People Over Cards

Today's episode flips the script, as I am not the host, but rather the guest. My good friend Matt Osborne, who is not a card collector, interviews me to learn more about this wonderful community we know as "The Hobby"

Today I welcome Jen Pointer to the studio. A lifelong sports fanatic, Jen is different than any of my previous guests to date, as she didn't find the hobby until she was well inlto adulthood. She's a female in a male dominated hobby, and is the life partner of a downright baseball card degenerate. For many reasons, this conversation was my favorite yet. I hope you enjoy hearing her story from her unique perspective. In the episode I reference a tweet ... that can be found here: https://twitter.com/ENSportsCards1/status/1670445555846115328?s=20

As the nation prepares to celebrate our independence, I'm proud to welcome today's guest, Tim Virgilio. Tim is the founder of the 501 C3 charity Signatures4Soldiers. Tim shares his inspiration for combining his love of autographed baseball cards with raising $250,000 for homeless and disabled veterans who sacrificed so much to ensure our continued freedoms. You can follow Tim on Twitter - @sigs4soldiers or Visit his website https://signatures4soldiers.com You can also follow me on Twitter - @ensportscards1 or Visit my blog https://ensportscards.com

Today, I am joined by Greg Poole, a card shop owner from Benton, IL who has spent the last 23 years using his love of baseball cards to truly make a positive impact on the lives of everyone he comes in contact with. Greg's story is a powerful one of perseverance, family, and a spirit for giving unlike anything I've seen. I know you will enjoy meeting him. Follow Greg on Twitter - @canscanministry Visit his website - www.canscanbenton.org Read his story in the sporting news - https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/greg-poole-baseball-cards-mission-help-illinois-community/wcvmlemgnbdjbbqucocqsh71 Greg's eBay store- https://charity.ebay.com/charity/i/Can%E2%80%99s-Can-Ministries/190267 Also, you can follow me on Twitter - @ensportscards1 Or visit my blog - https://ensportscards.com

Today, I am joined by my good friend (really, we are real world friends) Eric Hecker. We dive in to his inspirational story of daily random acts of kindess, and discuss how he and his baseball card collecting friends have joined together to raise $120,000 for various charities over the last 3 years. So, settle in and give this a listen. Then, go follow Eric on Twitter - @eshecker ... and make sure to follow his hashtag - #RAKoftheDay And if you are enjoying this content, I would love it if you gave this Podcast a follow, and while you're at it, give me a follow on Twitter as well - @ensportscards1 You can also find my other musings at https://ensportscards.com

My guest today is Baseball Hall of Fame Voter and The Sporting News National Baseball and College Basketball columnist Ryan Fagan. In addition to being one of the best sports writers on the planet, Ryan is an avid baseball card collector and is quite possibly the worlds leading expert on "junk wax". This was such a fun episode for me. Enjoy Ryan's The Sporting News articles - https://www.sportingnews.com/us/author/ryan-fagan Ryans Article on Greg Poole - https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/greg-poole-baseball-cards-mission-help-illinois-community/wcvmlemgnbdjbbqucocqsh71 Ryan's article on Minne Lee Ogles - https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/minnie-lees-scorebooks-were-a-two-decade-love-letter-to-reds-baseball/gnfaikelsm3t126379np9iz37 Follow Ryan on Twitter - @myjunkwax Follow Che on Twitter - @ensportscards1 Follow Che's Blog - https://ensportscards.com

People Over Cards goes international! Today, I'm joined today by Beckett.com columnist Ryan Cracknell. He and I discuss how as a Canadian, he migrated from hockey cards and found his love for baseball and collecting baseball cards. We learn some of the difficulties faced by Canadian collectors in a U.S. dominated hobby. And, he also gives us a little inside peek into the world of writing for the hobby's most respected publication. If you have enjoyed listening, be sure to subscribe on whichever platform you listen. Follow Ryan on Beckett.com - https://www.beckett.com/news/author/ryancracknell/ Follow him on Twitter - @tradercracks You can also catch my daily thoughts by following me on Twitter - @ensportscards1 Or read my more lengthy thoughts on my website - https://ensportscards.com

Joey Shiver, aka DubMentality joins me in this episode. Joey is a successful blogger & regular contributor to Beckett Magazine. He is a true O.G. in the world of collecting, a man who has embraced the changes in the hobby over the past 30 years, but has never strayed far from his junk wax roots. This was a fun episode, as we both fell into some deep nostalgia in recounting stories from the 80's. Joey's story about the middle school playground, shooting marbles in the dirt, and trading a Junkyard Dog action figure for an Ozzie Smith rookie card was pure gold ... hearing him talk about that memory is exactly why I do this. Enjoy Follow Joey on Twitter - @dubmentality Follow me on Twitter as well - @ENSportscards1 We both reference our blogs in the episode Joey = dubmentality.com Che = ensportscards.com

Ivan Lovegren joins me to discuss his journey in the hobby of sports card collecting. From his early beginnings as a 4 year old collecting with his brother and his dad, up to the present where he has turned his love of the hobby into a successful full time career and is a legend of "The Hobby." Follow Ivan on Twitter - @watchthebreaks or on his YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@CollectFail/featured If you enjoyed this please subscribe and you can also follow me on twitter @ensportscards1 or visit my blog/webpage ensportscards.com

In this preview to my brand new series "People Over Cards", I give my origin story of "Why I Collect" and lay out the roadmap of my vision for this project that focusing on the origin stories of how some of the most recognizable names in the sports cards collecting community got to where they are today. There is no guest inteview in this preview, and it is shorter than what the actual episodes will be. Episode 1 will premier on Monday May 22