Conversational cards.

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Posted By: identify7

There are baseball cards which are somewhat different from the others, for various reasons. These cards are more likely to be found to be worthy of viewing by non-collectors, for a little while.

Now I am not saying that card collecting nerds, like myself, can use baseball cards as a method of luring attractive blonds to our apartments. But what I am saying is please help me identify cards which may have conversation value to non-collectors.

So far I have tentatively identified (although I forget the exact cards right now) the following which appear to show some potential:

You gotta have a Ruth - I think there is a e121 or so which displays a collage of a few pictures of him. This portrayal is unusual.

And for unusual, I think it was Hal who pointed out the Swift's '57 Robinson rookie. A dismembered representation of a player, somewhat gross, but definately a strange card.

There are OJs: the Radbourne bird card, the deadman, the tall and short card, certainly others.

I recently came across a small e-card which showed only the players back - apparently tagging a runner sliding into a base, but identified as Schmidt, c. Very curious.

A nice ghost image card would fit, as well as other unusual manufacturing variations.

Any ideas?

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Posted By: leon

I have a PSA 6 of this card at home but don't have a scan of it. It's the one where he's sliding into base wearing a tophat and tails,smiling all of the way. Very humerous card that would make anyone smile....

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Posted By: cmoking

This guy seemed to have lead an unusual life. Backup catcher in the majors, spy in WWII, and bummed off of his friends/family. Any guy interested in WWII or military history may have some interest. As for luring girls into your apartment, I don't think he'll help.

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Posted By: Nex

The cards that get reactions from non collectors: T201 (any, but Cobb is good), Cracker Jacks (they always like the design), N28 (due to age), Diamond Star (deco design), and a '33 Goudey Ruth. Invariably they ask if you have "that Wagner card". An E90-2 will suffice.

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Posted By: Scott Forrest

that featured multiple players - when we were kids it always got us talking:

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Posted By: will watson

here you go




thanks Will

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Posted By: john/z28jd

I had my family over for thanksgiving dinner and i showed them some cards including old judges and t206 cards which got mild reactions.They wanted to see Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle cards

This past year i skipped right over the old card for something everyone was interested in.I have all 5 team sets that my cousins husband was in while he played in the minor leagues.He was at the dinner,so everyone got a kick out of seeing his cards especially the one where his teammates had the card maker put in his bio that he liked singing and dancing.Definitely the highlight of the day.

Just proves you have to cater to your audience.As for girls they always pretend to like Walter Johnson t206 cards till they actually see them.Heres a conversation thats happened before all too many times:

me-Wanna come to my house and see my Polar Bear Johnson?
random girl- you have a polar bear johnson? wow i guess i could come in?
me- (taking walter johnson card out) heres what youve been waiting to see
random girl- thats it? its so small tho
me-its a tobacco card,produced between 1909 and 1911 tobacco companies used pictures of popular players of the day to help sales for their product by including the cards into each pack.Polar Bear cards actually came in a pouch and were rolled by the customer so the cards were in contact with the tobacco and are much harder to find in high grade.......wait come back,you said you wanted to see my Neal Ball cards,i have NY and Cleveland!!!
Dejected i walk back in the house and i sulk because she said she had a Mint condition Donie Bush i couldve traded for

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Posted By: Josh K.

I'd say almost any cobb, wagner or ruth will get a reaction.

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Posted By: Julie

This has got to be worth SOMETHING in the way of talk. It's the only card my husband ever had anything nice to say about:

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Posted By: Jay Miller

John--Even if no one else does, I appreciate your humor.

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Posted By: Scott Forrest

I guess any girl would want to see a polar bear johnson, just out of morbid curiosity.

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Posted By: john/z28jd

Geez now that i go back and read it,I guess i was getting their hopes up a bit.I didnt realize a card of the greatest pitcher ever with an ad for a tabacco product could have such a double meaning!
Anybody got a card of this guy,at least he wont get any girls hopes up,and the double meaning that can be taken from his name is more suitable for me.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/p/peterru02.shtml

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Posted By: jay behrens

At least you didn't ask here if she wanted to see your Wee Willie Keeler.

Jay

My place is full of valuable, worthless junk.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

I know this one isn't vintage, but has there ever been a more conversational card than the 1989 Fleer Billy Ripken card?

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Posted By: Darren J. Duet

1952 Topps Gus Zernial
E121 Ruth with bird
Any Jackie Robinson or Satchell Paige
Any T cards
Wagner, Cobb, Ruth, Gehrig, Dimaggio, Mantle
'59 topps Campanella

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Posted By: Bob Rousseau

I've always loved the Pee Wee Reese Bowman Julie posted- baseball as ballet.

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Posted By: warshawlaw

And they always end up the conversation by asking what the cards are worth. Apparently, only a large value conveys legitimacy.

