A Question for Team Collectors...

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

You guys who don't try to collect an entire set, like T205 for example, but opt for collecting a team, do you exclusively collect cards from your current favorite modern team(if you have one) or a team you think was particularly neat from the period the set was issued? Example: My favorite team as a modern fan is the St. Louis Cardinals. However, the Cardinals players from the T205 era don't particularly excite me. I actually lean more toward the Giants or Dodgers players from the period.

[Jim65]

I collect Mets and since they started in 1962 I dont have to worry about pre-war stuff. My goal is to get every pre-1990 card ever made (base, tests, variations, regional, unlicensed etc) Ive been collecting for over 40 years and my wantlist is relatively small, Im still not close to completion.

[chlankf]

I narrowed my collecting scope down to Iowa baseball related items. I do collect a couple sets T201 Mecca and B18 Blankets, but my main focus is memorabilia and pre-war cards. I got started by collecting Des Moines items and moved on to OJs. I collect mainly DesMoines simply because I grew up for miles from Des Moines watching The Oaks from the 70s and the Cubs of the 80s to today. I try to find items that are fairly unique or really limited, fortunately not many people collect Des Moines or Iowa. For cards, I try to stick with issues that appealed to me.

[commishbob]

Orioles team collector here (or at least I have been in the past). In about 1979/80 I went back and began to fill in all the Orioles Topps/Bowman/Fleer Orioles from 1954 onward. I finished those and continued through 1990. I never considered collecting any other teams' cards although I have player collections of non-Orioles.

Since then I've collected Eastern League and International League Orioles cards both pre-and post-war.

[BuzzD]

My goal is to collect each Yankee from beginning. Best is a card in NYY uni, second an original photo in NYY uni, third is autograph and repro photo in a NYY uni, fourth is any autograph, no photo, and last is any internet photo of player at all. There are 56 players that I cannot find an image in a NYY uni. Some are recent: Greg Harris (1994) Jeff Patterson (1994) Rick Honeycutt (1995) Billy Brewer (1996) but most are in initial 20 yrs

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

Although I am a Cardinals fan, as I get interested in T205s again, those NY Giants cards are pretty awesome looking. There are also names that are pretty affordable-Merkle, Bridwell, Marquard, and of course Mathewson who isn't necessarily affordable but legendary. There's just something about baseball in NY the first half of the 1900s.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[ejharrington]

I collect Red Sox up to approximately 1919, and any Boston players from the 19th century.

[kmac32]

I collect Chicago Cubs and have several collections. T205 Cubs with all the various front/back combos. Currently have 148/151 possibilities. T207 cubs with all the different backs/ types (Recruits/ Napoleons/ Anonymous and all the factories). All Topps cubs from 1951 to current with all errors and varioation that I keep current.

Also have E121-80 and E121-120 Giants andYankees (1921 World Series collection).

Quite a group of cards

[insidethewrapper]

How can anyone collect the NY Yankees with all the HOF'ers ? Must be costly ! Collecting Detroit is hard enough because of one player named "COBB" !

[bbcardzman]

I have been collecting Cardinals cards since the 90's and have 1000's of team sets. Since joining this site in 2014 I have mostly given up on newer cards and have focused on most of the early Cardinals sets. I have finished many early sets except for the super expensive or hard-to-find Cardinals. I find it a real challenge to find almost any of the early Cardinals cards and enjoy the search. I just this year finally picked-up my first T204 Cardinal - Slim Sallee. There are many early tough Cardinals to look for - like the T206 O'Hara, the T207 Loudermilk, T213 Huggins and Ames cards, the T205 Bresnahan mouth open, and any of the Cracker Jacks, Turkey Red or Old Judge cards. And if you go to the 20's and 30's all the Rogers Hornsby and Dizzy Dean cards will put you in the poor house. I think there are plenty of great early Cardinals cards to collect and the fewer people out there collecting them is great news for me!

