Posted By:
Ted Zanidakis1st of all, didn't we just have an extensive debate that this set
is a 1949 set? Beckett, since 1998, has correctly identified this
BaseBall set as a 1949 issue.
OK, finally will you please drop the "HYPHENATION"; it is not a
Football set, nor a Basketball set; it is a BASEBALL set, period !
And, this Forum has proven this without a doubt, by very well stated
and logical arguments, by many that it is indeed a 1949 set.
So, can we call this a VINTAGE set ? In the Antiques world, an
item is usually considered an antique if it is 100 years old.
If this classification was applied to the Sports Card hobby,
then only 19th Century cards and early 20th Century Tobacco
cards would presently fall in this category.
We seem to use WWII as the cut-over point, but then there are
many classic card sets between WWI & WWII. The point I am trying to
make here, is where do you draw the lines ? It seems to me the definition
of "Vintage" is based on artificially drawn events.
To me, a 66 year old, who has been in the hobby for 30 years,
and as a 10 year old enthusiastically collected these BB Leaf cards,
I classify this set as Vintage. Let's get real, this set is the
last major issue that includes Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Stan
Musial, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Bob Feller, Johnny Mize,
many more All Star players of the pre-WWII era. Add HOFers
Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby, Satchell Paige, Ralph Kiner; and,
the informative bios on the backs of these cards certainly does
it for me. But, I must admit I am somewhat biased.