September 1, 2004

The 2004 Football Season

Welcome to the 2004 football season.  It has started with another win for USC.  The Pros are in full force and the regular season will be starting in a few days.  The Colleges are back and will be going strong over the next few weeks.  The Canadian Football League has a great season going and the High School Friday game of the week will be hitting the gridiron also.  Football fans will have plenty of football to choose from whether it is an occasional Thursday night College or NFL game, a local Friday night High School game, glorious fall Saturday College games and our beloved NFL on Sundays and Monday nights. 

During this summer I started doing some research on several football memorabilia subjects and will be reporting on them over the next few months.  I spent some time finding football cards for my collection and am approaching the completion of my run from 1935 to the current season 93 cards to go!  My batteries are recharged and I am ready to watch some football for 2004.

Any football memorabilia collector anxiously awaits the upcoming season.  Football collecting friends have already informed me of some of the new cards, pocket schedules, and magazines that are available for the upcoming season.  Many collectors are busy writing NFL teams and colleges/universities for their pocket schedules of the 2004 season.  This year looks like another banner year and challenge for football pocket schedule collectors.  Part of the fun of collecting is the chase and you will definitely be chasing to collect this years assortment.

Football card collectors are again being swamped with new issues of all different sizes.  I had some fun this season trading for my 2004 Topps set.  This years edition has 385 cards, with a nice rookie card crop led by you know who, the $20 million dollar kid Eli, some weekly wrap up cards and the usual.  As far as inserts are concerned for this years Topps set, it again is excessive and almost impossible to finish all that is there.  Another set worth mentioning is Donruss Classics.  I picked up a Bart Starr and Ray Nitschke insert card from this set and enjoy them immensely.  I am afraid to say it will be another overwhelming year for football card collectors whether you are a team set, favorite player and or complete set collector.  Too many sets, too many inserts, too many game used, too many autographs.  Please give me my complete set of each team that consists of 22 players, head coach and play card with no inserts.  How I long for the good old days or pre 1989 football cards.  Again my advise to football card collectors is collect what you like and realize there is no way you can collect all that is available on the market. 

Football publication collectors have many magazines to choose from.  The classic Street and Smiths Professional and College issues are at the newsstands now.  Both the Profession and College issues of this longest consecutive running football annual (1940) have great write ups on each team and or college and many excellent photographs.  These two publications are definitely a must for any collector.  The Sporting News also has a great issue out along with Football Digest.  Since I do not participate in any fantasy leagues, I do not read the different Fantasy League publications that are offered each season.  But glancing through several on the newsstand, they look informative and interesting.  Just around the corner will be various yearbooks, media guides and programs to read and collect.

When old becomes new again, football ticket stub collectors will again be collecting stubs for the upcoming season.  In my opinion this is rapidly becoming the hottest collecting area of the year.  I will have more to follow on this collecting area.

Football memorabilia collecting is starting in full force.  Let the games begin.   To help fellow football memorabilia collectors out there, to the first ten readers who email me and send me their addresses, I will send to you some pocket schedules and cards for your collection (my choice).   Until next time good luck with your collections.

Bob Swick has been collecting football cards since 1965.  He also collects programs, yearbooks, media guides, ticket stubs, pocket schedules, and team photos of the Green Bay Packers, of which he is a shareholder.  He is a contributing writer to “Gridiron Greats” magazine.  He is also a member of The Professional Football Researchers Association