The Card that Started it All

When I was 9 years old, I opened up a box of cereal and watching a plastic-wrapped baseball card drop out of the box and onto the floor. I picked it up and placed it on the counter, poured my bowl of cereal, and went on with my morning.

I had always liked baseball, and I often played catch and Wiffleball out in the front yard with my dad and sister. But at this point in my life, I still didn't follow professional baseball in any kind of real way. I wore my Dodgers hat everywhere, but I wouldn't have been able to tell you a single thing about the team or players.

At some point later that day, I saw the packaged card on the counter and decided to open it. I suppose it was the first pack of cards I ever opened (though there was only one card inside, so I guess it was a pack of card?). Inside sat the 2002 Topps Post Shawn Green you see below.

I remember rushing over to my dad and asking him if Shawn Green was any good thinking I hit the jackpot. "He's alright," my dad, ever the pessimist, told me. As the card back shows, Green's 2001 season was more than "alright." He hammered 49 homers (still a Dodgers record) and batted .297. Definitely better than "alright."

I don't exactly remember what happened next, but Shawn Green very quickly became my favorite player and I began to pay very close attention to Dodgers baseball. I started to fall asleep to Vin Scully calling Dodger games on the radio, and I convinced my dad to buy me baseball cards every time we went to Target. My fervent love for baseball, the Dodgers, and Shawn Green only grew from there, all the result of a flimsy baseball card falling out of a box of cereal.

I thought about this story last week and decided to go and take a look through my Shawn Green cards. Lo and behold, I discovered that at least one or two of my binders must still be with my dad back in California, including most of my Shawn Green PC. I'll coordinate with him to have them shipped over to me in New Jersey, and I'm looking forward to their arrival. As such, the Shawn Green scan above was taken from ComC.

What card(s) got you into collecting? 

What better way to solicit answers to this questions than by holding a contest?

You can earn multiple entries in this contest, so here's what you need to do:

1 entry - Comment on this post with the card(s)/set/etc. that jump started your collection.

1 entry - Subscribe to the blog! Most of you reading this are probably already subscribers, so just let me know you are in the comments. If you are new here, welcome! Give me a follow if you'd like. At the time of writing this, the blog sits at 87 followers. I'll plan to add additional prizes if we can get that number up to 100.

1 entry - Pimp this contest on your blog by June 27th then post a link here in the comments.

That's a maximum of 3 entries per person. I plan to keep the contest open until the end of June, so you have plenty of time to spread the word and get your entries in.

Below you will see a list of of some of the prizes that will be up for grabs. I'll likely add additional prizes between now and the end of June and definitely will if the blog reaches 100 followers. I'll end up randomizing the list of entries and we'll hold a prize draft. The plan is for winners to pick their prize on a separate contest results post at the beginning of July. I'll also be tossing in some assorted goodies for all of the winners.

Prize #1 - 2020 Topps t206 Series 1 Box/Pack

Prize #2 - Allen & Ginter Relic Lot

Prize #3 - Bowman's Best Mookie Betts Blue Parallel #'d/150

Prize #4 - First Edition HOF Baseball Hall of Fame Heroes 12 Card Set

Prize #5 - 2019 Topps Hi Tek Lance McCullers Jr. Autograph

Prize #6 - Assorted Pink Refractors from 2018 Topps Chrome

Prize #7 - 1988 Donruss Baseball Hanger Pack

Prize #8 - 2019 Topps Hi Tek George Springer Green and Purple Parallels

Prize #9 - Topps Gold Label Blue Parallels (Stanton and Strasburg)

Prize #10 - 10 Cards from 2016 Leaf Babe Ruth Set