Collector Q&A: Southern Collector

Tony from Southern Collector discusses vintage cards on his channel, with a focus on vintage baseball cards. He’s uploaded card videos since October of 2024, with 40 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 as a kid in 1978 (9 years old). I continued collecting until around 1988 when I went to college. I would pick up a pack here and there for a few years and then went completely dormant. I picked it back up around three years ago after seeing some Instagram posts that caught my attention. I immediately focused on the Golden Era stars that I always wanted as a kid. Then I moved to pre-war. Now I am big time into signed vintage. I am 99% baseball only collector. I have recently dabbled in some of the Latin sets of the late ‘40s from Puerto Rico and Cuba.

Who/what do you personally collect?

I like doing player runs of guys that I love their stories or who are just iconic players of the sport. I just recently completed an entire SIGNED player day run of Larry Doby. I am working on the same run for Monte Irvin. I have completed the main issue run of Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, and Jackie Robinson. I also collect Shoeless Joe Jackson and Ty Cobb. Ted Williams is another focus. So, player runs are a big thing for me.

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

Picking a favorite card is like trying to pick a favorite child. LOL. My favorite cards right now are my signed Jackie Robinson cards. I have two 1955 and a 1954. I am really working to add some playing days signed cards of Jackie. I also love my 1915 Cracker Jack Shoeless Joe.

My all-time grail card is the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle. I picked it up almost two years ago. I am not sure if I have a new grail card. I have many goal cards. My two biggest goal cards would be a signed ‘49 Leaf Jackie Robinson or a signed ‘49 Bowman Jackie Robinson.

Who/what motivated you to start a YouTube channel?

Graig Miller of MidLife Sports Cards was a huge influence on me. I wanted to have more community while on my collecting journey. I have met so many people through that collecting outlet. Some of my best friends in the world are now YouTube friends.

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

Meeting new collectors. It is a fun way to funnel my collector energy and share my passion. Meeting like-minded people has been priceless.

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?

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

I want to give some shout-outs of some channels that have under 1K subs. Mookie Chillson is an amazing collector with a unique style of collecting. His sub count doesn’t reflect the greatness of his channel. Aaron at Value Vintage Cards has a fantastic collection. His knowledge is amazing. I always learn something by watching his episodes. Joe with Redneckclector is a great guy and has passion for his collection. He buys amazing raw cards and always amazes me with his pickups. Jason with Everyday Card Collector puts out consistent content. His love for the hobby and for what he collects shines through on every episode. 3D 80s Kid is another that puts out consistent content that is worth watching. He has a passion for his cards and for the community. He does collaborations and participates in the 4 Collectors channel. I know that is more than three, but I could name 10 more.

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

The future of my channel is to continue doing what I am currently doing. I will show pickups, do episodes that show certain parts of my collection, do fun interviews with some guys that allow them to showcase their collection in the Collector Spotlight series interviews with guys that are experts in certain areas of the hobby or sport, and my collab with Mike Petty in the Odd Couple series.

1980 Topps Baseball Player Profile: Bill Campbell

Bill Campbell had a relatively early life-altering experience that not many other MLB players of his era shared.

Campbell was born in 1948 in Highland Park, Michigan, but he and his family moved to Pomona, California, when he was 10 years old. He graduated from Ganesha High School and went to Mount San Antonio College, a community college in Walnut, California. He had played third base and outfield prior to college, but at Mount San Antonio, he became a full-time pitcher and, according to this SABR profile, his pitching coach taught him how to throw a screwball.

Following two years with the Mounties, Campbell was recruited by Cal Poly Pomona to join their team, but then world events changed his plan, and in 1968, he was drafted for military service and the Vietnam War. Unlike previous wars like World War II and the Korean War, not as many Major League Baseball players would serve in the Vietnam War. Campbell was trained as a radio and teletype operator and would later be promoted to sergeant, spending nearly a year in Vietnam. When he returned, it was clear he was affected, per the SABR profile.

