Who had a positive impact on your collection ?

[robw1959]

Frank Nagy sticks out as being quite influential to me as a new hobbyist back in the 1970s. His mail order auctions were so cool. He would actually ship you the winning lots before payment, giving you the option to pay if you liked the merchandise or just return it if you didn't. Only once did I return something . . . a 1934 Jimmy Foxx Batter Up card that came with the top half discarded. I complained that I was only getting half a card for my $11.50 winning bid, and I got this long detailed letter from Frank replying that he had seen this card go for more money and in worse condition than mine was. But he balanced it all out by saying that it was ultimately my choice, and I had the right of refusal after all. Often he even gave me bidding tips. What a guy Mr. Nagy was!

[Hankphenom]

Larry Ritter. Reading "The Glory of Their Times" around 1975 or so sparked my interest in old time baseball and led to all kinds of adventures about it, including collecting, that I don't think I would have ever pursued otherwise. It's always been a pet theory of mine that it's no coincidence at all that not long after the publication of "Glory" in 1966, and it's subsequent success, collecting the cards and memorabilia of the players and teams of the period covered by that book started getting into full swing.