Quote:
Originally Posted by bcbgcbrcb
Paul:
When I was doing the HOF rookies collection, the M101-1 (or National Copper Plate) Wagner was my choice too for representation in my personal collection. It certainly is a rookie and earlier than any other individual Wagner unless you want to go back in time and argue the Reccius card  . However, it's obviously a paper premium and not a card so does not qualifiy for rookie card status. Mine was in a BGS holder too, still doesn't make it a card because it was graded and encapsulated.
FWIW I believe that I was the first collector to have M101-1's, M101-2's, M101-7's and M113's graded and encapsulated by Beckett (they were the only TPG at the time to have a large enough holder to do it) back in the late 2000's. All are paper premiums and not cards, being graded does not change that. |
Very true and great comments Phil. And that is exactly where you can run into some great questions/tough decisions as a collector. For example, there is the one M101-2 Sporting News Supplement that shows four current umpires, including two HOFers, Bill Klem and Billy Evans. So, if someone is trying to complete a master HOF card collection, especially during their playing days or career in MLB, do you go after this 1910 supplement for these two as in career examples, or do you hold off and look/wait for later cards of these two, like Klem's 1935 Schutter-Johnson card, or Billy Evans 1961 Fleer card? In the end, it is up to each individual collector to decide what it is that they like and prefer. At the end of the day, there really is no one exact, correct answer to the question of what is a player's/person's true rookie card. Now if the question instead is what is a player's/person's first appearance on a collectible as a major league player/employee/executive/etc., that is a much easier and actually more definitively discernible question.