[Joe_G.]

I've always been a Detroit fan, from '84 on, and would place extra value on anything associated with the team. By 1987 I was well aware of the 100 year old Detroit cards issued by Goodwin & Co. and began collecting Detroit Old Judges (although it was a very slow go). I would eventually drift away from the hobby but came back with a vengeance in 2003 with strictly a Detroit 19th century focus (that is one way for a Detroit collector to avoid the "Cobb" issue).

Its been a blast but now find it difficult to locate the remaining items I need so I've branched out to other things (N333 Newsboys, 19th century cigarette packs, and coupons). I now live in Iowa so I also keep an eye out for cards depicting players from Iowa (here is one for you Craig - a tough team card).

[chlankf]

(here is one for you Craig - a tough team card).

[/QUOTE]

Holy cow Joe. That is probably #1 on my Iowa want list. Thanks so much for sharing. I had no idea you were living in Iowa as well. Would be great to meet up with another vintage/19th century collector here, few to be found in the area. PM me if interested.

[Mungo Hungo]

Originally Posted by chlankf

I narrowed my collecting scope down to Iowa baseball related items. I do collect a couple sets T201 Mecca and B18 Blankets, but my main focus is memorabilia and pre-war cards. I got started by collecting Des Moines items and moved on to OJs. I collect mainly DesMoines simply because I grew up for miles from Des Moines watching The Oaks from the 70s and the Cubs of the 80s to today. I try to find items that are fairly unique or really limited, fortunately not many people collect Des Moines or Iowa. For cards, I try to stick with issues that appealed to me.

Chlankf,

Since you’re an Iowa collector of 70s/80s issues, would you have any idea whether there may be some long lost Iowa Oaks cards from 1981? I see that sets are listed for 1979-80 and 1982-on, but I see nothing for 1981...

[cubman1941]

I am a Cub guy also and collect virtually anything Cubs. I have Cub cards from early on to today although the ones from 1990 on I got mainly from trading. I think the most fun I have is finding an odd ball I don't have. I like and enjoy the early Cub cards (pre-1940) but don't go out of my way to get them. I try and find something I need in various auctions and, usually, bid what I would pay for them as I don't have deep pockets. To me having fun going after Cub items (not just cards) I want is most important whether I get them or not. I am always amazed at how much early stuff is out there and, many times, I just like to look.

[JCM2009]

I collect only Cleveland Indians up to 1980. Have also created a master Cleveland Indians team checklist which has been a challenge in itself.

[chlankf]

Originally Posted by Mungo Hungo

Chlankf,

Since you’re an Iowa collector of 70s/80s issues, would you have any idea whether there may be some long lost Iowa Oaks cards from 1981? I see that sets are listed for 1979-80 and 1982-on, but I see nothing for 1981...

I'd have to dig out my team sets but I don't believe there was a set that year. It was a transition season as they changed to the Cubs the following season. I remember hearing that the team had been sold prior to or during the '81 season which could account for no issue.

Side note. I love the early Iowa Cubs team sets with the creepy ass Cubbie Bear mascot. I remember hugging him as a kid and was bummed out when the flood of '93 hit downtown DM and the stadium. This resulted in the loss of the mascot outfit. Flash forward to early 2000's and Cubbies head shows up on eBay. The guy who wore/was Cubbie was given the head when the rest was lost. I was and still am so emotionally attached to this one of a kind centerpiece in my collection.

[Mungo Hungo]

Originally Posted by chlankf

I'd have to dig out my team sets but I don't believe there was a set that year. It was a transition season as they changed to the Cubs the following season. I remember hearing that the team had been sold prior to or during the '81 season which could account for no issue.

Side note. I love the early Iowa Cubs team sets with the creepy ass Cubbie Bear mascot. I remember hugging him as a kid and was bummed out when the flood of '93 hit downtown DM and the stadium. This resulted in the loss of the mascot outfit. Flash forward to early 2000's and Cubbies head shows up on eBay. The guy who wore/was Cubbie was given the head when the rest was lost. I was and still am so emotionally attached to this one of a kind centerpiece in my collection.

