Lot of factors at play. The hobby has become more acceptive of oversized issues such as exhibits and postcards etc. There's also been more emphasis put into first cards or "rookie cards" of players. More research has been put into some of the more rare and elusive issues like tougher regionals. Looking at Ty Cobb, Gehrig, Foxx etc... RC's years ago, I wasn't really sure what their true rookie cards were. There wasn't nearly as much research and info available on them. Some cards had a lot of debate on when the cards were actually issued and the water was a lot murkier so to speak. I think the hobby has evolved a lot and collectors more knowledgeable than me have put in a good deal of research. The picture is much clearer to me at least on a lot of guys earliest cards that I consider to be rookies. I don't think there will ever be 100 percent consensus out there as to what each players rookies are in some instances but the information to make your own decision is out there much more than in the past. Phil Gary's list on oldcardboard certainly helped a lot as well as researching threads on this forum for more info on the best early cards of HOFers.
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