There it is folks. The crown jewel of my collection. That's right. No need to adjust your monitor. You're seeing it correctly. A second year, 1975/76 OPC Pierre LaRouche. Awesome.
You can have your '52 Mantles and your T206 Wagners... This is my most valuble card. It all started on a cold, wintery January evening in 1976. A mom took her 5 year old son shopping to the mall. Dragged through store after store... patience wearing thin... and then, there it was.
Magical. This new and yet fabulous object was right there. Laying on the floor! I was drawn to it. I picked it up... held it in my hands, turning it over and over.
My mom had turned around by this point, and seeing what I had done, came over and took it from me and thrown it back on the floor! No!
I couldn't stop thinking about it... what was that? Who was in the picture?
I had to see it again. So while my mom was paying for her purchases, I snuck back over and grabbed the card up off of the floor and crammed it in the pocket of my winter coat. All the way home in the car, I kept my hands in my pockets... running my fingers over the wonderful prize that I was keeping secret from my mom.
As I grew up, I followed hockey religiously... and collected hockey cards. I traded away, gave away, and threw away enough hockey cards to pay for my daughter's college education. But I always kept this one. In a box, as a bookmark, on a shelf... somewhere... it was always there.
I stopped buying cards in '92... started back again in '06. I had completely forgot about Ole Number One.
But I found it again. The memories instantly flooding back to me.
My mom has been gone for five years now... I miss her.... Feels kind of silly that a worthless shred of coloured cardboard means so much to me. More memories and feelings than I could ever express, let alone type.
Treasure that Pristine Gem Mint 10 Mickey Mantle. Me? I'll take my Ole Number One here...