Thanks chlankf. It certainly doesn't appear that there was an Iowa set in 1981--at least Beckett and Trading Card Database don't list anything, and nothing turns up in Google searches. But occasionally minor league cards will fly under the radar, so I was hoping you might be aware of something that the rest of us are not.

[CobbSpikedMe]

The SF Giants are my current team and I do collect Giants cards. Both pre and post war. Particularly the T205s right now. However, I also collect another team, the Jersey City Skeeters of the Eastern and International Leagues. I grew up in Jersey and just started picking up some Skeeters cards here and there and it just turned into a full blown team collection. Some of the cards are basically impossible and I'll never get them, but there are still a few that I can realistically acquire.

How about some images for this thread...

The C46 Jersey City team set and a cabinet photo of a couple players in spring training. The mount sucks, but how many JC cabinets are out there for me to choose from?


.

[dabigyankeeman]

Yankees collector here. On real old pre-war cards I make a decision on the set based on how much I like them and what they cost. On most I try to complete the team set, such as T205/206/07, Goudey, Play Balls, etc. On some I only get one or two as examples such as Ramly's or blankets.

Once I reach 1948 Bowman I get complete team sets of all of the Bowmans, and on Topps I collect complete team sets from 1951 thru 1980. After 1980 with multiple companies each year and so many cards produced, I collect most Topps base set cards and then I add individual Yankees cards that I really like from other sets.

Note that collecting Yankees, there are a ton of real expensive HOF players over the years, and on them I am fine with obtaining cards in low condition, for instance most of my Ruth cards are either "1" or "A" and to me its better to have them in that condition then not to have them at all because I cant afford them in nice shape.

In the end its totally up to you, its your collection, and you make the rules. Collect what you like, and dont feel forced to buy stuff you dont like. For instance, to add to my Yankees, I also have small collections of old other teams from New York in all sports. Plus an album of Jewish athletes in all sports. Again, its my collection and I collect what I like. But I do stick strongly to the New York and Jewish cards, even if I see a card I really like if it does not fit in those categories I do NOT put it in my collection.

[Leon]

The last part about not feeling forced to buy something you don't care for is a difficult one if you are collecting a set or subset. I remember many a type cards I didn't care for but had to have to fill a hole....and some were quite costly. As for team collectors, growing up in Houston with the Astros I don't have to worry about pre-war. And I only collected until my early teens before coming back in my early 30s....Now I truly collect what I like but that can also be kind of spastic with the way I wander....

Originally Posted by dabigyankeeman

Yankees collector here. On real old pre-war cards I make a decision on the set based on how much I like them and what they cost. On most I try to complete the team set, such as T205/206/07, Goudey, Play Balls, etc. On some I only get one or two as examples such as Ramly's or blankets.

Once I reach 1948 Bowman I get complete team sets of all of the Bowmans, and on Topps I collect complete team sets from 1951 thru 1980. After 1980 with multiple companies each year and so many cards produced, I collect most Topps base set cards and then I add individual Yankees cards that I really like from other sets.

Note that collecting Yankees, there are a ton of real expensive HOF players over the years, and on them I am fine with obtaining cards in low condition, for instance most of my Ruth cards are either "1" or "A" and to me its better to have them in that condition then not to have them at all because I cant afford them in nice shape.

In the end its totally up to you, its your collection, and you make the rules. Collect what you like, and dont feel forced to buy stuff you dont like. For instance, to add to my Yankees, I also have small collections of old other teams from New York in all sports. Plus an album of Jewish athletes in all sports. Again, its my collection and I collect what I like. But I do stick strongly to the New York and Jewish cards, even if I see a card I really like if it does not fit in those categories I do NOT put it in my collection.