The rookie card craze started in the late 1970's by card dealers. They bought up all Mantle rookies, Satchel Page rookies and Aaron rookies etc and added a premium price to them. By 1981 they were trying to pass off Boog Powell and Tony Oliva baseball cards as being just as desirable.

This topic was covered extensively in the Sporting News 1981 Baseball yearbook.

I never understood the rookie card thing. But fellow collectors fell for it.

I do remember Beckett for quite a few years designated cards as FTC for first Topps card, FDC for first Donruss card, etc. I suspect that was entirely driven by the need to provide some category for the 52 Mantle, then having to apply it to every other non rookie card of a player appearing on a company’s card for the first time.

And just as much for those couple of years where players made their 1st appearance in an update/traded set. Think 1984 Gooden, Puckett, Clemens, etc. Their 1st Donruss card would then be 1985. Man I miss those simpler days .

This might provide some insight:

https://youtu.be/VJ2vem9rQhE

The ad that they feature in the video, I remember those types very well.
I used to spend hours scouring them and dreaming about getting the complete runs of the better players, but always finding that I couldn't afford the piles of $6 or $15 price tags (or something crazy high like $50 for an elusive card like a 67 B. Robbby), rather settling for 50 cent to $1 cards instead. Not sure I ever actually bought any though, as I would have been pre-teen at the time. I probably just circled those I wanted or filled out those order forms and never sent any money. Wasted opportunities there!

I thought this was fun: I recently had this exchange with some ass-clown on eBay re a 1926 Greiling Max Schmeling RC:

Him: I know that you “know your stuff” and the grading companies “consult you” but this is clearly not Carpentiers rookie. The ever abundant 1922-1923 Amalgamated Press Sporting Champions is.

I replied: I completely agree: it is not Carpentier's RC. It is, however, Max Schmeling's. And FWIW Carpentier appears in the 1915 Cope's set so the 1922-23 cards are not even his first British issues.

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...ike%20drop.gif

But...but, if we had never had the RC phenomenon, we couldn't still today enjoy the countless people who feel the need to point out that a '52 Topps #311 is NOT his rookie card!...:confused: