Eric’s Baseball Cards and Comics
From a young age, Eric was always fascinated by baseball cards and comic books. On his 7th birthday, his grandparents gifted him a shoebox full of vintage baseball cards from the 1960s and 1970s that had been collecting dust in their attic for decades. Eric spent hours sorting through the cards, learning about players from past eras and marveling at the colorful illustrations and stats on the back of each card. He was immediately hooked and began asking for allowances and birthday/holiday money so he could grow his collection.
Around the same time, Eric discovered his father’s long forgotten collection of comic books in the basement. He spent afternoons reading tales of Superman, Batman, Spider-Man and more as he learned to read. The vibrant images and unfolding storylines captivated his imagination. Soon, Eric was also putting aside money to purchase back issues of his favorite titles at the local comic book shop.
As Eric got older, he began attending card shows and comic book conventions in the region with his father. Wandering up and down aisles stacked with boxes upon boxes of collectibles, Eric would spend hours searching for gems to add to his growing collections. Whether it was a rare Hank Aaron rookie card or a coveted first appearance of the X-Men, the thrill of the hunt kept Eric engaged. He also enjoyed learning the history of the industry and meeting other collectors at events.
By high school, Eric’s collections had grown substantially thanks to years of dedicated searching and purchasing. He had amassed thousands of baseball, football and hockey cards spanning the 1950s through the 1990s in meticulously organized binders by sport, team and player. His comic collection filled long boxes and focused on key Silver and Bronze Age Marvel and DC titles from the 1960s through 1980s.
As the rise of the internet made researching and buying/selling collectibles much easier in the late 1990s and 2000s, Eric began to expand his knowledge even more. He joined online collector forums and groups to discuss the hobby, get valuation help and look for items to add to his collections. Using eBay, Eric was able to fill in many missing pieces and obtain harder to find gems. He also started his own part-time business buying and selling duplicates and investments online.
In college, Eric majored in business and history, allowing him to further develop his collector and research skills. He volunteered and later worked part-time at the local history museum, helping to catalog their sports memorabilia and comic archives. Through this experience, Eric gained valuable knowledge about preservation, authentication and working with collectors/donors. He also assisted with exhibit curation and educational outreach programs related to the pop culture collections.
After graduating, Eric took a job as a sports information archivist at a major university. In this role, he was responsible for maintaining the school’s football, basketball and baseball records as well as their sports hall of fame and alumni archives. Eric leveraged his collecting background and attention to detail to properly organize, catalog and digitize the extensive collection of stats, photos, media guides, programs and more. He also oversaw research requests from media, fans and alumni looking to delve into the history of the athletics department and its stars over the decades.
In his personal time, Eric continued to grow his baseball card and comic collections. By now in his 30s, he had amassed one of the most extensive private collections in the region, regularly receiving offers from dealers and institutions to purchase parts of it. However, Eric viewed his collectibles as lifelong works of passion, enjoying preserving pop culture history and sharing his knowledge with others. He became a respected authority, judging competitions, appraising collections and consulting on valuations.
Sadly, Eric’s father passed away after a battle with cancer in his late 50s. Among his father’s possessions, Eric discovered even more forgotten gems for his collections. Going through boxes of his father’s childhood items, Eric found hundreds of pristine 1960s comics in mylar bags, countless wax packs and boxes of 1950s/60s cards and a treasure trove of sports programs and memorabilia from Eric’s grandfather’s playing career in the minor leagues in the 1930s-40s. These new additions further fueled Eric’s passion and reconnected him with his family history in the hobby.
As he approached middle age himself, Eric began to think about a new chapter. After over 25 years of dedicated collecting and preserving history, he wanted to find a way to share his vast collections and knowledge with more people. He started researching opening a sports and pop culture museum or visitor’s center in his hometown. With the help of local civic and nonprofit groups, Eric was able to obtain funding and renovated space to debut the Baseball Cards & Comics Museum.
Housed in a restored early 20th century building, the museum allowed Eric to beautifully showcase thousands of items from his collections organized into permanent and rotating exhibits. Visitors could see the evolution of cards and comics, learn about key players and characters, view rare finds and appreciate the artistic design of memorabilia. Interactive areas let both kids and adults try their hand at sorting, appraising and more. Educational programs, events and a research library furthered Eric’s mission to promote history, literacy and community engagement.
Now in his 50s, Eric’s museum has become a beloved local institution. He takes great pride in sharing his lifelong passion for collecting with visitors of all ages. Through his dedication to preservation, education and outreach, Eric has ensured that the history contained within his beloved baseball cards and comics collections will be enjoyed and appreciated for generations to come. The museum stands as his legacy, allowing others to experience the same sense of wonder at pop culture history that sparked his journey so many years ago. For Eric, it was a dream come true to transform his personal collecting into a public celebration of sports and entertainment through the decades.