Bob Lemke -- Terribly Sad News

[Rich Klein]

This was on TS O'Connell's FB page.

Bob was a titan in the cataloguing field and many items are known today because of his dedication to the whole process.

In passing, all I can say as a fellow cataloguer, I admired him greatly.

Please note TS O'Connell's information is posted below -- he may be able to provide more details

I don't know if I am doing this properly but I wanted to tell as many Krause Publications friends as possible that our dear friend Bob Lemke passed away this morning at a hospital near his home in Central Pennsylvania. People in the sports collecting hobby/business know what a towering figure he was and his influence and impact over almost four decades was enormous. I can be reached directly at tsoconnell1959@gmail.com or at (715) 445-2902. TS

[Shoebox]

My condolences to his family and friends and those of you that knew him.

[Tim Kindler]

Sad to hear of Mr. Lemke's passing. All collectors will be forever in debt of the knowledge he passed on to the collecting world. My condolences to his family and those who knew him as a friend.
Tim Kindler

[kkkkandp]

Very sad. Bob was a nice guy and always willing to chat. I enjoyed talking to him at shows when he still went to them.

I also liked some of the cards he mocked up as well. Pretty creative.

[bnorth]

Bob was a great man that was very helpful. I will miss him.

[ls7plus]

A tremendous and eager resource who will be sorely missed. Travel well, amigo!

All the best,

Larry

[Marckus99]

Wow. I just communicated with him about an uncataloued issue..

Such a wealth of information to all of us collectors.

RIP.

[tombocombo]

Bob will be missed

[mark evans]

Nice guy, sad news.

[yanksfan09]

Sad news. His catalogs were of great help to me on numerous issues over the years. A big loss for the hobby!

[gnaz01]

Bob will be missed by many, including myself

He was a tremendous wealth of knowledge and always a pleasure to speak with. RIP Bob.....

[Leon]

I am very saddened to hear this. Bob has been a fixture in the sports card world for a long time. He was always very friendly to the board and I, and truly seemed to love vintage. I remember well, several times, helping him catalog little known sets..around 16-18 yrs ago, I believe. He used to send me the SCD Big Books each year as a return favor. I always appreciated him, and them. This was either the last or second to last one he sent (and the only pure vintage one). RIP Bob and condolences to family and friends; You'll be missed.

[JeremyW]

A true loss for the hobby. Sad news.

[JustinD]

Truly sad and a great loss to us all. Best wishes to all his family and friends during this time.

I will miss seeing his little gold Pt Cruiser avatar and knowing to pay special attention to his post. I hope his blog hosting is kept up by the family as his knowledge is irreplaceable.

Thanks bob...from all of us.

[oldjudge]

My condolences to Bob's family and friends.

[Republicaninmass]

One of the more modern day pioneers. If it was good enough for him to catalog, it was legit! Sad to hear of his passing.

I picked up one of the lone autographed 1952 topps from his collection. This really obscure player, Dale Coogan, had answered Bob's ttm request in the late 70s and attached a note. "I suffered from what was referred to as 'lack of ability'". Bob included that note with the card as a testament to the lighter side of Mr Coogan.

RIP

[herbc]

Never met in person, but did so via email. Seemed to be such a nice guy. Very knowledgeable, and a hard worker. Enjoyed his blog and his card creations. Helped me with my collection.

[rdwyer]

RIP Bob. A major loss to the collecting community. You'll be missed greatly.

[Wite3]

I had known Bob, albeit through mail and email communications mostly, for the better part of two decades. He originally helped me with my Phillies list and questions and in turn I helped him in finding and cataloguing some of the more obscure issues I have run across over the years. As a result we were friendly and emailed several times a year.

When I started my t205 research in earnest, he helped with that as well and even went so far as to make me one of his beautiful fantasy cards for my set. Many people have been on the receiving end of his fantasy cards and I was lucky enough to have Bob make me three different ones in that time. All hold a special place in my collection.

