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vintagebaseballcardguy
05-01-2017, 06:03 PM
I have been wanting to post this for a few days, but I wasn't quite sure how to word it. I'm still not completely sure, but here it goes. A couple of years ago, I first started thinking about collecting prewar instead of the postwar I have traditionally collected. I started some threads about T206 (first) and later T205. I own a few of each, and of the two I like T205 better for me. When I asked around about T206, some of you advised me to look around and pointed out to me that there is so much more to prewar than T206 (no offense at all to T206 collectors..hats off to you). That is what I have been doing...looking around in prewar, while still buying some postwar. The Obaks, especially the 1910 variety, have grabbed my attention, and I have been buying them. They are completely addictive! It may seem weird for someone in the South to become interested in the Pacific Coast League, but that is what is happening. Today, I purchased The Grand Minor League: An Oral History of the Old Pacific Coast League by Dick Dobbins, as I want to learn more about the PCL and the players. There are other books on the subject that I will be purchasing and reading. The reading and research might just be the part that is the most fun. In addition to the Obaks, I have "discovered" the D310s and D311s, and they are breathtaking, especially the D311s! I want some of those as well.

You guys have said many times that there's no right or wrong way to collect, that we should all follow our interests and collecting passions. I understand that the Obaks and D311s are "just" minor league/PCL cards in the eyes of many. I look at my postwar collection now and see a lot of mid to high grade cards of HOFers, many of which are graded. But to a great degree, there's nothing especially unique about anything I have. Most of what I have is a dime a dozen. Am I crazy to enter prewar not caring all that much about HOFers, focusing instead on these minor league sets with their history and art work? There might also come a time when I sell off many of the postwar stars and sets and use those funds to continue remaking my collection, again focusing heavily on the Obaks and D311s. I guess I could take a time out from these sets to pick up the occasional HOF card from another prewar set, but my primary focus would be on Obaks, D310s, 311s, and perhaps a Zeenut or two :).

I know how elementary this sounds to many of you who are advanced prewar collectors, and all of this is cardboard when you get down to it. However, this is a really big deal to me. After all, we do allocate a lot of resources to this hobby of ours. This is part of a journey and change of thought for me that has been gradually rolling out over the last year or two.

What do you guys think?

bnorth
05-01-2017, 06:12 PM
I think you should collect what makes you happy.:) In the last 30 years I have changed my collecting goals too many times to count.

Bigshot69
05-01-2017, 06:16 PM
It doesn't sound crazy at all. I know the feeling. Within several weeks of discovering this site I started buying up '33 & '34 Goudeys.

Fred
05-01-2017, 06:21 PM
Psychiatry is cheaper than cardboard.... consider it... :p

rainier2004
05-01-2017, 06:26 PM
Hey Robert, you sound like you have been thinking about this a bit. Thanks for the genuine post as well.

You gotta collect what ya dig, plain and simple b/c everything else just doesn't matter. I think there are a bunch of collectors here that went through hat you are explaining to a certain degree. I sold off my 48/49B, 53-56T run and used it to fund pre war stuff. I just sold my last two post ww1 cards last weak after moving to pre war 7 or 8 years ago. I have never regretted selling that stuff FWIW.

Just stick with a comfortable pace, the rest will all fall into place.

vintagebaseballcardguy
05-01-2017, 06:26 PM
Psychiatry is cheaper than cardboard.... consider it... :p

Ain't that the truth? ! Especially prewar.

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clydepepper
05-01-2017, 06:41 PM
Robert- Rest assured, you are embarking on a pleasant historical journey.

I don't know what part of the South you are from (I'm in Columbus, GA) , but there are many Southern players who wound up playing 'out west'.

One such player, Cliff Blankenship, was the first Columbus-born player to make it to the majors. I'm attaching a scan of his Obak card.

Cliff was a backup catcher for the Washington Senators, sent to the West while recovering from an injury to scout an outfielder named Clyde Milan and to also check out a pitcher named Walter Johnson.

Walter's grandson, Hank Thomas, is a Net54 member and wrote a wonderful biography of his Legendary Grandfather.

Another attractive set is the T210's the first series of which is the SALLY League (South Atlantic) -I completed my Columbus (GA) Foxes set last year.

I have one PCL Zeenut - of Moses Yellowhorse (scan also attached), though by many to be the first full-blooded Native American to pitch in the Majors. His biography has the greatest title, 'Sixty-Feet-Six-Inches and Other Distances from Home'.

All in all, there are just as many if not more fascinating stories connected to Minor League cards as there are to their 'Higher-Ups'.

