I've got something fun, and if you're not already doing this, I want to encourage you to start.
About a decade ago, a yearlong project concluded across multiple sports card blogs. Gavin of Baseball Card Breakdown challenged readers to carry a "Wallet Card." Some collectors had fun participating, even more followed along to see text and pictures, and a portion continued onward with the tradition in future years.
The idea of Wallet Cards is simple: You pick a card that you like, put it completely unprotected into your wallet, and carry it around with you for a full year. After 12 months you have a card that resembling the kind of condition usually seen on classic vintage cards with each crease and corner ding attached to a personal memory. Because you're hanging around sharing pictures of your collection online, we want to see what that card ends up looking like.
Early incarnations of this project generated a good amount of comments from readers, many of which lamented not being able to join for various reasons. Many said they discovered the idea, which started on New Year's Day, too late to join. Others cited inertia preventing them from trying something new, some didn't try because they didn't feel their cards would be interesting enough, and others gave up because they quickly exhausted their stock of creative ideas for what to do and how to document their wallet cards.
All of these issues are easily solved.
Joining Too Late: Most wallet cards start their term on New Year's Day with the writeups that remind everyone else to play along coming in the ensuing days and weeks. By that point many throw up their hands and declare they are too late to the party. Nonsense. I chose my February birthday as the start date for my wallet cards because I completely missed the New Year's launch. The start of the MLB baseball season is less than two weeks away from today - a perfect opportunity to shove some cardboard into your wallet just when baseball is top of mind. If you miss that start date, there is always the All-Star game, the trade deadline, and the day the Rockies are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention to aim for. Any point in the year can be the start of your own wallet card ritual.
Frequency of Posts: A look through older blogs' wallet card archives generally reveals a pattern. First, an excited collector shows their new wallet card selection to the world. Next, a well thought out post shows up, followed by a number of increasingly disjointed updates just to keep the posting streak alive. Then, radio silence. The ideas have run out, and admitting it seems like a failure to the person behind the keyboard. YOU DON'T NEED TO POST ALL THE TIME. Some wallet card fans, like Bo at Baseball Cards come to Life, have found a frequent cadence that works well with their chosen niche. Others, like Gavin, have settled into a less frequent pace that allows for longer exposition about what is in their photos. I found a single, all encompassing annual post works best for me, augmented later by an in depth look at the card itself.
Creative Fatigue: From speaking with others, I find more than just a few have avoided posting wallet card pictures because they don't know what they want to photograph alongside their card. They're worried about being seen as boring or silly. Keep in mind that we're all browsing pictures of cards that most of us are already at least familiar with in a passing sense, yet we still stop and look. Don't worry about it being boring, the fact that your '90 Topps Griffey or 5th year Mike Trout has an odd crease in it makes it interesting.
You're not telling us about the card anyway, the card is just an excuse to tell us about something that otherwise wouldn't be on your blog. Eating an awesome sandwich? Take a picture. Find a weird bug? Picture. Get an awful haircut? I absolutely need to see that. You don't need to take a picture every day or week. Bo is one of the most consistent at the game and has found his lane chasing ghost signs and New York infrastructure. It's fascinating.
How about writing about others' reactions upon seeing the cards? Most people just shrug when they see mine. Card shows, however, are the perfect opportunity to make a dealer lose their mind as you take out some cash from behind your creased wallet card. Get other collectors with wallet cards to sign yours, like a World War II Short Snorter. Use them as bookmarks and make them a way to share your reading interests with collectors. Are you trying to bulk up and find yourself eating extra calories? Let's see you try to eat a million calories in a year with your wallet card next to the most ridiculously portioned meals you encounter.
Take a bunch of pictures throughout the year and see if a story emerges. You don't need a plan to start, just an obliging card and pocket.
Spoiler: This Isn't About Cards
You're telling us abut YOU. Your job. Your school. Your interests. Worried someone won't like it? We're collecting little pictures of sweaty dudes playing a game. Wallet cards keep the ridiculousness of all this front and center (OK technically behind you and in a pocket to the left or right). Whenever a card is present, Gavin is actually showing us his vacations and dog. Bo is showing us one of the most interesting cities in the world. And me? I'm showing that I have way too much free time.
Come Play
It's not too late to start a game of Wallet Card. Baseball season is about to begin, giving just enough time to pick out a card to carry around until the next labor stoppage season begins. Tell me what card you're carrying (and why).
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| My wallet card for 2026 |
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