It’s inevitable that every generation believes that the interests and experiences of their youth are superior to the youthful experiences of whatever generation that follows them. It’s only natural to assume that the way things were are always better than the way things are.
As a young boy growing up in the 1970s, I was always in awe of the baseball cards from the 1960s which looked to me like they were from another century. To me, Luis Tiant was a member of the Boston Red Sox. Who’s this guy on the Indians without a mustache?
If you are a male, and a baby-boomer, then you know that there were few items from your childhood which resonated with more positive memories than your baseball card collection. Baseball cards were not only a source of entertainment, but they were also a way to measure one’s status. If you had a “Willie Mays,” or a Hank Aaron “Rookie Card,” or if you were from New York, and you had collected all of the Mets or Yankees’ cards that were available for that series, then you were the envy of all of your friends.
This particular card had it all. The long flowing locks, the tinted glasses, the bizarro Chicago White Sox “softball” jerseys, and the solidly unspectacular Brian Downing posing in a stadium that nobody would ever recognize.
As purchases go, baseball cards were hit or miss. Sure, you might snag a Dave Parker or a Pete Rose, but you might also get a pack filled with a couple of Doug Flynns, or Paul Cassanovas. Baseball cards were also a source of entertainment and competition amongst you and your friends. Baseball card driven games included…
- Scaling
- Match-deMatch
- Colors
Scaling was the game that most boys played. If you could scale it and get it to stand up against the wall, you were going home with some cardboard. “Match-deMatch” involved little more skill than was needed to flip a coin. As for “colors,” I never understood how that game worked, and I’m sure I gave up a few valuable cards over the years to an assortment of schoolyard hucksters.
I’m not sure what Vicente Romo is trying to do in this picture, but I doubt any youngsters fought over his card in order to find out.
If you’re like me, your mother probably bided her time, and when she thought you had moved on from your card collection, she struck, and threw them all away. Fret not, thanks to the good people at Amazon, your lost youth can be reclaimed. The best part of the 1970s, (Aside from platform shoes) is just a click away.
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