Longtime collector John Spalding passes away

[Troy Kirk]

Very sad to hear this news. As a kid collector, I saw John all the time at all the early baseball card shows in Northern California in the 1970s and saw him later at a bunch of Southern California shows in the 1980s. I kidded him once that my friends and I all thought his prices were too high in the 1970s, but they pretty much stayed the same through the 1980s until he was one of the lower priced dealers in those days, and I bought a lot of cards from him. I saw him once at a flea market in the bay area in the early 1970s and I knew I had to get out early to those places if I wanted to find cards before he got them. He was a great guy and I corresponded with him a bit and even bought a bunch of his old hobby magazines from him. His "Always on Sunday" book is one of my treasured books in my bookshelf and I always admired his dedicated baseball research and writing.