Hello Fellow Collectors!

My name is Brad Wackerlin, and I have always and will always be a lifelong Cubs fan. I grew up idolizing Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson, and Mark Grace. Grace has been my favorite since he came up as a rookie in 1988.

Why Grace? Mark Grace is a throwback "old-school" player. He plays the game the old-fashioned way and gives it his all. He is consistency defined: an above .300 average, gold-glove defense, and a dirty uniform are all staples of his game. He's a product of the Cubs farm system and, until his trade to Arizona, had played his entire career for the Cubbies. I admire his allegiance to his team and to the game.

I've been a fan of the Cubs since watching Steve Stone and Haray Caray announce games on WGN in the 80's. For two years I lived about a mile north of Wrigley Field. I still catch about five Cubs games a year. If you've never been to Wrigley, you're missing the best ballpark in which any fan of old-time baseball could ever hope to see a game played.

I've collected baseball cards ever since I purchased my first pack of Topps when I was 8 years old. That was 1980, the last year there was only one company making cards. The next year, Fleer and Donruss entered the picture. Nowadays, card companies and their various sets come and go each year. There is no way to collect everything. So I've specialized in Mark Grace cards because I like seeing the set designs of everything that is available, but I only have to buy one card from each set. Of course, I go for all the Grace inserts too, which is the tough part.

I have to believe my Mark Grace collection is one of the best, if not the best, Mark Grace collection in the world. I have 12 true 1-of-1 cards that nobody else in the world has. The collection now numbers over 1500 different Grace cards and continues to grow daily. I even collect other players' cards in which Grace got into the picture. Hard to believe, but I have over 40 cards of these "cameo appearances."

Maybe you're seeing this site because I've recently purchased a card from you. I think that as a seller, it should be comforting to you that your card is now part of my permanent collection. It has become a part of a great collection assembled by a true fan and collector. I thank you for helping add to my collection, and hope that if you ever have anything Grace-related not on my list, you will contact me if you're looking to sell or trade for cards of another player.

I love to hear from other collectors and anyone else who wants to comment on Grace, the Cubs or card collecting. I'd especially like to hear from anyone that has a website dedicated to their own collection. Feel free to drop me a line at brad@gracecollector.com.

Thanks for taking the time to look through my site. I wish you the best of luck in your personal collecting endeavors!