What got me started in the game used hobby

[gadsden86]

Re: What got me started in the game used hobby

Mine is like many others i have been collecting cards sicne the early 90's. I always saw jersyes and whatnot and always wanted to get a ball from a baseball game.
I still collect cards and mainly only Miami Dolphins. I got to the point where i felt like my collection needed a change. So i sold a few items and looked for something i wanted.
Well my 1st piece was a pair of GU'ed gloves of Greg camarillo from the 09 season. Then i saw this game issed jersey of oronde gadsden from his 95 season w/ teh cowboys. Him being my favorite player i had to have it and i still do this was only a year ago in June. I have added 5 other gamers to my pc and a few pairs of gloves and a pair of cleats. I only collect dolphins stuff and may branch out to players i have meet and know still. It is so much better owning an entire jersey rather than a 1 inch piece of it.
I still ciollect dolphins cards but rarely any jersey cards.

[frikativ54]

Re: What got me started in the game used hobby

I collected cards from the time I was in elementary school to late middle school. Then, I moved on from that phase and paid much less attention in high school. Only when I was a sophomore in college and Jeff Bagwell was ready to retire did I invest more time and money into baseball collectibles, especially of Bagwell, my favorite Houston Astro of all time.

But there was one defining moment for me, that moment I knew I would pursue game used: I was in Houston for Bagwell's jersey retirement, when I saw a display with his game used stuff, including my favorite, a pair of Bagwell's Darryl Kile tribute spikes.

It was at that point that I knew I would collect Bagwell cleats, even though they aren't the easiest to come by. I can't begin to describe my thrill a few years later when a seller offered me a pair of 2004 Bagwell DK shoes with red accents. Now I have pairs from 2003 and 2004 and am still in the hunt for 2005.

[godwulf]

Re: What got me started in the game used hobby

I collected cards as a kid, but after about the age of 15, my interest in Baseball was sporadic and short-lived. I was travelling around in the Navy for twenty-one years, and never really had an opportunity to feel like I had a "home team" or somebody to be a fan of. It wasn't until I retired and moved to Phoenix in '93, and then Arizona got an MLB franchise in '95, that I had both the time and the incentive to become a real fan of somebody. The idea that I was able to get in on the ground floor of a new team, and that it would be the team of my adopted state, was too good to be true.

In 1998, the Diamondbacks began playing, and at about the same time, I discovered eBay. One day I happened to see a game-used Karim Garcia Diamondbacks bat up for auction, and I was stunned - I had no idea that you could actually buy bats that had been used in a game. Since that time, of course, I've obtained...um...a few more bats...more than a thousand...and about two hundred jerseys, and my ultimate goal is to get them all nicely displayed before I assume room temperature.

[markfd]

Re: What got me started in the game used hobby

I got started collecting cards in 1978 when my dad would bring home wax packs or cello packs of baseball and football cards for me that he would buy at the convenience store on his way home from work about once a week. Then he started buying me sets for Christmas until 1990, when I graduated high school. For several years, I stopped collecting and became intersted in autographs in the late 1990s, that was fun and still is to a lesser extent. In 2005 or 2006, after getting everything I could possibly get autographed by the Washington Nationals and their opponents, I started to look for something else and that is when Andrew Lang turned me on to the world of game used memorabilia and I have been collecting ever since. Thanks Andrew!

[TBTwinsFan]

Re: What got me started in the game used hobby

I forgot to add, 2 hats.

[TBTwinsFan]

Re: What got me started in the game used hobby

As most here, I started at a young age collecting cards.

I also attended TwinsFest when I was younger (an annual FanFest hosted by the Minnesota Twins). I noticed they were selling game used items. I thought owning a jersey that a player actually used was pretty sweet.

My actual collection started when I began picking up game used bats of the local NWL team and of some local MLBers.

Now I have 3 bats, 1 hat, 2 locker tags, and 1 jersey. I am trying to add to my collection as my budget allows.

[cohibasmoker]

Re: What got me started in the game used hobby

For me, it was a year - 1969. I was 15 at the time and the Eagles just completed a practice session when I went into the Eagles locker-room at Franklin Field for the first time. I know it was 1969 because the Eagles game jerseys just came back from the cleaners and they were folded neatly on top of a equipment trunk and I remember the jerseys had a NFL 50th Anniversary patch on them.

