Hugo’s long held dream had always been to one day collect and own every single Topps brand baseball card produced since the company first started including players’ photos on cardboard in 1938. Now, with his 13th birthday only a few months away, Hugo was determined that this would finally be the year he started making serious progress on fulfilling that dream.
Hugo had been casually collecting cards his whole life, usually just picking up the few packs his parents would allow as treats whenever they went grocery shopping. But over the past year, watching baseball had become his new favorite hobby and passion. He wanted to learn everything he could about the history of the game and all of his favorite current players. What better way to do that than by growing his collection into a comprehensive encyclopedia of baseball card knowledge?
His strategy this year was to save up as much money as possible from any odd jobs he could find around the neighborhood in order to buy packs of cards in massive bulk. The more packs he opened, the more duplicates he was bound to get of common players that could then be traded with his friends or sold back to the card shop. Plus the sheer odds said that within a certain number of packs opened he was guaranteed to find rare rookie cards or serially numbered parallels that could be worth a small fortune someday.
It was the weekend before his big birthday in late July and Hugo had amassed $167.47 in his baseball card fund from mowing lawns, babysitting, and even helping the elderly neighbor with some yard work. His plan was to walk the mile down to Pop’s Sport Cards that Saturday with his wagon in tow, loaded up with as many unopened packs as his money could purchase.
Hugo spent the morning going over his finances and calculating how many packs his budget could responsible afford. A standard pack containing 5 cards generally retailed for $1, so a quick per unit calculation revealed that $167.47 could get him 167 packs. But wait – Pop’s was running a promotion that weekend where packs were buy 10 get 2 free. Doing the math on the bulk discount, Hugo realized his money could actually buy him 202 packs if he took advantage of the deal. Jackpot!
He packed a spare change of clothes, snacks, and a couple drinks into his backpack just in case the pack ripping took longer than expected. Then he stuffed as many stacks of crisp dollar bills as would fit into his wallet for the transaction. Finally around noon, Hugo wheeled his overpacked red wagon out the door with a walkie talkie in hand to keep in touch with his mom, who would pick him up at the shop a few hours later.
The mile trek was slow going with over 200 packs worth of weight, but Hugo’s excitement kept him powered forward. It was a beautiful sunny Saturday and he took in the sights and smells of summer as he made his way through familiar neighborhoods. Before long, the neon Pop’s Sport Cards sign came into view and Hugo pushed with new energy the last block to the storefront.
He had been to Pop’s dozens of times before but was always in awe walking through the door, greeted by walls of memorabilia, boxes overflowing with individual cards for sale, and the mingling scent of tobacco and bubblegum from opened packs. Today the place was bustling with other collectors taking advantage of the sales. Hugo weaved his wagon through the crowded aisles to find Pop himself working the register.
“Well if it isn’t Hugo!” boomed the shop owner with a wide grin. “Happy early birthday, son. I see you’re looking to make some serious additions to that collection of yours today. Got a lot of green to spend I hope?” Hugo proudly showed Pop his overflowing wallet and explained his pack buying strategy with the promotion. “Smart thinking there,” replied Pop. “Alright, let’s get you checked out. I’ll get these packs rung up and have some of the helpers start filling boxes for you. You’ll be here a while with this much ripping to do!”
It took nearly 45 minutes to have Hugo’s 202 packs rung up, bagged in easy to carry boxes, and loaded into his waiting wagon amid the other customers’ checkout lines. But the transactions were finally complete and Hugo had officially become the proud new owner of over 3,000 brand new baseball cards just waiting to be revealed. He thanked Pop for his help, grabbed a couple free packs as a birthday gift to open on the walk home, and then began navigating his haul out of the crowded storefront.
Once back out in the fresh air and open street, Hugo parked his cart to the side and eagerly tore into the first bonus pack gifted from Pop. He grinned finding a couple stars from the current season before turning to pack number two with equal zeal. Feeling extra lucky, Hugo decided he’d rip just one more for fun since he had such a long ways yet to go. He peeled back the wrapper to reveal….a signed Derek Jeter rookie card in near mint condition staring back up at him! Hugo could hardly believe his eyes and had to rub them to make sure it was real. Talk about the motherlode of early birthday miracles!
With newfound optimism and excitement, Hugo repacked the Jeter for safekeeping and pushed on toward home with his cart now full of endless possibilities. The rest of the afternoon and well into the evening would be spent at his house carefully going through each pack one by one with his friends called over to share in the experience. What other forgotten gems might be uncovered in the mountain of cardboard still awaiting his reveal? Hugo couldn’t wait to get started on adding to his ever growing collection and baseball knowledge. This was surely going to go down as the best birthday ever, even if it was still a few weeks away. With any luck, he’d be one big step closer to one day owning them all!
