Value of T206 E.Collins??

[mechanicalman]

Originally Posted by Joshchisox08

John I know you're making a comparison and I agree big time with 1-3 but I don't think Cocky Collins and Paul Molitor should be mentioned in the same sentence no offense to Molitor but Collins could easily be picked as the best Second Baseman (arguably) Molitor..... not so much.

Agree with this. I think Hornsby might give Collins a run, but they are in a different class than Molitor.

That said, I think this comment reinforces the point of the OP's question. Collins does seem under-appreciated and under-valued.

[Luke]

I've had this same thought before. It doesn't make much sense to me.

[Mark]

I've noticed this, too, and I've chalked it up to how a lot of the more popular cards are of players whose careers began back in the 19th century while Collins' playing career stretched into the late 1920's. Maybe this made him seem too modern to excite the nostalgic interest that goes to "dead ball" players like Chance, Lajoie, and Brown. In addition, it might hurt that he was one of the clean Black Sox, making him even less romantic a figure.

[brianp-beme]

I am not sure why Eddie doesn't command the collector respect (perhaps because nothing about him is exciting or 'sexy'), but being a bargain shopper, I have built up a pretty decent collection of his cards due to this lack of demand.

For the sake of my future collecting, please keep this info on the low down.

Brian

[T206Collector]

It's helpful to see that Lajoie, Speaker, and Young got into the Hall of Fame in 1937 -- voted on by people who saw them all player -- and Collins didn't make the cut that year.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/hof_1937.shtml

The next year, Alexander got in, but no one else.

It wasn't until 1939 that Collins got in, along with Sisler and Keeler.

That gives a pretty strong impression that as great as Collins was statistically, he wasn't thought of as that ultra-top-tier great by his contemporary critics.

As an aside, I'm a pretty big Eddie Collins fan - of all the famous ballplayers who have come out of New York, none of them came from as close to where I grew up in the lower Hudson Valley. Collins came out of Tarrytown, NY!

[brianp-beme]

Another observation...since the early eighties when I began collecting vintage, Eddie Collins has always been undervalued compared to his top tier status as a HOF ballplayer. So this collector perception certainly has been around for a long time.

Brian

[bravos4evr]

IDK why this is honestly. He's probably the 2nd greatest 2b of all time after Hornsby (who is in a league of his own really at 2b), he's got good career numbers relative to his peers at all positions and is nearly one of the 10 most productive players of ALL TIME!!! (I'd put him in the 11-15 range,which is elite of the elite)

I guess the fact he played for a lot of teams and perhaps didn't have a personality that was marketable or something hurts him. I have noticed that 2b seems to be the red headed stepchild of baseball too. for some odd reason.

[Tao_Moko]

Originally Posted by brianp-beme

I am not sure why Eddie doesn't command the collector respect (perhaps because nothing about him is exciting or 'sexy'), but being a bargain shopper, I have built up a pretty decent collection of his cards due to this lack of demand.

For the sake of my future collecting, please keep this info on the low down.

Brian

Sexy he was not. "Cocky" was Columbia educated and unlike Joe Jackson and many others, joined the Marine Corps during WWI. He didn't serve in combat but at least put himself out there. I'll be more excited over a fellow Devil Dog than somebody who was simply just good at baseball any day. I enjoy the lower price for his cards too. Cat may be out of the bag now. Net54 has a way of impacting the market in short spurts sometimes.