Collecting cards can be an addicting pastime. Just ask Murphy, Texas' Dan Dada. Dada, who has been collecting cards and memorabilia for more than three decades, has amassed nearly 862,000 cards - which breaks down into more than 28,700 cards per year.

The prized possessions of the collection are two unopened boxes of 1949 Bowman Baseball and a collection of Mickey Mantle cards.

To keep his collection organized, Dada uses APBA's Card Collector Software. "If somebody comes to me and wants to find out about a certain card, I can pull it up within seconds and it'll tell me what's available and what I have of those cards," he said.

Obviously, Dada isn't an average collector, as he's been hooked ever since his father gave him the boxes of Bowman.

"My father collected cards when he was young and he had saved these boxes of Bowman," Dada said, "So when I was little my father gave me a big box full of baseball cards and the two unopened Bowmans were in there. And I've saved them ever since."

That gift sparked Dada's passion for collecting which has spanned more than three decades. It's a passion he shares with his 7-year-old son, Cole.

"He's always bringing his friends over and showing them my stuff," said Dada, who is also the owner of eight Mark McGwire rookie cards and four Nolan Ryan rookies. "I try to give the kids some cards and get them started in collecting. This is how I got started and I had a lot of fun. I just want to give them the same joy."

Over the past few years, many of the hobby purists have had a hard time restoring the joy Dada experiences because of the influx of brands and inserts that have watered down the market.

"I've seen a trend that cards have become more of a business than a hobby," Dada said. "I hope that people don't forget that card collecting was intended for enjoyment, collecting and a history of the game."

Dada's collection isn't only limited to cards, it also includes autographed helmets, balls and jerseys.

"I had a friend that worked in the business where he would pick up the visiting team's equipment and drop it off at the ballpark; during this process he came in contact with a lot of the players and started to get items like balls signed and he'd give them to me," sad Dada whose collection includes 250 signed items.

"Eventually, I started to go with him and got to meet the players, too. Most of them were very cordial and I've been able to get a substantial collection of signed bats an jerseys."

Dada's memorabilia collection also includes several items that some collectors would consider oddities.

"I have four seats from the old Arlington ballpark," he said. "Before they tore down the old ball park, the Rangers ran a deal where you could buy items from the park and I bough the first for seats in a row."

Even though Dada's collection is bursting at the seams, he dreams of owning many other items, including quality Cal Ripken Jr. rookies, the base that Rickey Henderson received when he broke the base stealing record, a glove that Nolan Ryan used during one of his no-hitters and a Hank Aaron game-used bat.

"I would love to own some of those items, but it's very unlikely that I could ever receive those," he said.