Welcome back to another edition of Collector’s Corner! In the third installment I interviewed Stephen Rodriguez. I was first introduced to Stephen when I was looking for some help in regards to an oddball vintage item; I was told he was the man to seek out for help! Stephen seems to be everyone’s go to when it comes to anything vintage and he is always more than willing to help. I thought it would be nice for everyone to get a little more information about this great guy!
Q: Who are you?
A: My name is Stephen Rodriguez, I’m 40 years old.
Q: Tell me a little bit about yourself outside of collecting.
A: I grew up in a small town named Grant, Michigan. I currently live in Sparta with my wife and kids; we have two sons and one daughter. I currently work for a tool and die company in Grand Rapids as a Project Engineer.
Q: Do you have a favorite team or player?
A: My favorite team is the Tigers, even though it’s been hard to watch them over the last few seasons, I still watch the games. As a kid my favorite player was Willie Hernandez because I thought he looked like my dad! LOL!
Q: If you could own one card/item, what would it be? Why?
A World Series player trophy
A: My dream item to own would either be a 1945 World Series ring or players trophy. I almost bought a 45 World Series trophy that belonged to Walter Pierce one time at auction; I just couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger though. I mean come on, who wouldn’t want a World Series trophy sitting on their shelf at home!?!?!
Q: Do you have a favorite local card shop? Give them a plug!
A: Actually, I haven’t been in a card shop for almost a year. Most of my pickups have been done online through Net54. There’s so much information available on that page that I’m always learning or finding something new that I didn’t know about!
Q: You seem to be the go to resource in regards to vintage items, where did you get your interest in these types of items?
A: My interest in vintage items comes from Nick Kirby. I met Nick at a card show in Holland and have been friends with him ever since. I enjoy collecting cards, but there’s something about being able to hold a vintage items like a game used bat, team signed ball or other item and know that a former Tiger great used or held that same item! You can’t get that same feeling with cards, plus vintage items just display better.
Q: What would you say is the rarest item you have in your collection? How did you end up owning it?
Vintage Detroit Tigers pennants
A: I would probably have to say my pennants and my Tigers ash tray. A lot of my pennants have come from auctions and the ash tray I picked up from a guy I met on Net54.
Q: What are your current goals for your collection?
A: My collecting is ever changing, but my No. 1 passion will always be pennants. I’m currently working on getting a cut signature from every player on the 45 World Series team. When I’m finished, I’m going to get them all framed with my 45 pennant and some tickets from the 45 games as well.
Q: When it comes to cards, do you prefer graded or ungraded? What is your preferred grading company?
A: For big dollar cards I like graded just because there is not guessing what the value is. For all pre-war cards I used SGA because I like the way the cards look in their holders. I use to use PSA but have since stopped. In my opinion PSA is a joke right now; so is the grading they do. It’s all a game and money grab I’ve experienced first-hand.
Q: What do your friends and family think about your collection?
A: My family loves my collection, especially my wife. She always questions me when I’m selling something, lol. My friends enjoy it because I let them pick up or hold the items I have in my collection. Some people never let their collections see the light of day or never want their stuff touched; to me, I think part of collecting is being able to share your collection with other people. In doing this, I believe you can help educate them on the history of the game and the Detroit Tigers.
Vintage Ash Tray
For those of you who don’t know what Net54 is, like me, it is an online forum page that focuses on Pre-WWII Cards and Memorabilia! They can be found at www.Net54Baseball.com. It looks pretty cool and if your collection focuses on these types of items this might be the place for you!
I would like to thank Stephen Rodriguez for taking the time to answer these questions for this edition of Collector’s Corner. It truly is a wonderful thing to be able to discuss what makes other collector’s tick and how they function within the hobby!
If anyone has any questions for Stephen himself, please comment below and I will make sure they make their way to him so he can answer! Also, if anyone has any suggestions for future interviews please let me know! Finally, if you have any suggestions for future questions, I’m always looking for ideas!
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