Posted By:
Kevin CummingsGil:
It all basically comes down to the concept of "collect what you want to collect," but unless you're collecting baseball cards just to look at the pretty pictures it's hard not to take some of your direction based on knowledge (even at the most rudimentary level) of the game.
After having read Nemec's books covering 19th century baseball, I wanted to see the players who did the things he was writing about. When the game was just beginning there were so many "firsts" and the Old Judge set has pictures of many of the players who accomplished the feats. Sure, there are period stars in that set for whom supporters claim Hall of Fame credentials (Browning, Mullane and Van Haltren to name just a few). Someone like Paul Hines, on the other hand, will never make the Hall of Fame and he's not exactly a household name, but he was the first professional Triple Crown winner. I collect Hall of Famers as well, but I'm just as happy to get a common of a player nobody knows because I know who he is.
Kevin