Filling in the gaps

 

As one of many collectors who "took a break," I've been making up for lost time a lot ever since I returned to the hobby and especially since I started a blog.

My "official" break was from 1994-2004, but there were minor purchases here and there during that time. Also, I've broke from the hobby during other times, too, particularly when I left home for college.

I can probably break my breaks (heh) into three categories. And here they are in reverse order of how much I regret not collecting during that time:

3. 1994-2000

Sure, some of the flashy inserts would be fun, but as someone who has accumulated a lot of Dodgers from that time now, there are so many sets that don't appeal to me at all. Collecting changed in a massive way during this time -- in a way that the hobby still feels today -- and the kind of collecting that ruled at that time doesn't appeal to me. If I collected then, I don't know if current collecting me would like what I had become.

2. 2001-04

There were way too many sets to collect at this time, but I dig a lot of the ones that sprang from the retro boom. I'm a little sad I didn't get to collect the early Heritage sets and stuff like Fleer Tradition, etc.

1. 1984-88

This is it. This is where I blew it. As I've mentioned many a time, my collecting during this time consisted of buying complete Topps sets and in 1984 and 1985 and then ignoring the hobby, with a pack purchase or two in 1988.

Cards were so available then that I've had no trouble adding what I've missed and there is stuff in the back half of this period (1987 and 1988) that still doesn't matter to me (looking right at you, '87 Donruss). But I'm still trying to fill in the gaps for 1984-86. That time is super-key.

Currently, it's 1985 Donruss. I'm doing pretty well there.

A single-card trade with TCDB's FantasticCards netted the third-year Wade Boggs card for my set. Wade doesn't like that strike call.

A whole bunch more came from another trade with TCDB's sspeegle.

This is what I'm talking about, these are my guys.

The period in my baseball fandom in which I followed the game unconditionally, with no questions asked of it, is from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. The players during that time are my fan favorites. They are the bigger-than-life guys.

Sure, 1985 was the tail end of that period but there are still a bunch of '70s guys playing in 1985, so I want those cards in my collection.

A whole bunch more. Love the uniforms. I don't think you can sum up the mid-1980s better than Mets shoulder piping and Cardinals blue softball tops.

 

1985 Donruss was once the most famous black-border set after 1971 Topps (I don't know, maybe it still is). So it's susceptible to chipping and a couple of these cards are a little worn, but the vast majority I'll add to the collection with zero hesitation.

 

With this trade, I even got closer to finishing the 1986 Fleer build as sspeegle nicely threw in a couple of needs after not being able to find two of the '85 Donrusses he had listed.

 

Just four cards to go now to finish this set.

 

As for 1985 Donruss, I'm getting close to 50 percent of the set complete. I should fly past that in a couple of weeks as I'm working on another TCDB trade for more from the set. Once the dust clears from that, I'll see where I am. You could even see a want list here. That is wild to me, someone who had like 15 cards from this set for 30-plus years.

 

Sometimes I go back and forth on whether I want to be done with collecting the '80s. It'd be nice to devote myself to cooler -- i.e. more expense -- collecting pursuits, but the '80s stuff is in my zone and it's a nice respite from the gauntlet that vintage collecting has become.

 

As long as there are gaps to fill between 1975-85, though, you can bet I'll be collecting it.