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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

When is a player's first card not his rookie card, you may ask.

My answer is when the card does not depict him anywhere near the way he appeared when he was a rookie. A good example of this would be a card of O'Rourke from the mid '80s, when he was a rookie in the early '70s. Heck, he was about 35 years old when his Old Judge was issued.

Similarly, Connor, Ewing, Keefe, and Welch began their careers in 1880.

There are no rookie cards for these players, IMO.