Ep.303 w/ Super Collector Brad Askew

Transcript

sports card Nation the hobby is the people Weekly News and interviews It's

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[Music] people Sports

Nation what is up everybody Welcome to episode 303 of sports card Nation

Podcast want to uh give everyone out a big thank you uh downloads have been up

uh fairly significantly uh since we went to the shorter episodes and I don't pay super

much attention all the time I'm not like on it every day but I guess I've been

told we're moving up the charts if you will the rankings uh uh but uh I'm not

so much worried about rankings but that people are enjoying the show that people are downloading the show and that is

happening uh always I don't want to say always had but definitely uh you know uh doing pretty

well in that category I want to thank you out there who uh are giving of your time to the show and now maybe a little

bit less with the double episodes of the interview guest on sports card Nation

speaking of interview guest today's guest is a friend of mine uh who I've

never had on the show until today uh he is a super collector uh Eddie Murray is

his subject of choice but he collects cards in general so not every card he

has Isn't just uh Eddie Eddie Murray but we're going to talk about the Dynamics

and the difficulties of that his approach to how he collects and even

specifically you know how he collects Eddie Murray but we're going to chop up

the hobby uh as well so uh happy to have my friend Brad ask you

on the show for the first time so without further Ado quick break and then

we'll talk with Brad hobby hotline is the Hobby's only live interactive

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[Applause] [Music]

[Applause] hotline all right real happy to have the

next Gentleman on the sports card shop guest line he's a gentleman I'm happy to call a friend I've had numerous

conversations with him prior but ever actually on the show so today we end we

end that he's he's he's F I finally had him on uh glad to have him he's a an

Edie Murray super collector um but he's my friend Brad ask you welcome thank you

John such a pleasure uh really enjoyed getting to know you at the last couple of Nationals and of course enjoyed all

of your content as well over the years thank you so much man and now you can listen to yourself as as well after

today so listen I it's the kind of the the standard you know first time on the

show question but kind of how did that you know how did the hobby start for you where where did it all begin absolutely

well um I'm 50 almost 56 I've lived in Atlanta my whole life uh born in 1968

and my dad and I started collecting about 80 or 81 um I vaguely remember I

think you know back in like 77 getting like Star Wars cards and stuff like that John but wasn't legitimately collecting

but you know Sports CS I was a sports fan along with my dad and then my mom

she told me years later it's kind of interesting she's like around that time she told my dad you really need to get a

hobby with Brad so y'all can do stuff together you know and you know and that kind of thing dad worked hard like most

dads do and Mom did too but it's like you know you need to get a hobby with Brad so y'all can enjoy some quality

time together well my uncle about that time had started collecting cards again he had collect was a kid he was my dad's

younger brother um and dad and I got into it with him and it became just a

huge thing for us John so this would have been about 81 I'd say I distinctly remember you know when Don and Fleer

came on the scene and that whole thing and that whole season and us going to

you know going to card shops around Atlanta they were already popping up around Atlanta at that point and um you

know just doing shows I distinctly remember early 80s as well us making a

day trip up to like Chattanooga Tennessee which is a few hour drive and going to a show and Eno Slaughter was

the autograph guest and you know that kind of thing so I mean you you just remember that remember him sitting there

signing stuff and all that kind of thing so that that kind of thing was really cool um there were some great shops here

in Atlanta that we you know focus on back then and it was something that you know my dad just you know he dived in

full force uh with collecting and and I was right there along for the ride I mean he was the one that was paying for

everything of course I was just kind of there guiding along and and saying hey I hey Dad let's get that or whatever that

kind of thing you know because I mean he was the obviously the person that had the the money to do things but we had a

wonderful time with it and John we actually collected in a really quick period of time we had every top set at

one time from 1953 up uh never had the 52 uh never had

many of those period but we we had every top set from 53 up we had tons of extra

vintage Stars I mean we accumulated of stuff really literally within two three four years of collecting we had

everything which was amazing um had a lot of mainly baseball mainly tops

that's really what we focused on but also had like a 55 Bowman set we had the

football allamerican set from 55 that I loved um we even had like the my mom had

found like the double header set for one of us for Christmas or birthday one year which was really cool from 55 so all

kinds of just you know really neat stuff and it was just you know a great great hobby for he and I and you know we not

only did the Vintage stuff but we were collecting you know the cards of the day as well of course I mean we were buying

