Ultimate Team Set

My name is Steve Crisp. I'm a die-hard, life-long New York Mets fan. When The Mets franchise began in the 1962, so did my love of the sport. And naturally, I collected baseball cards. By the mid-70's, I had moved on to other things (I'm thinking it was girls) and I quit collecting cards altogether. Then somewhere along the way, any cards I did have... were either lost during moves or thrown out by my well-intentioned mother. Fast forward several decades. I owned a successful business that ran mostly on auto-pilot, so I had a lot of extra time on my hands. Instead of buying a Ferrari, I decided that I wanted my old baseball card collection back. Except this time, I wanted top-of-the line cards and I wanted them all. I had the funds, access to the internet and the freedom to go anywhere I needed to compile my personal collection. Really, how hard could it be to put together a really nice, totally complete set of baseball cards? I started pecking around baseball card shops, card shows and online resources. I quickly discovered that if I wanted a Tom Seaver rookie card, no problem, I could pick one up anywhere. But if I wanted a 1990 Brian Bohanon card, there wasn't one to be found. Well, let me take that back. I might be able to find one if I was willing to spend a couple hours rummaging through hundreds of boxes and bins at a card shops across the country. But even if I found one, there was no guarantee that it'd be in good condition. Most baseball card dealers focus exclusively on the "stars" -- the baseball cards of superstars and Hall of Famers. The cards of players that aren't stars, known as "commons", are usually boxed up as they are collected and never see the light of day again. This is a MAJOR problem when you're trying to build a complete set. So, I took matters into my own hands. I started by putting together a spreadsheet of every baseball player who played the game in the last 40+ years. Then I cross checked it with several print and online resources to determine if a baseball card had been issued for ...Read More