The Card(s) That Got You into Collecting

Back at the beginning of June I ended a post with a simple question: what card(s) got you into collecting? 

Thirty-three different readers responded to that question and shared their stories about the sets and cards that turned them into collectors. Responses mentioned sets and cards spanning decades from the 1960s to the 2010s. 1987 Topps was by far the most popular set mentioned, as five readers named it a set that either got them into collecting or the set that got them back into collecting. No other set garnered more than a single mention. 

Baseball wasn't the only sport named either, as there were a couple mentions of both hockey and football. Even non-sports cards got some action by the way of Wacky Packages, Star Wars, and Pokémon. 

Many of you pointed to sets that got you into collecting while others cited specific cards. In fact twenty-two different cards were mentioned (two these being team cards). Thirteen of these were hitters and seven were pitchers. We can also break this down into NL and AL clubs (by today's organization): twelve cards for NL teams, ten for AL. 

Of the forty-one different sets and cards named, only seven were not Topps products. 

How were the various decades represented? Five mentions of the 1960s, seventeen mentions of the 1970s, fifteen mentions of the 1980s, six mentions of the 1990s, one mention of the 2000s, and one mention of the 2010s. Assuming most of you likely began collecting at somepoint during our childhoods, it's fair to say a majority of you were likely born 60s and 70s. 

I'm sure there are other insights we can gain from this information, and I encourage you to bring up any other patterns you may have noticed in the comments. If you didn't get in on the fun back in June, I invite you to do so now and share the card(s) that got you into collecting in the comments below.

You wouldn't think I'd post without leaving pictures? Below you can find a visual walkthrough organized by decade of all of your responses. 

1960-61 Topps Hockey

1965 Topps Ernie Banks

1968 Topps Tigers

1968 Topps Willie Mays #50

1969 Topps Baseball

1970s Wacky Packages

1973 Topps Baseball

1974 Topps Eduardo Rodriguez

1974 Topps Pedro Garcia

1974 Topps Tommy John

1974 Topps Carl Yastrzemski

1975 Topps Baseball

1975 Topps Darold Knowles

1975 Topps Ron Cey

1975 Topps Hal McRae

1975 Topps John Hiller

1975 Topps Mickey Stanley

1977 Topps Baseball

1977 Topps Star Wars

1978 Topps Bill Travers

1978 Topps Mike Schmidt

1979 Topps Baseball

1980 Topps Frank White All-Star

1981 Donruss Al Hrabosky

1983 Topps Baseball

1984 Topps Baseball

1986 Topps Stickers Dickie Thon

1986 Topps Baseball

1987 Fleer Mike Easler All Star

1987 Sportsflics

1987 Topps Baseball

1987 Topps Reds Leaders

1988 Topps Football

1990 Donruss Baseball

1993 Donruss Elite Barry Bonds

1994 Topps Football

1994 Topps Hockey

1994 Collector's Choice Nolan Ryan Silver Signature

2001 Upper Deck Ichiro

2015 Topps Baseball