What was the salvation of the Prewar card hobby

[brunswickreeves]

Originally Posted by jingram058

Having been in and out of the hobby 4 times, I have never understood my 3rd return in the late 1980s, and now. Even in the late 80s, you could still buy a 33 Goudey Ruth for $250. I know, because I bought one. I thought it was a lot of money. Maybe I'm just and old fogey, but the thousands of dollars for that same Ruth seems unbelievable. I have never understood the Mickey Mantle phenomenon. But I guess his meteoric rise in value is similar to Lawrence Welk in the big bands. Out of Glenn Miller (who unfortunately disappeared over the English Channel), Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, who would believe that Lawrence Welk would wind up so insanely popular when all the others faded away?

When I was about 10 years old a friend of mine casually opened a safety box at his grandfather’s house where we were visiting and showed me several 33 Goudey Ruths. Said they were worth about a thousand bucks. That was the first time I had ever seen a vintage baseball card in person and was totally captivated. I also remember a friend telling us his Dad had a 52 Topps Mantle and my brother and I would play in the woods imagining what if we found an abandoned box of 52 Topps cards and THE Mickey Mantle? Funny how these childhood memories are so cemented in memory and a place we collectors go back to for pure unbridled joy.