A Question for Team Collectors...

[bbcardzman]

I have been collecting Cardinals cards since the 90's and have 1000's of team sets. Since joining this site in 2014 I have mostly given up on newer cards and have focused on most of the early Cardinals sets. I have finished many early sets except for the super expensive or hard-to-find Cardinals. I find it a real challenge to find almost any of the early Cardinals cards and enjoy the search. I just this year finally picked-up my first T204 Cardinal - Slim Sallee. There are many early tough Cardinals to look for - like the T206 O'Hara, the T207 Loudermilk, T213 Huggins and Ames cards, the T205 Bresnahan mouth open, and any of the Cracker Jacks, Turkey Red or Old Judge cards. And if you go to the 20's and 30's all the Rogers Hornsby and Dizzy Dean cards will put you in the poor house. I think there are plenty of great early Cardinals cards to collect and the fewer people out there collecting them is great news for me!

[Joe_G.]

I've always been a Detroit fan, from '84 on, and would place extra value on anything associated with the team. By 1987 I was well aware of the 100 year old Detroit cards issued by Goodwin & Co. and began collecting Detroit Old Judges (although it was a very slow go). I would eventually drift away from the hobby but came back with a vengeance in 2003 with strictly a Detroit 19th century focus (that is one way for a Detroit collector to avoid the "Cobb" issue).

Its been a blast but now find it difficult to locate the remaining items I need so I've branched out to other things (N333 Newsboys, 19th century cigarette packs, and coupons). I now live in Iowa so I also keep an eye out for cards depicting players from Iowa (here is one for you Craig - a tough team card).

[chlankf]

(here is one for you Craig - a tough team card).

[/QUOTE]

Holy cow Joe. That is probably #1 on my Iowa want list. Thanks so much for sharing. I had no idea you were living in Iowa as well. Would be great to meet up with another vintage/19th century collector here, few to be found in the area. PM me if interested.

[dabigyankeeman]

Yankees collector here. On real old pre-war cards I make a decision on the set based on how much I like them and what they cost. On most I try to complete the team set, such as T205/206/07, Goudey, Play Balls, etc. On some I only get one or two as examples such as Ramly's or blankets.

Once I reach 1948 Bowman I get complete team sets of all of the Bowmans, and on Topps I collect complete team sets from 1951 thru 1980. After 1980 with multiple companies each year and so many cards produced, I collect most Topps base set cards and then I add individual Yankees cards that I really like from other sets.

Note that collecting Yankees, there are a ton of real expensive HOF players over the years, and on them I am fine with obtaining cards in low condition, for instance most of my Ruth cards are either "1" or "A" and to me its better to have them in that condition then not to have them at all because I cant afford them in nice shape.

In the end its totally up to you, its your collection, and you make the rules. Collect what you like, and dont feel forced to buy stuff you dont like. For instance, to add to my Yankees, I also have small collections of old other teams from New York in all sports. Plus an album of Jewish athletes in all sports. Again, its my collection and I collect what I like. But I do stick strongly to the New York and Jewish cards, even if I see a card I really like if it does not fit in those categories I do NOT put it in my collection.

[Leon]

The last part about not feeling forced to buy something you don't care for is a difficult one if you are collecting a set or subset. I remember many a type cards I didn't care for but had to have to fill a hole....and some were quite costly. As for team collectors, growing up in Houston with the Astros I don't have to worry about pre-war. And I only collected until my early teens before coming back in my early 30s....Now I truly collect what I like but that can also be kind of spastic with the way I wander....

Originally Posted by dabigyankeeman

Yankees collector here. On real old pre-war cards I make a decision on the set based on how much I like them and what they cost. On most I try to complete the team set, such as T205/206/07, Goudey, Play Balls, etc. On some I only get one or two as examples such as Ramly's or blankets.

Once I reach 1948 Bowman I get complete team sets of all of the Bowmans, and on Topps I collect complete team sets from 1951 thru 1980. After 1980 with multiple companies each year and so many cards produced, I collect most Topps base set cards and then I add individual Yankees cards that I really like from other sets.

Note that collecting Yankees, there are a ton of real expensive HOF players over the years, and on them I am fine with obtaining cards in low condition, for instance most of my Ruth cards are either "1" or "A" and to me its better to have them in that condition then not to have them at all because I cant afford them in nice shape.

In the end its totally up to you, its your collection, and you make the rules. Collect what you like, and dont feel forced to buy stuff you dont like. For instance, to add to my Yankees, I also have small collections of old other teams from New York in all sports. Plus an album of Jewish athletes in all sports. Again, its my collection and I collect what I like. But I do stick strongly to the New York and Jewish cards, even if I see a card I really like if it does not fit in those categories I do NOT put it in my collection.