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Originally Posted by Balticfox
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Yes, & this was great.
You seem to see more of the "Why Mantle?" still being played out over in other forums like Blowout, where the vintage audience is ostensibly younger and still learning.
I think the '52 Topps does have a lot to do with it. Much like Burdick and other super early collectors anointed the T206 Wagner, probably in the 1930's - the same kind of run up was done for the #311 in the late 70's and early 80's by people like Alan Rosen.
The other thing with Mantle plus all the contributing factors just seems to be really good timing. He was at the perfect intersection of time and sport (MLB in NY in the 50's) - and then also at the perfect intersection of time and hobby when cards went from an underground nerdy thing in the 70's to a big business retail thing by the mid-80's. Those retail dealers saw to it that he became the hobby torchbearer for their generation pretty early, and never looked back.