As suggested by the posts above it just depends on whether you think of "rookie" as designating the status of the player (in which case it should be from his rookie season, or at least no earlier) or the card itself. So the Mayo is a reasonable choice, but no more than a 1995 Topps Derek Jeter.
I collect rookie cards, not of HOFers per se, but of the top 50 players. Naturally that includes mostly HOFers but not most HOFers. It includes players as far back as Anson and as recent as Trout, and I wanted consistent criteria that made sense for everyone so I went with first actual MLB year with a card.
For Nichols that's the 1895 Mayo. The OJ is a great card -- the best player in the best set of the 19th century -- but I don't want a collection of minor league cards. If I only collected pre-war I probably wouldn't concern myself with the minor/major distinction and would just go for the earliest card, but that's just not how I collect. What he's wearing in the picture doesn't factor in for me. Some of these rookie cards don't show the player in uniform at all. Jeter is also irrelevant since he's well outside of the top 50 players. Not that you asked, but I don't like to miss an opportunity to point out how overrated Yankees other than Ruth have been.
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