sad news - the old Professor has left the building

[timn1]

Moved from another thread to clarify-

Bob Manning, longtime collector and occasional poster here, died in March at the age of 72.

I learned this from my Davidson College alumni magazine. Bob taught physics and humanities at Davidson for nearly 40 years (including teaching me astronomy in 1979-80). He was an inspiring teacher and all-around good guy.

Bob's pride and joy was the 1952 Topps set, which he had begun as a kid, and more recently he had moved into collecting T206s. Bob didn't socialize in person much with other collectors, but I saw him and his son at one or two Nationals and he seemed to be having great fun. He'll be missed-

[ethicsprof]

Tim,
I,too, remember him well from my Davidson College days.
I always was impressed with his being a physicist who could talk the humanities with the best of the experts.
He and I chatted a few times in recent years about his great T206 collection.
Quite the collector and scholar!
I will miss him as well.
my condolences to his family, friends, and thousands of students,

Barry

[mattsey9]

What a shame. My first BST buy was from Bob for some 54 Topps commons. They were in better shape than described and he slipped an extra card into the mix. Condolences to the family.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by mattsey9

What a shame. My first BST buy was from Bob for some 54 Topps commons. They were in better shape than described and he slipped an extra card into the mix. Condolences to the family.

From my few experiences with Bob, that sounds like him. He always seemed like one of the really nice guys in the Hobby. Condolences to family and friends and RIP Bob.....

[Bridwell]

Bob's T206 near set is #14 on the PSA Registry. He also has some great Bowman and Topps PSA sets from the early 1950's. A nice man. He will be missed.

[barrysloate]

Bob was a customer of mine for many years. Condolences to his family and friends.

[leaflover]

Mr. Bob Manning aka "as the old professor" was a true gentleman. My condolences to his friends and family. As Ben Franklin once wrote; "Grieve not ..... for we are soon to follow".

[Tao_Moko]

I used to live at the lake near Professor Manning and would sometimes meet him for a trade or buy a few cards at the local watering hole. He was very popular in town. RIP

[tedzan]

Bob and I have enjoyed some really interesting E-conversations over the years. We would contact each other regarding a trade or to pick each other's brains
on T206's, Goudey's, Diamond Stars, 1949 Leaf's, 1952 Bowman's and 1952 Topps. The latter two sets of which we both collected as kids and had many ole
stories to share between us.

And what made these lengthy conversations so interesting was....we would intersperse the BB card stuff with our "war stories" from back in our working days.

For instance....Bob was the first guy ever to see solid helium when he worked in a Cryogenics Lab. Another time, when he was a sophomore, he worked in the
summer for the Westinghouse Bettis Atomic Power Co. Bettis was responsible for creating and sustaining the Shippingport reactor, the first peacetime nuclear
power plant in the world. One day, Bob was carrying giant stacks of FORTRAN computer cards to the Com. Ctr. when a little guy whizzed around a corner and
ran into him. They collided, the guy fell down, and grumbled some choice words at Bob. Bob found out later that he had knocked down Admiral Rickover. The
Head of the U.S. Nuclear power program.


Bob knew I was chasing after all the Blue Chase T206's. So, 7 years ago Bob tells me he has the PIEDMONT 460 Factory #42 card; and, he is betting that I do
not have it because it is very rare. He says "this card has my name on it"....and, he is sending it to me in return for certain T206's he needs. Deal was done.
When I look at this card, it will always remind me of one of the great guys that I have met in this hobby.


..



GOD BLESS your soul, Bob. And, may the GOOD LORD comfort your family.


TED Z
.