The person behind the collection
I’ve been collecting stories disguised as cards my whole life.
I’m Brion—a husband, dad, systems engineer, lifelong sports fan, and collector. The Maciel Archive is where those parts of my life meet: statistics and nostalgia, history and design, the thrill of the chase and the satisfaction of finally putting the right card in the right place.
Collector since childhood · Sacramento, CaliforniaWhy cards?
It started with the numbers.
As a kid, cards were how I learned the game. The backs were little documents of baseball history—batting averages, home runs, seasons, teams. The fronts were something else entirely: players, colors, designs, and the feeling that a great card was a small piece of the sport you could actually hold.
I’ve bought, sold, traded, and lost more cards than I could ever count. Over time, the collection became more focused. Today I’m drawn mainly to PSA- and SGC-graded cards: iconic rookies, Hall of Famers, alternate versions, autographs, childhood favorites, and cards with a story strong enough to earn a permanent place.
Some pursuits are deliberately narrow. My Gary Carter Master Set reached fifth all-time on the PSA Set Registry. I completed a 1987 Leaf and Donruss key-rookie run built around Bonds, Jackson, Maddux, McGwire, Clark, and Larkin. Other pieces are personal for reasons that have nothing to do with a population report or price guide. Those are often the best ones.
Photo journal
A few frames to fill.
These spaces are ready for personal photos whenever the right ones are chosen.
The collector
A favorite photo—at home, at a card show, or somewhere that feels unmistakably like me.
The collectionThe wall cases
The two displays above my home-office desk, where the collection gets enjoyed every day.
A life well collected
Family, a tennis court, a concert, a poker table—or any picture that tells the rest of the story.
Away from the display cases
The collection is one part of a pretty full life.
I work as a systems engineer, which probably explains why I enjoy structure, details, and building a collection with a point of view. Away from work, I’m happiest around family and friends, playing tennis, hosting a poker game, planning the next trip, or listening to the Grateful Dead and Phish.
Collecting has followed me through all of it—from ripping packs with friends in college to building the two wall cases that now sit above my home-office desk. I see them during the workday. That matters. A collection should not spend its life hidden in a box; it should be seen, remembered, talked about, and enjoyed.
Buy the cards that make you stop, look twice, and remember why you started collecting in the first place.Explore the collection