1971: Mastro gets his Plank

[trdcrdkid]

In the June 1971 The Trader Speaks (from which I just posted an article about Crawford Foxwell's convention), editor Dan Dischley auctioned off a T206 Plank with a minimum bid of $150. The following month in the July issue, he announced that Bill Mastro had won it for $320. Mastro was 18 years old at the time. I'm not sure how close he was to the set at that point, but the following year he bought a Wagner for a then-record $1500 to complete his set. (See the profile of him from the January 1973 TTS in this thread: http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=217776.)

[Duluth Eskimo]

Bill Mastro is a thief and an open sore on this hobby. I would rather pour Frank's red hot on an open cut than read a history lesson on him. Other than that, thanks for posting.

[Luke]

Seems a little excessive. I appreciate Dave posting these pages from old hobby publications.

[Duluth Eskimo]

Nothing against posting hobby history, maybe choose a different article. I know he posts a lot of historical articles, which is great, but cmon.

[trdcrdkid]

Jeez, I'm sorry that you're offended by this, Jason. I saw a T206 Plank auction from 1971 with a realized price, and thought it would be of interest. The fact that Mastro was the buyer is not really the main point, though it's kind of interesting because he was a major hobby figure at the time at such a young age. I've posted several other articles by or about Mastro from that period, and the comments have mainly been from people wondering how that kid with such a great collection, and an apparent passion for the cards, went so wrong later on. I think it's a legitimate thing to wonder about, but you don't have to read the articles if you don't want to.

[cardsfan73]

Thanks for sharing, I for one am interested in all aspects in the history of our hobby even if it does involve someone like Mastro. Makes one wonder what ever became of this Plank card? Did he "clean" this one up and sell it for a massive profit later on down the line?


Great stuff as always and thanks for sharing!

Scott

[ls7plus]

Originally Posted by trdcrdkid

Jeez, I'm sorry that you're offended by this, Jason. I saw a T206 Plank auction from 1971 with a realized price, and thought it would be of interest. The fact that Mastro was the buyer is not really the main point, though it's kind of interesting because he was a major hobby figure at the time at such a young age. I've posted several other articles by or about Mastro from that period, and the comments have mainly been from people wondering how that kid with such a great collection, and an apparent passion for the cards, went so wrong later on. I think it's a legitimate thing to wonder about, but you don't have to read the articles if you don't want to.

+1. Regardless of his later misdeeds, these events regarding the early history of the hobby, even including Mastro's involvement, are truly fascinating! Keep 'em coming!

Best to all,

Larry

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

It's interesting that Plank was cheaper pre-internet when it would've been harder to find.

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