No history, no collecting
I have a theory that the publication in 1966 of Larry Ritter's "The Glory of Their Times" and its continued massive popularity thereafter was a major catalyst for a renewed interest in both baseball history and prewar card collecting. Bob Davids started SABR in 1971, adult biographies and histories of the game started being published around that time, and the first well-organized shows and well-produced collecting publications began appearing. If the names Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson, Satchel Paige, and the rest had meant little to card collectors of the boomer generation, or if there was no historical context to put them in, I think most would have been satisfied to put the collecting habits of their youth to rest or be satisfied with recreating the card sets and collections that so many mothers famously tossed while they were away at college, the army, etc.
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