200 post thread anyone?

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Posted By: scott brockelman

http://www.amazon.com/Card-Collectors-Historys-Desired-Baseball/dp/0061123927/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-1640046-3098336?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176937496&sr=8-1

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

I won't buy it because I don't like the author, but I may read it if my library gets the book. I probably won't have to read it anyway because I imagine this chatroom will get the lowdown shortly after the book is released.

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Posted By: Peter Spaeth

Book Description

Since its limited release just after the turn of the twentieth century, this American Tobacco cigarette card has beguiled and bedeviled collectors. First identified as valuable in the 1930s, when the whole notion of card collecting was still young, the T206 Wagner has remained the big score for collectors who have scoured card shows, flea markets, estate sales, and auctions for the portrait of baseball's greatest shortstop.

Only a few dozen T206 Wagners are known to still exist. Most, with their creases, stains, and dog-eared corners, look worn and tattered, like they've been around for almost a century. But one—The Card—appears to have defied the travails of time. Thanks to its sharp corners and its crisp portrait of Honus Wagner, The Card has become the most famous and desired baseball card in the world.

Over the decades, as The Card has changed hands, its value has skyrocketed. It was initially sold for $25,000 by a small card shop in a nondescript strip mall. Years later, hockey great Wayne Gretzky bought it at the venerable Sotheby's auction house for $451,000. Then, more recently, it sold for $1.27 million on eBay. Today worth over $2 million, it has transformed a sleepy hobby into a billion-dollar industry that is at times as lawless as the Wild West. The Card has made men wealthy, certainly, but it has also poisoned lifelong friendships and is fraught with controversy—from its uncertain origins and the persistent questions about its provenance to the possibility that it is not exactly as it seems.

Now for the first time, award-winning investigative reporters Michael O'Keeffe and Teri Thompson follow the trail of The Card from a Florida flea market to the hands of the world's most prominent collectors. They delve into a world of counterfeiters and con men and look at the people who profit from what used to be a kids' pastime, as they bring to light ongoing investigations into sports collectibles. O'Keeffe and Thompson also examine the life of the great Honus Wagner, a ballplayer whose accomplishments have been eclipsed by his trading card, and the strange and fascinating subculture of sports memorabilia and its astonishing decline.

Intriguing and eye-opening, The Card is a ground-breaking look at a uniquely American hobby.

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Posted By: barrysloate

Counterfeiters and con men- that already sounds juicy!

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Posted By: John

Might be a good read, but one has to wonder how reliable the authors are when in the very description of the book they already have the facts wrong…

“Only a few dozen T206 Wagners are known to still exist”

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Posted By: howard

I doubt the authors wrote that book description. More likely it's a publicity release written by an employee of the book's publisher. "A few dozen" is an estimate pretty likely to be found if "T206 Honus Wagner" is entered in a search engine.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Don't be so sure...this is the same author who lied about N54 in his story about the two dudes and their fake Wagner.

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Posted By: JimB

As a published book author myself, I would assume the authors did write the blurb. It may have been lightly edited to add a sensationalistic quality, but my guess is the details are the author's. I am not bothered by the estimate of a few dozen. I find it funny that they say it was auctioned on Ebay for over a million dollars. I remember that there were links to all the lots in that REA/Mastro auction to Ebay, but there was a higher BP on all bids placed on ebay and I am sure nobody bid on that card via ebay.
JimB

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Posted By: Scott Elkins

We have spoken on the phone several times over the last few years while he was working on this book and I truly believe he was after the truth on this book. I don't know the co-author.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Michael O'Keeffe wrote in his newspaper column: "On Network 54, an Internet vintage card forum, the reaction was mixed. Some collectors were angry that Cobb and Edwards weren't dismissed as crooks.

Others agreed that Cobb and Edwards may be on to something when they say prejudice has played a role in the debate over their card."

Yeah......he's a good guy. 'cept when he's lying.

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Posted By: barrysloate

Mike O'Keefe interviewed me and he seemed like a reasonable guy. But if he really made that comment about Cobb and Edwards and racial prejudice, then I have to assume the book was poorly researched. If he said Cobb and Edwards were paranoid and felt the world was against them, I would feel better about it.

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Posted By: peter ullman

i can't imagine it breaks much if any ground on what most of us already know about THE CARD. if the book is anything like the little synopsis there...i won't be reading it.

pete ullman

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Posted By: barrysloate

Peter- most people don't know the history of the card as well as we do.