He kept copious notes but he knew more stuff off the top of his head than I ever will. He was one of my go-to researchers when I could not identify something. I think there was only one time I had him completely stumped with what appeared to be a card (I think it might have been cut from some kind of poster as it is on THICK stock) but we never could identify it as period from the '50s or a fantasy item.

I am very saddened by his passing as I considered him one of my mentors and online friends.

This is a loss for the hobby...My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.

Joshua Levine

[clydepepper]

My experience with vintage Baseball Cards has been much easier due to his efforts.

His standard catalog of Vintage Baseball Cards has come off my shelf to be utilized more than any other hardcopy reference I own.

Thank You Mr. Lemke

RIP



.

[Bocabirdman]

Bob's Blog was always a great read. His passion came through in everything he wrote. He was truly one of the "Good Guys"............

http://boblemke.blogspot.com/

[leftygrove10]

I am sorry to hear this. I emailed back and forth with him on several occasions. He was a great resource and will be missed greatly.

[Jim65]

Very sorry to hear. RIP Bob

[Robert_Lifson]

My deepest condolences to the Lemke family. The hobby has lost a true giant. Bob was a friend of mine for decades and I simply could not have had a higher opinion of him, or a greater appreciation for his enormous contributions to the field. We had many correspondences over the years. Here is an excerpt from a letter I sent to him on May 16, 2015 in response to an email of congratulations and kind words he wrote to me about the then-most recent auction. In this particular letter I happened to have the opportunity to express directly to him my appreciation for his great role and extraordinary contributions to the hobby. I thought this would be an appropriate time and place to share. RIP Bob. Your friend always, Rob L

Hi Bob! Great to hear from you!

Thank you for your note and most important: thank YOU for your immeasurable contributions to the field! …I have always tried to keep the true spirit of the hobby alive in the pages of our catalogs – the same spirit that has always been embodied in all of your hobby work. The new collectors – I’m not 100% sure they fully understand where all the assembly, organization, and documenting of this knowledge for the benefit of all comes from (and all this work is a big part of what makes the field so interesting and great) – but they DO know it comes from somewhere (much of it from your efforts!) and they do very much appreciate learning about hobby history for this reason. I’m not sure if I ever properly communicated this to you, but when I think of Bob Lemke, I ALWAYS think (and always say to others): If there were a Mount Rushmore of hobby figures who have contributed to the field most, and have made the most significant and long-lasting positive impact, in my opinion you would be one of the few celebrated members of this elite group, along with Jefferson Burdick, Charles Bray, and no doubt a few others. SCD and The Standard Catalog are two of the primary building blocks upon which the hobby as we know it has been built! The hobby has changed a lot over the years – some for the better, some for the worse – and we have been most fortunate to live through and witness the growth of the field from a much earlier and simpler time. It has been very exciting! The days of SCD being the lifeblood of the hobby are unfortunately gone (they were great while they lasted!), and the Internet and eBay just aren’t the same, but the hobby will live on in a different form. It is hard for the new generation to appreciate the role SCD played in the hobby. I’m not sure the hobby would have grown as big as it did without SCD. Hopefully the Standard Catalog will somehow be revitalized and continued. I’m not sure if anyone will have the opportunity, or the dedication, knowledge, interest, understanding, ability and wisdom to do the great job that you have – you were the secret ingredient that made it work! But I hope there will somehow in time be the opportunity for a worthy steward that is up to the task to continue the project. In the meantime, I hope REA will continue to provide a little excitement and fun and education into the hobby, and provide a window into what collecting was all about in the past as well as the present (many collectors don’t understand it wasn’t always so much about grading and authenticity issues!) I know you’ve been keeping busy with the hobby even in your retirement, and I hope to join you in retiring one of these days! (while at the same time also keeping involved). In the meantime, if there is anything I can do for you, please let me know! (including letting people know about and how to order your cards-that-never-were if desired – these are extremely interesting – I don’t know what is involved in making small quantities and even if you can fill a lot of orders, but these are so neat that to see them is to like them, and I also think these will gain a much greater following in the years to come with exposure).

