya rookie for under $2! All HoF players. I mean, that has helped me fill quite a few pockets in my binder, so I guess I can't complain too much.

If you thought the early 90's was crazy ... don't even look now. I dipped my toes in to find some current Sabres cards (Levi, Benson, Power, JJP, etc) - I think UD published 20+ different sets this year. Even the "base" set, when you account for all the inserts and variations, it was something like 4000 cards. Some are 1 of 1, but still bonkers! I will stick to the 50's - 70's where there were between 1 and 3 sets a year, lol!

Thanks for taking the time to share!

[freester]

I have 2 full shoeboxes of cards from 1970-76. Most are hockey but some NFL,  baseball and NBA. 

[Pimlach]

I had boxes upon boxes of cards - baseball, AFL football, NFL football, NHL, and NBA cards.  All bought in nickel wax packs with a slab of stale crappy gum.  Circa 1964 to 1973. 

I also had Beatles, Monkees, Batman, etc… 

I’m not a collector, when I stopped that was it. 

[Indabuff]

Was briefly tempted to start collecting again until my buddy got back into it and I found out he invested in multiple multi-tiered racks for them.  

[Wyldnwoody44]

Used to love opening packs and looking for the elusive "game worn jersey" cards, the special foils and etc. 

 

I have a large collection somewhere that may be worth some money, but I cannot find the giant boxes. 

I used to get Beckett monthly and check The values, we also had a cool little card shop in Springville called the Collectible.... Those were the days. 

[French Collection]

I collected hockey cards from 1971 until 1980. Got a Gretzky rookie from a wax pack.

I got back into it when the boom was on. I collected a lot of the new stuff but was keen on completing my sets from the 70’s. 

I sold quite a few cards and sets but have hung onto my complete sets of OPC 71/72 and 72/73. Those ones mean the most to me because of the memories of walking to the corner store with some change and getting a few packs. The checklists are marked, some players have moustaches drawn on their faces, some cards have creases or pin holes from thumb tacks but I remember what every one of them looks like and I used to know most of the player’s stats too. I even remember how I got some in trades.

We didn’t know the value of them or how rookie cards worked. Otherwise I wouldn’t have traded a Ken Dryden rookie card for a Gilles Marotte. I needed it, had two Drydens and completing the set was what mattered.

[ska-T Chitown]

17 minutes ago, French Collection said:

I collected hockey cards from 1971 until 1980. Got a Gretzky rookie from a wax pack.

I got back into it when the boom was on. I collected a lot of the new stuff but was keen on completing my sets from the 70’s. 

I sold quite a few cards and sets but have hung onto my complete sets of OPC 71/72 and 72/73. Those ones mean the most to me because of the memories of walking to the corner store with some change and getting a few packs. The checklists are marked, some players have moustaches drawn on their faces, some cards have creases or pin holes from thumb tacks but I remember what every one of them looks like and I used to know most of the player’s stats too. I even remember how I got some in trades.

We didn’t know the value of them or how rookie cards worked. Otherwise I wouldn’t have traded a Ken Dryden rookie card for a Gilles Marotte. I needed it, had two Drydens and completing the set was what mattered.

Oh man! That is where it is at ... I will admit it is not quite the same opening the puffy package from ebay, but I still get a little rush when I have one less slot to fill in the pages of my book. I have to admit, the 71 and 72 sets were a touch before my time, but I have a few of them now and they are pretty sharp looking. One of the first things I did when I got back into it was find some decent condition reasonably priced French Connection cards. I was a wee lad watching TV when Gil got to 500, but I can still remember it. 

There are no real Hobey Baker cards, or for anyone that came and went before 1911 - and cards from the 30's are expensive and they disappeared in the 40's during WW2, but I found some commemorative sets and they are pretty cool in their own right. It is nice they come with some history of the players. The real cards from before the 1951 Parkhurst set got things going again usually just say: Babe Johnson on the front (why was everyone's nickname 'Babe' back then?) and something like "he plays hockey" on the back.

