Warren Spahn - Why No Hobby Love?

[gonefishin]

I've often wondered why certain players don't receive the hobby "Love" that many others do. Here is a case in point - the great Warren Spahn.

If we just take a cursory look at what he accomplished, it simply amazes me that the value of his cards, autographs, memorabilia, etc., pales in comparison with others.

From what I've read, he was a decorated war veteran from WWII having been awarded both a Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and a battlefield commission.

From what I've read he was always very generous with his time and autographs for his fans.

From what I've read he is the winningest left-handed pitcher of all time.

From what I've read he is the 6th winningest pitcher of all time with 363 wins.

I don't think it is because of the team he played on, primarily the Braves. I also don't think it's because of any sort of stain on his reputation.

It always makes me wonder why someone so accomplished just doesn't resonate with the public the way some others do/have.

If we only want to judge based on accomplishments, Warren Spahn was one of the best that ever took the field.

Here is an autographed scorecard from his 300th win on August 11, 1961.

Any thoughts from others?

[GaryPassamonte]

I couldn't agree more. Great pitcher and man.

[Scott Garner]

Absolutely!
Warren Spahn was The Man!

[seanofjapan]

He is one of the all time greats.

I got his autograph on a trip to Cooperstown in 1991 when I was a teenager. He and Catfish Hunter were both at a card shop. Spahn was really nice, engaged me in a bit of banter while signing which was really neat for my 14 year old self.

I got his auto on a kind of tacky looking 8 by 10 and if I could go back in time I would have gotten him to sign a card instead…

[doug.goodman]

Career win #363 (his last).

Also Mays HR #499 and Banks HR #401

[Carter08]

I grew up watching baseball in the 80s but only more recently got into collecting vintage. Spahn is by far my favorite vintage player. What an awesome guy. His 48/49 leaf probably takes the cake for what I think is the coolest card ever made.

Grumpy side note: I had a type 1 photo he autographed. Bought it for a reasonable amount, and then sold it to someone when I didn’t think it fit well with my collection. That person took it to heritage and it was auctioned off as his earliest known photo in a baseball uniform and went for 7 times as much. Ooops.

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by doug.goodman

Career win #363 (his last).

Also Mays HR #499 and Banks HR #401

Awesome scorebook, Doug!
Here is the corresponding ticket to Spahnie's last win #363.

[Lucas00]

I love Spahny!

[captainfitz]

All these Spahn items are fantastic. Definitely one of the best LHP of all time.

From my view, I see two sizeable reasons he doesn't get the love he probably should:

1) He played in an era with so many iconic players, he never seemed like the biggest name in the game. Some of his best seasons were overshadowed by guys like Mays, Mantle, and Aaron. Each of them had seasons where they could be viewed as the best player in the league, while Spahn always seemed to fall a few notches down (whether fairly or not) even in his greatness.
2) He was a genuinely incredible guy who generously signed a lot of items. I think there is a pretty large supply of authentic Spahn pieces out there. When supply is high and there's nothing driving demand higher, price/value will remain low, sadly.

But hey, I've got a few great Spahn pieces that I'll enjoy in my collection for a long time, regardless of where the hobby leans.

[Hankphenom]

Hard to argue with that list! Somebody said that Spahn was the Frank Robinson of pitchers in terms of hobby interest and respect. I'd say more like Stan Musial, whose career Spahn's enveloped completely. In fact, they faced each other more times than any other duo in history, barely edging out Cobb and Johnson, whose careers also paralleled entirely.

[DHogan]

At one time, Warren Spahn owned this diner on Commonwealth Ave in Boston across from the Braves field Stadium.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by DHogan

At one time, Warren Spahn owned this diner on Commonwealth Ave in Boston across from the Braves field Stadium.

Love the old diners! Tough business, though. He ended up a cattle rancher in Oklahoma.

[Jobu]

As someone from Milwaukee, I LOVE all of the love you guys are giving him! I used to live near his house in Milwaukee and was told that the spindles of the railing to the second floor were made out of baseball bats.

I think the amount of time he spent in Milwaukee didn't help his case a ton as guys who play here are often overlooked. I also think he didn't get as much attention because he wasn't flashy, on or off the field, and he wasn't the best looking guy in the majors, something which I think influences the prices of the stuff we collect whether people acknowledge it or not.

Here's a super sharp picture of him in 1954 that I love.

[Lucas00]

The braves have fans far and wide, in strange places. I've heard their games were the only ones broadcasted publicly for free. I believe if you lived in Hawaii your only watchable team was the braves. This is before my time, but I'd love if somebody could chime in and elaborate.

To tie this into the thread, it confuses me even more that Warren isn't more popular.

[obcbeatle]

Originally Posted by Lucas00

The braves have fans far and wide, in strange places. I've heard their games were the only ones broadcasted publicly for free. I believe if you lived in Hawaii your only watchable team was the braves. This is before my time, but I'd love if somebody could chime in and elaborate.

To tie this into the thread, it confuses me even more that Warren isn't more popular.

As a kid in 1971, we moved from San Francisco to Miami, FL, bye bye Giants , hello ? Of course there was no MLB team in Miami in 1971, but the Braves broadcast games on radio, and then TV, to Miami. I quickly became a Braves fan, think Aaron, Murphy... Fast forward to 1980, I moved to Georgia. Ted Turner (TBS/TNT) soon broadcast games, to what seemed like to everywhere, sometime in the early 1990's, I believe. I bet that is when Hawaii received those broadcasts. So you are correct, the Braves became America's team because of Ted. I think I got most of that right. It sucks getting old

[Topnotchsy]

Has anyone ever seen a GU lineup card from a game that Spahn pitched? Been collecting lineup cards for years and have searched past auctions from many auction sites and have never seen one.