Phil - as you know, I'm very familiar with your story, but didn't have all the dots connected. Thanks for the fun read. I would be interested to know if you still do the ice cream collectibles thing...I know that was part of your collecting focus for a little while when you were in between jobs.
Anyway, I've been trying to take the reigns on your progress and research on HOF rookie card collecting, but I always feel like there's more to do and it never feels "complete".
For those who haven't seen my website yet, it's still a work in progress. But it builds on all the research that Phil did over several years and adds in additional information for stuff that wasn't known when Phil was actively collecting rookies. It is similar to the oldcardboard concept, but it has every "earliest" card/photo (including team cards) for each baseball HOFer.
It's not quite ready for prime-time (yet), but take a look and let me know if you see anything that should be edited or if you have images I don't yet have! I hope to "complete" this project by the end of 2023, knowing that it will always be a work-in-progress.
https://imageevent.com/derekgranger/hofearliest
Sorry to have derailed the thread a little, but Phil's research was instrumental in getting this started...and for that I am forever grateful!
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http://imageevent.com/derekgranger
Working on the following:
HOF "Earliest" Collection (Ideal - Indiv): 250/346 (72.3%)
1914 T330-2 Piedmont Art Stamps......: 116/119 (97.5%)
Completed:
1911 T332 Helmar Stamps (180/180)
1923 V100 Willard's Chocolate (180/180)