Posted By:
Ryan ChristoffIn the last 20 years there have been a total of 9 Negro Leaguers elected that have cards. That includes the 7 Negro Leaguers who were elected in 2006 that have cards. Of the 17 people elected in 2006, only 12 were players. Of those, 7 have cards.
Here is the entire list of Negro Leaguers that HOF collectors have had to add to their collections in the past 20 years:
Raymond Brown
Willard Brown
Andy Cooper
Leon Day
Pete Hill
Biz Mackey
Jose Mendez
Hilton Smith
Cristobal Torriente
Over that period, there were around 50 other inductees that have cards. In fact, HOF collectors have had to add more non-Negro Leaguers to their collections since 2001 than the 9 Negro Leaguers inducted in the past 20 years.
I'd be curious to hear how many HOF collectors abandoned their collections when Bill Mazeroski, Kirby Puckett, Dave Winfield, Ozzie Smith, Gary Carter, Eddie Murray, Dennis Eckersley, Paul Molitor, Wade Boggs, Ryne Sandberg, Bruce Sutter, Cal Ripken, Jr. and Tony Gwynn were all "let in" since 2001. I mean, that's 13 new cards to add since 2001. Compared to 9 Negro Leaguers in 20 years!!!
Let's hear from those former HOF collectors that gave up after so many players were "let in" in such a short time.
By the way, anyone willing to bid high enough could have gotten cards of nearly every Negro Leaguer that has one in the last Mastro Auction.
Also, if I recall correctly, there was an auction in May of 2006 that had cards of EVERY single Negro Leaguer that has a card. All of them. Pete Hill, Oscar Charleston, Josh Gibson, etc. Even Willie Foster who only appears on an uncut sheet. Any HOF collector could have literally checked every Negro Leaguer off their list in one day.
Obtaining cards of every HOFer that has one is a lofty goal, but not an impossible endeavor. Even without the Negro Leaguers, it would still be an impressive collection. Just like it could be considered impressive to complete a T206 set without the bigs.
From "what is a card" to "what is a rookie card" to "what is a HOFer" I find it interesting how many different justifications we all use to define what we collect.
That's the beauty of collecting: we all get to collect whatever we want for whatever reasons we choose.
Otherwise, it would probably all be pretty boring, wouldn't it?
-Ryan