vending boxes and or you know we were buying vending cases in the mid 80s so I mean opening that up and running

together monster boxes of thousands of 84 tops 85 tops and all that stuff um

you know I still have a lot of that in my basement sadly I need to need to be moving it on in some cases run a few

cents and get rid of them but uh but you know this is stuff that I really enjoyed um and you know unlike a lot of people I

never really left the hobby um I obviously I've had ups and downs in terms of when I was really active but U

you know going to college getting married you know early work life that kind of thing but yeah just hitting

pause just pause but yeah I never left it never got rid of my stuff my dad

always had our collection and then um Eddie Murray who's you know my kind of

my main collecting Focus you know he was playing during all those years you know as I got older so I was still getting

his new cards every year so you know and that never stopped once he retired either so so I've really been a you know

I've literally been in the hobby pretty much for you know 45 years now or whatever a long time yeah a couple

points too man that that's awesome right I love hearing the stories where you know it's passed down or or done with a

relative a father a grandfather whoever an uncle uh you know uh that's uh many

times really you know for me it was my grandfather and my dad uh both and um

you know that's that's I don't know it just close to my heart when you hear that because it hits close to home

another thing uh you know of all the sets you mentioned including 53 on up

you said something funny we we we're we're similar age and collected similar years I went broke uh on 84 tops in

donus I was a huge 84 Don Russ which was actually the more expensive of the two

because of of the design and people really flocked to that and the manle rookie and the closer you know the close

fa facial uh shot there so I you know being in New York I just uh all my money

went to 84 baseball products uh and probably uh good thing the kids didn't

have credit cards or I might have ran up I might have ran up that that too so that that hit home but another thing you

said which I found pretty interesting the first card that I actually got to open packs were 79 tops and I told the

whole story pulling a Reggie like the fourth card in but they much like you said Brad they weren't the first trading

cards I owned I didn't open the packs but somehow through friends maybe giving them to me or hey you want these I had

the jaws cards too and that was my first entrance into even knowing trading cards

existed was those I believe they're 77 maybe a little bit earlier yeah Jaws

came out in 76 I know I had the Star Wars in 77 so yeah that yeah that non

sports it's funny hit the hit before the sports cards with me so the Jaws cards were the first cards that I've ever had

in my possession I didn't open any pack the 79 tops was my my real entrance into

kind of getting in and then being in U but it was funny hearing you when you

know when you mention the Jaws I'm like holy smokes that's like almost the same the same story I want I want makes me

wonder how many kids got the Jaws cards and then boom they're in you know next thing you know they're opening late 70s

early 80s baseball or whatever other Sport and then you're in much like you

right I never I didn't have that story where I left so my collection or got thrown out but when my son who's 24 now

was in his early uh you know younger years I kind of put pause and and and

really focused on being a dad and then when he got older enough to to know about that then I picked it back up but

I had all my stuff I just took a pause from doing shows for a few years and and

hitting the road that sort of thing then when he was old enough I brought him into the hobby took an interest uh and

uh you know so like you you know and I think a lot of people probably can attest to the taking a pause but still

having your stuff and then coming back and and hit play again on the on on the

player right on like um well mentioned about the Star Wars stuff you know I had those

a little bit when I was a kid I remember that became a fan of all the movies my son is a huge Star Wars fan he's not

into sports cards at all he loves Star Wars though and a few years ago on eBay I picked up all those vintage Star Wars

sets I've got them in binders over here and that's something that'll hey I like having them but they're more for him in

the future because that's something you know those the old Star Wars Empire and Jedi I got all of those and it's just

cool to have them because they that's part of my childhood yeah I was a big Star Wars fan I I didn't get the I got

the cards later on but I don't even know they got somehow you know I kept the

sports ones and they didn't make the cut I don't know what Happ I don't know what I gave them the I might have traded them

for more baseball or football who knows where they wound up I I sometimes toy

with the idea to get them again now but they cost a little bit more today than

they did back in the early 80s and and late 70s so yeah I got him at a fairly

modest thing actually the stickers are harder to get than the cards nowadays so I know I I know I talked to you you know

before recording I know the answer to this now but for those that don't you know are wondering hey Brad you're from