My best to you always,

Sincerely,

Rob L

Robert Lifson

[hangman62]

very sad
I recall his passion with the " cards that never were"

[Northviewcats]

Spent a lot of time researching items in his catalog. Almost everyday for the last 10 years. Sorry to hear of his passing. My condolences to his family and friends.

[herbc]

These filled gaps in one of my projects. He was the real deal.

[Paul S]

Never met him, but like a trusty friend whom I relied upon through his work and dedication...will always feel like that. RIP - Paul

[Al C.risafulli]

So sorry to read this. Bob was a nice guy, obviously super knowledgeable, but my most fond recollections of him are the "cards that never were." What enthusiasm.

My best to his friends and family.

-Al

[brass_rat]

I didn't have the opportunity to meet Bob in person, but whenever I emailed him out of the blue, he was really nice to me and quick to help me out.

My condolences to his family and friends. Thank you for all of your contributions to the hobby, Bob.

Steve

[Bestdj777]

Bob represented everything great about the hobby. I remember reaching out to him for a few of his custom Mantle cards and his incredibly gracious response. You will be sorely missed. Thanks for never making me feel like an idiot despite the incredible discrepancy in knowledge between us.

[ALR-bishop]

He was a friend and I will miss him

[icollectDCsports]

A great contributor to the hobby. Here's an interview he gave, that's now on Youtube, in which he talks about the origins of his interests in cards, his involvement with SCD, and the evolution of the hobby.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCUEECOkoRc

I never met him, but did exchange emails with him when I purchased a few of his "cards-that-never-were." Nice guy. Sad he's gone. Condolences to his family and friends.

[tedzan]

In the early 1980's, I wrote several articles on Bowman BB and FB cards (1948 - 1953 sets) published in SCD and also Bob Lemke's Baseball Cards Magazine.

Bob was the best editor a guy could have. He had a way of encouraging you which made the task of writing very easy. I still have a set of beautiful 1953 Bowman cards
which Bob originally put together. In 1985, we did a cash/trade deal (his 1953 Bowmans for my 1952 Topps cards).


GOD Bless your Soul, Bob....and, may GOD comfort your family and friends.


TED Z
.

[horzverti]

It is really great to read so many nice things about Bob. It seems he touched a lot of people. I never met Bob, but I wish I would have taken a minute to thank him for Baseball Cards Magazine. I think I had most of the issues from 1984 to around 1987. I still have a few. I always thought it was cool that it was published in Wisconsin - my home state. I found out later that Bob was raised and lived in Wisconsin...even cooler. I remember more recently reading in his blog that as Bob would find stashes of his early repli-cards (the ones which he inserted into BBC Magazine) he would give them away for free to anyone who wanted them. I thought that was very nice of him.

[spec]

What sad news to begin the new year. I worked with Bob on some of the checklists for the first Standard Catalog and quickly recognized him as a kindred spirit. His passion for collecting, particularly the 1950s, was unsurpassed! Bob Lemke left an indelible impression on our hobby; he will be sorely missed. RIP, Bob. Condolences to his family and litany of friends.

[Vintagecatcher]

Very sad to hear of Mr. Lemke's passing.

For those of us who have been in the hobby for many years, his contributions did not go unnoticed.

We have lost a great resource, and, more importantly, a good man!

My prayers go out to Bob's family and friends.

Patrick McMenemy

[BeanTown]

RIP Bob. Class act and I'm thankful to have known him. He inspired me to start collecting baseball currency in the late 90s which was one of his favorite items to collect and write about. We spoke last year and was a follower of his Blog. Condolences to his family as the hobby lost a great person.