We never knew the dollar value as kids - just the joy you got from seeing your favorite player on a medium stock piece of card board!

**Also, damn - a gretzky! I think you can get $1k even if you used a hole punch on it 🤣 I am almost glad I never had anything like that - I woulda trashed it and had deep unshakable regret!

52 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

I had boxes upon boxes of cards - baseball, AFL football, NFL football, NHL, and NBA cards.  All bought in nickel wax packs with a slab of stale crappy gum.  Circa 1964 to 1973. 

I also had Beatles, Monkees, Batman, etc… 

I’m not a collector, when I stopped that was it. 

Oh god! The crappy gum! Even in '89 and '90 they were still pushing that stuff ... seemed like it was left over from the '70's! Me and my friends thought it would be hilarious to collect all the gum sticks, too. I think we almost filled a shoe box just with gum!

Edited June 27 by ska-T Chitown

[ska-T Chitown]

21 minutes ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:

Used to love opening packs and looking for the elusive "game worn jersey" cards, the special foils and etc. 

 

I have a large collection somewhere that may be worth some money, but I cannot find the giant boxes. 

I used to get Beckett monthly and check The values, we also had a cool little card shop in Springville called the Collectible.... Those were the days. 

I found an online database thingy that trolls ebay for sales and calculates a value that way. Who knows how accurate it really is, but it is kinda cool!

[North Buffalo]

I have 4-5 thousand football card from '66-80 and probably 1,000 hockey card from the 70s in boxes... not sure there value but there are some cool cards hockey cards... also a bunch of Bills memorabilia from the 90s 

[#freejame]

I collected extensively as a kid, but only for a few years. When my son was born I started collecting sets from his birth season. It’s been fun. 

[ska-T Chitown]

3 hours ago, #freejame said:

I collected extensively as a kid, but only for a few years. When my son was born I started collecting sets from his birth season. It’s been fun. 

That's a really cool idea! I have been tempted to do the same for my own birth year. Maybe that is the next project after the HHOF book is complete.

[shrader]

On 6/26/2024 at 10:10 PM, ska-T Chitown said:

Oh god! The crappy gum! Even in '89 and '90 they were still pushing that stuff ... seemed like it was left over from the '70's! Me and my friends thought it would be hilarious to collect all the gum sticks, too. I think we almost filled a shoe box just with gum!

In the past year I was seriously thinking about getting back into the card game as a bonding thing when my son gets a little older.  I just don't have the slightest clue where to start.  I did go to the local card shop a couple times, but there was so little hockey.  They did have a bunch of old unopened boxes from that 80s-90s era.  My immediate thought was the condition of those sticks of gum.  Honestly, they're probably in the same exact condition they were all those years ago.

[#freejame]

1 minute ago, shrader said:

In the past year I was seriously thinking about getting back into the card game as a bonding thing when my son gets a little older.  I just don't have the slightest clue where to start.  I did go to the local card shop a couple times, but there was so little hockey.  They did have a bunch of old unopened boxes from that 80s-90s era.  My immediate thought was the condition of those sticks of gum.  Honestly, they're probably in the same exact condition they were all those years ago.

https://www.dacardworld.com/sports-cards/2022-23-upper-deck-series-1-hockey-hobby-box
This is what I’ve been doing. Series 1/2 and extended. Shopping a few seasons late really drives down the prices. My plan is to get some sets for him then give them all to my son as a gift around 5-6 to start collecting together. 

[ska-T Chitown]

33 minutes ago, #freejame said:

https://www.dacardworld.com/sports-cards/2022-23-upper-deck-series-1-hockey-hobby-box
This is what I’ve been doing. Series 1/2 and extended. Shopping a few seasons late really drives down the prices. My plan is to get some sets for him then give them all to my son as a gift around 5-6 to start collecting together. 

And as much as I love the idea of supporting small local card shops, if you are looking for hockey and especially old hockey, most shops in the US are just not gonna get it done.

