When Evanston resident Lionel Carter learned that his 1951 Mickey Mantle rookie card had sold for $160,000, all he could say was “Hoo boy.”

Carter, 89, is considered one of the pioneers of baseball card collecting. He recently sold his collection, which spans more than six decades, to Mastro Auctions. Mastro Auctions is selling his collection in three installments.

The first auction included the Mantle card and brought in a total of $1.6 million when it closed on Saturday, according to the Associated Press.

While Carter said he was surprised at how much the Mantle card sold for, he insisted that he is removed from the auction process.

“I’m not following the auction because I don’t like to sell my cards,” he said. “I haven’t been giving it any thought.”

Since Carter began selling his more than 50,000 baseball cards, he has been getting a lot of national media attention.

Now that his collection is generating big figures, even more people are calling.

Carter said Fox News inquired about visiting his house to take pictures, but his wife was opposed to the idea, so he declined.

Despite this, the lifetime collector still says he “kind of enjoys” the press.

– Karina Martinez-Carter