[Triple B]

I'm born and raised in Toronto in a low-income community. Hockey is king here. I don't play hockey, I can't skate to save my life and my parents certainly couldn't afford the expanse. I grew up playing baseball because it was a cheap sport to play, it took me away from "the ghetto" for a few hours and it allowed me to forget the sh*t parts of my childhood.

I put sets of 1987, 1988 and 1989 Topps together and I've been hooked ever since. All of the card shows here from 1988 to 2010 were 95% hockey cards. Dealers became more intelligent from a money-making perspective and latched on to baseball and basketball (and to a lesser extent, football) and the gap has closed considerably in the last few years.

Baseball is my escape. It's cerebral and the "games within the game" has always intrigued me. Football is the same (where one move is used to counter another and is very cerebral), but baseball is what I love most. Baseball cards are unique because you have two shots at a player...their Bowman 1st and then their Rookie Season. No other sport offers that.

Great thread. It'll be fascinating to see what people say.