Guess who?

Not that it comes as a shock, but one star shined way above and beyond the rest at The National over the weekend......

Strasburg trading cards do great business at national convention

I still think the all the hype is a little too much, but let's face it......PLENTY of people are a lot more famous for accomplishing a whole lot less, or in some cases, nothing at all (see Hilton, Paris or Kardashian, Kim or Casted In A Reality TV Show, Anyone).  From a mainstream standpoint, the hobby is getting more attention than ever.  Granted, there are more media outlets than ever to cover it, but the coverage has been overwhelmingly positive after Upper Deck's problems started the year off on a bad note.  Whether or not Strasburg gets a plaque in Cooperstown, he's bringing people back to the hobby that the hobby needs to remain viable as a hobby (get all that?).  If someone at Topps or one of the other companies can stumble onto a way to bring the kids back from "Magic - The Gathering", what is currently a mini-Renaissance can turn into a full-blown boom again.  Let's just hope history doesn't repeat itself and overproduction takes over again. 

 

This Week In Sports Cards -- 7/31-8/6

Flying across Airwaves, Baseball Cards, and Me's radar this week..........

• Mainstream love for The National from the "hometown paper".....
• ........and the AP
• And just in case you ain't gone read no newspaper article that ain't got no pictures :-) ........
• According to one source, the state of our hobby is strong
• And, as expected, some dealers at The National were visited by unwanted "customers".  Don't drop the soap in the prison shower, boys! :-)

 

In case Rick Sanchez is reading this.......

If anyone is a fan of "Rick's List" on CNN, you're probably familiar with his daily feature "The List You Don't Want To Be On".  They've now made one of those for baseball cards........

The 30 Worst Baseball Cards of All Time

In defense of the players featured on here, there are (by my count) 6 All-Stars, one of the Top 10 all-time home run hitters (albeit with the proverbial *), and several guys who wear World Series rings.  Then there's poor Oscar Gamble.  None of your memorabilia is featured in Cooperstown, but you make this Hall of Shame TWICE! :-)  I'd be horrified to see the groupies these guys attracted at the ol' ballpark (just in case your appetite wasn't already ruined).

A lifetime of memories? Priceless.......

I think most of us who have ever enjoyed the sports card hobby have been buyers, sellers, traders and collectors simultaneously at certain points of our lives.  As Dave Jamieson reminds us in his excellent book, Mint Condition, however, most of the folks who have made tons of money in the hobby will be the first to tell you they never gave that part a second thought.  They never got into it for the money. 

For most of us, sports cards became something we collected first and saw as a possible way of sending the kids to college and/or passing down as an heirloom later.  With that in mind, I think we all have at least a handful of "untouchable" cards.....some valuable, some you could probably find at the bottom of the bargain bin.......that we would never, ever sell regardless of how far in the stratosphere "book value" may take them.

Which cards in your collection are those you would never get rid of for any reason?  Share those with us by Commenting here, and also the stories behind them. 

One man from the Baltimore area just discovered those cards in his collection.....just ahead of the National, where he might have made a mint :-) ................


Remembrances of baseball's past

Just a reminder.....

31 days until college football!!  Time to go back-to-back in Titletown.  Fans of other schools, there's really no sense in getting your hopes too high........the Tide will be #1 start to finish.  How many other coaches can claim to be the subject of a major motion picture? 

See y'all in Glendale on January 10th!!  ROLLLLLLLLLLLLL TIDE ROLL!!!

How much is enough?

Just in case you were one of the 2 or 3 people who thought circa 1993 and beyond, "Gee.....there aren't nearly enough sports cards being produced these days", see if this doesn't FINALLY make you a believer........

Alex Rodriguez appears on nearly 18000 cards

Wonder how many of those he posed for clean? :-)

A point to ponder......

Are Halls of Fame becoming like sports cards in the 90's or awards shows on TV..........there's just too many of 'em?  One familiar name associated with one of the "go to" reference guides in our hobby thinks it's a good idea, and he even nominates a charter member.......

Cowboys great Emmitt Smith should be in collectible hall of fame, too

The idea brings up several interesting questions.  Where would be an ideal location for a "Sports Collectibles Hall of Fame"?  What would the criteria be for selection?  Would there be folks that might get shut out of Canton, Cooperstown, and Springfield who would be charter members and/or subsequent first balloters here?  I can think of several in baseball who either didn't have the numbers (Don Mattingly, Dwight Gooden, etc.), became allegedly chemically enhanced (Bonds, A-Rod, Clemens, Jose Canseco), or were found guilty of various other sins (Pete Rose) who have created massive buzz among collectors at certain points in their careers.  I wouldn't think that would count here. 
Furthermore......would you make a pilgrimage to a Sports Collectibles Hall of Fame?  Comment below!!