NUMBER 7
Kirby Puckett 85 Fleer RC
Today, I’m heading off to Twins Fest. This is the first time I’ve ever been to the event, and the only thing I plan on doing is blowing about $100 on autographs. Don’t worry. It all goes to charity.
So, in honor of the Twins Fest theme, let’s show off some more, shall we? Card #7, the very plain, boring, off-center 1985 Fleer rookie card you see above is actually the first single card I ever purchased. And I did so at about the age of 10. And I did it through the mail. And I paid Beckett high book value for it. Yeah, I was a dumb kid.
I loved, loved, loved Puckett while he was playing, and couldn’t wait to get my hands on one of his rookie cards. I had a Beckett laying around and took a look through to see if there were any card shops in Minnesota or Wisconsin that might have one for me. The closest shop I could find in the catalog was still too far away for my 10 year old legs to carry me, so I had to do the next best thing. Write a letter. You would think calling would have been the better option. I was a kid with no long distance privileges. I did what I could.
I decided that I wasn’t going to just get any old Kirby Puckett rookie, I was going to get the most valuable one in the book. It was the card you see all crooked up top today. Back then it was valued at $20. And, yep, that’s exactly what I decided to pay. Ya see, I didn’t realize back then how Beckett worked. I didn’t understand that the price listed wasn’t what the actual value was, but rather the highest amount some scumbag somewhere else charged for it.
So I wrote my letter. To which card shop it was exactly, I can not remember. What I do remember, however, was requesting they send the card to me first before I sent money. Again, I wasn’t a very bright kid. The other much more important part of the letter is that I TOLD THE SHOP that the card was $20! You would think that asking the shop how much they were charging for the card would have been the better option. *sigh* Of course, I got a letter back basically telling me that I have to send the money first and then he’ll send the card to me. Being the business person he is/was, he, of course, accepted my very generous payment of $20. Shortly thereafter, in a screw-down holder, it arrived. It was mine. I finally had my Puckett RC!
If I were not a fan of the Twins and Kirby Puckett, I wouldn’t even care about having this card. It’s not necessarily more important to me than the Brett Favre RC, but it’s the story behind it and the pure sentimental value that gives it its current rank among my personal favorite cards.
P.S.
Beckett tells me my card is now worth $15! *sigh*
