At first glance, it might seem that each member of Penn State's baseball card club adheres to the same philosophy -- the person with the most extensive collection wins.

If that is true, then club adviser Charles Loviscky is batting 1.000.

His collection of baseball, basketball and football cards totals about 100,000.

Loviscky, a teacher at the State College Area High School and part-time professor at the Penn State Altoona Campus, said collecting started out as a hobby and has now turned into a wise investment.

Someone once offered Loviscky $5,000 for his 1986 Fleer basketball card set -- a set that Loviscky originally bought for $12.50.

"The key card in the set is the Michael Jordan rookie card," Loviscky said. "He's going to be the Babe Ruth or the Mickey Mantle of basketball."

Loviscky said he would never part with the set, although his wife thinks he's crazy for not selling it.

Loviscky has been the club's adviser since its inception in 1989. A few Penn State students formed the club, and it has since grown to about 20 members. Members primarily collect baseball cards, but some also collect football, basketball and hockey cards.

Fellow club member Bill Smith has amassed about 80,000 trading cards.

Smith, an athletic facilities operator at Rec Hall, has been a collector for 25 years. He started collecting as a child and has every Topps baseball card set from 1974 through this year. The sets include players from both the National and American leagues and specialty cards, such as those made for the World Series.

A few club members began collecting trading cards because of family and friends.

"My dad collected them and when I got to a certain age, he brought his (collection) out," said Ken Boone (senior-meteorology), the club's vice president. "I conned my mom into buying packs at the drugstore."

Chris Cole (senior-economics) has been collecting baseball and hockey cards for quite a while.

"I was given a bunch of old cards," Cole said, adding that has been collecting the cards ever since.

Cole's most valuable card is his Topps 1962 Mickey Mantle. Cole estimates it is worth $500. But his most prized card is his Topps 1978 Jack Lambert, because Lambert autographed it.

The club's fourth annual card show is planned for sometime in January. Members are trying to get a well-known sports figure to autograph at the event. The proceeds will go to a charity of the autographer's choice.

Club President Matt Weston (senior-chemical engineering), said club members usually go to a baseball game in Pittsburgh or Philadelphia every spring.

"It's kind of like an end-of-the-year wrap-up. This year we're trying to go to Baltimore," Weston said.

The group meets at 7:30 every Monday evening in 107 Wartik. Every third meeting is a trading session, in which each members can bring cards and negotiate for the ones they want.