Whatever happened to these long-time dealers?

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Don't feel so bad, Alan. We've all been there in one form or another, especially as young, poor collectors.

The best/worst story of this sort I ever heard was from a friend who may even be lurking and see this. He's told it to me before, and I believe he's already posted it here many years ago, so it's information that's already been shared. But it's a doozy.

When he was a kid, he used to buy T cards from Wirt Gammon, as so many longtime collectors did in that era. Wirt wrote him, offering a Wagner, saying something to the effect of, "This is something really rare that you should get if you can.". Price tag? $50. My friend couldn't really swing it. $50 was a lot of money to a young guy that long ago.