Rookie Cards of Baseball Hall of Famers

[benjulmag]

Originally Posted by h2oya311

Here's my list for Anson:

> 1869 Marshalltown Team Cabinet Photo
> 1869 Notre Dame Team CDV
> 1871 Rockford Forest City's Team Cabinet
> 1872 CDV/Trade Card
> 1872 Philadelphia NA Composite Cabinet
> 1874 Suddard's and Fennemore Cabinet (same images as 1874 Harper's Woodcut)
> 1874 Harper's Weekly Woodcut
> 1879 Robinson Chicago Team Cabinet
> 1886 Lorillard's Chicago Team Cabinet
> 1887 Buchner GC
> 1887-88 Allen & Ginter
> 1888 Old Judge

I'll be setting up a link to all HOFers and the earliest images for each. I'm pretty sure I have an image for each of the items listed above, but if not, I apologize in advance.

I've never seen the 1869 Notre Dame Cdv, nor for that matter ever heard of it. Does anybody have an image?

Is the 1872 Cdv/Trade Card the same image as the 1872 Philadelphia Composite Cabinet? I've seen the Trade Card. If it is not the same image, does anybody have an image of the 1872 Philadelphia composite?

There is an 1874 Philadelphia cabinet, as well as 1876 and 1878 Chicago cabinets.

[barrysloate]

While the 1874 Philadelphia cabinet is Anson's first solo appearance on a photographic card, his first appearance as a professional is on the 1871 Forest Citys of Rockford CdV. Forest Citys was an inaugural team in the National Association, baseball's first professional league.

The problem is we have no clear definition of what a rookie card is.

[h2oya311]

Originally Posted by benjulmag

I've never seen the 1869 Notre Dame Cdv, nor for that matter ever heard of it. Does anybody have an image?

Is the 1872 Cdv/Trade Card the same image as the 1872 Philadelphia Composite Cabinet? I've seen the Trade Card. If it is not the same image, does anybody have an image of the 1872 Philadelphia composite?

There is an 1874 Philadelphia cabinet, as well as 1876 and 1878 Chicago cabinets.

I believe the image of the 1869 Notre Dame CDV was on the following website, which now appears to be dead:

https://capanson.com/index.html

Anyone know how to retrieve old information/photos off defunct websites? Anyone know the previous host/owner of that website?

[benjulmag]

Originally Posted by h2oya311

I believe the image of the 1869 Notre Dame CDV was on the following website, which now appears to be dead:

https://capanson.com/index.html

Anyone know how to retrieve old information/photos off defunct websites? Anyone know the previous host/owner of that website?

Thanks for trying to locate it Derek. I'm very curious to see it.

[Dewey]

Originally Posted by h2oya311

Anyone know how to retrieve old information/photos off defunct websites? Anyone know the previous host/owner of that website?

Archive.org wayback machine. No 1869 photo though. Link below has some cool pics though.

https://web.archive.org/web/20080517...all_cards.html

[h2oya311]

Originally Posted by Dewey

Archive.org wayback machine. No 1869 photo though. Link below has some cool pics though.

https://web.archive.org/web/20080517...all_cards.html

Very cool! Sad to see that the Notre Dame CDV wasn’t on there. Just remembered that I had asked some questions before about Anson a few years back. Here’s an old thread. Looks like Brad W. (a member) was the owner of that site:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=208367

I reached out to him to see if he knows of the Notre Dame CDV I have listed.

[jerrys]

Mark Lewis introduced the idea of collecting the first year card of players in his CPU Card Prices Update magazine in 1979-1980. The idea flourished. There was no stipulation as to size, shape or material of a rookie card; or whether the card should be a solo picture of a player or to picture him surrounded by team mates.

My Rookie card: The first publication of a card with a picture of an unaccompanied player.

Branch Rickey: 1906 SL postcard (accepted) as his rookie card.

1906.jpg

But Rickey's first card is the 1907 W600. None are known to exist. But it is "his" rookie card - there is no substitute.



Note: The Rose Company commenced distribution of all its first run postcards - 12 players from each of 16 teams - in August, 1908. Subsequent postcards were published of different players and backup postcards of players from the first run. All these later produced postcards were printed with only the player's names - no associated team was added - no team postcards.