Firsts

 Recently Night Owl did a list of Hobby Firsts on his blog.  Fuji jumped in and did his own list of firsts that were a lot the same as Greg's.  My answers are all a lot different than theirs.  

First Blaster Purchased

I collected cards from 1987 until 1999 when life got in the way of collecting.  Then the Red Sox won in 2004 and I found myself in the card isle at my local Wal-Mart.  I know I bought some regular Topps but I am almost 100% sure that my fist blaster was 2004 Topps Cracker Jack.

I remember I pulled a Game Used Michael Young.  (traded off long ago)  Since the last time I had bought cards was 1999 when game used were EXTREMLY RARE, I thought I had hit the jackpot.  I soon found out that the market was flooded with game used and they were just like a regular insert.

First Parallel I Knew

I started collecting in 1987 and the first parallel I was aware of was Topps Tiffany.  I never saw one outside of the advertisements for them in the Sears and JC Penny catalogs at Christmas time.  The first parallel I remember actually pulling from a pack was 1991 Stadium Club 1st Day Issue.  (though Topps Gold came out in 1992, so maybe I saw them first, but I just don't remember them first.)

I can remember being in my LCS an pulling one and the owner making a really big deal about it.  I think he even offered free packs in trade for it.

First Of What I Considered An "Old Card" In My Collection

There used to be an old hardware store in the downtown area of my little home town in Missouri. (it was later turned into an consignment antique shop)  It was probably about 1989 or so.  Upstairs the owner had ball cards.  There were about three cases of cards and he had a shelf of binders you could ask to look at.  Any time my parents brought us to the town square my brother and I always checked out those cards.  I bought some packs and only had a little bit of change left over.  I decided to use that change to buy the oldest card I could.  I was more in to football cards then so I looked through all the old football until I found this 55 Bowman John Hoffman.

I had to swipe the image because I don't own it anymore.  I don't remember trading it off but it is nowhere to be found. 

First Cards I Purchased Through Mail Order

I actually don't ever remember ordering cards through mail order.  The closest I ever came to that is probably the Topps Million Card Giveaway in 2010.  I know what the first mail order giveaway item I ever received was though. 

That would be the Sargent Slaughter GI Joe figure.  GI Joes used to cost $3.03 after taxes.  I spent every penny I could scrounge up on them.  I kept all the packages and talked all my friends into giving me theirs and finally got enough upc codes for the Sargent Slaughter.  Later got the Cobra Hiss Tank the same way.

As a kid I never got one but I saw the adds for the Larry Fritsch catalog.  A couple years ago some Virdon postcards stared showing up randomly on eBay.  They were always listed individually and they would show up like two or three auctions at a time. To my surprise they were listed by Larry Fritsch (I think actually it is his grandson)  Over the years I have accumulated a bunch of these postcards from, that as far as I can tell, are all one of a kind as I have never seen a second copy of any of them anywhere. 

The backs are either totally blank or they have a postcard layout. 

Most of them are hand dated.  I have 1976-84, 86, 87, 89.  I have two non dated Pirate postcards that would fit perfectly in that 1985 and 1988 gaps but I also have four non dated Astros postcards that don't have a gap to fit in.  I haven't seen any of these prior to 1976, if so 74 and 75 would have been yankee postcards and I could see those being sold off years and years ago.  

My purchases must have flagged me in their system because though I have never signed up for it the Catalog started showing up in my mailbox ever since.

First Sitcom

I don't remember watching it but I had a dog named Fonzie when I was three so I assume Happy Days.

First "Big Kids" Book

I don't know if you would call it a big kids book but the first not required book I remember is Big Red.  I read all the Jim Kjelgaard books my library had.  He was born in Pennsylvania and eventually ended up in Phoenix just like me. That is where the similarities will end though. 

First Cartoon That Freaked Me Out

I don't have one of these.  I have a first movie that freaked me out though.  It was called Race with the Devil staring Peter Fonda.  It was about some RVers that witness a cult making a human sacrifice and being chased by them.  I haven't seen it since I was a kid so I have no idea if it holds up or if it is still freaky.

First Championship    

Technically it was the 79 or 80 Steelers but I just barely remember Steeler games from that young of an age.  So do I remember the actual Super Bowl game or was it just a playoff game, I am not sure.  I liked the Celtics and they won in 84 but I didn't really follow basketball, they were just my favorite NBA team.  So that leaves the 2004 Red Sox and everyone knows how that came about.  

I started a new project.  I have one of those card frames that hold 20 cards.  I am going to put a autographed card of 20 guys from that 2004 team in it.  Right now I have 13 of the 20.  The two big ones I am missing are Pedro and Schilling.  I also need Bellhorn, Embree, Mirrabelli, Mike Myers, and Dave Roberts.  I would also like to get a different Mientkiewicz because the one I have he is in a Twins uniform.  I will probably trade off my Ortiz for a different one two because the Ortiz I have is horizontal and it really needs to be a regular vertical card.

Hopefully some others see this and it becomes a regular Bat Blog Around.