Diversity in the hobby

[JoeyF1981]

So I was having a discussion with a friend at work about the hobby and the first thing he said is "I dont think Ive met one black person who collects baseball cards besides you" lol...I was thinking about it and I can honestly say I know of only a couple. Ive seen many photos of the conventions and other functions and Ive rarely seen that much of a diverse crowd of people regarding race particularly african americans. Just wanted to see what other peoples perception is on this topic so I can argue this point with my co-worker.

[brewing]

I agree with your co-worker. In my opinion, the percentage of non-white males is less than 5%.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by brewing

I agree with your co-worker. In my opinion, the percentage of non-white males is less than 5%.

This has been my experience as well.

[JollyRoger]

You could tell your coworker about Dimitri Young

[bbcard1]

I would argue that there are older white males in all sorts of sizes and shapes.

[wonkaticket]

It's most likely because we are all racist old white guys like Michael O'Keefe outlined a few times.



Just look what we did to those poor guys Cobb & Edwards with their perfectly fine Wagner.

[Tim Kindler]

Without sounding like a total you know what, the thought of a collector white, black, brown, Old, young, male, female, fellow Catholic, Jewish, atheist, Muslim, American, citizen of another country, hetero, alternative, WHATEVER, shouldn't cross anyone's mind.
On this board at least, other than the folks I have met and can put a face with, I have no idea what they are in person and frankly I don't care, nor would ever care. I would hope no one would. And I'm not saying u are worried about it either, just stating my opinion that diversity hopefully is really a nonissue in our hobby and that we are all just HUMAN collectors. (except for those zombies I saw at the net 54 dinner last year)
Joey, not the least bit upset in my thoughts, just stating a thought with a fellow collector.

[Orioles1954]

I've known only a couple of African-American collectors. Conversely, I've known well over a dozen Asian and Middle Eastern collectors.

[JoeyF1981]

Originally Posted by Tim Kindler

Without sounding like a total you know what, the thought of a collector white, black, brown, Old, young, male, female, fellow Catholic, Jewish, atheist, Muslim, American, citizen of another country, hetero, alternative, WHATEVER, shouldn't cross anyone's mind.
On this board at least, other than the folks I have met and can put a face with, I have no idea what they are in person and frankly I don't care, nor would ever care. I would hope no one would. And I'm not saying u are worried about it either, just stating my opinion that diversity hopefully is really a nonissue in our hobby and that we are all just HUMAN collectors. (except for those zombies I saw at the net 54 dinner last year)
Joey, not the least bit upset in my thoughts, just stating a thought with a fellow collector.

I totally agree and could care less about anyones race. The important thing is we all share a passion for the hobby. I was just making a observation based on what ive seen and heard from other people.

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by Tim Kindler

............. (except for those zombies I saw at the net 54 dinner last year).............

Hey Tim, I'm sorry I missed you at the Net54 dinner this year. Maybe next year you can just by my table and say hello. You'll know me when you see me.
My avatar is misleading.

[JoeyF1981]

Originally Posted by brewing

I agree with your co-worker. In my opinion, the percentage of non-white males is less than 5%.

Thats what I was thinking too

[4815162342]

Go back and look at one of the "Introduce yourself" threads and you'll see that Net54 members come from different locations, backgrounds, and all walks of life. Different colors of skin shouldn't be the only measure of diversity in a group.

[aabram23]

Wow never thought of this before but it does seem to be a fact. I guess this is one reason why I spend more time reading this board than many other sites. It allows me to escape the everyday struggle of majority vs minority ideals in the media.

In my mind I always thought you all were just old fat diabetic, 3 pack a day guys with no children on the verge of death getting ready to unload all of your collections at the same time and I was the only one who had a love for this "stuff" under 40. I guess I was wrong.

I guess it could be worse. I could be surfing the net behind my wife's back flirting with "college chicks" finding out they are old fat diabetic 3 pack a day guys.