P.S.- did you get my email today?

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Posted By: peter ullman

you're correct barry...but besides us...who cares enough to buy a book about it!!!!! I got no email...did you send it to brian by accident?!?!

pete ullman

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Posted By: barrysloate

I sent you two and you got neither...something was wrong with my computer this morning. Your box arrived, thank you.

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Posted By: peter ullman

thank YOU.

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Posted By: Scott Elkins

I asked Mike about what he had written right after that. He was not even aware what he had written about the two guys and the fake Wagner had been changed by his editor and was mad when I had him read the final outcome - stating "that is not what I wrote". Mike even agreed with me on the phone that EVERYONE on Net 54 was angry at those two guys and what they were trying to do. The only thing Mike and I didn't agree on was the tone of racist remarks in the thread. I didn't see the tone of "racist remarks". However, when Mike pointed out to me where a Net 54 member had referred to the two as "boys", I could understand his point a little better.

Mike seemed honest enough on the phone with me. I have already pre-ordered his book to see if he follows through and is honest in the book, as I have spoken with Mike several times about the Wagner and hope I am not misquoted in anything I told Mike (really, I hope he doesn't even mention me in the book at all). I do know I referred him to some people and he spoke with others who are in the "know" about the Wagner. I also believe Mike was able to track down the "before" pic of the Wagner as well (I really hope that before pic is in the book). All in all, I hope Mike exposes everything like he told me and sticks to the facts in the book (and doesn't change, or let an editor change, anything). I guess we will all see in May when the book arrives!

Scott Elkins

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

If you believe his editor changed that then you are falling for another of his lies.

O'Keeffe and the whole Daily News staff are a bunch of slimy tabloid trash columnists who are more suited to write for the National Enquirer than a newspaper that deems itself as serious.

This is the type of "journalism" they excel at:

http://www.ihateitall.com/bm/media/nys-daily-news-slings-the-slime.shtml

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Posted By: Scott Elkins

To see if Mike has been a straight shooter with me or not, as I know a lot of what SHOULD be in the book! I will give him the benefit of the doubt until I see otherwise.

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Posted By: barrysloate

Mike interviewed me and some of my friends, and I know the background of the card pretty well, so as Scott says, let's see how the book comes out first.

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Posted By: Brian Weisner

Hi Scott,
I'm still trying to figure out how the term "boys" is considered racial? I use it all the time when referring to my golf or poker buddies, and someone's race never comes into play. In fact, I would say that Joanne and Julie are one of the "boys" on board54 , because they are great contributors and never ask for special attention because of there sex.
A fake Wagner is a fake Wagner, no matter who owns it, even if it's one of our "boys" here. Can you imagine the grief one of our board members would receive if they tried to pass off a fake Wagner? Not even Barry could save them.... Be well Brian

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

You guys can give him the benefit of the doubt....I only wish I would have saved his emails to me because I would be very tempted to break Leon's rules about posting emails to N54. I might add that he's too dumb to even put a title on his emails so if you get one from him it might get kicked into your spam collector.

edited to add: I also find it hard to believe that he didn't even know that his editor had changed the story because if you go back to the thread that was posted here last year when the article came out it is obvious that he had read the thread because he sent me an angry email about what I had written about him.

http://tinyurl.com/yrbg2j

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Posted By: barrysloate

How did I get tangled up in this one?

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Posted By: jay behrens

Whether you like it or not, you are part of every thread, Barry

Jay

I love pinatas. You get to beat the crap of something and get rewarded with candy.

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Posted By: peter chao

Guys,

I suppose the book will start with giving the reason for Honus Wagner stopping the print run on his card. Is the book going to rehash the old he didn't want kids to think that smoking was cool theory or some of the newer theories.

Peter

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Posted By: leon

I got an email yesterday from the publisher of the book concerning what Mark (Drumback) wrote about on this board. He said it was my responsibility for what folks said on the board...and insinuated I could be liable. I told him that I think I know my rights and apprised him of Section 230 of the Federal Law that oversees? the law concerning a forum moderator/owners rights. I know them fairly well. He said he knew about the statute. I asked why he said what he said then. He never responded.....oh well...I believe there will be no smoking gun in the book and there will be no new info coming out...but we'll see....