Quote:
Originally Posted by brian1961
Eddie---
Sincere congratulations on your beautiful pick-ups, and additionally, to the fascinating stories you conveyed associated with them. The PMs sent to end the auction were something else. Decent money there. You just never know; sometimes what one is selling actually has a ferocious market for them. Those stories and interwoven juicy tidbits were what I constantly tried to bring to my book on post-war regional / food issues, NEVER CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN.
While I do not collect racing cardboard, preferring 1/43 scale models of the cars, and videos such as the DVDs from Rare Sportsfilms of the actual races where these racing greats established their legends, your dogged persistence is the same as mine for what I pursue.
Anyway, nice going, Eddie. Thanks again for a super post, bro! 
---Brian Powell |
Thanks so much for the kind words, Brian. I really appreciate that. The reason I know the cards came specifically from deceased racing photographer Leroy Leibelsperger is that the seller showed me Leibelsperger's
Area Auto Racing News press card that was among the other identifying items that were in the box he bought at auction.
There are only a handful of $500+ individual racing cards, although it does make me throw up in my mouth a bit when an occasional Danica Patrick autographed 1/1 manufactured rarity will get up close to that figure in an auction.
Much like the Graziano card in the '48 Leaf boxing set and the McKinley card in the 1932 U.S. Caramel Presidents set, there is no way that a non racing collector would ever guess that the Lorenzen with car card in particular is so sought after.
As I said before, I love the obscure and impossible to find cards. There is nothing wrong with collecting T206s or '33 Goudeys, but I could never afford to go after five or six-figure baseball rarities. Most of my collection is pretty obscure, so I am not a PSA registry guy. But the owner of the one full set of 1972 STP cards on the PSA registry even has a comment with his set that very few people own the Lorenzen with car card.
http://www.psacard.com/psasetregistr....aspx?s=135628
I didn't really expect the seller to tell me what he paid for the box at auction. When he told me he had no idea what he had until people began sending him PMs to end the eBay auctions, I told him that I was sure he did pretty well for himself with his purchase. He was almost disbelieving when he told me he paid $40 for the lot and did not even know if the cards were worth anything at all.
Fred Lorenzen is still alive today, although he is 81 years old and battling dementia. His family has stated in recent years that they believe his dementia was caused by the numerous concussions he sustained over the years and the fact that he never took time off following those concussions to heal. Lorenzen's daughter has thanked Dale Earnhardt Jr. several times in recent years on her Facebook page for bringing the issue of concussions to light.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cult...-65-6-roa0214/
Earnhardt Jr. and Lorenzen have both pledged to donate their brains to Christopher Nowinski's Concussion Legacy Foundation. Lorenzen's family strongly believes he suffers from CTE much like many former NFL players. Nowinski has said in the past that he is very familiar with Lorenzen's story.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...tion/87185360/