Atlanta you know why Eddie Murray other than being a great player Hall of Famer

500 home run I mean those are all great reasons what was it and those I'm sure

those factor in but what was it you know when you started collecting them he hadn't hit those accolades yet so what

was it what was it with Murray um and but he was already a solid ball player

you know what was it that that hey I'm gonna start collecting Eddie M yeah it's you know you're right he was a few into

his career when I really started collecting my dad and I as I said started collecting about 81 he was in his fourth or fifth year in the majors

then he was he was established as a you know as a star a rising star then um you

know the it's just kind of a a weird moment that you know we all have moments in our life that you kind of remember

and you think wow that one thing really changed my trajectory of collecting or whatever I just distinctly remember in

late 1982 when the Orioles were competing with the Brewers to try to win the AL East back then um and they ended

up losing on the last day and therefore losing the division to the Brewers who went down to the World Series you out

won the MVP that year uh that kind of thing but um I just remember watching

the Saturday game of the week and they were talking about Murray he was batting they were talking about his accolades

and what he was doing what a great year and career he was having and for whatever reason just quick like this is

my guy I really like this guy I I have no idea why that happened but it did and then it so happened that the very next

year the Orioles fell short that year but in 83 they went on to win the World CH championship and Murray actually hit

two home runs in game five of the World Series to clench the title that year and

that just cemented even more that he was my guy and I followed him from then on and and you you mentioned earlier about

yeah he hadn't reached all those accolades yet he was already on a a nice trajectory as a career but I feel

blessed that the guy I chose to be my my kind of sports hero went on to have a

Hall of Fame career because how many of us might latch on no one can say oh it's

easy no one can accuse you like you know how people jump on people like oh they win the World Series they win the Super

Bowl and you become a fan of the team right no one can that wasn't the case you got in them before like you didn't

know for sure he was gonna hit being the 500 home run Club you didn't know he's was going to win a ring in 1983 you

didn't you didn't have a crystal ball so you you do take pride like you said Brad

and like hey the guy I picked I I I got I got an eye for talent like you know

exactly it's all me that's the reason yeah and I think about you know how many how many people out there have been

whatever you doc Gooden Daryl strawberry Josh Hamilton's Greg Jeff you all the above

you know hit close to home with Greg Jeff Greg I I got three full binders in my

garage of just Greg jeffy's rookies not even secondy Year card he's still my

guy like I like I didn't collect him because I thought I'd put a future kid to I just that's right I liked him I was

a Mets fan he was the Wonder Boy coming up through the miners Jackson Lynchberg

and I grab it he had a great start even his first couple years with the Mets and I just he became my guy so for

sentimental reason I can't get rid of the binders they're in the garage but they're still there I know we did a

garage clean out one year my wife's like who's this Greg Jeff guy do you need these and I'm like throw these out put

them back where you saw where they were put them back where they were and slowly back away Jeff that's my man y so I'm s

Mano I'm still you know I still got him I I his career's obviously long been

over I know I think he's a a baseball instructor now run kind of a school but

um uh you know those and you know not everyone could be Eddie Mary as as we

all that's right I'm just blessed to have him follow his whole career I

followed him as he moved along because I mean obviously with Baltimore for a long time I followed him when he went to the

met or went to the Dodgers and the Mets and the Indians had a nice run there went back to the Orioles hit his 500th

home run there which was great got his 3,000th hit with the Indians um you this

it it was great to follow his career checking you know back in the day checking box scores you know every day

and checking out Sports Center night did Murray do anything today and you are listening to the sports card Nation

Podcast we'll be right back after this break hobby News Daily is your homepage

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collecting we are back he was well traveled especially

later on in his career Brad I got to were you was there were you whole now H that maybe he'd be in Atlanta Bray was

that something you you thought about or not NE thought about that I you know I mean he I never really thought about him

coming here um obviously he spent a fair amount of time in the National League because he was with the Dodgers and then

the Mets but and then when he went back to Cleveland it was later in his career and obviously at that point he was only

going to be Ding and which now we got DH in both leagues of course but back then as you get older you were definitely

going to be in the American League that's just the way it was right so so yeah that was good I never really

thought about him being here it would have been cool to yeah to potentially go see him regularly with in Atlanta and I

did see him play here a lot when he came into town with the Dodgers and Mets um we even had Brave season tickets for a

year or two in the early 90s so I got to see him play a good bit here in those days so that was neat but uh yeah but he

just uh he became my guy and and I've been you know he said I I just really

blessed to watch him have a tremendous career I told my wife when we were uh we

were dating even I said yeah one of these days he's going to get in the Hall of Fame and we need if we're together

