Night Owl Cards

On Thursday, I completed the 1972 Topps baseball set. This is tremendous news. It is tremendous news in particular for a 9-year-old kid from Upstate New York who had just wandered into a world of baseball and the picture cards that display that sport. He is awe-struck, astonished and, frankly, a blithering idiot. His mind has been blown. The '72 set -- I've said it before -- is the one set that I think of when someone says "baseball cards". To someone younger, the cards may look rooted in the past, wild and crazy, and almost primitive. But that's only because they did not stumble into this hobby during one golden, sun-splashed day in the early 1970s. I saw 1972 Topps cards only in the hands of older kids. And I probably first saw them before I even started collecting. To me, those cards -- that design -- said Baseball Cards. That's what trading cards were supposed to be. That has stayed with me for so long that now when I look at my binder of 1972 Top...

The Pirates are in the playoffs and everyone seems to be happy about this. Every last baseball fan is dusting off their Kent Tekulve references, although personally I'd be more impressed if someone mentioned Bruce Kison or Steve Nicosia. I'm pleased to see the Pirates back, too, because I remember a time when Pittsburgh was in the postseason consistently. I especially remember 1979, the first postseason in which I stayed up to watch every last World Series game. It was my first experience with the totality of the postseason, what it meant and who the players were. And what an introduction. The "We Are Fam-i-lee" Pirates are one of the most beloved championship teams of our time. They had style, character and talent. They had the underdog thing going (down 3 games to 1 in the Series). And they were led by their Papa Bear, Willie Stargell, who distributed gold stars for good performance. This year's Pirates, although a crowd favorite, can't compare. The...