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Go Back   Net54baseball.com Forums > Net54baseball Main Forum - WWII & Older Baseball Cards > Net54baseball Vintage (WWII & Older) Baseball Cards & New Member Introductions

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  #1  
Old 04-04-2010, 04:01 PM
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Default Prewar Cards

I would think that most of us on Net54 started buying and collecting cards in the 50s, 60s, or 70s. When I was a kid in the 50s and 60s, I had no idea that baseball cards actually dated as far back as the 19th century.

How long did you collect before learning of the existence of prewar cards?
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Old 04-04-2010, 04:11 PM
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I saw pictures of old cards in books as far back as the 60's and 70's, but never made the connection I could and would be collecting them one day. When I came back into the hobby in the early 80's, I discovered they were actually out there and could be purchased.
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  #3  
Old 04-04-2010, 04:17 PM
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When I was a kid I had absolutely no interest in cards even from the previous year. In 1957 I considered a '56 Topps worthy only of the back wheel of my bicycle. What's more I could care less then about the ballplayers themselves of the previous generation. When my dad or other kids' fathers talked about the players they saw in the '20's and '30's my eyeballs would roll. It was only Mantle, Mays and Snider as far as I was concerned. I can only kick myself now. As for awareness of other sets besides Topps (I hadn't even seen Bowmans; I was a lame kid) it wasn't until the '80's 'til the penny dropped. Saw a '33 Goudey Dean at a card shop, picked it up because I thought it was the only vintage card I'd ever see again. Wasn't until I came aboard Net54 6 or 7 years ago that I became fully aware of the myriad issues of vintage cards.
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Old 04-04-2010, 07:02 PM
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Where I live in Florida, there isn't any card shops selling prewar cards.

My first major exposure was when I found the Steve Verkman auctions through the mail. I bought some prewar there. However, when I hooked into Ebay in 2003, is when I really started buying prewar. Has been steady ever since.

Frank
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  #5  
Old 04-04-2010, 07:38 PM
Brian Van Horn Brian Van Horn is offline
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I started collecting in 1972 and was offered a 1909 T206 Phillippe for a 1974 Topps Pirate card in 1974. I turned it down.
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  #6  
Old 04-04-2010, 07:44 PM
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i started collecting in 1977 and eventually acquired thousands of cards from mid 50's-present...I loved the stars from the 50's-70's and collected them all. While at a show probably in the early eighties I was offered a used t206 matty white cap for $2...and I bought it and still have it. I sold my bb cards...minus a few...to buy a 77' camaro in high school. When I got back into collecting in the late eighties/early nineties...it was only vintage!
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Old 04-04-2010, 08:10 PM
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When I was about 10, somewhere around 1970, a couple of dealers started offering prewar cards for sale in Baseball Digest and, I think, in the back of the Sporting News. James T Elder and the Card Collectors' Company were among the names that I recall. Since I was getting a real kick out of it, my parents took me to a card show in 1971 in Detroit (met Frank Nagy. I continued to collect via the Trader Speaks. I was able to get a bunch of t206's and Goudeys and Play Balls, but I didn't run across much that was rare way back then.
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Old 04-05-2010, 05:46 PM
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When I was 13, I saw an article in Beckett about an unopened T206 pack. Last January I decided to begin collecting the set.
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Old 04-05-2010, 05:52 PM
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When I collected as a kid (1960's) I was aware that there were older cards out there, but only because my dad had some from the mid 1930's. There wasn't really any good way to collect old cards back then. When I got back into collecting, in the 1980's, there were shows available most weekends (sometimes 2-3 a day within a short drive.) That first opened my eyes to what was out there.

Great thread, by the way!
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Old 04-05-2010, 06:13 PM
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My first vintage cards came my way as I was working on a set of 1974 Topps. My grandmother found my dad's cards as they were cleaning out the garage at the house that they had moved into while my Dad was in the Navy during WWII. It's hard to believe that they lasted as long as they did in a cardboard box in an unheated, detached garage. The box was filled with 1933 through 1935 Goudey's, a few Tattoo Orbits, some Delong's and a bunch of non-sport stuff. I really didn't start collecting these sets until the mid to late 80's, but the cards and his stories of seeing Ruth and Gehrig in Cleveland as a boy sparked my interest. Here's a couple of cards that survived the 30 long years in that garage.


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  #11  
Old 04-05-2010, 06:14 PM
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Very early on in my collecting days, at a small local card show - I stumbled across a T205 McGraw.

I couldn't believe how tiny the card was. Much different than the Topps cards I would buy from the candy man.