The place was small and all of the equipment guys wore Philadelphia Eagles white T-shirts, green shorts, black low cut shoes and it seemed like all of them had crew-cut haircuts, smoked cigars and had big bellies. The place was hot and damp, because the players just got done their showers, and the place smelled of ben-gay and stale cigars.

We asked if we could go out onto the field and have a catch? An equipment guy told us that wouldn't be a problem and proceeded to throw us a Duke football. He added, "don't forget to bring it back".

Jim

[70to66]

Re: What got me started in the game used hobby

Walt Weiss gave me a bat at spring training when he was with the braves, I've been hooked ever since!

[island_style]

Re: What got me started in the game used hobby

For me it was the Coca Cola commercial with Mean Joe Greene throwing his jersey to a kid who offered him a Coke in the tunnel. I thought how cool would it be to have something that was actually used by a player.

The game used bug was planted in me and it's been a fun journey ever since.

Kind Regards,

Ron.

[808jerseys]

Re: What got me started in the game used hobby

In 1971 I started going to the University of Hawaii Basketball games. Being 11 years old, I would run on the court after the game and ask the players for their wristbands. At the end of the Football season, I would ask players for their chin strap,elbow pads & whatever they would give up.

Today I have game used jerseys, helmets, shoes, & great memories of those bold , crazy times !

[beaglegypsy003]

Re: What got me started in the game used hobby

I started first by collecting cards. What changed my focus was an article in Tuff Stuff magazine about a baseball collector who had a large card collection but did not have any real baseball items. I felt the same way about my football collection. Now my football collection of former University of Hawaii players stands at 79 game-used jerseys (one team issued); 9 practice jerseys; 3 pairs of cleats; and 2 pairs of gloves. I still collect football cards of former UH players and that number is closing in on 900 cards.

[gingi79]

Re: What got me started in the game used hobby

I always loved sports jerseys. The hierarchy was pretty simple: Replica's were cheap and most people I knew had a few of guys they cheered for or were the best in their sport. If you were really a fan of a team, you bought an "authentic" jersey. They were store bought, cost twice what replica's did and I was lucky enough to live near Gerry Cosby's so the name/numbers were always authentic. When I was growing up, I disliked cheap looking jerseys (similar to knockoffs in my opinion)

I always wanted any jersey I owned to be as real as possible. Nothing is wore real than Game Worn. I dreamed on one day having the only truly "authentic" Pavel Bure jersey and thanks to my lovely wife, I now do.

Unfortunately I also have a ton of other totally authentic game worn jerseys and a sadly small bank account

[ChicagoCubsWS]

Re: What got me started in the game used hobby

Went to a minor league game and someone gave me a Joe White game used bat...I decided to try this every game I went to and the numbers started adding up. Now I have a nice collection of game used bats from prospects.

[yanks12025]

Re: What got me started in the game used hobby

I started with bats and the first gamer I had was a Larry Berra from the early 1950's.

[alexbartacustoms]

Re: What got me started in the game used hobby

Like everyone else, I started collecting cards as a kid. As much as I still love cards, if I'm going to pay few hundred dollars for something, I'd much rather have something game-used instead of a piece of cardboard who's value can fluctuate at Beckett's whim.

My first game-used item was a LaDainian Tomlinson Chargers white road jersey from 2001.
The jersey came from Tay Cody, a CB on the Chargers.
I picked them up almost 10 years ago.
I was in the right place at the right time.
I have been able to photo match the jersey, and it is still my favorite piece.

I got a future Hall of Fame player as my first game-used item, and I was hooked.

I now have:
Game-Used Jersey (4, Tomlinson, Jay Cutler (R), Tommie Harris (R), Peerless Price)
Game-Used Cleats (3, Jones, Urlacher 2007, Urlacher 2011, Ray Lewis 2009 Pro Bowl)
Pro Day-Used Cleats (1, Rob Gronkowski)
Game-Used Chinstrap (1, George Blanda)

I love this GUU forum! You guys share my love for this hobby, and you are fighting to keep it's integrity. Thank You, Alex.