Night Owl Cards

When I first started trading, my circle was very small. Just my brother and I. He was the only one I knew who collected baseball cards. He was the only one who had something that I wanted. So in the spring and summer of 1975, we made a few exchanges. Some trades were silly. I didn't like the look on some player's face, or my brother didn't, and we swapped so we wouldn't be tormented by Gene Locklear or Don Hahn ever again. You know kids. The few "serious" trades that were made involved our favorite teams. Red Sox for Dodgers. And vice versa. These trades became automatic, so much so that they weren't even trades. If he pulled a Dodger that I didn't have, he handed it over to me, and I did the same with any Red Sox. A couple of years later, my youngest brother became old enough to have an interest in baseball and cards, and Orioles were added to the trade agreement. Meanwhile, a few friends collected cards, and during those first ...