Cards and Dreams! The Way We Were!

Memorial Day, 1950. I'm up early, the sun's shining, and the big parade is in an hour. Gotta hurry! Gotta get ready! This is indeed a fun time in a little kid's world.

Got the bike out of the garage. I washed it just yesterday. Even added a little polish to the old Shelby Flyer.

Now for the fun part.

Got out that big box of baseball cards, chock full of 1950 and 1951 Bowmans. Found mom's wooden clothespins, and some crepe paper.

Shortly thereafter I got the paper flapping in the wind. That old bike never looked better. Now for some noise. Opened the box of cards and grabbed a few. First came a MATT BATTS Card, circa 1951.

No big deal.

Attached it to the frame, making sure it reached the all important wheel spokes. Quickly I added a DEL ENNIS and a DALE MITCHELL. 

Just then, my buddy Lefty arrived. He was already set for the parade, and his bike was really loud. Let's see, as I remember it, he had a SIBBY SISTI, a SAM CHAPMAN, and even a TED WILLIAMS on front. The back frame was adorned with a SAM JETHROE, a BLIX DONNELLY, and then his favorite player, the Cardinals RED SCHOENDIENST.

As I moved to the back of my bike, I thought, I gotta get some better cards. I mean, Lefty had some super stars on his wheels. "I'll show him," I thought, as I attached BOB FELLER's card, No. 30 in the set. Then I found a RAY BOONE, Cleveland Indians star, and finished it off with a WHITEY FORD rookie card.

Now it was time for a quick practice spin. Gotta be sure I'm ready for the big once-a-year parade. Up the street I sped, the noise was fantastic, the crepe paper was flowing. But there were a couple of problems.

Back in the driveway, there were a couple cards missing. The WILLIAMS card had flown off Lefty's bike. He recovered it, a tad torn and bent. No big deal back then, just grabbed a RAY SCARBOROUGH card and was back in business. My problem seemed much bigger: You see, I was a Yankees fans, and my favorite WHITEY FORD Card had been shredded.

Oh well! Back then who knew that that very card would someday be valued around $2,500. Or that Lefty's WILLIAMS card would be worth about $800? They were just noisemakers for this festive occasion. So, the Ford card was history, and a MONTE IRVIN rookie card took its place.

A half-hour later, there we were, with the rest of the neighborhood gang. Terry had NELLIE FOX and MAX LANIER flapping. Joey had glued a WILLIE MAYS rookie on his handle bars. Imagine that!

Down the hill we rolled, with all wheel clattering. We were about 12-years old, it was 70 degrees, the sun was shining, and Willie, Ted, Monte, and the others were along for the ride.

Halfway down that big hill, the cards began to show wear. They began tearing apart.  Soon there was no noise. No problem, we had brought spares.

I quickly added GIL HODGES, RICHIE ASHBURN, and PETE REISER. Lefty was gloating as he placed SAM JETHROE, CARL ERSKINE, and JOHNNY PESKY. Joey was smarter than us back then. He kept his MICKEY MANTLE in his pocket.

Soon the parade was over. All of our cards were in shambles. Torn and shredded, they were quickly discarded into the trash barrel. No problem, we had hundreds more back in the boxes at home. We'll have plenty more for next year's parade.

Maybe a MINNIE MINOSO rookie, or a DUKE SNIDER, or a STAN MUSIAL?

It was a great time for kids growing up in that era. Very few problems. Keep the lawn mowed. Shovel the sidewalk in the winter. Those kinda things. And in return I think I got a quarter-a-week, maybe more if I was extra good. And the store was right down the street, always well stocked with baseball cards and penny candy.

And all this fun started when we purchased our first baseball cards, at Bill's Store, on Meeting House Hill, for a nickel. 

Here I am some 60 years later, now, with thousands of cards. They say they are worth many more dollars. But to me, they are the same cards, with those same great players. The only thing missing are the kids. The ones that used to be able to enjoy this great pastime.

Where did we go wrong?