Is the art great? I love the artwork on some of the T series cards. I picked up some of the T118s because the art was so nice:
Is the set an iconic one in the card collecting pantheon? I'm with Sy Berger on 1954 Topps, which was his favorite set of all time. I started collecting that one when I was a kid. Ditto T206. And I am fascinated by arcade cards, so I specialize in Exhibit cards:
Is the player interesting? I find Lefty O'Doul to have had a fascinating career so I collect his stuff.
Do I admire the person? I also collect Barney Ross stuff because of what a person he was. Barney Ross (December 23, 1909 – January 17, 1967), born Beryl David Rosofsky, was a world champion boxer in three weight divisions and decorated veteran of World War II. In retirement in his early thirties, Ross enlisted in the United States Marine Corps to fight in World War II. The Marines wanted to keep him stateside and use his celebrity status to boost morale. Most of the athletes of the era like heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey had ceremonial roles in the military, but Ross insisted on fighting for his country. He was sent to Guadalcanal in the South Pacific. One night, he and three other Marines were trapped under enemy fire. All four were wounded; Ross was the only one able to fight. Ross gathered his comrades' rifles and grenades and single-handedly fought nearly two dozen Japanese soldiers over an entire night, killing them all by morning. Two of the Marines died, but he carried the third on his shoulders to safety; the other man weighed 230 lb compared to Ross' 140 lb. Ross was awarded America's third highest military honor, the Silver Star, as well as a Presidential Citation. As one of America's greatest "celebrity" war heroes, he was honored by President Roosevelt in a Rose Garden ceremony.
