And unlike sports, there is no offseason for collectors. Card companies always have new releases, whether it’s a player getting called up from the minor leagues, Topps’ Now cards that are printed on demand when a memorable moment happens, or simply a new series—many card makers have several different lines dedicated to a single sport.
While he doesn’t have a monthly budget for his hobby, Cleland does track his collection closely. “I have a spreadsheet of everything I’ve spent, everything I bought, all my grading fees, and the value of the cards,” he said. “You have to keep track, ‘cause it adds up.”
Among his most prized cards is a one-of-one Texas Rangers Wyatt Langford SuperFractor (the rarest parallel of a particular card) he pulled from a box earlier this year; and a 1994–95 Upper Deck “Be a Player” Wayne Gretzky with autograph, from the first year the hockey icon contributed pack-inserted signatures.
The thrill of the chase is certainly real, but Cleland also enjoys collecting as a creative exercise. Many collectors find a niche within the hobby—Cleland is working to get all of his rookie cards of Hall of Famers autographed by those players, creating a vintage reflection of the pack-inserted autographs that have become a cornerstone of the modern hobby.
“It’s just such a bizarre chemistry of things,” he says of collecting. “It’s a mix of culture, history, design, investing, gambling, treasure hunting. It’s all that stuff, which makes it fun.”
Off the Clock chronicles the hobbies, sports, and side hustles of people in the advertising and marketing world. We always welcome your nominations at eva.kis@adweek.com.