It's amazing how the cyber space removes all preconceptions and prejudices until someone lays it out on themselves.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[toledo_mudhen]

Originally Posted by aabram23

In my mind I always thought you all were just old fat diabetic, 3 pack a day guys with no children on the verge of death getting ready to unload all of your collections at the same time and I was the only one who had a love for this "stuff" under 40. I guess I was wrong.

old - Check
fat - Check
diabetic - Check
3 pack a day - Half Check (Actually 2 Pack a Day)
guys - Check
no children - Check
on the verge of death - Hope Not
getting ready to unload all of your collections - Takin em with me

5.5 Checks out of 8 possible - You must be psychotic...err psychic... What do I win?

[kcohen]

Okay, okay. Got it. Nobody meant any offense and nobody has been offended. This thread is putting me to sleep.

That said, to achieve true diversity, the hobby needs more old fat white guys with comb-overs.

[Paul S]

Originally Posted by kcohen

...That said, to achieve true diversity, the hobby needs more old fat white guys with comb-overs.

Already has that population. That's why Net54 shirt sizes start at 3XL, except for myself, of course

[Exhibitman]

Out of the two shows we've run so far in SoCal I'd say we had an attendee mix that was about 75% white, with the balance African-American, Hispanic and Asian. We also had far more women attendees than is the norm at many shows, which I ascribe to our free admission policy that allowed moms, significant others, and other people who weren't interested in collecting to tag along for free [I should probably ask whether charging a lot for women to be admitted is something the collectors favor ]. If you want to talk non-diversity, though, let's talk gender, as Bill Simmons wrote in 2011 on Grantland:

Q: Enjoyed your sports memorabilia piece. A question though: Were there ANY women there at all? I mean, if there is 'press box hot' what constitutes as 'sports memorabilia convention' hot?
— Torey, Pittsburgh

SG: I tackled this subject in 2009's photo essay, writing things like "There are sausage fests, there are mega-sausage fests and then there's the National Sports Collectors Convention. You have a better chance of meeting your future wife in an all-male penitentiary during a Gay Pride parade." Press Box Hot is a much higher caliber than NSCC Hot; I'd put NSCC Hot just below Female Prison Guard Hot. It's so bad that you're startled every time you see a woman under 40. Even pregnant moms pushing baby strollers get checked out. One collector had the bright idea of having a pretty women in her early 20s sit in his station with him; she was clearly hired for the event (like a convention escort), but the ploy worked. Guys in Hawaiian shirts were awkwardly wobbling by like they'd just seen a lunar eclipse. That's my suggestion to any major dealer out there: Hire a local Hooters girl or model to hang out in your booth for five afternoons and just flirt with customers. Pay her $200 a day. You'll make the money back.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Most of the other collectors I know are white. I'm hispanic.

[timzcardz]

Could it be that non-whites are smarter than to waste ridiculous amounts of money on little old scraps of cardboard?


All kidding aside though, I've never taken notice of the ethnicty of people who collected, or didn't.

[ullmandds]

Having been in this hobby for close to 4 decades now...it has always been and continues to be predominantly a "white" dominated hobby. Quan keeps pumping out kids...so I'm guessing the vietnamese subsect will be increasing in the future...and I hear the inuits are getting into it as well!

[wonkaticket]

Well as long as the Dutch don't get into the hobby I hate the Dutch!

Them and their little wooden shoes...ughhh...

[barrysloate]

Originally Posted by wonkaticket

Well as long as the Dutch don't get into the hobby I hate the Dutch!

Them and their little wooden shoes...ughhh...

+1

And forget about the Hottentots...Yuck!

[kcohen]

Originally Posted by wonkaticket

Well as long as the Dutch don't get into the hobby I hate the Dutch!

Them and their little wooden shoes...ughhh...

Geez, Wonk! What did he ever do to you?

[JoeyF1981]

Originally Posted by timzcardz

Could it be that non-whites are smarter than to waste ridiculous amounts of money on little old scraps of cardboard?


All kidding aside though, I've never taken notice of the ethnicty of people who collected, or didn't.

Lol!!

[Rickyy]

Well..the stamp collecting world was turned upside down when Maria Sharapova confessed to liking stamps... perhaps we can recruit Kate Upton...

http://stampcollectingroundup.blogsp...sharapova.html

Ricky Y

[7nohitter]

This is a very interesting topic and would make a great research study!
I've actually never even thought about it, but since it was brought up I have a very tough time recalling seeing many African Americans (if any) at any of the shows/signings/events I've attended, or even seen reported on...