Nominations this first year were limited to living persons, meaning Bob Lemke would not have been eligible. Perhaps that's a criterion that will change in the future. Were the Committee to consider deceased contributors, I have to imagine Jefferson Burdick himself would have been the winner, seeing as he is the award's namesake.
With luck, our Baseball Cards Research Committee will continue this award many years into the future and be able to add to the list of winners. However, we are thrilled to have Mike Aronstein as our inaugural recipient and would happily put his qualifications "mano a mano" up against anyone's past or present.