Hobby history: Card dealers of the 1960s, part 2: Yeko and Oreck

[Piratedogcardshows]

Interesting read thanks David.

[Griffins]

Thanks for posting these.
Interesting about the star card prices. I ordered T206's a lot from Card Collectors Company from '72-75, and if you ordered a dozen or so he'd always include a minor Hall of Famer- Bresnahan, Clarke, etc, but as I ordered more regularly it became Bender and Brown. In early '74 I ordered about a dozen (they were .50 each I think in bulk) and got a Uzit back. Condition wasn't as important and most would probably end up a 2 or 3 today.

[insidethewrapper]

It appears that all the '52 Hi #'s were $ 1. So Mantle was considered a common in the High Series. Amazing the power of marketing !!!

[jsq]

thank you for posting these awesome articles.

all the best

[rats60]

Originally Posted by Griffins

Thanks for posting these.
Interesting about the star card prices. I ordered T206's a lot from Card Collectors Company from '72-75, and if you ordered a dozen or so he'd always include a minor Hall of Famer- Bresnahan, Clarke, etc, but as I ordered more regularly it became Bender and Brown. In early '74 I ordered about a dozen (they were .50 each I think in bulk) and got a Uzit back. Condition wasn't as important and most would probably end up a 2 or 3 today.

I bought cards from Card Collectors Co too, as well as Wholesale Card Co during the same time period. One of them included a common Old Judge in one of my orders. I spent quite a bit with them, for that time period, completing my Topps sets.

[njdunkin1]

Originally Posted by Griffins

Interesting about the star card prices. I ordered T206's a lot from Card Collectors Company.

That is awesome, it must have been so cool getting a free Uzit. Do you recall what you were paying at the time?

Aside--'51 Bowman Mantles for a dollar...gee whiz.

[moeson]

Bruce Yeko used to set up at the mid 70's NY ASCCA shows with very limited stock, but it did include a tall stack of Red Heart Mantles at a $1 per.

[mikemb]

I bought many cards from Bruce. I would make my choices and I gave my dad the cash and he would write out a check for me. Packs of cards were a nickel then so spending a dollar or two was big money to me.

I could not wait for the package to arrive. The only sad part was when you opened it up and found the small credit slip, meaning some of your choices were not available.

Mike

[spec]

Originally Posted by mikemb

I bought many cards from Bruce. I would make my choices and I gave my dad the cash and he would write out a check for me. Packs of cards were a nickel then so spending a dollar or two was big money to me.

I could not wait for the package to arrive. The only sad part was when you opened it up and found the small credit slip, meaning some of your choices were not available.

Mike

Mike,
I remember that miserable feeling well, even after 50 years.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by mikemb

...

I could not wait for the package to arrive. The only sad part was when you opened it up and found the small credit slip, meaning some of your choices were not available.

Mike

Same things with Larry Frisch (RIP). He would send what he had and a note saying what he didn't have, IIRC. His grading was always a surprise too.

[Paul S]

One person I don't really hear much about anymore is Gar Miller. I did a few send-a-ways with him in the Sixties. Never got an IOU and I was picking postwar HOFers, or soon-to-be HOFers. He always included a short personalized note. According to his website he is still active but hasn't done a show in decades. Anybody else here deal with him?

[Jerry G]

Originally Posted by Leon

Same things with Larry Frisch (RIP). He would send what he had and a note saying what he didn't have, IIRC. His grading was always a surprise too.

If you were a college student in the 70's... you might understand how this credit slip was overlooked.

[TCMA]

Originally Posted by moeson

Bruce Yeko used to set up at the mid 70's NY ASCCA shows with very limited stock, but it did include a tall stack of Red Heart Mantles at a $1 per.

Howie, my dad (Mike Aronstein) was a host of those those shows. I've heard lots of stories . It's great to see his name listed in the 1963 publication above, collecting as a 23yo. I'm 38 now and he's 77.

That's by far the earliest mention of his name in regards to the hobby that I've seen.

[irv]

Originally Posted by mikemb

I bought many cards from Bruce. I would make my choices and I gave my dad the cash and he would write out a check for me. Packs of cards were a nickel then so spending a dollar or two was big money to me.

I could not wait for the package to arrive. The only sad part was when you opened it up and found the small credit slip, meaning some of your choices were not available.

Mike

No doubt it was!

Comparing those prices to today, what would the $1 equate to?

[trdcrdkid]

Originally Posted by irv

No doubt it was!

Comparing those prices to today, what would the $1 equate to?

According to the first online inflation calculator I found, $1 in 1965 is the equivalent of $7.66 in 2016. That sounds about right.

[Griffins]

Originally Posted by njdunkin1

That is awesome, it must have been so cool getting a free Uzit. Do you recall what you were paying at the time?

Aside--'51 Bowman Mantles for a dollar...gee whiz.

T206's were .50, so that is what I paid for the Uzit. Flipped it for $10 at the monthly Garden Grove show a few months later. T205's were .75 or $1, they jumped a bit.

[njdunkin1]

Originally Posted by Griffins

T206's were .50, so that is what I paid for the Uzit.

That is awesome.

[akleinb611]

Not to hijack this very interesting thread, but I wrote up a mini-memoir for SCD back in 2011, about my collecting experiences with Mssrs. Yeko, Gelman and Fritsch. It doesn't contain as many surprising facts, but is rather a more subjective account of how I discovered each of these dealers. I've never allowed a lack of knowledge to stop me.

This appeared in the January 4, 2011 issue of SCD - \

http://www.sportscollectorsdigest.co...gelman_frisch/

Hope you guys enjoy it.

And as for this thread, it proves that you can always learn something new. I had no idea that Marshall Oreck was a member of THAT Oreck family. I immediately told my wife that whenever she's vacuuming the living room, she's actually paying tribute to the early days of the hobby.

She just gave me that look many of us have received from our spouse, the look that says, "Dear God, this is the man I chose to be the father of my children."

Alan Kleinberger

[trdcrdkid]

Thanks to everybody for the nice comments, especially the recollections of buying from Yeko, Gelman, and Oreck, and the additional price lists and stuff from back then. I have quite a bit more, but I could only include so much because you're limited to 18 images per post, and I was kind of trying to tell a story here. I'll certainly post more as I have time.

By the way, not only is Bruce Yeko still around and very active in his 70s, but so are Marshall Oreck, who is 88 and lives in New Orleans, and Marshall's brother David Oreck of vacuum cleaner fame, who is 93.

[Paul S]

Originally Posted by Griffins

T206's were .50, so that is what I paid for the Uzit. Flipped it for $10 at the monthly Garden Grove show a few months later. T205's were .75 or $1, they jumped a bit.

About the same, or a little more, for me on a T206 Duffy Red Hindu. In those days I did it for the player, not the back. Just a few years ago it got graded "none higher" - possibly still is - and went to auction.