I bought the card and have been hooked ever since.
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Old 04-05-2010, 06:37 PM
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My dad bought me my first pack of Hockey Cards in 1978-79 and I have been addicted since then. In 1980 I traded a box of Star Wars cards for a box of 1965-72 Topps baseball cards with almost complete sets from 70,71, and 72. Then in 1981 my neighbor who lived accross the street saw us playing with baseball cards outside and told us we should take care of them, he had complete topps sets from 1951 and up and also had a bunch of Old Judge Cabinets, mayo plugs, t206, ect and other 19th century cards. He quit collecting years ago but still has everything, I was supposed to look at his 19th century and prewar last thanksgiving but he boxed it all up years ago and doesn't know where it is, I'm in the process of trying to buy all his prewar and 19th century if he can find it. When I was 11 or 12 I had the opportunity to buy old judge cabinets for 5.00 and 10.00 each in 1982 but instead ordered Pete Rose, Lou Brock, Duke Snider, Hank Aaron, ect. I did buy a couple T206 an T205 for 1.00 each but blew it on the old judge cards!
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  #13  
Old 04-05-2010, 06:47 PM
longstreet766 longstreet766 is offline
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Default Prewar

I bought 3 beat up t206s at the 2003 National at age 13, and have been hooked on them ever since. Seven years later and im only half way done

Mike
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  #14  
Old 04-05-2010, 06:57 PM
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Wow, Mike, I wish I had started that young. Good luck with the rest of the set.
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  #15  
Old 04-05-2010, 07:39 PM
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Like most in the early 70s I opened pack after pack of Topps cards. Started with the black border 71s-I was six. Continued in to the late 80s. I always wanted a card of Ty Cobb. That happened in 89 or 90 and it was a bat on t206-started going to the Philly show and slowly picking up random 206 cards and some wer not even 206 because I was clueless. Then came the internet, education and ebay . The tough backs started in the later 90s and hard core in 2000...
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Old 04-05-2010, 08:41 PM
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Pretty similar here. The first I was aware of older cards was 73-74 I saw a buying ad for the Wagner in I think sporting news about the same time the 74 Hank Aaron specials came out. A couple years later a kid at school swapped me a 68 Matthews for a couple cards he needed. Probably came from his older brothers cards. Then in 77 I moved to Arlington Mass, and casually asked one of the kids I met about baseball cards. Turns out I'd moved to one of the few towns with a full time shop. (Halls Nostalgia) There I saw all sorts of wonders! 50's cards, bowmans, goudeys, and t206s. It's been pretty much downhill since then. And yeah, there's loads of stuff I regret not buying.

On the plus side, I hung out there pretty regularly, and got to look at a lot of old cards, as well as getting to see a few old collections as they came in. Great experience.

Steve B
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  #17  
Old 04-06-2010, 05:38 AM
David W David W is offline
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Circa 1977 I was 14 and we went on a family vacation to Florida, stopping at an antique/junk shop in Georgia somewhere. The old guy had baseball cards, lots of Topps and other stuff, but also a cigar box full of what I now know were T 206. I bought his McGinnity and Casey for $2 each.

I'd heard about cigarette cards before but never seen them.

After that I'd go flea marketing with my folks, or later as a college student, and buy all the pre 1970 stuff I could find, and ended up with a handful of Goudey's, and a few T 205 and 206.

E bay and the internet has opened the flood gates in this market. It's now quite simple to find Pre War.
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Old 04-06-2010, 06:53 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by steve B View Post
Pretty similar here. The first I was aware of older cards was 73-74 I saw a buying ad for the Wagner in I think sporting news about the same time the 74 Hank Aaron specials came out. A couple years later a kid at school swapped me a 68 Matthews for a couple cards he needed. Probably came from his older brothers cards. Then in 77 I moved to Arlington Mass, and casually asked one of the kids I met about baseball cards. Turns out I'd moved to one of the few towns with a full time shop. (Halls Nostalgia) There I saw all sorts of wonders! 50's cards, bowmans, goudeys, and t206s. It's been pretty much downhill since then. And yeah, there's loads of stuff I regret not buying.

On the plus side, I hung out there pretty regularly, and got to look at a lot of old cards, as well as getting to see a few old collections as they came in. Great experience.

Steve B
Hey Steve,

I grew up almost next door in Watertown, and discovered Hall's Nostalgia as a 10-year old in 1983. For some reason I really loved their older cards, and I was hooked into buying vintage from them right away! I still go to their monthly auctions - Dave, Joel and Walt are great guys...
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  #19  
Old 04-06-2010, 07:16 AM
Peter W Thomas Peter W Thomas is offline
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I started collecting Leafs in Natick MA 1949 with Bob Olshansky and the aid of construction workers pop bottles. Not long after we started my grandmother and my step-granddad were visiting and he brought out a box of about 50 Goudys that were punched canceled as a part of a promotion that the drugstore that he worked at was a participant and gave them to me. Well with 2 Ruth cards, I was hooked. Still have the cards - Thanks "Uncle Ed ".
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  #20  
Old 04-06-2010, 07:53 AM
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I like that story about your father Kevin...very neat!

I collected tons of modern cards from 81 - 89, then got interested in girls and swiping cans of Old Style from the refridgerator in the garage. I picked up collecting again in the late 90's, but was more interested in the shiny crap and inserts (anyone want to buy them off me?). I then found Ebay and the original Vintage BB Card site and started just collecting T206 Polar Bear backs. Now, vintage is all I collect, but I'll keep the modern stuff for my son to see if he has any interest.

