My Introduction to Baseball and Baseball Cards

After my rant from the last post I'll start highlighting my personal collection.

This will be one card at a time and I'll explain why the card is special to me.

1976 was the first year I bought a pack of baseball cards.  I bought the pack at a convenience store on the way back from my first Braves game.  My friend's little league team had reserved the left field picnic area at Atlanta-Fulton County stadium and he took me along.

We got there well before game time and watched batting practice.  One of the kids on the trip was standing on a picnic table and got hit in the face by a line drive by Jerry Royster.  I retrieved the bloody ball but, of course, had to give it away.  The kid went to the hospital and, as I understand it, was given Braves and Dodgers uniforms.

Dusty Baker had moved from the Braves to the Dodgers over the winter and he was signing autographs.  I had no real idea who he was but I had a piece of notebook paper so I got in the line.  He stopped at the kid right in front of me.

One of the chaperones found out that there were Braves players signing in the right field picnic area so he took some of us over there.  I got two rookie players to sign my piece of notebook paper:  Mike Eden and a catcher name Dale Murphy.  I had no idea who either of them were either.  (I HAVE learned, of course).  

I'm not sure who won the game but I know on the way back home to Athens we stopped at a convenience store and I used some change to buy one pack of cards.  I got a Hank Aaron card in the pack but by the time I got home it had disappeared.

One of the first cards I bought as a single was the 1976 Hank Aaron card above.  It bring back many memories.

Oh yeah, and I swear me retrieving that bloody ball cursed me for life as a foul ball has never come any where near me again in the 100+ games I've attended,