You should also look to purchase a couple of books, 'The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball' (get the 2nd Edition, not the third, as the later one leaves out a lot of fun notes - 2nd edition is paperback, third comes in hardcover) and 'The Minor League Register' - paperback. These are statistical reference types, but with enough enjoyable text to make them worth anyone's time.

Enjoy,

Raymond

271689

271690

vintagebaseballcardguy
05-01-2017, 07:12 PM
Hey Robert, you sound like you have been thinking about this a bit. Thanks for the genuine post as well.

You gotta collect what ya dig, plain and simple b/c everything else just doesn't matter. I think there are a bunch of collectors here that went through hat you are explaining to a certain degree. I sold off my 48/49B, 53-56T run and used it to fund pre war stuff. I just sold my last two post ww1 cards last weak after moving to pre war 7 or 8 years ago. I have never regretted selling that stuff FWIW.

Just stick with a comfortable pace, the rest will all fall into place.
Thanks for replying. I used to get in a rush and ended up making mistakes as a consequence. Slowly, I am learning my lesson. [emoji16] I will continue buying PCL oriented cards for a while and continue to learn about the era, league, and players.

For the time being, I don't plan on any sell offs. But as I get more comfortable with what I am transitioning into, that may start to happen. Reading your own account is reassuring to me. Thanks for sharing.


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vintagebaseballcardguy
05-01-2017, 07:22 PM
Robert- Rest assured, you are embarking on a pleasant historical journey.

I don't know what part of the South you are from (I'm in Columbus, GA) , but there are many Southern players who wound up playing 'out west'.

One such player, Cliff Blankenship, was the first Columbus-born player to make it to the majors. I'm attaching a scan of his Obak card.

Cliff was a backup catcher for the Washington Senators, sent to the West while recovering from an injury to scout an outfielder named Clyde Milan and to also check out a pitcher named Walter Johnson.

Walter's grandson, Hank Thomas, is a Net54 member and wrote a wonderful biography of his Legendary Grandfather.

Another attractive set is the T210's the first series of which is the SALLY League (South Atlantic) -I completed my Columbus (GA) Foxes set last year.

I have one PCL Zeenut - of Moses Yellowhorse (scan also attached), though by many to be the first full-blooded Native American to pitch in the Majors. His biography has the greatest title, 'Sixty-Feet-Six-Inches and Other Distances from Home'.

All in all, there are just as many if not more fascinating stories connected to Minor League cards as there are to their 'Higher-Ups'.

You should also look to purchase a couple of books, 'The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball' (get the 2nd Edition, not the third, as the later one leaves out a lot of fun notes - 2nd edition is paperback, third comes in hardcover) and 'The Minor League Register' - paperback. These are statistical reference types, but with enough enjoyable text to make them worth anyone's time.

Enjoy,

Raymond

271689

271690
Raymond,

I certainly will hunt those books down. Thanks for the tip, and thanks for sharing the scans you attached. The pleasant historical journey you speak of sounds like a lot of fun. I need a change in my collecting, and I am really enjoying myself thus far. It's funny you mentioned the T210s because that is another group of cards I have noticed. Hopefully I will get to them sooner or later...maybe after I have gotten my hands on more Obaks and some D311s.[emoji2] I am in Arkansas by the way. Thanks again for the information. I look forward to sharing what I come up with.

Robert

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bocca001
05-01-2017, 08:24 PM
I love that these cards are relatively rare, look cool, and are not super pricey.

They are difficult to explain to many people, who want to see Ruth, Cobb, Mantle, and Mays. I like those cards too, but there is something "real" about minor league cards (I like T210s as well...) that I just don't get from the superstars.

vintagebaseballcardguy
05-01-2017, 08:35 PM
I love that these cards are relatively rare, look cool, and are not super pricey.

They are difficult to explain to many people, who want to see Ruth, Cobb, Mantle, and Mays. I like those cards too, but there is something "real" about minor league cards (I like T210s as well...) that I just don't get from the superstars.
Great displays, thanks for sharing. I agree, I will always have some of the big ticket names, but I am loving learning about the SALLY League and PCL players. Those sets are so eye catching and you just don't see them everywhere. It is a great hobby that gives us such fun journeys!

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Jobu
05-01-2017, 09:20 PM
Gotta collect what you like - the point is to be excited and think that your cards are cool, right?

