Rookie card list
 

Is there a place that lists the rookie card of every hof? I know that people have differing opinions on certain cards but wondering if there was one central place with info.

This is a list that I consult on the Old Cardboard website, located in the Reference Library section:

http://www.oldcardboard.com/ref/rookies/RookiesList.asp

It is only through a certain date (I think 2010), but definitely covers all the PreWW2 thoroughly and with potential options, many of these cards are pictured as well.

Brian (Two links are better than one)

Thanks guys!

Just a point...some info on the list needs updating. For example, Ross Youngs Rookie card is actually his 1920-21 W514 (which has him identified as Pep Young).

Brian

Dunno about this list, it seems to consider minor league cards rookies, e.g. 1981 Pawtucket Wade Boggs, 1982 TMCA Tony Gwynn. More like a list of first cards.

The Old Cardboard list also includes other collectibles such as Cameo Pepsin pins and M101-1 supplements.

Also, as Brian said, it has not been updated in a while. For instance it still has Walter Johnson's rookie card as being the Novelty Cutlery postcard which they say is from 1907-09, while it is now pretty well accepted that this issue dates from 1910.

Here are two different lists that board member Phil Garry put together:

Rookie Cards: http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=141603

Earliest Collectibles: http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=128179

FYI, Phil Garry is the person who assembled the Old Cardboard list. Just wanted to give him props, for all his dedicated efforts. (Hi, Phil)!

Rookie Cards
 

Thx Kevin for sharing Phil’s updated list. Regarding pre-1910 cards, there are still several inconsistencies such as the omission of W600s that were issued the SAME YEAR as the E107s, and in some cases, the W600s pre-date E107s during the 1903 calendar year (For example, the W600 Matty was issued in January 1903 vs. his E107 being released in the late Spring of 1903). In those instances, both cards should be listed. Also, the 1891 John H. Ryder Cy Young pre-dates the Just-So Tobacco, and is Cy Young’s true rookie card.

Hi Guys:

I just wanted to chime in on a topic that will always be of interest to me after spending a decade collecting BB HOF RC's myself. Although I am no longer active in the hobby, I still take a look at Net54 from time to time.

As you guys have surmised by now, the list that appears on the OldCardbaord website was compiled back in 2009 and marked a starting point for identifying rookie cards of Hall of Famers. Prior to that, there was very little such information available on any public forums. As feedback was received from other hardcore collectors over the years, my list eventually evolved into the link that Kevin posted (along with the other earliest collectibles list) as I developed a consensus of the most widely accepted definitions for "rookie card" status.

I later self-published a book detailing rookie card eligibility requirements for not only baseball HOF'ers but it also covers football, basketball & hockey as well, over $1,300 cards with over 99% of the cards pictured in the book. I still have some copies of that book available for sale if anyone is interested, please contact me.

Rookie cards
 

Phil- You did a yeoman's job for the hobby. Thanks.

Thanks, Leon.

BTW have the Net54 Dinners still been going on at the Nationals the past few years? I haven’t been around for the past few years but 2020 is going to be back in my old home state of New Jersey so I am planning to make the trip for that one and would love to attend the dinner again.

Looking forward to your reply back.

Wouldn’t hold my breath for a dinner in AC. Last time it was in AC there was nothing but endless belly aching about how inconvenient AC is and how dangerous of a town it is. Lots of murders there, etc. Unlike Chicago, which hasn’t seen a murder in like, oh, 2 hours probably.

I didn't go to AC so there wasn't one. There will be a Net54 Banquet this year in Chitown, at the Embassy Suites, on Friday night. Not sure about ones in the future yet.

HOF rookies
 

This is a work in progress, but I think you guys will like the concept. Since no one can agree on the definition of "rookie" or even on the definition of a "card", I have decided to show/list them all. I have a huge spreadsheet and database of images for the earliest cards and photos for each HOFer and have taken on the ridiculously tedious task of adding them all to my website.

I have updated this album for the first 31 baseball HOFers (alphabetically). I'll add more in the coming weeks/months/year. You'll see that it is far more comprehensive than any other list you will find out there and there are some items here that never made it onto Phil's list or the old cardboard website. That said, major props have to go to Phil Garry with all the research he did up to about 2015. His work is legendary.

I don't pretend to have seen everything that's out there, but I have done my best to stay on top of any early cards and photos that have made an appearance in the past 10+ years on the internet, scouring AHs and eBay. If you all know of anything I'm missing on my website, please let me know via pm or email.

Enjoy!

https://imageevent.com/derekgranger/hofearliest

Very nice, Derek!! Look forward to following your progress.

Awesome Derek. Great work. Keep it going!

Nice Derek. I like the consolidated, you choose what a rookie for each player is among all items listed, because a consensus rookie card/item will probably never be determined for many players.

Brian (great start, looking forward to more entries when you post them)

Great job, Derek! Very well organized, very clear images and very comprehensive (complete is an impossibility since there will always be more newly discovered/new to the hobby pieces). I just looked at your first couple of entries but look forward to following your progress as you add more and more.

Although collecting pre-war rookie cards, primarily BB HOF’ers, has gained somewhat in popularity over the past decade or so (as compared to what I perceived it to be back in the days of Hal Lewis, Andy Baran and few others), this segment of the vintage card market is still far from being a mainstream interest as is the case with post-war rookie card collecting, i.e. - Mays, Aaron, Clemente, etc. Why is this?

Well, for the past 40 years or so, a publication called Beckett Baseball Card Monthly puts out a magazine which notates the rookie card of practically every post-war Hall of Famer. Thus, we have an attainable “set” to collect which is clearly defined and there doesn’t appear to be any issue regarding what is and is not a rookie card. Even the third-party grading company registries agree on this and offer it as one of their most widely collected sets. So, why can’t the same be true for pre-war rookie cards?

The answer is that it can be done, maybe not all at once but, step by step, until the job is complete. Since the only way to get a consensus (and not have to deal with the never ending debate about what is a card, rookie card, etc.) is to have Beckett and the Standard Catalogue to recognize and document as such, the rookie cards for pre-war individuals. I tried to do this through Bob Lemke several years back but it never went anywhere.

The first thing that needs to be done is for clear parameters to be established, which must be done independently from any individual interests which could cause bias. This doesn’t really have to be that difficult, follow the current guidelines for post-war and also take into account, the current pre-war rookie cards that are universally recognized such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, etc. When I have a chance, I will post my parameters here in this thread.

Once we have the parameters and are able to communicate the importance as well as provide the content to SCBC and Beckett, we can easily get at least half of the pre-war HOF rookies notated in the guides, those being the easiest to agree upon. Then it’s a matter of maybe someone on this board who has the necessary influence to work with the editors to get this job done. Then, little by little, we can work on getting the more “controversial” choices into the guides. Eventually, all will be there. Then, finally, this can become a mainstream collecting interest just as T206’s, Old Judge’s, etc. are.

I forgot to mention that getting the three major third-party grading companies on board with this would be a huge step as well. I have had past conversations with SGC and they were very receptive. I did not discuss with PSA or Beckett.

Pre-war rookie card collecting could be a significant new set on their registries as well as a master rookie card set which would include pre and post war. Again, these registries would clearly define rookie cards to be collected. This opportunity could generate lots of business for them so I don’t see why they wouldn’t want to be proactive with this.