1923 W515-2 Babe Ruth

This is the first Babe Ruth baseball card I ever got.

As a kid, I remember reading an article in a baseball card magazine about all the cards made of Ruth spanning decades. And while I knew I couldn't afford a 1933 Goudey, the article mentioned a few strip cards that were more in my price range. But where was I supposed to find one?

In the days before eBay, it wasn't so easy to find the older, rarer baseball cards.

Then I went to a national convention in Anaheim, Calif., and guess what I found? This very card of Ruth.

It's been about 25 years, but I think I paid about $20 for it. Back then, as a kid in junior high, that was the most I had ever spent on a baseball card. How could I justify paying that kind of money on a piece of paper?

I'm glad I did.