Playing Favorites: Eric Nuesslein's No. 1 baseball card ...

Do you have a single card or item in your collection that stands out from the rest?

It's often not easy to pick one when looking at a collection that you spent plenty of time (and likely money) building. Is picking just one favorite a challenge that you could take on? Tweet @blowoutbuzz on Twitter (or send an email at the address below) for more info on how you can have your favorite card or item highlighted here on The Buzz. We want to see what makes you tick.

Here is our latest collector to take this challenge. Check it out ...

--

Name: Eric Nuesslein
Find him at: @ThoseBackPages on Twitter and Blowout Forums
Location: New York
Collects: Graded Rookie Cards

The favorite: An autographed PSA 1 1985 Topps No. 620 Dwight Gooden Rookie Card

Why this matters to me: This card, specifically the one that I've shown, is hands down the best card in my collection.

Why? Keep reading ...

The back story: In the spring of 1985 the New York Mets were pretty much my everything. I was 14 years old, living in Flushing, N.Y. (mere miles from Shea Stadium) and Dwight Gooden was my favorite player on my team (can only root for one team per sport, thems the rules).

Each day before homeroom (not sure that even exists anymore), my best friend and I would open (my packs -- he never caught the collecting "bug") five packs of 1985 Topps Baseball in search of card No. 620, our favorite Rookie Card of The Man, Dwight Gooden. We wound up pulling a dozen or so, to the point that we learned the sequence and knew when he would appear. My memory fails me, but I can only remember Charlie Moore being in the run. Being I was the collector, I kept them.

In 2010 I had a life-changing event occur and was feeling pretty down about things. Cards have always been my therapy, so it was to them that I turned. Going through old boxes, I ran across some of those old 620s. "Valueless" as far as monetary definition, they instantly brought me back to 1985 -- being 14 and the only thing that mattered was sports and life was so much easier then. Having read a few times that Bob Costas (whose childhood idol was Mickey Mantle) kept a Mantle card in his wallet, I figured that I could do the very same thing with one of my 620s. And that's just what I did. Into the wallet 620 went and it was with me at all times.

Fast forward to 2012 and I am at The National Sports Card Convention in Baltimore. A friend of mine asks me if I would like to attend a VIP Party being hosted by a famous sports memorabilia dealer later in the week. I say "sure, why not, it could be fun." He then tells me that Dwight Gooden was going to be there along with some other players. I am ecstatic as I had never met him before. It wasnt until a day or so later that I remembered that I had the 620 in my wallet. Man, it was jsut getting better. I was going to tell him all about the card and its story. So the night of the party, I went right up to Dwight and did just that. We had a great conversation and he was gracious enough to sign my card "To Eric, Best Wishes, Doc Gooden."

Needless to say, that was a great night for me and my friends who were there with me. The next morning I rushed right to the PSA booth and told them that I needed the card slabbed and back to me ASAP -- didn't want it out of my sight. Thankfully, I was able to get it back the next day.

It really is my favorite card in my collection.

--

We want to see your favorite from your collection. Tweet @blowoutbuzz on Twitter (or send an email at the address below) for more info on how you can have your favorite  -- but no more than one item -- spotlighted right here.

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

>> Click here to buy MLB cards on BlowoutCards.com