On June 29, 1980, 7-year-old Brian Thompson peered over the crowd on his father’s shoulders to witness baseball sensation Willie McCovey’s last at bat at a home game for the San Francisco Giants against the Los Angeles Dodgers. A tense moment was shattered by a crack of the bat, igniting a torrent of screams as the crowd sprung up in unison to see McCovey sprinting across the bases. The Hall of Famer had just hit a double off the fence, winning the game for the Giants and forever sparking Thompson’s passion for the sport.

“I remember how excited the crowd was and how the players ran onto the field to congratulate McCovey,” the assistant principal said. “From that moment on, he was my favorite player and I fell in love with baseball.”

Besides playing the sport, he also began collecting baseball cards — a passion that he has continued throughout life. 

Growing up in San Jose, card collecting was popularized by a Vietnam War veteran in Thompson’s neighborhood, who cemented the pastime as a tradition in the area. As a kid, Thompson adored collecting Giants cards, especially of McCovey. As an adult, he said his hobby has evolved into collecting rookie cards of young and promising players known as prospects.

Rookie cards are the first iteration of cards created for prospects, often when they’re on minor leagues teams. The value of these cards can skyrocket. For example, the rookie card for New York Yankees prospect Jasson Dominguez was auctioned for $474,000. If Thompson speculates correctly and acquires the right rookie cards, he can sell them for many times the original price he paid.

“I love to open cards with my family, build sets, and add to our ongoing collection,” Thompson said. “In order to fund it, I play in the prospecting market.”

His passion for card collecting has spread to his two sons, who have been collecting baseball along with Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, both of which have markets nearly as big as baseball card collecting. Thompson enjoys collecting sets with his kids as well as attending Giants games with them, where they’re hopeful of meeting strong prospects and getting a card signed by them.

When Thompson was a child, he said that many shopping centers had card shops in them. But with the advent of the internet, most card shops have been driven out of business. With the exception of cards bought at the Stevens Creek Sports Card Shop, which he occasionally visits to support the local business, Thompson acquires his cards through Facebook. 

Card collecting has also connected Thompson to fellow enthusiasts across the country through Facebook groups. In a group, a member purchases a large case of cards for a sum, and the rest of the members in the group pay the buyer for a specific team’s cards from the case. This process is called “box-breaking,” and it allows Thompson to obtain far more cards from a single team compared to purchasing a single box of random cards.

“Box-breaking is how I gain most of my rookie autographed cards,” Thompson said. “Social networking is the most streamlined and effective way to get the cards I want.”

Thompson’s search for completing personal collections and sets is shared by his family and friends, whether they be from his childhood or online. His extensive social networking has introduced him to an extremely diverse group of people all across America. With such a vast social circle, Thompson can complete sets for less money by giving and receiving cards, connecting with others living in vastly different circumstances.

Thompson said much of the money he has made from collecting cards amounts to smart speculation and luck. The card collecting community pays close attention to card manufacturers, who typically create a small number of a valuable card for distribution across the country, polarizing the laws of supply and demand. It can get tricky to accurately pinpoint the right time to buy or sell a card.

“It’s like buying stocks: You’re putting money and time in an investment and hoping you get something worthwhile in return,” Thompson said.

Though card collecting has been an American pastime for around 140 years, the current state of the hobby has just entered a new era in 2022. Longtime card manufacturer Topps was bought in January by Fanatics, an online sportswear company that is now the only company licensed by Major League Baseball (MLB) to produce cards of MLB players. Thompson is excited to see how Fanatics will impact the card collecting fandom as well as the value of current Topps cards.

For now, Thompson has sorted his inventory of over a million cards into sections. One portion of his collection are cards he is willing to sell to earn a profit to fund collecting.

“[Card collecting] is an expensive hobby,” he said. “I don’t like to spend a lot of money, so I sell much of my inventory so I can pay for what I really value.” 

The other section is of antique and emotionally valuable cards that Thompson cherishes and wants to pass down to his children and grandchildren.

“I have hundreds of Buster Posey cards I’ve kept for my family,” Thompson said. “I also have a personal collection of prospects that I really love, so I’ll save those cards and see if they make a name for themselves in the future.”

Since he saw McCovey’s game-winning hit versus the hated Dodgers, card collecting has only reinforced Thompson’s love for baseball. Thompson has coached baseball in the Bay Area for a number of years, but as assistant principal at SHS, he hasn’t found time to coach and instead oversees all of the school’s athletics along with athletics director Rick Ellis.

Thompson said card collecting as a hobby has helped him foster an earnest work ethic. For example, he and his kids have learned to care for their cards by understanding the emotional and monetary value each card holds. He said that as with any hobby, card collecting requires intrinsic dedication and love for what the hobby means.

“We have so many talented individuals at SHS with hobbies that have evolved beautifully,” he said. “As educators, we get to see the lessons they’ve learned in the classroom, in clubs and in extracurricular activities. The character building that sprouts from any hobby is very obvious and telling of the love that people have in their craft.”