Thank you, Fred, for thoughtfully loading up Mr. Lemke's obituary. It was fascinating to read of all the serious, important contributions he made to our hobby, and elsewhere. His loss is really hurting me, and I know a lot of others.

May God rest his soul, and comfort and care for his beloved wife and family.

I echo the sentiments of those who are fans of his custom card creations. This was such a passion to Bob. His custom extension of the 1955 Topps All-American Football cards was nothing short of superb. I only own the Bronko Nagurski and Jackie Robinson, but feel fortunate to own those. I certainly treasure them as if they were genuine, and have said so for years. I never bought them 'cause I thought they'd appreciate in value, though that might happen now, but simply because I LOVED HOW THEY LOOKED.

I well remember opening the package he sent me with his 1961 Post Cereal of Sandy Koufax---he even got the coloring just right, the way I remembered it on a '61 cereal box! There have been numerous times I mentioned on NET 54 of my joy over receiving his re-created 1963 JELL-O Black Raspberry box with a variant photo of Mickey Mantle, and how in good taste Bob chose the great shot used on the JELL-O placards appearing in grocery stores / supermarkets. Brilliant in its own way. Man, this is tough; I'm tearing up. Finally, his 1952 Red Man Tobacco Mickey Mantle---a little masterpiece! Perhaps one of the other guys who own some of his customs will load up some scans. I can only paint pictures with words.

Bob Lemke was the right man at the right time for our hobby's giant growth in the 1980s.

I loved his constant hunger for research. He'd pour through masses of old issues of THE SPORTING NEWS. Just last year, he posted on his blog of finding a significant document in a spring, 1962 SPORTING NEWS issue regarding General Foods' massive cereal box baseball card promotion. It specifically mentioned how the JELL-O division was test marketing the baseball cards on the backsides of their little boxes in the Chicago area.

Larry Fritsch, Dr. Beckett, myself and some others were convinced the 1962 JELL-Os were in actuality a test issue, marketed in the Chicagoland area, as well as Milwaukee. Back in '62, Mr. Fritsch worked for the railroad, and rode the rails every day between Chicago and Milwaukee, and related to me over the phone in my research for my book, NEVER CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, that he got the '62s in Chicago and near his home area of Milwaukee. The rest of the country would have to wait for JELL-O baseball cards until their 1963 release. Long to short, Mr. Lemke's blog posting of that document finally silenced the stubborns with positive proof, who still held out the '62 JELL-Os were a national issue.

It's just a tough time. Gotta get. ---Brian Powell

Bob Lemke, along with Anthony Stephenson, got me started on one of my favorite baseball sets of all time, 1909 Obak. Bob's generosity & knowledge was infectious. I now sit 4 cards from completion. Thanks Bob & Fare Thee Well!

Lee

PS - Below is an Obak that was once owned by Bob that I still own.

Well said, Lee. I wish you the best on your quest to get the rest.

Mr. Lemke's death has sure been hard on a lot of us.:(

Best regards, Brian Powell

As time goes by and the new becomes normal and once radical ideas become common knowledge, we don't appreciate the pioneering work some did. Reading his bio and obituary it is clear he was a pioneer in the field, especially the publishing field. Happily, he was well known and well regarded throughout his career and is still appreciated at his passing. Part of his this is because he was always helping average collectors, so many knew him on a personal basis.

RIP Bob
 

I met Bob a few times at shows in Fort Washington PA and Pittsburgh PA. We had corresponded by e-mail about a few odd issues which he ultimately included in the standard catalog. I was a voracious reader of baseball cards magazine, SCD and the Standard Catalog (would go cover to cover when each new issue came out -anticipating seeing new additions! Didn't know him well, but deeply appreciate the immeasurable contributions his work did in helping our hobby grow. May his family be comforted and warmed by knowing how treasured he was in our hobby.

Howard Chasser

Very sorry to hear of Mr. Lemkes passing.

I had the chance to meet Bob at a show in Philadelphia during the mid to late 1990s to share information about the 1910 All Star Baseball set that he published in SCD at the time.

He was a joy to talk with and will be sorely missed. My condolences to his family and friends.

Wow, I'm just seeing this. Bob was one of my favorite people in the hobby, even apart from his contributions as a pioneer. He was very helpful in responding to me when I was an incipient type-card collector and was always very personable and happy to share his wisdom. I'm happy to have a couple of his old cards in my collection today.