I'm going to Cooperstown and and we did we had a wonderful trip that was an' 03

believe it's been 21 years ago that he got in the Hall of Fame it's been time flies but we had a wonderful trip up

there and uh just a great time actually went spent a lot of time there with a a gentleman who's a fellow Murray

collector who I'd befriended um and he he and his wife and we just had a great

time and you know that was that was tremendous to buy ticket and watch him get you know we had seating you know and

watch him get inducted and just enjoy the whole weekend it was really neat I pick up a ton of stuff I my goodness I

don't even know I picked up 20 30 40 items probably that week you know or what either leading up to that that they

had made or that I found on the spot you know I I picked up tons of Murray stuff

that that week of course yeah and as someone who lives pretty fairly close to Cooperstown at about 60 70 minutes away

I've been to a couple inductions yeah there there it's it's a great event they do a great job with it and if you're guy

if you have a favorite player you got it you know it's almost the right of pzy I think you gotta you know if you if even

if you go and that's the only time you go it's really a cool moment as you pointed out and uh I've seen a few

reductions and you know uh I'm a Thurman mson guy um Jackie got Jackie got in

obviously uh before I was even around so um I didn't go there but if if somehow

mson never can get in post you know post humorously I would go there and you know I'm sure

the family will will not be on the podium and and say some things I I definitely uh will be there if if that

day ever uh ever comes and hopefully uh I I I I hope that day does come for uh

you know uh we all know what happened in in the tragedy there so so yeah that's

that's a great event y so I gotta ask you so uh and some of these questions I

know the answers from conversating with you but for those listening so how many many I two-prong question right how many

muray cards do you have and then how many are different I I I literally have

total cards oh gosh probably 10,000 or more I have gobs of them uh but as far

as unique items and they're not all cards unique items I have about 3,800

unique items now that's not only cards obviously heavy cards stickers bobble

heads posters you can actually see some of the posters here on the wall there um over here on the side you I've got every

all of that I have I have I don't know two or three hundred Publications John

of that either have him on the cover or an article about him inside that kind of stuff obviously Orioles everything from

uh you know yearbooks and and media guides and I've got gobs and all that kind of stuff um you so I just have and

I I've even got tons of internet articles that I've printed off over the years and put into binders on him that

kind of stuff um throughout his career I actually also uh recorded a ton of VHS

tapes I've got a ton of you know hours and hours and hours of highlights of him

either live games or Sports Center highlights you name it I've got all that kind of stuff the Hall of Fame induction

all of that so I mean I have just tons of stuff and and I I literally I don't know that I'll ever take the time

because it takes a lot I know it take a ton of time and energy but I'm really intrigued by the the thought of actually writing a book about him sometime

because I know I've got enough material to do it already in my collection so I could do it it just be a matter of

taking the time and right now at this stage of my life when I'm working and doing my thing that would not be an easy

thing to do but it's something I'm intrigued by uh because you know I just feel like and it wouldn't be something

to necessarily to publish or to make money off of to for me it would just be something fun to do and to you know kind

of encapsulate all the stuff that I've accumulated over the years all the facts and all the different things about him

well I hope you do that I think uh uh you know he's one of the great hitters in baseball history I had Stephen Lane

on the show who who was a big Manel uh collector remember he wrote he wrote a

book literally about his collection and Manel and it's it's it's a lot of

pictures it's a great book he put it together uh he did a did a great job with it so some some maybe in the future

we can we can see and uh you know like you said you if you have enough material

that's that's half the battle right there now do you how how organized are you with your your mury inventory in

other words do you do you track what you have so like if you go to a show like I

don't want to get something I have already or or or is it just like muscle

memory or or in your mind like I know I have that yeah oh no I it's so big now or so many items I I have to have that I

mean my main thing John is I try to collect you know he he played from 77

through 97 so he played 21 years you know and the like the Becket I use I use

the online Becket Becket organized you know to organize my collection I've done that over the years and you know I I

forget the number now I haven't looked at the most recent right now on um back

at organize he has something like 5,800 to 6,000 different cards it's insane and

I literally have I think of those 6,000 that are on there I have I don't know

maybe 2500 or something like that that's part of my collection then like I said all the other stuff the ancillary stuff

