Interesting question, Phil. There is a difference between most popular and most collected. I think it depends on if you're talking about this board or the whole hobby in general.
On a percentage basis, I'm not sure how many collectors own a Babe Ruth item, especially when it comes to his cards (?). He's the most popluar player in the history if the sport, but maybe not the most collected...on this board most people probably own a Ruth, but in the general hobby, probably not.
Likewise, a decent percentage of this particular board might NOT own a Koufax, Mays or Clemente item.
I remember in the 1980s and 90s, dealers couldn't stock enough Cal Ripken and Nolan Ryan cards. Pete Rose was huge in the 70s-80s-90s too.
Anyway, your list is probably pretty close, but I'd probably include Rose and Ripken, simply as representation from the "modern" segment of our collecting population. If you expand to "Top 10" I think you'd have to include them.
(I want to add that I'm not a fan of either of these guys, but I'd guess that almost every collector has had a Rose or Ripken in their collection at some point in their collecting career.)
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