MY COLLECTION - MOMENTS FROZEN IN TIME

Recently I enjoyed an article written by Tyler over at NHL Digest .com titled My Favorite Hockey Card where he describes his enjoyment in looking through his card collection. As a lifelong collector myself I know the feeling you get when you take the time to just enjoy your collection very well. For me, it is an almost every day event in the off-season (that is when I chip away at sorting through my autograph collection and adding to the books) where I sometimes get lost in the memories of the games I went to and the players I have met. Every time I open a book it is like opening a time capsule and a nostalgic feeling overcomes me. That is the greatest thing about my collection; I can open any team’s book(s) and instantly fall back in time and see the progression going forward. My collection is so massive that sometimes I forget about a player here and there only to have the memories come rushing back when I turn to their page(s). Reading Tyler’s article and briefly discussing our collections was very enjoyable for me as a lot of times I don’t get a chance to talk about it with other collectors. In our discussion, Tyler had asked me if I ever had any intention in selling at some point and quite frankly, I never really put much thought into it. My collection was started by my Grandfather in the 1920’s, as he was an avid fan of all sports. He started a collection of each sport with the intention of passing it on to his kids when they came along. My Father and Uncle were handed the collections to which they added thousands of autographs throughout the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. My Uncle never had any kids and my Father had three boys. My older brother and I were responsible for adding to the collections throughout the next 30 years (my younger brother never took an interest in sports), during that time it was clear that I was the hockey nut and my brother was a basketball fan. My Father and Uncle sold the massive baseball and football collections in the mid-90’s, as did my brother with the basketball collection that was passed down to him. I held on to the hockey collection in the spirit that my Grandfather started it, by waiting to see if any of my kids would take an interest. My son just turned 14 and hockey is his passion. He loves playing (getting to be quite the player) and going to games as well as collecting autographs. I haven’t handed it down to him yet as it is very overwhelming, but that is the intent when the time comes. He can decide later on if he wants to keep it going and pass it on to his kids or sell it or donate it or whatever he chooses. Until that time comes, the collection will just keep growing and be there for us to enjoy over and over again. I’ve been blessed to have been born into a family of collectors and have loved every minute spent working on the hockey collection and the times shared going to the games and meeting the players. I have never collected with the intention of profit and I don’t think I ever will, I just love the game and my collection helps me remember all of those who have made it was it is today.