the non-ards but the crazy thing is youo in his career you know from the time he

played now 77 to 97 he only had about a thousand cards or issues that came out

he's had about 5,000 since he retired which is just crazy to think about and

I've told people this before John if I had the money Andor the crazy you know

thoughts to I'm just going to throw all the money in the world at these new issues and try to get them I could buy

dozens of Murray autos and new cards every single month it is crazy when I

look on eBay you know I obviously like everybody I've got eBay searches Yeah

Eddie Murray Auto I'll pull that up oh 200 new ones to look at it's like are you kidding me yes it never it is crazy

it I draw the analogy too uh Brad to like you hear some of the players of the

past like I make more money like going appearances and shows than I did in my

playing career D more cards they have more cards now than in their playing career like kind I don't know what they

get paid to do these sticker Autos but you know they don't it's not chump change I'm sure and God bless them hey

good for them I mean I do it and you know but Murray I mean Murray is he's

pretty prolific there are tons of them out there still every year Topps has got tons of them and Panini and some of the

others it's and I do pick some of them up I mean you know if I get a good deal on them I'll pick some of them up but I

it's not a consuming thought of oh God I gotta have this rainbow of you know 27

different things uh I told somebody the other day like perfect example 2020 Donis you know the this is a panini

non-licensed run-of-the-mill okay just another issue out there right he's got like 23 different parallels of his base

car crazy I'm like what do I need with 23 do I have a handful of them or 10 of

them yeah I do and I and I'll pick them up cheap if I can but I'm not gonna you know go crazy trying to pick up 23

parallel versions or whatever I try to focus you know I like I know I've heard Dr breett say before and a lot of people

try to focus on just the cards from their career and I absolutely do that but but I also try to collect from like

up through about' 05 or so you know his Hall of Fame induction year' 05 was a huge year for his collection I bet in 05

alone he probably had 800 cards come out which was crazy um you know the um 2005

Upper Deck Hall of Fame set are you familiar with that one yeah yep yep I am I love that set the photography is

awesome the pictures are awesome Murray's got like five different subsets and every goes from B card to Auto to

Jersey relic to number to five number to 10 number to 50 number to all that I mean it goes on and on on he has 180

different cards in that one set and I own over I own over a hundred of them so

including many one of ones but I got one of them right here yeah go ahead show us yeah one of the one of the few um see

yeah this is this is actually eBay authenticated uh it's a one ofone Auto

it's the rainow one of one they call it you know and I've got a few from that set that are one of ones but I mean

that's just one you know somebody threw it up on eBay and you know and and wanted an exorbitant price and I came in

and offered a fraction of that he took it immediately so I still quote overpaid for it but it's a oneone from one of my

favorite sets like why not I you I'm gonna pay it I get it you know you got items you just know you got to have it

yeah you I think you got the right attitude and approach to it Brad right right like you know you're comfortable

knowing like I'm never going to own every Eddie Murray Card it's not even I

don't think yeah but I'm gonna pick up the ones I can I'm gonna pick up the ones I like yeah and I think you enjoy

that more I think if you're like I gotta get everyone it's more becomes more of a stressful situation than an enjoyable

situation and that's how I am with with Jackie right I know I'm never especially

now I mean every new release there's almost a Jackie Robinson right and like you said

then you got the rainbows and the parallels like I know I'm comfortable in my skin and knowing with the fact that

I'm never gonna have every Jackie robins and that's okay and I'm gonna pick up you know whether it's in person at a

show or on eBay doing a search I'm gonna pick up ones I like or aesthetically

pleasing and if I don't get if I don't get everyone that it is what it is and I'm not going to stress I'm not going to

stay up at night uh dwelling about it and I think sometimes people do that I'm

not saying I think more often they not they're kind of like we are but the folks that kind of stress now you're

taking the enjoyment uh out of the hobby right yeah I think H the hobby supposed

to be fun and enjoyable right so go in with the right mindset all right that

was a fun conversation with my friend Brad asku Eddie Murray super collector

but like we talked about has some other stuff as well and that was only the half of it I'll come back

next week for part two and uh we talk some more about the hobby uh his

approach uh to what he does uh really down earth guy and really glad to uh

have gotten to know him over the last few years so uh thanks again to Brad and

he'll be back next week for the conclusion of this uh

conversation time for our hobby is the people announcer of the

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Ep.303 w/ Super Collector Brad Askew

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