Collector Q&A: Godlike Collectibles

Lou from Godlike Collectibles was one of the collectors I got a chance to speak with at last year’s National, at the card collectors get-together, and he's also been an early supporter of the Vintage Card Voyage channel. He’s uploaded card videos since 2023 with more than 125 videos on his channel, so let’s get to know him a little better with the Drawn to Cards Q&A.

What’s your card collecting story (when and why did you start, which sport(s)/card era(s), and do you consider yourself a collecting generalist or specialist)?

I started collecting as a kid probably about 8 or 9 yrs old. I remember 1987 Topps being one of the very first packs of cards I opened as a kid. I was born and raised in the Bronx in NYC, and became a huge Yankees fan like my Dad. Don Mattingly was my guy. I played baseball from as long as I could remember and played until I was about 18 yrs old and then started to coach baseball for about 10 years. I had stopped collecting for a long time and picked it back up as an adult. Every once in a while I would pick up a pack of cards throughout the years, that’s how I ended up with a numbered Fleer Albert Pujols rookie that I currently still have. I love the junk wax era because it’s the era I grew up on, but I love collecting vintage and modern cards all the same. I get a sense of nostalgia from collecting my era. I think about my Dad when I buy vintage cards. I remember him telling me stories as a kid, and even now I have conversations with him and we still talk about players from the past. I specialize in collecting Puerto Rican players and Latino players in general. I do collect a bit of everything from HOF and non-HOF players alike.

Who/what do you personally collect?

My favorite players growing up were Don Mattingly and Roberto Alomar. I have a lot of cards of those two players, and for vintage I have a complete playing days run of Vic Power, who I learned about through my Dad.

What’s your favorite card you own and/or what’s your grail card? Tell us why.

This is a tough one, because I love my 1984 Donruss Don Mattingly rookie card and if you would’ve asked me this question 8 months ago it would be that card, but currently my favorite card in my collection is the 1972 Puerto Rican League sticker card of Hiram Bithorn. He was the first Puerto Rican player to play in the big leagues back in 1942. I refer to him as the Jackie Robinson of Puerto Rican players.

Who/what motivated you to start a YouTube channel?

I’ve always wanted to start a channel but originally it was going to be a channel about collecting in general. I collect comics and statues and action figures and was thinking about doing that but never did. Once I started collecting baseball cards again I started watching YouTubers like Mike Baseball Collector, Elite Hunters and Mr. Mangini and after a while I decided that I was going to make my first video. Once I did I was hooked. It’s been about 2 years now and I haven’t looked back.

What’s been the best part of your YouTube experience so far?

The best experience has been the friendships that have come from the hobby. I’ve met some great people and collectors that I now call friends. Making the videos are fun and I love sharing new things I get but when I went to the National this past year and met a lot of the guys that I watch and got to spend time with them it made it that much more special. I keep in contact with several guys and it’s a blast.

If you could talk to/interview any person on your channel (creator, person in sports, person in the hobby, etc.), who would it be and why?

Don Mattingly would be the sports figure I would love to interview. I don’t know what I would ask but the fact that he was my favorite player as a kid, he would probably be my first choice.

Which three YouTube sports card channels do you think more people should watch?

Depends on what you like, it’s hard to choose with so many great channels out there. I think that being subscribed to 4 Collectors and The Misfits channels will be a great way to start because it will connect you to multiple YouTubers in the hobby. There is also a podcast that I love to listen to called Cracking Cooperstown, which is hosted by Jake from Legends Never Die and Dom from 5taven Sports Cards. If you love HOF talk that’s a great place to start.

What do you think the future holds for your channel and for the hobby in general?

I just want to continue sharing my collection and sharing my thoughts about the hobby as I continue on my collecting journey and I’m looking forward to bringing people on my channel to have conversations about collecting and maybe even start doing live streams. Looking forward to meeting more collectors and content creators in the process.

1980 Topps Baseball Player Profile: Mike Lum

I don’t know that there’s a definitive answer when someone asks “When does the vintage era of sports cards end?” I’ve heard a variety of answers, generally falling within the period from the early ‘70s to the early ‘80s - and I’d welcome your thoughts on when you think it is and why.

For me, personally, I consider 1980 Topps to be the final sets of the vintage period, and I think about this from a baseball perspective, since it was the last Topps set before the return of Fleer and the start of Donruss, which marked a relatively fundamental shift in baseball cards. Those 1980 sets also have a personal meaning because it’s when I started to collect cards in a meaningful way, be it baseball, football or basketball.

Therefore, throughout future newsletters, I plan to profile the various players from those baseball, football and basketball sets, with a focus on the athletes whose cards might otherwise be considered “commons” by most collectors, but who are anything but common because they did what millions of other people could only dream of doing - becoming a professional athlete.

I’ll start with Mike Lum: