When did the rookie card phenomena start

[Steve D]

I started collecting seriously in 1975. The first one I remember "taking off" was the 1979 Bump Wills variations. It was Topps' first major error/variation since the 1974 "Washington NL" cards of the Padres. The Bob Horner 1979 Topps RC was also popular.

After that, the Fleer variation fiasco of 1981 reared it's head, lead by the "C"raig Nettles error. The Fernando and Charboneau RCs in 1981 Topps and Fleer took off, but not really that much. It wasn't until 1984 with the Don Mattingly Donruss RC, and to a lesser extent, the Daryl Strawberry 1984 Topps and 1983 Topps Update, that things really exploded.

It was in the early 1980s, after the 1979 Wills and 1981 Nettles, along with Jim Beckett publishing his first annual price guide in 1979, that people began going back and picking up previous rookies, like Rose, Ryan, Schmidt, Aaron; pretty much everyone, and prices started going up. Card collecting hit the newstands in 1981 with Krause's Baseball Cards Magazine. Baseball Hobby News by Frank and Vivian Barning started publishing, adding to Sports Collectors' Digest and The Trader Speaks. The investor side of it began growing with columns by Tony Galovich. Then of course, the tripling of companies issuing cards (Fleer and Donruss joining Topps), certainly added to all the fun.

Steve

[moeson]

Steve, you are totally on the money with these recollections!

[savedfrommyspokes]

Originally Posted by Steve D

I started collecting seriously in 1975. The first one I remember "taking off" was the 1979 Bump Wills variations. It was Topps' first major error/variation since the 1974 "Washington NL" cards of the Padres. The Bob Horner 1979 Topps RC was also popular.

After that, the Fleer variation fiasco of 1981 reared it's head, lead by the "C"raig Nettles error. The Fernando and Charboneau RCs in 1981 Topps and Fleer took off, but not really that much. It wasn't until 1984 with the Don Mattingly Donruss RC, and to a lesser extent, the Daryl Strawberry 1984 Topps and 1983 Topps Update, that things really exploded.

It was in the early 1980s, after the 1979 Wills and 1981 Nettles, along with Jim Beckett publishing his first annual price guide in 1979, that people began going back and picking up previous rookies, like Rose, Ryan, Schmidt, Aaron; pretty much everyone, and prices started going up. Card collecting hit the newstands in 1981 with Krause's Baseball Cards Magazine. Baseball Hobby News by Frank and Vivian Barning started publishing, adding to Sports Collectors' Digest and The Trader Speaks. The investor side of it began growing with columns by Tony Galovich. Then of course, the tripling of companies issuing cards (Fleer and Donruss joining Topps), certainly added to all the fun.

Steve

I started off a just few years after you, but my recollection is quite similar.

[glynparson]

I started in 1979 by then rookie cards were already a desirable thing. So at least 1979 but quite possibly earlier.

[con40]

Originally Posted by Steve D

I started collecting seriously in 1975. The first one I remember "taking off" was the 1979 Bump Wills variations. It was Topps' first major error/variation since the 1974 "Washington NL" cards of the Padres. The Bob Horner 1979 Topps RC was also popular.

After that, the Fleer variation fiasco of 1981 reared it's head, lead by the "C"raig Nettles error. The Fernando and Charboneau RCs in 1981 Topps and Fleer took off, but not really that much. It wasn't until 1984 with the Don Mattingly Donruss RC, and to a lesser extent, the Daryl Strawberry 1984 Topps and 1983 Topps Update, that things really exploded.

It was in the early 1980s, after the 1979 Wills and 1981 Nettles, along with Jim Beckett publishing his first annual price guide in 1979, that people began going back and picking up previous rookies, like Rose, Ryan, Schmidt, Aaron; pretty much everyone, and prices started going up. Card collecting hit the newstands in 1981 with Krause's Baseball Cards Magazine. Baseball Hobby News by Frank and Vivian Barning started publishing, adding to Sports Collectors' Digest and The Trader Speaks. The investor side of it began growing with columns by Tony Galovich. Then of course, the tripling of companies issuing cards (Fleer and Donruss joining Topps), certainly added to all the fun.

Steve

THIS! I started collecting in 1975 in the Boston area. Rookie cards were not a big deal in the mid '70s. Heck, no one was even interested in Eddie Murray rookies in 1978 despite his awesome start.

But in 1979, I remember Bob Horner cards were all the rage, even in my area. Willie Wilson as well. Then, in 1980, Rickey Henderson caught fire as the season wore on because he was having such an awesome second year.

That just fueled the rookie chase every year after that... 1981 was Fernandomania, 1982 was Ripken, 1983 was Boggs and the Stawberry extended rookie. And so on and so on.

[jerrys]

Card Prices Update (CPU) published by Mark Lewis was most influential in regard to attention given to rookie cards. The CPU was started in mid-1979 but I'm not sure how many years it lasted. The monthly issues kept an update on all Topps cards from 1951 to 1980 - Bowman cards from 1948 to 1955. There were other earlier baseball card issues included but a great deal of attention was given to first year cards of players. An alphabetical Rookie Card List was printed monthly given updated prices for dozens of major players’ cards.

[BradH]

I started actively attending card shows in 1981 (we didn't have a card shop in my town yet) and I remember the Henderson, Fernando and Brett & Yount rookies being a big deal. And most collectors and dealers referred to the '52 Topps Mantle as his "rookie" card. That drove me crazy as an 11-year-old and it irritates me still today.

But growing up in northern Indiana, I vividly remember how the 1983 Fleer Ron Kittle was all the rage. Many dealers were sealing it for $5 by late in the season and I remember a lot of them having signs on their table that they were buying Kittle rookies for $3.

[jchcollins]

I didn't get involved until the late 1980's, by which point rookie card mania was in full swing. My understanding of the phenomenon was that it was late 70's or early 80's when it really began to hit. I too went through the excitement then let down when I realized that RC's of players like Jose Canseco, Wally Joyner, and Gregg Jeffries were NOT going to pay for my college education.

Here is a more high level summary of my understanding of how these types of things worked in the evolution of the hobby:

*1960's and earlier - the hobby is in it's infancy. Monetary value not really ascribed to cards. Collectors trade with each other through the mail and in rare personal visits. Card condition much less of an issue, the focus is on completing sets and having a card at all.

*1970's - the hobby becomes more organized, but still has a very amateur flavor. Star cards for vintage (then just called "old" cards) first take a rise above the rest, but to a limited extent. If a common card was 10 cents, a Mantle or Willie Mays might be worth 75 cents or a dollar. Geez, I was born too late...

*Late 70's - early 1980's - the growing hobby becomes more professional - first national shows, first recognized price guides. This I would guess is when "rookie card mania" really sets in. People start to look at Joe C's and Ron Kittle's as investment cards. Oy.

*1990's and beyond - well, what you still see today. The hobby continues to evolve. RC's are perhaps more understood in terms of risk. Although now in the 2000's you have deliberate scarcities and that kind of thing.

I think the RC designation will always play a part in the hobby. Clearly has it's ups and downs.

[Steve_NY]

Everyone is correct -- definitely started in 1979 or thereabouts. I can remember running several shows in Long Island in the late 1970s where Al Chipurnoi (CHIP) would come in and sell us all the rookie cards everyone was asking for such as 1975 Brett, Younts, Rice, Carter, 1973 Schmidts, etc. He would invest in large quantities of potential rookies -- like 1,000s and some would materialize and others wouldn't. He eventually became a dealer and passed on a number of years ago. But I would pinpoint 1979 as the beginning of the rookie hunt.

[stevecarlton1972]

I start collecting in 1979 as a kid and the first rookie card that drew my attention was the 1986 Donruss Canseco Rookie. I'm sure the rookie craze started before that (as many people have stated) but that was the first moment I really started to look at cards as a business/investment and sadly it was never the same as the innocence of collecting was gone.

I only collected Topps from 1979-87 as my whole goal was to complete the set by getting pack after pack throughout the summer (my mom would buy me a pack of cards after every little league game and then we'd hit McDonalds). But in 1988 I started to collect Fleer, Donruss, and Score and eventually Upper Deck in the early 90's and it became all too much.

Part of me would love to go back and erase from the part of my brain that understands the phenomenon of rookie card values and be able to enjoy collecting sets again without caring about a card value.