usefulness of VCBC

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Posted By: Anonymous

Greetings,

I am a collector new to the field of sports memorabilia. I came across this site about a month ago and it is spectacular. I cannot tell you all how much I have learned in the few weeks that I have frequented this site. I have a question regarding the VCBC journal that I hope some of you may be able to help me with. How useful is the Journal? Is it worth it to pay $150 for all the back issues, and $50 for a subscription?

I am a graduate school student studying sports history. Will the VCBC help me in research for historical papers and the like?

Basically, is it worth it for a newbie such as myself to invest in buying the entire lot of the VCBC?

Everyone's help is greatly appreciated.

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Posted By: Hal Lewis

I spent the money and bought all the back issues...

and I can't put them down.

EVERYTHING you want to know ... and more!

Great photos too.

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Posted By: The Other One (Julie)

The goals of VCBC are to deceminate pleasure and information to vintage collectors. I'm not SURE this will help you get a PhD in sports history--suppose they skip something--that you happen to be covering intensely. I think you should look through the index, and see which issues appear to you to be likely to have the most use (and pleasure) for you, and after you've studied these for a while, decide whether you want the whole shebang.

I've found every issue delightful--and this is often most true of issues that cover things I DON'T concentrate on in my collecting. They tell me things I wouldn't otherwise know. But nobody but you can know what the focus of your studies will be.

It's also true that the magazine is primarily one of sports COLLECTING, not sports history--but there's plenty of that as well. I'll never forget the thrill of the article in the first issue covering the 1919 World Series from start to finish, written before there was any hint of scandal. I believe the author concluded that Cincinnati simply had better pitching than Chicago--which fits perfectly with the words of the pitchers inviolved: you are the one who has to lose this game; others may help, but the loss rests squarely on YOU.

Great stuff..

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Posted By: mike mac

The journal has its ups and downs. The back issues are worth the expense for the sports history included within, not just as collecting references. These sports history articles are not academic articles. Lately, the journal has been making alot of promises about what it is going to do. We'll have to see if, going forward, they'll deliever.

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Posted By: Anonymous

After all your positive comments on the VCBC, I have decided to purchase all the back issues of the journal. Thanks for the info.

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Posted By: jay behrens

If you are into sports history, then a membership with SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) is an absolute must.

http://sabr.org/

Jay Behrens

I like to sit outside, drink beer and yell at people. If I did this at home I would be arrested, so I go to baseball games and fit right in.

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Posted By: mjkm90

I find VCBC to be a bit too obscure. Too many accounts of games involving teams and players nobody has ever heard of. When you don't know the players, towns, and teams, the details just blend together. The detail is painful to read; who's dog was watching, the county fair queens name, and the corn production from the pitcher's farm. Do we really want to know about a match between the butcher shop boys and the log splitters behind Ben's General Store? The card and memorabilia articles are great but few and far between and not worth the $$$ in my oppinion. I would like to see historical articles about memorabilia, cards and players of historical significance. I should say that I appreciate the effort that goes into the journal, but it is published soo infrequently that you begin to wonder if you will ever see the next issue.

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Posted By: leon

I strongly recommend the up and coming kid magazine on the block.....Old Cardboard....it can be subscribed to at www.oldcardboard.com I believe it will be far more to the liking of most of us......Most articles will be about cards, sets and other good stuff...and NO I don't have a vested interest in it. regards all

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Posted By: Hal Lewis

No need to get the magazine, though, as the Old Cardboard web site is great!

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Posted By: Elliot

The mock-up of the magazine that was at the National looked very interesting and worthwhile, just in case anybody didn't realize that Hal was kidding.

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Posted By: Anonymous

The responses have been wonderful.

Jay - I am planning on becoming a member of SABR once the new school year begins. I have high respect for SABR. The book they published by Gerald Tomlinson "How to do Baseball Research" is the best reference guide I have seen. It has saved my butt on many occasions.

Again, I appreciate everyone's insights.

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Posted By: jay behrens

Just note about joining SABR. Generally, if you join before Sept 1st you will get all the books that are slated for publication this year, but then need to pay yearly dues again for 2005. If you join after Sept 1st, you will be be able to get newletters and email lists, but your membership will be considered 2005. Check the SABR website to see what the pubication schedule is and if there are books taht you really want. This may sway when you decide to join

Jay

I like to sit outside, drink beer and yell at people. If I did this at home I would be arrested, so I go to baseball games and fit right in.

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Posted By: Rich Klein

Is that SABR has discounted memberships to students. Make sure if you join you take advantage of that

Rich

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Posted By: Hal Lewis

I was only "sorta" joking!