I don't have many T212s, but the incredible artwork makes for some great errors. A few of mine:

FourStrikes
05-01-2017, 11:55 PM
I have been wanting to post this for a few days, but I wasn't quite sure how to word it. I'm still not completely sure, but here it goes. A couple of years ago, I first started thinking about collecting prewar instead of the postwar I have traditionally collected. I started some threads about T206 (first) and later T205. I own a few of each, and of the two I like T205 better for me. When I asked around about T206, some of you advised me to look around and pointed out to me that there is so much more to prewar than T206 (no offense at all to T206 collectors..hats off to you). That is what I have been doing...looking around in prewar, while still buying some postwar. The Obaks, especially the 1910 variety, have grabbed my attention, and I have been buying them. They are completely addictive! It may seem weird for someone in the South to become interested in the Pacific Coast League, but that is what is happening. Today, I purchased The Grand Minor League: An Oral History of the Old Pacific Coast League by Dick Dobbins, as I want to learn more about the PCL and the players. There are other books on the subject that I will be purchasing and reading. The reading and research might just be the part that is the most fun. In addition to the Obaks, I have "discovered" the D310s and D311s, and they are breathtaking, especially the D311s! I want some of those as well.

You guys have said many times that there's no right or wrong way to collect, that we should all follow our interests and collecting passions. I understand that the Obaks and D311s are "just" minor league/PCL cards in the eyes of many. I look at my postwar collection now and see a lot of mid to high grade cards of HOFers, many of which are graded. But to a great degree, there's nothing especially unique about anything I have. Most of what I have is a dime a dozen. Am I crazy to enter prewar not caring all that much about HOFers, focusing instead on these minor league sets with their history and art work? There might also come a time when I sell off many of the postwar stars and sets and use those funds to continue remaking my collection, again focusing heavily on the Obaks and D311s. I guess I could take a time out from these sets to pick up the occasional HOF card from another prewar set, but my primary focus would be on Obaks, D310s, 311s, and perhaps a Zeenut or two :).

I know how elementary this sounds to many of you who are advanced prewar collectors, and all of this is cardboard when you get down to it. However, this is a really big deal to me. After all, we do allocate a lot of resources to this hobby of ours. This is part of a journey and change of thought for me that has been gradually rolling out over the last year or two.

What do you guys think?

I can relate (over the past 40+ years - and I just turned 52 a few weeks back) - welcome to the world of cardboard / memorabilia collecting - enjoy!

btryin
05-02-2017, 06:05 AM
Interesting post Robert. Got me thinking a little ... I've been into pre-war collecting for a few years now. What motivates my collecting is owning cards of players or stories I've learned about over my many years of being a baseball fan. I'd read lots of baseball history starting as a young boy and continue to do so, so acquiring cards of Hall of Famers but also someone like Fred Merkle or Jack Quinn or Lefty Williams or Jeff Tesreau connected me to those stories I'd read. Now have many T206's, CJs, E cards, a few 19th century, etc

Now you've given me a different viewpoint ... the idea of collecting cool-looking cards and THEN read and learn about the players on those cards. For me, I think specifically of the Obak's. I've found my eye drawn to them many times as I see them posted here on NET54. Beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous. I've acquired just one, but have resisted the urge to divert collecting funds to purchasing more of them. But curse you Robert, you've given me reason to reconsider! Getting the card and then learn the back story. More temptations!

vintagebaseballcardguy
05-02-2017, 01:38 PM
Interesting post Robert. Got me thinking a little ... I've been into pre-war collecting for a few years now. What motivates my collecting is owning cards of players or stories I've learned about over my many years of being a baseball fan. I'd read lots of baseball history starting as a young boy and continue to do so, so acquiring cards of Hall of Famers but also someone like Fred Merkle or Jack Quinn or Lefty Williams or Jeff Tesreau connected me to those stories I'd read. Now have many T206's, CJs, E cards, a few 19th century, etc

Now you've given me a different viewpoint ... the idea of collecting cool-looking cards and THEN read and learn about the players on those cards. For me, I think specifically of the Obak's. I've found my eye drawn to them many times as I see them posted here on NET54. Beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous. I've acquired just one, but have resisted the urge to divert collecting funds to purchasing more of them. But curse you Robert, you've given me reason to reconsider! Getting the card and then learn the back story. More temptations!
That's the great thing about our hobby, there's a million different ways to do it and none of them are wrong. I didn't realize how much I liked the D311s until just yesterday. The reading and research help me know who these players from 1910 are when i buy them. Between those, T210s, and Obaks, I could be busy forever! Good luck. There's nothing wrong at all with grabbing those HOFers!

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