Some Original Checklists

When it comes to cards, I'd say my organization skills are usually good. I don't have a huge collection, and the cards I do have are fairly well sorted, marked, and stored. 

 

However, a couple of months ago I was looking through a three-row monster box containing wax packs, top loaders, and bags of penny sleeves, and came across a stack of old checklist cards. At first I was unsure of what they were doing there with all the supplies and things. Then I had a closer look at the card backs, and the mystery was solved.

  

 

 

They were all marked up in the 1980s by a young Mr. Nine Pockets!

 

I'm happy to still have them after all this time, and wanted to share some examples on the blog, for fun.

 

First off, the 1984 Topps team checklists up there possess a high nostalgia factor. That was the first year I started earnestly collecting cards. Those green wax packs with the big baseball on the front were the first I remember opening. And as you can see by the example on the right, not even a wax stain would deter me from marking up the little box for each Cleveland Indians card I had accumulated that year. Not too bad for a young kid when it comes to staying within the lines.

 

I was hoping to feature a marked-up checklist year by year through 1988, but I couldn't find any from 1985. That makes a good bit of sense, as I didn't collect as much that year for some reason. So let's go to 1986.

 

 

 

Using a red pen on that red-colored Tigers checklist on the left wasn't my brightest idea. At least I switched colors for the Padres version on the right.

 

 

 

My box-filling-in skills had improved by the time the 1987 set rolled around. And as you can see, I opened enough packs (and had enough stick-to-itiveness) to get pretty close to completing some team sets.

 

I guess as collectors, we do tend to have those genes. Sorting. Organizing. Completing. Inventory taking. I clearly remember the sense of satisfaction—maybe even the thrill—of checking off more boxes as I opened more packs and sorted them, and the similar thrill of getting closer and closer to a completed set.

 

 

 

Man, I was so close to completing that Yankees team set back in 1988. Just couldn't find a Ron Guidry.

 

 

Bonus

 

Right around the time I was looking for that Guidry card, I started getting into the sport of ice hockey, and consequently, collecting hockey cards. Here's a checklist from the 1988-89 Topps set:

 

I'm happy to report that I did eventually pick up a copy of the Jimmy Carson, Scott Stevens, and Brad Marsh cards. Set complete. Check.

And that spans the childhood years when I actually marked up checklists. By the time the 1989 Topps baseball set came around, I was 11 years old and getting a little too careful with my cards to want to mark them up with a pen or pencil.

 

How about you readers and collectors? Do you have any original checklists that you marked up during your childhood?

 

Share in the comment section, and thanks for reading!