How did you get started collecting sports cards?

Collecting cards didn't start the way it would for most kids I would think. My mom was the person who actually got the whole thing going for me. She was a huge Milwaukee Brewers fan going back to the teams start in the 1970's. I was born in 1979 and by 1982 when the Brewers went to the World Series I had already attended my first baseball game. In 1984 my mom bought some cards for me and set them aside in a shoe box for when I was a little older.

She purchased some Topps cards and some Fleer cards. When I was finally old enough to get a better understanding of collecting, my mom gave me the cards. In that box were two Don Mattingly rookie cards, and my love affair with collecting began.