Interesting Jay Leno Article

[barrysloate]

Back around 1971, I was a student at Boston University and I was visiting my close friend at Emerson College, which was a couple of miles from the BU campus. We were standing in the hallway of one of the dorms when he pointed to a tall guy standing across the hall. My friend said, You see that guy over there, he performs stand-up at the comedy clubs in Boston. I thought that was an unusual thing to do. He approached us and stopped to say hi. It was, of course, a 21 year old Jay Leno. Looking back, it was really cool that I got to meet someone who was virtually unknown at the time but would go on to achieve amazing fame and success.

Getting back to his point in the article, we all assume baseball players will be remembered forever and baseball card will always be collected. While that is a reasonable position to take, there is always a chance that the collecting community will shrink in size. We have no idea how important collecting antiquities will be to future generations, and we probably won't be around to find out.

[Gary Dunaier]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

My friend said, You see that guy over there, he performs stand-up at the comedy clubs in Boston. I thought that was an unusual thing to do. He approached us and stopped to say hi. It was, of course, a 21 year old Jay Leno. Looking back, it was really cool that I got to meet someone who was virtually unknown at the time but would go on to achieve amazing fame and success.

Since we're talking early Jay Leno - which we're really not, but since it was mentioned I get to do this - I thought I'd share an image of a check he wrote on 2/24/77 - less than a week before his first-ever appearance on The Tonight Show (3/2/77), which as you all know would eventually be a major part of his legacy by virtue of his taking over the host duties after Johnny Carson resigned.


(Personal information digitally removed from the image.)

[BobC]

And don't forget that sports is used and portrayed quite a lot in the movies and media that also helps to perpetuate and continue the spread of the legends and names of the past, and keeps them in front of new fans even today.

Ruth appeared in movies, especially the 1942 film The Pride of the Yankees with Gary Cooper, it's an all-time classic. And there are so many others that keep the names and events alive for future generations. Field of Dreams combines fictional and historical characters, especially Moonlight Graham. How many people would know of him if it wasn't for that movie? And the girls leagues from the 1940's, collecting and knowledge of them got a huge boost when A League of Their Own came out. Eight Men Out brought additional knowledge and interest into the Black Sox Scandal of 1919, and even The Natural created a renewed interest in older players and times. Dimaggio was married to an all-time movie legend in Marilyn Monroe, and the list goes on. As long as the media and movies continue to be made, people will still see, appreciate and relate to these stars and players from prior generations. And as long as baseball and sports are popular and still around, their will always be interest in the stories and lives as well.

Hoot Gibson was a reasonably popular actor at one point in time who played characters on the screen. Ruth, Cobb, Gehrig, Mantle, Robinson and others, actually lived and performed such athletic feats and endeavors that made them popular and loved by the fans. People will always remember Babe Ruth for his legendary feats and performances, maybe one day not so many will remember William Bendix (or more recently John Goodman) who have played him in the movies.

[Snapolit1]

Leno is absolutely spot on correct. People grossly exaggerate the extent of current/recent celebrity staying power. Most of these people have zero staying power over time.

The folks paying huge bucks for the Tupac stuff that has been sold the last few years by Golden? Enjoy your purchases. It will never be worth much. Ditto people paying for Kurt Cobain or many many other celebs. They will be dust in the wind. To quote Kansas. Who are also worth bubkiss.

Try getting $2 for a David Cassidy autograph.

[ls7plus]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Leno is absolutely spot on correct. People grossly exaggerate the extent of current/recent celebrity staying power. Most of these people have zero staying power over time.

The folks paying huge bucks for the Tupac stuff that has been sold the last few years by Golden? Enjoy your purchases. It will never be worth much. Ditto people paying for Kurt Cobain or many many other celebs. They will be dust in the wind. To quote Kansas. Who are also worth bubkiss.

Try getting $2 for a David Cassidy autograph.

+1. I recall that some few years ago, someone paid either $25K or $16K (or both, with subsequent buyers) for a one of one Strasburg rookie refractor--does anyone think you could get $2500 for it now? Same thing with $1500-$2000 for one of fifty refractor rookies of Mauer and Wright. So many stars of the (brief) time turn into bit players over a longer period. That having been said, even the popularity of Cobb, Wagner, Ruth, Gehrig, Williams, Mantle and the like will depend upon not only a fervent interest in our game, but also it's history. MLB used to do more to cultivate that, with shows like the best 9 players of all time at each of the various positions. Lately, that task seems to have fallen into the hands of the Smithsonian channel (with specials on Ruth, Gehrig, Williams, etc.), and PBS with American Masters (great feature on Teddy Ballgame!).

Hi, Steve,

Larry

[Gary Dunaier]

Originally Posted by ls7plus

I recall that some few years ago, someone paid either $25K or $16K (or both, with subsequent buyers) for a one of one Strasburg rookie refractor--does anyone think you could get $2500 for it now?

The Strasburg card sold for $16K in May 2010 and the seller flipped it for $21K a month later. (Source: The Definitive History of the Legendary Stephen Strasburg 2010 Bowman Chrome Superfractor)

The 1997 Tiger Woods Grand Slam Ventures card once sold for over $100,000, if you believe the hype Don West used to do on Shop At Home. (For example, at 0:42 on this video.) Did the card really sell for that much, and if it did is there any information on that sale?