The Major League Baseball playoffs began on Tuesday. As fans around the nation watch the action, one lifelong fan of the sport in Sisters is busy fielding emails or answering calls to see if he might be available to talk baseball or, rather, baseball cards.
Michael Blesius is the owner of Sports Card Ink, a store in downtown Sisters that specializes in vintage baseball cards and is open for just about three hours a week, by appointment only. Blesius opened it roughly six years ago as a place to house, by his estimation, nearly 2 million baseball cards he has collected over the decades, along with sports memorabilia dating to the 19th century.
The Bulletin recently profiled Blesius, who refers to Sports Card Ink as his “high blood pressure medicine” and a place for making connections, not profits. A good day at work might be spent appraising a collection, hearing stories from a retired professional player, or giving away cards to children who never got to see Willie Mays make an over-the-shoulder catch at the Polo Grounds.
Blesius joins us to share his love of baseball cards and the sport’s golden age.
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