Posted By:
RayMVSNYC,
I collect the 1934 Goudey Nelson card for many reasons...
At one time I just happened to have two of them, and thought they looked really cool together, so I pick them up for cheap when I can. I'm not a big fan of the '34 Goudey set in general, but the reason I really like this card is because it's the first card I ever saw where the back mentioned Fargo, ND (which is where I consider "home"). Lynn Nelson wasn't born in Fargo, though. He was born about sixty miles away in a tiny town called Sheldon, ND. A little added note - his 1939 Play Ball card says he was born in Fargo, NC (which is halfway across the country if there even is a Fargo, NC).
This card was the first one that made me do a lot of research on an old ball player, so I like to pick it up when I can, because it reminds me of how many stories surround cards and the players on them.
A little history on Nelson: is one of the few players from North Dakota that played pre-war ball. He also has very few cards (I think about ten or less, and I like the '34 Goudey the best). His story is also very interesting: He was a pretty bad pitcher. He was nicknamed "Line Drive Nelson," probably because he gave up too many good hits. But he was a real decent hitter, and they called upon him to pinch hit often. So maybe he was called Line Drive because he could hit - who knows. He also went on to become a por wrestler named the Masked Marvel.
I generally try not to spend more than $20 or so on them, so I definitely am not an "investor" as was mentioned before (this card is so common and available, it'd take me ten years to even make a dent in cornering the market on this card). I guess I'd consider myself a "hoarder" even though I probably won't have ten of his cards by the end of the year. Just another baseball card obsession I guess.
So long story short I like multiples of the card for three main reasons
1-It reminds me of why I collect - the great stories behind the cards and the players on them
2-It reminds me of home
3-They look really cool together