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Originally Posted by steve B
Nice write up!
I didn't mean that Beckett started in 1980, but that I'd heard the term "rookie card" before then.
One thing I found most interesting was that I'm pretty sure the first time I heard it used was at the first show I went to in early 1978. When I asked why the 54 Aaron was $60 the answer was that it was his rookie card. What's interesting is that that event and your timeline of the term match fairly well.
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I don't doubt that the term "rookie card" (in the relevant context) existed before 1980; as I pointed out in the post, Jim Beckett referred to Aaron's "rookie year card" in 1977. But the term certainly wasn't very widely used before about 1980 or so.
Quote:
Originally Posted by steve B
In the second image in the second Barning article link he mentions the "Jim Rice rookie card"
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Nice catch! Though it's possible that Barning may have been using the term in its older sense of a multi-player card depicting "Rookie Stars".
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Originally Posted by steve B
The first rookie card of a new player I can recall being hyped was Joe Charboneau in 1980.
Finding more on the history of the term might be a nice project, I have a few publications from the 80's, not complete runs, but enough to give a good look. Of course they're all in random boxes somewhere....
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I have a lot of hobby publications from 1979-81, including a complete run of SCD and Trader Speaks, and the annual Beckett guides. I'm missing some Baseball Hobby Newses and Card Prices Updates from late 1979 and early-to-mid 1980, but I have enough to do a pretty thorough historical study, if I can find the time one of these days.