Here is where it all started, some 9 years ago. I opened my first packs of 2001 topps heritage baseball. I though the design (based upon the 52 topps set), was bad. I remember looking at the Mark McGwire card and it looked like he was a space alien! Then all of a sudden my first big hit...a Warren Spahn real one autograph
I had never really seen cards from the original 52 set, but this one was beautiful. The players were somehow etched in time. The backgrounds were bold colors which made the players stand out even more. These cards were true works of art.

I would later pull my second real one autograph, Gil McDougald, the ROY from the 52 season. I was hooked and made it my goal to get all the retired autographs from the 2001 heritage set
I of course built my set how any collector would..lots and lots of packs! Along the way the 2001 part of the set grew on me. Topps did a great job making the 2001 set feel like the 1952 set. Famous players in the 52 set had current star mirrors in the 2001 set. The first 90 cards could be found in both red backs and black back.
My autograph set was built slowly. I was able to pick up the cornerstone of the collection from a fellow message board user over at Collectors Universe (more on them later!). His name was Craig and back then it was he and I talking about how the set looked. He had 4 of the retired autographs I needed and we made a deal. Several years later, when I thought Craig was gone, he appeared again and we made some more deals. There were so many collectors like Craig that helped me out.

My last autograph was the tough Duke Snider. Duke is still today a very popular ball player and of course this card was red hot. I had to bite the bullet and pay a lot for the Duke I have. It was well worth it
This set contains 24 cards. The original set was supposed to be 26 but Eddie Mathews died soon after the release and Larry Doby never signed his cards