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Posted By: john/z28jd

Alot of conversations do end up with prices paid and value when you show cards to non-collectors.I would say somewhere between 100% and all of them

My grandfather is bad like that,ive never showed him a card and had him not ask what its worth

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Posted By: davidcycleback

When I had a card collection of any note, non-collectors who wished to look at my collection were almost always fascinated by seeing a T206 and an old cigarette box and learning that old baseball cards were sold inside packs of cigarettes.

I once showed a Danish woman some old baseball cards, and you know what she thought the most interesting? The top holders.

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Posted By: Josh K.

in any conversation that I have with non-collectors about cards I always end up being asked "how much was that". Inevitabley, instead of telling them I spent almost 1k on a ty cobb, my response will be "not too much, couple hundred." Dont know why, but I really dont care to share that info with anyone other than collectors who can appreciate the value in cardboard.

By the way, that is the same answer my wife gets.

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Posted By: JudgeDred2

Josh,

Are you married? If so, what do you tell your wife when she asks you how much you spent on a very expensive card?

Try the following sometime:

"Yeah honey, I dropped a few grand on that nice card, by the way, what's for dinner tonight, I can't afford to take you to your favorite restaraunt for a while...."

If she says she completely understands then you better not lose her...



My contribution to the thread:

The "Whitney and Dog" N172 is an interesting conversation piece.

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Posted By: JudgeDred2

Josh, I guess you edited your response to include what you'd tell your wife...

This could be an entire new topic about collecting cards - What do you tell your wife when she asks how much you spend on your cards....

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Posted By: Josh K.

I can assure you that anytime I sell a card for 1k I tell my wife exactly how much I got for it.

Im not quite brave enough to try "the I dropped a few grand" line just yet.

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Posted By: Geoff Litwack

I find that people outside the hobby tend to like the 1880s tobacco and 1930/40s non-sport material I have more than the baseball. Everybody likes Superman, for example.

But I do have to say: I've stopped trying to explain my obsession to girls I date. I live in Los Angeles, and a few years ago I met a screenwriter in a baseball card shop. We got to talking about our love lives - it's hard to find nice women in this wicked city, etc etc - and I asked him how he broached the topic of cards to his girlfriends (he was about to buy, I think, $1200 in T206s). He looked at me like I was crazy. "I keep them in a vault and NEVER talk about them," he said. "Seriously, girls would rather date an alcoholic than a guy who collects baseball cards. That's dangerous and sexy. Baseball cards are for nerds." I think he was right - since then I've been in the gum-card closet, so to speak!

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Posted By: john/z28jd

Well maybe if you guys had a Polar Bear Johnson she wouldnt care how much you spent

Isnt ironic how these threads come full circle like that.

My advice would be telling wives that the cards have no value,and if you see the relationship taking a bad turn give the cards away to a male relative you trust till the coast is clear.You dont need a vengeful wife taking scissors to those 2 Neal Ball t206 cards you have that completes your set

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Posted By: Julie

Here's a really weird Jackie Robinson. He was in Japan with the Dodgers in '56, for a series, but this card says "Chico Barbon" on it--Barbon was a regular with Japanese baseball from Cuba.

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Posted By: Paul

The Zeenut of Fatty Arbuckle biting a baseball would have to be at the top of my list.

The Old Judge Whitney w/ dog is a nice conversation card, and so are the Old Judge mascot cards (Ewing w/mascot, Williamson w/mascot, the mascot by himself). There's also an Old Judge of "Long" and "Short", who I assume were among the tallest and shortest players of their time.

Other good conversation pieces are cards of Chuck Connors. He is in the 1952 Mothers Cookies set, the 1950 Big League set, and the 1950 Cuban Acebo set.

I think an M101-4/5 of Jim Thorpe also might start a conversation with a non-collector, as long as they knew something about sports.

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Posted By: Darren J Duet

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Posted By: Glenn

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Posted By: john/z28jd

The many profiles of santa claus!

I gotta get me one of those Kringle rookies....that is his rookie right?

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Posted By: John

A man and is imaginary motorcycle……T210 Benny.

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Posted By: Julie

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Posted By: J Levine

was the W-card that pictured the two Meusel brothers...my grandfather was friends with Irish and Bob Meusel for many years after he met them at Hollywood Park Race track (where my grandfather worked and I think one of the brothers did in the off season or after his career). It is a great card picturing the brothers. Both came to rather tragic ends according to my grandfather as they were both alcoholics and nearly penniless when they died.

I would post a scan of this card but I buried it with my grandfather last June. Sort of a reverse "my grandfather gave me this old card."

My love of baseball came from both my grandfathers (both gone) and my father (still playing fast pitch baseball in a 30 and over league at 62 years of age).

Joshua