Posted By:
Hal LewisGood News!
I went through Lew Lipsett's old guide on the Old Judge cards and read about which HOF's had cards issued in which years...
and it turns out that the reason I have several 1888 and 1889 cards is because most of those players did NOT have Old Judge cards issued in 1887. (Anson, Delahanty, Rusie, Duffy, Robinson, etc.)
(NOTE: Even though the issuance date of the N28 Allen & Ginters set has been pushed back to 1888... the ANSON from that set is still his "rookie card" since there are no Old Judge cards of Anson from 1887.)
Below are my 4 potential "problem" cards:
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My BECKLEY card is a 1889, and there are apparently some of him from 1888... BUT it is important to me that he be shown with PITTSBURG and not with the St. Louis Whites (minor league team)... so I think the 1889 cards were the first to show him with PITT.
**Anyone have an 1888 Beckley listing him with Pittsburg???
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My HAMILTON card is an 1889, and apparently there are some cards of him from 1888. I will have to find one.
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My GALVIN card is from 1889, so I will have to find one of him from 1887.
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My GRIFFITH card is from 1889, whereas his first Old Judge was issued in 1888. BUT...I just realized for the first time that ALL of his Old Judge cards are MINOR league cards showing him with Milwaukee of the Western League. The HOF doesn't recognize his stats as starting until 1891 when he entered the BIG Leagues. PLUS... Griffith was not inducted into the HOF as a player but instead as a "Pioneer/Executive"... so he doesn't really even fall into my collecting set anyway. I will therefore not bother to buy a replacement card for him.
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Other than these 4 mentioned above, all the other 16 Old Judges that I own are thankfully still Rookie Cards.