Players whose cards should be a bigger deal than they seem to be

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by steve B

When Gym class was rained out one day AND the gym wasn't usable for some reason, we watched two NBA highlight films back to back. For a whole hour.
It probably wasn't, but my recollection is that 90% of it was Dr J dunking. Which was great for the first 10 minutes, but got old quick.

Part of it I think is that the style of play in the NBA has changed so much so many times it's become a "today" sort of sport as far as recognition of players from years ago.

If you want to see an incredible J highlight watch his final dunk in the 1976 ABA Slam Dunk contest. Mind boggling. Start at 11 24 or so.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmLV_TflJK0

[tschock]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

If you want to see an incredible J highlight watch his final dunk in the 1976 ABA Slam Dunk contest. Mind boggling. Start at 11 24 or so.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmLV_TflJK0

Peter,

Not only the dunks were mind boggling. I was at this game with my dad and a couple of friends and saw it live. Did that just happen? Luckily we were able to see the replays in the suites behind us to confirm we all didn't imagine the same thing.

https://www.nba.com/top-nba-finals-m...-game-4-finals

[orly57]

Ted Williams is certainly not underrated as a player, but his cards are all affordable. I think his rookie card is criminally undervalued.

[Leon]

Me too says the guy with a nice looking, mid grade, Teddy Ballgame...Have sold a few things lately but Teddy has stayed.

Originally Posted by orly57

Ted Williams is certainly not underrated as a player, but his cards are all affordable. I think his rookie card is criminally undervalued.

[jchcollins]

I'm mainly focused on postwar, so here are my choices for most egregiously undervalued in comparison to the top names (Mantle, Aaron, Clemente, Koufax...):

1. Frank Robinson. Only man to win the MVP in both leagues, power numbers with all of the other contemporaries, Triple Crown winner, and after his career as a player went on to break other barriers as first black manager and executive in a number of areas. Besides his 1957 rookie card, all of his other issues are generally wildly affordable. I picked up a nice upper mid-grade '61 Topps recently for I think less than $20. To me, that's insane - had Frank been a New York Yankee his entire career his cards would be ridiculously expensive.

2. Stan Musial. Will agree that at least in comparison to how I was brought up to think about Stan the Man in the 1980's, he's largely unappreciated today. You used to hear about how Ted Williams was the best hitter in the AL and Stan was the best in the NL, but most of that has gone by the wayside with people in more recent decades preferring to think of Williams as the greatest hitter who ever lived. I get it, I guess - but Stan was the real deal. Another whose cards besides the earliest issues are wildly affordable in comparison to someone like Mantle or Clemente.

3. Roy Campanella. Again, someone you just don't hear about that much anymore as compared to when I started collecting cards in the 1980's. Campy (who likely lost more at the beginning of his career due to the prejudice of the day than he did at the end due to the accident...) is still today routinely rated in the top 5 or so catchers who ever lived by polls taken by Sports Illustrated and other places online. But again cards mostly can be had on the cheap besides his RC.

4. Steve Carlton. In the 1980's many considered Lefty the greatest LHP of all-time. 300 game winner, 4x Cy Young winner, pitching triple crown winner, 2nd only to Ryan during his career on the all-time K list. There was accolade after accolade. Today though you can get a nice Carlton rookie for less than $100. I kind of don't get this one at all, it's like he fell totally off the radar once the Nolan Ryan mania set in for good in the early 1990's.

5. Willie McCovey. Let's face it, in SF with that Giants team, McCovey was a God - maybe even moreso than Willie Mays outside of New York. Yet today he's almost considered a 2nd tier HOF'er. Ask pitchers from back in the day who was the one NL slugger they really didn't want to face? Again, makes little sense to me - but ok.

I could keep going, but will stop with my first 5. Good idea for a thread...

[JackR]

What about Memo Luna? One inning, one game, one loss, one card (‘54B), but perhaps the coolest name in all of baseball...

[jerseygary]

Memo Luna has a great story. If he hadn't blown his arm out the winter before he made the majors 1954 might have been "Memomania" instead of 1981 being "Fernandomania"

I wrote and illustrated a piece on him which you can read Memo Luna: The Story Behind Card 222

His family in Mexico came across it and translated it for Memo. They wrote me a nice note and sent pictures of him signing a drawing I did of him.

[pokerplyr80]

Originally Posted by JackR

What about Memo Luna? One inning, one game, one loss, one card (‘54B), but perhaps the coolest name in all of baseball...

Memo Luna is an interesting name, but wasn't there a guy with a prewar card or two named Ten Million? That has to be the coolest baseball name.