Photo is blast from the past

The other day I was surfing eBay with the key word search of "Lemke." I do this once in a while to see if there are any interesting collectibles connected with the family name.

I once bought a 1953 Dixie Ice Cream lid of Enos Slaughter with advertising on the back from Lemke's Dairy in Wausau, Wis. I've also picked up several patent medicine items from the turn f the century with the Lemke name attached.

Naturally, during the late 1990s and early 2000s I collected Mark Lemke cards and memorabilia. I still enjoy checking eBay to see what items I missed back then. I no longer collect them, having packed it all up and sent it to his mother nearly a decade ago.

Then there are always a few items associated with Gerhard Lemke, who was a World War II German fighter pilot and much-decorated ace. He's no relation but someday I might pull the trigger on an art print or a model plane. 

Also no relation is Donald Lemke, who in recent years has become prominent as a comic book and graphic novel author. 

There are always a lot of listings for the many editions of baseball card, coin and paper money books I wrote while with Krause Publications 1974-2006.

In my most recent search, I was surprised to find a picture of myself among the thousands of listings of sports photos from eBay seller tribunephotos. 

The image is a 1984 UPI wirephoto showing me standing in front of an uncut sheet of 2nd Series 1957 Topps baseball cards that I used to have hanging in my office.

What's even more surprising is that I have no real recollection of the photo or the article that apparently accompanied it. It WAS nearly 30 years ago, and in that heyday of baseball card popularity I did a lot of interviews with the general media.

The caption reads, "Bob Lemke is 35 and still collecting the baseball cards he first treasured as a child. "I'm getting paid to play in my hobby," said Lemke, who is editor of Baseball Cards magazine."

I wish I still had that uncut sheet.