When was the term "Rookie Card" introduced into the Hobby ?

[Bigshot69]

Originally Posted by uyu906

I began collecting in 1976. Probably went to my first card show in S.C. Pennsylvania in 1978. At the first couple of shows I went to I was busy buying cards to complete my current year Topps set and Orioles team sets. By about the 3rd show I got interested in vintage and began collecting cards of Baltimore players and Brooklyn players (my father's favorite team.) The first time I heard the term rookie card was when I asked a dealer how much a 1955 Sandy Koufax was and he told me a price that I thought was really high. Probably something like $20-$30. I asked why that one was so high when the 1956 Koufax he had was only about $5 in the same condition as the 1955. He told me it was because it was his rookie card. I asked him if that made the 1955 rarer than the 1956, he said no. To my 10 year old mind I couldn't figure out why there would be such a premium on a first year card of someone, if it was not any rarer than the next years card. In fact, I have never fully embraced the rookie card paradigm for my collecting. I know the rest of the hobby has. If memory serves, I think the idea of this premium began with coin dealers, who were some of the early dealers of cards as well. Not sure if that is something also true in numismatics or not, as I am not a coin collector.

This is an excellent observation and probably deserves further research. The hunt for the 1909s Lincoln Wheat Penny and 1932d Washington quarter likely pre-date any documented rookie card speculation.