I was a passionate preteen baseball card collector, myself. I focused on my beloved Cincinnati “Big Red Machine.” I can still say the names and see the faces. Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Dave Concepcion.

We lived something like 3 hours from Cincinnati, but once or rarely twice a year, the whole family would bundle up into our little car and take the interstate down to catch a game. Seeing those guys from my cards live on the playing field thrilled me beyond words.

I don’t know what happened to my shoe boxes, but I’d love to see those cards again.