[oaks1912]

Very sorry to read of Bob's passing. We met in the 80's shortly after Krause Publications acquired SCD. Bob was a very dedicated researcher and our communications were done over the phone or through the mail. Often times I felt that Bob thought he was bothering me with calls or letters, but that was far from the case. He always had 'good' questions, and I was happy to provide input where I could. His enormous contributions to the hobby should never be trivialized or forgotten. All too often a two second Google search can produce ten times the data that took Bob many years to gather. Some great thoughts in Rob Lifson's letter above... R.I.P. Bob

[whiteymet]

VERY saddened to hear of Bob's passing.

Spent many hours with Bob at the old Ft. Washington, PA show talking cards. I would show him lots of oddball stuff and variations hoping he would include them in the catalog, some of which he would deem important enough, others not.

The first time he said he would give me an acknowledgement in the front of the next catalog. I told him that was not necessary, but sure enough he did and it is still there to this day along with many other contributors.

Occasional collectors and non collectors would contact him with a question about a certain issue or item and he would always "pass them off" to me and I assume others if the item in question was in that collectors specialty. I pick up some really nice and rare items from contacts Bob either gave me or told others to get in touch with me.

I know he was frustrated after he left SCD that no one there really had the passion to pick up or gather info to update the catalog. I know I tried to give info to SCD a few times with seemingly no interest. When I turned to him he sort of threw his hands up and said time had passed for him to do it. I mentioned he could at least mention things in his blog which he did do a few times.

Then of course there were his "cards". When I won the original artwork that was intended to be used for the Richie Ashburn card in the 1955 Topps set that was never issued due to the Bowman contract fiasco of the time, I contacted Bob about making a card of it.

He said he would be glad to do it, but that I should be the one writing the back of the card and helping with design etc. So we went ahead and worked on it.

You can see the final two designs and the back of the card below. He also did a 53 Topps Ashburn from original art that again was not issued for the same reason. Strange they could issue a card of Ashburn in 54 but not 53 or 55.....

A TRUE giant in the hobby! Naturally he will be missed.

Fred McKie

[slidekellyslide]

RIP Bob, such a hobby giant, he will be truly missed.

I recall when I found some previously unknown Lincoln Chiefs cards put out by Weaver's Wafers (potato chips) that he contacted me about them and I felt like I was being contacted by a celebrity. He was so nice. He included them in his big book the next year and did a write up about them on his blog. He was so dedicated to this hobby. Such a tremendous loss. Very sad.

[Orioles1954]

Very sad to learn of Bob Lemke's passing. During my 20s and 30s he worked with me in adding a couple of issues to the Standard Guide. He was kind, intelligent and exceptionally generous with his time.

[ValKehl]

I blame the Standard Catalog and SCD for fueling my passion for collecting vintage baseball cards, especially pre-War type cards, for the past 30 years or so. RIP, Bob.
Val

[sreader3]

Sorry to hear the passing of a tireless and creative force for the hobby. I learned a lot from Bob's blog entries and, of course, the Standard Catalog.

[ethicsprof]

very sad to hear.
one of the giants in the field.
my condolences to family and friends.

Barry

[Steve D]

I'm saddened to read of Bob's passing. He helped everyone in the hobby with his decades of work at SCD and with his Standard Catalog. I emailed him a few times regarding his great home-made cards, as I was a big fan of them, and have several in my collection. He was always willing to help in any way he could. I join his many friends in sending condolences to his family.

Everyone of us involved in the sportscard collecting hobby owes Bob a huge dept of gratitude.

Rest in Peace Bob, and thank you!


Steve

[drcy]

One of the big names in the hobby, always helpful to people who asked him questions (including me) and a fellow Wisconsinite.

[glynparson]

Sleep in the stars Bob. The hobby will surely miss your passion and knowledge. Truly a great guy.

[JoeDfan]

That is sad to hear. He was such a nice guy, and generously helped me out a few times.

[7nohitter]

Can only echo what others have said. I only had a few interactions with Bob, via email, but he was extremely helpful and friendly. I enjoyed his "cards that never were" creations.

RIP, Bob.