He would serve another year in the military back in the United States, then played semipro baseball in Southern California, starting with a Dodgers rookie team. Facing a Twins rookie team, Campbell threw a no-hitter, and the Twins took notice. Jesse Flores, a Twins scout, brought Rick Dempsey (a catcher in the Twins farm system who would go on to play more than two decades in the big leagues) to California to catch Campbell in a private throwing session. That session impressed Flores, who signed Campbell as an amateur free agent.

The screwball he was taught in college helped him move through the minor leagues at a good pace. He spent one season in Double-A, where he went 13-10, with a sub-2.50 ERA, and be named the Southern League Pitcher of the Year. The next year (1973) in Triple-A, he went 10-5 and was called up during mid-season, making his MLB debut on July 14. Twins manager Frank Quilici converted him to a relief pitcher, with Campbell earning seven saves that first season, along with a 3-3 win-loss record and a 3.14 ERA. He would spend three more seasons with the Twins, including a 1976 season where, as a reliever, he would win 17 games, save another 20 games, and pitch 167 innings. The wins and innings were, respectively, the second- and fourth-highest one-season total for a reliever in MLB history. This would help Campbell become the first person to earn the AL Rolaids Relief Man Award (“How do you spell relief? R-O-L-A-I-D-S”).

After not getting the raise he had wanted following the 1975 season, Campbell later decided he would test the newly created free agent market (following the signing of a new collective bargaining agreement in July of 1976 that gave players more options as free agents). It was excellent timing on his part following his breakout 1976 campaign. In November of 1976, baseball held a “re-entry draft,” Campbell being one of 24 players, and he would be the first one to sign, getting a five-year deal with the Boston Red Sox for one million dollars, the total that he and his agent had sought.

Following a rough start to the 1977 season, Campbell turned things around, earning 13 wins, a league-leading 31 saves, and became an All-Star for the first and only time. For the second year in a row, he would earn both Cy Young and MVP votes, and also be awarded the AL Rolaids Relief Man Award. Based on those two seasons, you would think things would look promising for 1978, but the 300-plus innings Campbell had logged started to catch up with him. Shoulder soreness toward the end of the 1977 season turned into arm troubles throughout the 1978 season, as he would pitch only 29 games and 50 innings. The final three seasons of his contract would find him pitching 41, 23, and 30 games, respectively, and compiling a total of 16 saves, having lost the closer position.

After rejecting a one-year offer from the Red Sox, Campbell sought free agency again, and profited once more, getting a three-year deal with the Cubs. He started the 1982 season as the Cubs’ closer, but there also happened to be a guy named Lee Smith on the team, a pitcher who would go on to save 478 games in a Hall of Fame career. Smith would take over the closer role that year, with Campbell moving to middle relief, where he would continue for two seasons with the Cubs, leading the majors in games pitched in 1983.

Following the 1983 season, Campbell would become a journeyman. Prior to the 1984 season, he would be traded to the Philadelphia Phillies, lasting a season there, and was then traded before the 1985 season to the St. Louis Cardinals. That season included Campbell appearing in his first World Series, even though the Cardinals would lose to the Kansas City Royals. After that season, the 37-year-old was on the move again, signing a one-year deal with the Detroit Tigers (as a lifetime fan of the Tigers, I have zero memory of his time spent with the team). Following that apparently unmemorable 1986 season, Campbell was released and would sign with the Montreal Expos, only to be released in May of 1987, ending his MLB career after 15 seasons.

Unfortunately for Campbell, he reportedly lost approximately $800,000 because his longtime agent, Larue Harcourt, made poor investments on his clients’ behalf, with those investments losing athletes at least $6 million. Following his retirement, Campbell spent two seasons with the Senior Baseball Professional Association, leading the league in ERA in the inaugural 1989 season. The league would fold early in the 1990 season, but Campbell stayed involved in baseball, becoming a pitching coach in the Milwaukee Brewers’ organization in the 1990s, even serving for one year as the team’s pitching coach in the majors in 1999. After spending another three years in the Cardinals’ organization as a pitching coach, Campbell would retire from the game for good.

Sadly, on January 6, 2023, Campbell died from cancer at the age of 74.