Having Fun With Dave Winfield’s Rookie Card!!!
I left the hobby of collecting baseball cards during my teens. And after purging more than 99% of the stuff I owned, I kept 1 small box that held roughly 60 cards. I moved that box from house to house and from state to state.
So, a little more than two years ago when I decided to re-connect with the hobby that I loved as a kid, the first place that I went was to that familiar box. Still in tact, and still holding roughly 60 cards, my 1974 Topps Dave Winfield rookie card was waiting for me.
I probably picked up this card at a baseball card show in either South Florida or Chicago. Either way, I remember being thrilled to have a card ‘that old’ in my collection as s kid. And now, close to twenty years later, those feelings still hold up.
Here is my Dave Winfield rookie card:
And just the other week, I got a package in the mail from Alfredo that contained a very generous stack of cards featuring the players that I loved as a kid and collect today as an adult. And wouldn’t you know it, there were two modern versions of that same Dave Winfield rookie card included.
The first one comes from the 2010 Topps subset tagged as ‘Cards Your Mom Threw Out’. A greatly named set, I have a feeling that the creative name of this set hits home with quite a few collectors in my age bracket.
Here is that card:
Very similar in look and feel, the only noticeable differences between this one and the original version from 1974 is the quality of the cardboard, shine of the glossy finish, and stark whiteness of the border color.
The other card that Alfredo offered up to me comes from the Topps Archives set issued in 2001. Again it features the same design of the original rookie card, but with a major change. I guess that this is what the modern collector calls a ‘Refractor’ or something close to it. I have a few Dawson cards like these, but this is my first one of any other player.
Check it out:
I think what I like most about card companies putting cards like this out way after the original release is that it allows us a moment to travel back to our youth and recall memories of watching these guys play while we collected their cards.
For me, when I go to a card show and am sifting through a box of modern-issue cards, I can get bored pretty quickly. But then cards like the above Winfields show up to brighten my day!
Thanks again Alfredo – you have taken me back to my youth again!!!