I troll ebay looking for things that seems to be under valued. You can find some. Sometimes you find an auction that for one reason or another is not attracting much attention and you can get a sweet deal.

@shrader - Yeah, I am pretty sure after a nuclear winter, there would be cockroaches and old trading card gum!

[Rasmus_]

I PC (personally collect) the Sabres, Canucks, and a few individual players. 

[#freejame]

10 minutes ago, ska-T Chitown said:

And as much as I love the idea of supporting small local card shops, if you are looking for hockey and especially old hockey, most shops in the US are just not gonna get it done.

I troll ebay looking for things that seems to be under valued. You can find some. Sometimes you find an auction that for one reason or another is not attracting much attention and you can get a sweet deal.

@shrader - Yeah, I am pretty sure after a nuclear winter, there would be cockroaches and old trading card gum!

The good news is being from Buffalo Dave and Adam’s is my local card shop! But yeah, their selection of truly old stuff (5+ years) is lacking. eBay is still the way to go there, but usually it’s going to be loose and to me the excitement of tearing open a pack is the best part. 

[shrader]

1 hour ago, #freejame said:

https://www.dacardworld.com/sports-cards/2022-23-upper-deck-series-1-hockey-hobby-box
This is what I’ve been doing. Series 1/2 and extended. Shopping a few seasons late really drives down the prices. My plan is to get some sets for him then give them all to my son as a gift around 5-6 to start collecting together. 

All they have around here is stuff from a couple years ago. That part confuses me. 

[ska-T Chitown]

1 hour ago, Rasmus_ said:

I PC (personally collect) the Sabres, Canucks, and a few individual players. 

Who are the players? Always cool to see who everyone like.

I have a ton of Mario Lemieux cards - including a Topps rookie. Apparently the OPC is the one to have ... but I have a budget, lol.

[ska-T Chitown]

@shrader @#freejame - I think most card shops, unless they choose to specialize in truly vintage stuff (LIke, mid-80's and earlier), they just don't have the room and I bet the walk-in demand is really low.

I have been tempted to buy a box of '86 OPC for the rush of tearing open a pack and hoping to see Mario staring back at me in pristine glory - but those boxes seem to come in around the price of a pretty decent used car, so I have not done it. My wife and I have a "your money is your money" policy - but if she ever found out I dropped that much cheddar on some old cardboard ... she might question my sanity 🤣

I admit I am a bit of a "deal" junky outside of the Sabres cards I want. Like, oh ... this graded card with a book value of $100 is auctioning for $40?? I don't mind if I do. (this only applies to retired or twilight of their career players with sustained value - I am not out there dropping any money on Cole Caufield.)

[Rasmus_]

Older players: Jagr, and Pronger

Current non teams: Brady and Matthew Tkachuk, Lundell and Rossi.

[ska-T Chitown]

1 minute ago, Rasmus_ said:

Older players: Jagr, and Pronger

Current non teams: Brady and Matthew Tkachuk, Lundell and Rossi.

I have Jags and Pronger in my HHOF binder, and I have several extra Jagrs. Such a great player! 

Most of the current non-Sabres I have, I have then because they are future HHOF locks ... stamkos, hedman, barkov, kane, toews, crosby, malkin.

I find it really hard to cheer for active players who are not Sabres, lmao!

[Rasmus_]

1 hour ago, ska-T Chitown said:

I have Jags and Pronger in my HHOF binder, and I have several extra Jagrs. Such a great player! 

Most of the current non-Sabres I have, I have then because they are future HHOF locks ... stamkos, hedman, barkov, kane, toews, crosby, malkin.

I find it really hard to cheer for active players who are not Sabres, lmao!

When I was in NY I had season tickets to London. So the Tkachuks have always been favorites.  Just not when they play Buffalo.

[ska-T Chitown]

Bringing by my own thread ... is that uncool on the interwebs? lol

Just wondering if anyone with a semi-current collecting hobby know much about these like ultra thick "exquisite" cards? They don't have any embedded pieces of jerseys or jock straps - but hella thick card board ...