Bill Kasel

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  #21  
Old 04-06-2010, 08:17 AM
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1987 was the year I was "introduced" into baseball cards. All the hype over these 2 guys from Oakland, and this other guy who could play baseball AND football was enough to make any 12 year old want in!

Unfortunately, looking back, I tend to think that speculation, along with a monthly priceguide, made "collecting" cards near impossible for kids new to the hobby in that era. As I read your stories (from the 50's,60's, and 70's) it seems you guys collected out of the pure joy of it. All the kids my age in the late 80's could quote you the book price on EVERY card they owned! We didnt really "collect" cards, rather we invested in them....it was the stock market for teenagers!

I dont ever remember seeing or even being interested in pre war cards though. Although im certain they had value at that time, I just could not relate to a bunch of dead guys who I never saw play. And as a kid, anything THAT old MUST be out of my price range anyway, right? I was much more interested in guys named Bo, Will, and Don than guys named Cy and Ty.

Now, some 23 years later...at age 35...ALL I buy are pre war cards! I still cannot relate to any of those dead guys who I never saw play at Comiskey, or Wrigley, but the beautiful, vivid colors and amazing "artwork" on these cards is light years ahead of anything I ever collected as a kid!
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Old 04-06-2010, 08:50 AM
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Default Before I was 10

I am almost 44 now and in 1976 my father (Pat Quinn) along with Don Steinbach, Mike Keasler and later Roger Marth opened the first (to the best of my knowledge) baseball card store. As a 10 year old, I was exposed to a myriad of cards from all time periods. Stacks of T cards rubberbanded in glass cases, goudeys in stacks, complete sets of all types in cabinets. Truly amazing to think back at what I actually held in my grubby little hands back then. Saw the only complete set of 1949 Bowman PCL, the original 1919 White Sox team set, Topps, Bowman, Goudey, Playball complete sets multiple times over, items sold TO Barry Halper, teenage Mastro, Lifson, Medema, Forman all come through the shop and card/autograph shows in Chicago. Not to sound brash but almost nothing I see today I haven't seen at on time or another in the past 35+ years. Funny thing is, because I was around it so much, I never really cared much about it until I was in my mid 30's and none of it was available anymore! Oh well, it was quite a time anyway.
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Old 04-06-2010, 10:02 AM
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after watching Pride of the Yankees about 20 years ago.


Love that scene when Lou asks to keep the Babe Ruth "rookie" card when giving up some cards to play baseball in the streets.
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Old 04-06-2010, 11:27 AM
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I bought packs in the 70s, and I think the first set I tried to put together was the 79 set...I went to the monthly flea market with my folks and there was a dealer there that had a book filled with T206's, Cracker Jacks and Goudey's...that was the first time I'd ever seen those cards and I'm thinking it was probably about 1980...I bought my first prewar card - a T206 for a few bucks around that time as well. I wasn't aware of 19th century cards until my dad found three N172's in an old scrapbook and gave them to me around 1981 or 82. I sure wish I knew then what I know now and I would have bought every single card on that dealer's table instead of the loads of Topps, Donruss and Fleer cards.
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Old 04-06-2010, 12:24 PM
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In 1976 I went to my first card shop and then a couple of months later to my first show. I met John England there and he explained the T206s & T205s.

There was a dealer there with a complete set of T205s glued into an album. I thought that they were the coolest things I had ever seen! I remember he wanted $800 for the set, I left thinking what a nut!.

I picked up an Old Judge when I was leaving for $4.00 along with three boxes of 1975 Topps Football for a buck a box (no one collected football I was told.) My other big purchase was a copy of The Trader Speaks and Sports Collectors Digest. I found an ad by George Lyons (Jeffrey's Dad) that offered 50 different T206s for $25.00. I sure wish I had ordered more.
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Old 04-06-2010, 05:10 PM
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Nice discussion.

Started collecting in 1978 in CA. Moved to NY and found a card shop within walking distance in 1979. The owners were great and liked to show the kids all the different cards, empty wax boxes, and how to properly store and handle the cards. Got to see many early vintage cards. I bought the large Beckett annual in 1981, and loved looking at all the different cards. I went to my first card show and traded a Carlton rookie and 3 Schmidt rookies for a bunch of HOFers from 1957 to 1959. Sold all of them (or you could say I basically gave them away) in my late teens.

Although I've always been drawn to the older stuff, I've always bought new stuff because it was available and in my price range. With eBay, I was able to pickup a couple of T206 Buffalo Bisons, but I was still a collector of new stuff. A couple years ago, I realized I was paying $140 for a box of cards, and $30 for a 50 cent card because it was graded. I started looking at cards from the 50s and realized I could get some nice cards for what I was spending. I ran across this forum and lurked for some time, truly amazed at the variety of pre-war that was out there. I picked up a few pre-war examples of different sets, and finally decided to start working on the T205 set.

I know some folks complain about some of the drama on these boards, but I for one would like to thank those who have posted over the years. I've learned so much, and am once again truly enjoying collecting.
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