Many years ago, The Junior Collection was inspired by the Beckett Super Collector of the month. This pop-out showcased a few select individuals who were putting together a master collection of one player, or one team. Back in the late 90s, this felt eminently possible. As time has passed, interest in this golden era of sports card design has increased exponentially,.
Many Griffey collectors draw a line around the year 2000, his last year pictured in a Mariners uniform. At that time, 1 of 1s and game used memorabilia cards had not yet run rampant. Others expand their focus to his entire playing career, as notable trends such as color-wheel refractor runs and game used patch cards first appeared in his time with the Reds.
Post-retirement production took off during COVID-19, and much about this period is still to be decided. Many classic, and well-executed throwbacks are produced, but immense parallel runs and repeated use of the same photographs seem to discourage a super collector's approach. Collectors in this era tend to pick a particular run, and hunt it to completion. For all of these reasons, the site will generally feature playing days material.
Information makes a collection possible. As time marches on, the stories behind many of the most elusive items in the hobby have been lost. Preservation of this history is a key purpose of the site, and discussing Junior's sports cards is a life-long passion. Please enjoy some of the most rare, and the most interesting items in the collection, in the blog posts below.
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