Drew Gilbert has had a lifelong passion for baseball cards that began at a very young age. Growing up just outside of Detroit, Michigan, Drew was surrounded by the rich history and tradition of America’s pastime. From a young age, he would accompany his father to Tigers games at Tiger Stadium and look through boxes of old baseball cards in the attic of his childhood home. This sparked a love of the game and a desire to learn everything he could about the players who graced the diamond.
Drew began collecting cards in earnest when he was just 5 years old in 1990. His parents would take him to the local card shop every weekend where he could pick out a few packs to add to his growing collection. In those early years of the 90s, the junk wax era was in full swing which meant cards were plentiful and affordable for a young collector. Drew amassed boxes of commons from the likes of Donruss, Fleer, and Score. Even at that young age he knew the true gems were the rookies and stars.
Some of Drew’s most prized early cards included a rookie Ken Griffey Jr. from 1989 Upper Deck, a Kirby Puckett from 1987 Topps, and a Nolan Ryan from 1972 Topps. While the condition of those early cards left something to be desired due to the handling of a young boy, Drew was careful to sleeve and top load his best cards even then. He learned the value of taking care of his collection from his father who had some gems from the 60s still in great shape.
As Drew got older, he began to focus more on specific players, teams, and years. In high school he zeroed in on collecting Tigers from the 1980s when Detroit was dominating the American League. Some of his most prized pickups from that era included Trammell and Whitaker rookies, a Kirk Gibson from 1984 Topps Traded, and a Jack Morris no-hitter card from 1984. Drew also began to appreciate the history of the game more and started picking up vintage cards from the 50s and 60s to learn about the eras before he was born.
After graduating high school in 2010, Drew attended Central Michigan University to study sports management. During his college years, he began to shift his collecting focus from team and player sets to higher end vintage and memorabilia cards. With his first post-college job in 2015, Drew had more disposable income to really grow his collection to the next level. He started picking up rare vintage rookie cards like a Mickey Mantle from 1952 Topps, a Willie Mays from 1951 Bowman, and a Hank Aaron from 1954 Topps.
Drew also became fascinated with unique one-of-a-kind memorabilia cards over the years. Some of his prized one-of-a-kind pieces include a Babe Ruth game-used bat card from the 1930s, a Nolan Ryan jersey card from the 1970s containing an actual swatch of fabric, and a Sandy Koufax patch card from the 1960s containing a piece of one of his jerseys. Beyond just the cards themselves, Drew enjoys learning the stories and histories behind each unique piece in his collection. He sees these one-of-a-kind cards as almost works of art celebrating some of baseball’s all-time greats.
In addition to building his personal collection, Drew began doing some buying and selling of higher end vintage cards in the thriving collectibles marketplace. By 2017 he had established himself as a respected buyer and seller and was doing consistent five-figure transactions of rare pre-war tobacco cards and iconic rookie cards from the 1950s. He enjoys the thrill of the hunt to find spectacular vintage pieces and take them to the next level of preservation by slabbing and protecting them in professional grading holders like PSA or SGC. Drew has become knowledgeable about discerning authentic vintage pieces from reprints or forgeries as well.
Now in his mid-30s, Drew’s collection has grown to include countless vintage gems worth six figures in total value. He has shifted his personal collecting to focus more on complete vintage sets from the 1950s and 1960s in pristine condition. Some of his most prized recent additions include a complete 1960 Topps set, a near-complete 1964 Topps set, and an amazing 1959 Topps set graded and encapsulated by PSA. Beyond just the monetary value, Drew enjoys preserving these pieces of baseball history for future generations to appreciate.
While Drew’s primary focus remains on vintage cardboard, he still enjoys following today’s game and players. He makes it a point to attend a Tigers game each season with his father where they reminisce about players from their childhood. Drew also likes collecting modern parallels, autographs, and memorabilia cards of current stars like Mike Trout, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Juan Soto. He sees today’s game as continuing the rich traditions that made him fall in love with baseball in the first place all those years ago.
As baseball has been such an important part of Drew’s life story, he hopes to one day pass along his immense collection to his children. More than the monetary value, Drew wants his kids to understand and appreciate the history and memories encapsulated in each vintage baseball card. His lifelong journey from a young boy’s weekend trips to the card shop through building a world-class collection has been incredibly rewarding. And for Drew, his baseball card collecting days are far from over as he continues adding to his collection and preserving pieces of the national pastime’s history for years to come.
