OT: Who Determined That Mantle's Rookie Card was the 52 Topps

[darwinbulldog]

If a regionally distributed example can be considered a rookie issue but not a rookie card, that means it isn't considered a baseball card. Two questions:

1) Is it fair to say then that T215 Pirates are not baseball cards?

2) Why is it that the only people I know who don't know what a baseball card is are baseball card collectors?

[packs]

The Pirate set is a subset of a larger set that is contained to the T206 set, just as the other various backs are subsets of that one set. We give them different designations as collectors, but it's my opinion that they fall under one large master set. I'd include the Red Cross, Coupons, and their counterparts under that umbrella too. I would also say that in their time it is probably unlikely that anyone collected the cards for the backs, so the backs and their individual appeal to modern collectors is not something I think existed in the minds of the creators or collectors of the sets in the time. I would say the cards were collected for the fronts.

[darwinbulldog]

And another thing -- if 1955 Topps cards were not sold in, say, Hawaii, Oregon, Montana, or West Virginia but 1956 Topps cards were, would 1956 Topps be considered Roberto Clemente's rookie card now?

[packs]

No, you could buy a pack of 1955 Topps anywhere and have the same chance of pulling the card. Don't you see a distinct difference in NOT being able to collect New York cards in Tip Top bread packages because you lived in Saint Louis and only had access to Saint Louis cards?

[darwinbulldog]

Sure, Saint Louis isn't in Oregon.

[Paul S]

Originally Posted by packs

No, you could buy a pack of 1955 Topps anywhere and have the same chance of pulling the card. Don't you see a distinct difference in NOT being able to collect New York cards in Tip Top bread packages because you lived in Saint Louis and only had access to Saint Louis cards?

So what you're saying is that my '55T Musial RC is a fake?!

[darwinbulldog]

That isn't what "if" means.

[darwinbulldog]

For those who care about the regional/national distinction, let me know if I'm misinterpreting you, but I believe your position is:

If the average collector could buy a pack of cards by traveling 8 miles to a grocery store, then what is in that pack of cards might be a rookie card. If the same collector had to drive 408 miles to buy the same pack of cards, then what is in the pack is no longer a rookie card.

[ALR-bishop]

Who is in charge of this hobby anyway ? Whoever it is should issue an authoritative definition of a "rookie card" And while at that also define a "true variation". I have been at this since 1957 and need some clarity . Seems simple enough

[steve B]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

Who is in charge of this hobby anyway ? Whoever it is should issue an authoritative definition of a "rookie card" And while at that also define a "true variation". I have been at this since 1957 and need some clarity . Seems simple enough

Didn't Beckett do that years ago?

My cynical definition - A rookie card is a card issued of a player roughly around the time they began playing in the majors, unless it's part of a subset or something. It also must exist in large enough quantities that most any dealer can profit from it without too much effort or investment.

Steve B