So far I have two Richie Ashburn cards. One of which is from 1989 and one of which is from 2012. These cards represent two of the many phases of my collection history - one the original and compulsive compiling era of an obsessive child and one of the resurgent compulsive behavior of an early 30's man clinging to a childhood dream.
The 1989 Bowman is an interesting card for a couple of reasons. First, I despise the 1989 Bowman set frustrates me because of the size of the card. It's not the standard 2.5"x3.5" and thus it doesn't fit in the Ultra Pro Sheets made to hold them. The 1989 Bowman cards are 2.5"x3.75". That damn quarter of an inch that sticks out of the top makes me nervous that my card is going to get bent up and damaged. One other thing about this card is that it's a card without a number. It doesn't have a number because a card designed to be sent back in to win either the original card featured on the front (the 1949 Bowman Ashburn) or the entire 1953 Bowman set. It would've been nice to win those. But, alas I didn't in 1989 though I sent some in. I doubt if I filled it out I'd win now. What makes this card somewhat interesting is that after the 1990's cards came out and I bought the previous years packs I would throw these cards away as a kid because they weren't the contemporary stars and they weren't really part of the set.
The 2012 card is a 2012 Topps Allen & Ginter What's In A Name #WIN20. This card represents the still lingering love I have for opening packs. Honestly, I could probably collect in a more precise way by buying specific cards on eBay (which I do), but there is something magical about opening a pack and pulling a card that I want. The suspense, the surprise, the elation of pulling what you want all adds up to the joy in opening a pack. It's like winning the lottery when you pull that perfect card. While this one wasn't the perfect card, it is a part of my collection.
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