Welcome to my web site!  My name is Jayson and I have been a avid Football card collector since the age of 7.  I collect Football cards because I enjoy the sport of Football and collecting cards helps me relate to the players, teams and the league. Currently I collect every brand and every title from 1999 back.  That's right, from Action Packed to Zenith.  Although I will on occasion buy a master set if I can find it at the right price.

The Football collecting world has changed a lot in the years I've been collecting.  I can remember when all I had to do was grab one set, (Topps),  every year and I would have close to everything that the Football Card World had to offer.  I remember the old famous "Air-Brush" cards in which only the Browns displayed their "True Colors".  I remember the late eighties explosion which introduced Action Packed, Pro Set and Score and I know its tough to believe, but I really enjoyed Pro Set.  I thought some of their first chase cards were a really neat idea and brought a new chapter to the collecting world. The Pro-Set card stock was better than the cardboard that Topps released that year.  Topps  thought so highly of the cheap cardboard that they brought it back in 1990. 

The early nineties introduced even more titles. Sets such as Bowman (again), Fleer (again), Pacific, Pinnacle, Pro-line , Upper Deck and the high end brands such as Fleer Ultra and Topps Stadium Club turned the hobby into utter chaos. 

As the hobby moved away from the early 90s and made its way to the mid-to-late 90s I noticed something that made the collector in me uneasy.   The 500+ card sets were nearing extinction.  Topps Stadium Club still had a 450 card set in 1995, Ultra had their 550 in '95 and Topps had a 415 card set up to 1997, but gone are the days when sets reached 500+ cards. (Note: when I say 500+, I mean 500 different players.  Not 500 cards, including the 10 Elway cards, 10 Marino cards, etc., etc.)  I really enjoy going back to the old sets and pulling out a card of a player who wasn't that popular, but he does bring back memories from that year or that team.  For example, how many Renaldo Nehemiah cards would be produced today? Or how about Rufus Bess, Jesse Solomon or even a Steve Freeman?  Yep, gone are days when you could pull 16-20 cards of players from your favorite team from a certain brand.  I hope 5 will do.

In the mid-nineties Upper Deck and Collector's Edge introduced the the hobby to the phenomenon of Game-Used Memorabilia. This turned the collecting world into utter chaos. The 1996 Upper Deck Game Used Jersey cards are still very sought after almost 10 years later and although Collector's Edge went bankrupt early in 2000 they still had a memorable set back in 1996, (See "My Favorite Game-Used Sets #8).  As we moved closer to the millennium there were so many memorabilia cards to choose from that the once asking price of $30 per jersey card was now a mere $2. The hobby has just been flooded with the product, Can you say, "Pro Set".  

I made a very important decision in 1991 regarding my collecting habits.  After buying about 4 boxes of 1991 Upper Deck and still not completing the set I decided a little bit of patience and a different approach to collecting was what I needed.  Because I wanted everything.  This is why I'm always 2 -3 years behind the current releases.  I allow people to sell sets that they are no longer interested in or basically just allow the hobby market to settle down and grab some sets at a fraction of what they were originally Booked at.  This allows me to AT LEAST attempt to collect every title from every year.  However, the most important thing that I am truly thankful for is that my wife allows me to keep collecting.

My website is broken up into 10 parts: 1) My Wantlist, (Constantly changing),  2) My tradelist,  3) My collection, 4) Card Collecting, 5) My Soapbox!!, 6) My References, 7) My Favorite Sports Quotes, 8) Football Card Errors, 9) The Autograph Test and 10) My Graded Sets.

1) My Wantlist:  My wantlist is made up of cards that I need to complete sets.  This list is constantly changing because sometimes I will buy partial sets and put them together on my own time.  Many of the new Game-Used sets are put together by the card. It takes some time, but that is really the only way to do it. The 1999 Fleer Mystique "Feel the Game" and 2001 Donruss Classics "Team Colors" are two that I am currently working on.

2) My Tradelist: This is a long list of cards that I am looking to trade through groups like my Yahoo Football Trading card group, or sell online.

3) My  Collection: This is where I go totally nuts!! I have many different sections under this link.  You'll find things like My Favorite sets, My Least Favorite sets, Autographs and a short write-up on every brand I collect from Action Packed to Zenith.  Think of the write-ups as feedback from the collector to the card makers themselves,  (Boy, would I like to sit in on a boardroom meeting at Collector's Edge!).  I have also included another way to view my tradelist here, so please take a look.

4) Card Collecting:  This last link was included as a result of feedback I've received from collectors and the curious alike.  It seems some collectors needed a little extra info.  Nothing I added is anything Beckett hasn't written about dozens of times, but I did add a very informative section on Online Bidding.  I hope its helpful.

5) My Soapbox!!:  This is nothing more than my venting area.  I leave my comments on recent articles in the Football world.  Please take a look and if I comment on a incident that you agree or disagree with, please send me an e-mail.  I'd really like to hear your opinion. 

6) My References:  This area is just a list of my online traders that I have traded with and my online auction ratings. I also include a warning about a very deceitful ebay seller who goes by the name sportscardsfast. Please read this and be forwarned!! I also, give some insight to what paypal says about insurance.

7) My Favorite Sports Quotes: I added this just for fun. Mainly to share some of my favorite sports quotes with my trade group. If you have any to share, please e-mail them to me. I'll probably add them if I like them.

8) Football Card Errors:  This is a list of Football Card Errors that I have discovered. You won't find them in Beckett, because those guys are way to busy to care.  I've stopped trying to reach Beckett to inform them, instead I've started listing the errors on my website.  Take a look and see if you have one just like it, or you may have the corrected version.

9) The Autograph Test: Think you know a player's signature? Try this test and see for yourself. I think you'll be surprised. 

10) My Sets Graded: When I buy a Football set, I critique it, analyze it and really go over both the front and back. This page will explain what I looked for in each of the 10 categories I listed. You can then go to each of the Sets pages to see the score I gave to each set.

Well, I had to go back and revisit Barry Sanders Football Field this Spring. I had to take my youngest out there.  Avery London was born on Long Island back in 2005 when my wife and I were working at Northrop Grumman.  One of these days I'll be back to revisit it one more time when my 3rd addition to the family finally arrives.

I'm interested to know if you liked my site. Please send me an e-mail at: jmorand47@tbecomputing.com This site was created with the help from "TBE Computing Designs and Solutions".  Please give them a call for any of your web page needs. 

Also check out the links below that will take you to some very good Football collecting sites!!!

This page was last updated on 06/12/07.