Sometimes I buy baseball cards

Although I consider myself strictly a hockey card collector, every now and then I stray a bit and buy baseball cards--but only if they are from my childhood.

As a kid in the mid-to-late 1980s, I watched quite a bit of baseball--sometimes because the Cubs games pre-empted The Transformers or G.I. Joe cartoons that I watched so religiously, and other times out of actual interest.

I bought my first pack of baseball cards in 1985, and continued buying them until 1990. But by then, hockey had taken over as my sport of choice to collect, and I sold off all my baseball cards.

Then a few years ago, I picked up complete 1985 and 1989 Topps Baseball and Traded sets.

Last week I picked up 4 more years from the "junk wax" era:

• 1986 Topps Baseball Set with Traded Set
• 1987 Topps Baseball Set
• 1988 Topps Baseball Set with Traded Set
• 1990 Topps Baseball Set with Traded Set

When I go to the National next month, I will try to find a 1987 Topps Traded set. It shouldn't be hard, but the trick is to get one for cheap. Then I will have every Topps baseball card set from 1985 to 1990. Worthless cards to die-hard baseball card aficionados, but timeless for this hockey fan.