I have been a lifelong hockey fan. My first hockey memory was as a six-year-old watching the Summit Series of 1972 which involved Canada versus Russia. I watched all, or most of, the eight game series intently worried that if I was not cheering for Canada they would certainly go down to defeat.

When Paul Henderson scored in Game 8 with under a minute to play, I was sitting in my grandparents' living room glued to the old black and white television set. This to me is "my where were you when" moment. Some people recall important world events like when man first walked on the moon or when JFK was shot in Dallas, Texas, but if you asked any baby boomer Canadian, they would be apt to say that they most vividly remember the shot heard around the world that won the Summit Series for Canada.

My other most vivid memory was a negative when Rick Monday went deep on the Expos in 1981. Does anyone else remember how fast Jerry White ran down the line after he hit a ground ball to second to record the final out in that game?

Sports have played a huge role in my life. I was never a great athlete but I enjoyed playing; however when you look at my girth, I also must enjoy watching sports even more. I have always enjoyed the history of sport. I particularly enjoy reading, hearing, watching and deciphering sports from the 1940s to the early 90s which in my mind is when athletes played the game for all of the right reasons.

After becoming a hockey fan at age six, I became a full time subscriber to the Hockey News at age seven. I have been a subscriber to the Hockey News for 37 years. Back in the day the Hockey News was the bible of hockey and I was very religious as I read each issue from cover to cover again and again.

Around the same time as the Summit Series ended I began buying hockey cards. Let's just say I enjoyed my cards because I have more creases in my Guy LaFleur rookie card than he has career goals. These were what I would refer to as my development or formative years in the art of collecting as I knew that I liked to collect but I did not properly take care of my collection. I stashed away my ripped, poorly folded Hockey and Sporting News along with my creased dog- eared hockey and baseball cards which I stored in plastic breadbags!

I stopped collecting cards in 1978, but saved all of my sports magazines. In 1990, the card collecting craze took over the nation and I bought my first Upper Deck series one hockey pack. I purchased packs of Score, Pro Set, OPC, Topps and Upper Deck by the box or case.

Would anyone like to buy 100 Todd Van Poppel or Scott Scissons rookies? They are all in great shape and in plastic top loads. I'll sell them by the pound. Back in this era, limited meant limited to the amount of cardboard that could be produced in North America. These were my hoarder years, but at least during this time, I learned how to properly care for my collection.

By 1995, I started to become a refined collector. I collected what I wanted and I would only, for the most part, pay what I wanted to pay. I had discovered that my understanding of limited edition and the real definition of limited edition were exponentially different. I started to collect what I liked. I was beginning to evolve into a specialized collector.

I collect items from athletes who hail from my home province of Prince Edward Island such as Forbes Kennedy's original NHL contract and Brad Richards' game-worn, hockey jersey from his Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup winning season of 2004. I also collect old hockey and baseball programs,media guides (I especially love the WHA), magazines, and I have garnered a collection of over 7,000 autographs, primarily of hockey players ranging in fame from Wayne Gretzky to Morris Mott.

It is all about having fun with this great hobby. I'd like to share some of this fun with you by making some items in my personal collection available to you.

MacKendrick's Corner invites you to blog right here with Bill MacKendrick about the world of sports and sports memorabilia. You will be able to purchase Bill's sports collectibles on Retromedia's website at www.retromedia.ca.