The Old Card board web site is nice and I do like the card reference material.

But YES, everyone should get their magazine too.

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Posted By: hankron

Living in a home that subscribes to a lot of magazines (I subscribe to about 3, the rest are women's magazines), I can say that there are very few magazines worth the paper the are printed on-- and that includes the ones I subscribe to!

As I'm just one reader, I don't expect all the material to be made for me (I don't laugh at all the strips on the comics page). However, I consider an issue a good one if 1) Teaches me something that I can apply to my life or collecting or work or whatever. A guide to collecting baseball bats or techniques for storing prints or whatever ... 2) Has an article that is interesting if useless. For example, I enjoy being introduced to an area I don't intend on collecting in or hearing an interesting story ... 3) Cool pictures-- eye candy. As we all know, sometimes the ads are the best part of a magazine.

Lastly, no ultra-fluff and super gloss for super gloss' sake and general vomitousness. Most magazines are like cotton candy-- look pretty, but all sugar and your stomache doesn't feel so good when you're done. I'd rather have a 1/2 page Xerox that told me something useful, than an 200 page magazine that was a waste of my time-- seriously.

Lastly, as someone who gets bored on those afternoon and lies down on the couch and pages through the other magazines on the coffee table, I can say that a few (I said a few) of the women's magazines are nicely designed and instructive. It's no coincidence that people at parties have noticed that I no longer need to repair the holes in my jeans with packaging tape and have started correctly prounouncing a woman's anatomy. Had thought many of those terms were names for Italian car parts.

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Posted By: The other One (Julie)

to "Old Cardboard." I just didn't want to give original questioner the idea that VCBC would solve all his sudying problems, or even necessarily conribute to his studies at all---since I don't KNOW what his "sports studies" (this is for a PhD, guys!) will consist of. I cab't imagine it not being of SOME help--as i said. Nor can I imagine a collector of vintage stuff not eating up each issue. But I would stop short of a whole=hearted endorcement of all back issues for someone who wanted the magazine for the specific purpose of stuying a specific area of sports history--that's all.

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Posted By: Anonymous

Julie:

My primary needs for the VCBC was to expand my limited knowledge of vintage baseball memorabilia and collecting. The history aspect is secondary for me (I probably should have stated that more clearly).

From everyones responses it appears pretty obvious that the VCBC is quite usefull for new collectors. I especially enjoyed hankron's observation...well said.

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Posted By: The other One (Julie)

link at the top of the page.

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Posted By: hankron

Behrod, my opinion is that you should buy a copy of the catalogs for the 1999 Sotheby's Auction of the Barry Halper Collection. This was a famous auction of a wide range of super high-end super expensive early baseball memorabilia, and the fully illustrated catalogs are available at ebay and amazon.com. Having bought the catalog, you should feel free to ask the board "What's this?" and "What can you say about that?" I promise you that you will be entertained and awed by the contents on the catalogs, and will get a view of the wide scope of baseball memorabilia.

A friend was looking through my copy and was awed by the high prices. I pointed out that he was looking at the starting bids.

It is also interesting as a few of the items in the auction are now considered to be fakes.

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Posted By: hankron

Behrod, FYI Barry Halper was a minority owner in the New York Yankees and an unequalled collector of baseball memorabilia. The Sotheby's auction contained only a part of his collection that sold for $25 million or so. Another portion of his collection constitutes the 'Barry Halper wing' at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

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Posted By: Anonymous

Complete run of VCBC + Subscription......$200

Oldcardboard subscription.....$23.50

Barry Halper Sotheby's Catalogue on ebay.....$20

SABR Student Membership......$30

Adding the first peice to your Baseball Memorabilia collection.....................Priceless

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Posted By: Richard Masson

Once you are a SABR member, you can purchase back issues of this journal. It is full of well researched and interesting articles concerning baseball history. Much more bang for your buck than VCBC from that perspective.

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Posted By: Andrew

Anyone selling a copy, or know someone who is, as there currently doesn't seem to be any on Ebay?

“A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner.” - English Proverb

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Posted By: Rhett

Check your local Barnes and Nobles, I went in there about a month ago and there must have been 50-100 of the boxed sets for $11.99 each.
-Rhett

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Posted By: Jeff S

...also have the Halper catalog. Which is great if you're like me and spend as much time in the library as you do at home. Good excuse to take a break.

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Posted By: Chris

Which items in the Halper auction are considered fakes?

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Posted By: rennach

Barry also has quite a bit of stuff in the basement of his new house...check out the virtual tour of this portion of his collection available on the "Barry Halper Virtual Hall of Fame" cd-rom.