N172 Old Judge HOF Revised Power Rankings

[cyseymour]

Hi All,

I have been compiling a little research based on prices realized to revise the power rankings for HOF OJ's, as I believe that neither of the grading companies have the power rankings completely accurate. These rankings are subject to debate, but I can provide examples that support my thesis.

Many of you will comment that OJ prices are very reliant on image. I have factored in the image quality of each card I've studied in past prices realized. The below rankings are assuming that all images are equal - this is just to give a baseline for those bidding on the cards.

Certain cards like the Anson uniform, Wright third pose, and Player's League cards have been excluded, but I have done separate prices for the portrait poses, as I know that those sell for a premium. So it's best to treat them differently in the power rankings.

Please note that the McPhee card has taken a hit recently in prices after it was exposed in the rarity rankings as being a bit less rare than previously thought, and Robinson prices have increased. The list also reflects strong recent prices for Rusie cards.

Anyways, it is all reflected here in the power rankings. The Nichols ranking I am less sure of since there haven't been many recent results, certain results have been erratic, and on one of them, I was the winning bidder.

Delahanty Batting 15
Delahanty Fielding 12
Radbourn Portrait 9
Rusie 9
Anson Suit 9
Nichols 9
Mack 8
Wright Looking Right 8
Kelly Portrait 7
Robinson 6
McPhee 6
Comiskey Browns Champs 5
Ward Portrait 4
Thompson 3
Kelly 3
Hamilton 3
Conner 3
Welch 3
Galvin 3
Griffith 3
Radbourn 2
Hanlon 2
Beckley 2
Comiskey 2
Ewing 2
Duffy 2
Brouthers 2
O'Rourke 1
Keefe 1
Ward 1
Clarkson 1
McCarthy 1


Would love to get some opinions on this, especially from the experts on the board, like Jay. Who am I overrating/underrating?

[cyseymour]

I've revised this list based on feedback received from my identical post on FCF and some commentary on the Deacon White thread. So until Deacon and O'Day actually sell in auction, I think it's best to leave them off the list. Otherwise, it is too much conjecture.

But what do people think of Rusie and Nichols? Too high, or about right? It would be great to get some feedback...

[E93]

Are these rankings based on prices realized or toughness? At least in recent years, Russie is much tougher than Delahanty. Anson is not hard to find, but is more expensive than comparably difficult N172s. Others here have far more expertise on N172s than I do.
JimB

[cyseymour]

Originally Posted by E93

Are these rankings based on prices realized or toughness? At least in recent years, Russie is much tougher than Delahanty. Anson is not hard to find, but is more expensive than comparably difficult N172s. Others here have far more expertise on N172s than I do.
JimB

They are "power rankings" based on prices realized. Recent results have been more heavily weighted.

Most tend to rely on the OJ book for the rarity rankings. I am not sold that those rankings are 100% accurate, but at least a very good estimate for practical purposes.

But the point of these rankings is so that bidders know what prices certain players get in relation to other players. But that rankings can be somewhat fluid as more results come in.

[ValKehl]

Hi Jamie,
How would you initially rank Hank O'Day, now that he will be inducted into the HOF?
Val

[cyseymour]

Val,

I'm really woefully underinformed about the goings on of n172 commons, and in fact I had never even heard of O'Day before I learned he was being considered for the HOF. But I think someone told me that he is a fairly plentiful card, and as a borderline HOFer, I would give him 1 point, sort of along the lines of Clarkson. Which is still a nice place to be!

Jamie

[Delray Vintage]

I think some of these are grade dependent. Any hall of fame grade 7 or higher is rare. Some have only one high grade available. Is a grade 8 tim keefe only a 1 compared to a grade 5 anson? It is very hard to rank with so few really being sold.

[cyseymour]

Originally Posted by Delray Vintage

I think some of these are grade dependent. Any hall of fame grade 7 or higher is rare. Some have only one high grade available. Is a grade 8 tim keefe only a 1 compared to a grade 5 anson? It is very hard to rank with so few really being sold.

The Power Rankings are assuming that all cards are equal in image quality and technical grade. It is simply to distinguish between who are the most desirable Hall of Famers. But they are all desirable.

When I calibrated the rankings based on prices realized, I took both image quality and technical grade into account. For instance, we can see with Harry Wright and Delahanty:

NM condition:

PSA 7 Wright 10.7k
Delahanty SGC 84 16.5k

Low grade (SGC 20 or 30 doesn't matter here bc card is collected based on image, both downgraded due to back damage):

SGC 20 Wright 3.6k
SGC 30 Delahanty 5.6k

In both instances, they was a 50% premium for Delahany over Wright, so that's a foundation for Dela getting 12pts in the power ranking while Wright gets 8.