Players whose cards should be a bigger deal than they seem to be

[bnorth]

Eddie Mathews. His Rookie is a high # 1952 Topps that is also the last card of the set. Making it fairly rare compared to rookies of other HOFers from the 50's. When he retired he was considered the best 3rd baseman to ever play and is still easily top 3 or 4.

Hank Aaron cards are also cheap when he had arguably the best career of anyone to play the game.

[Peter_Spaeth]

I say it every time this comes up. Warren Spahn. Look it up.

[bounce]

Tris Speaker was pretty good, but his name is down the list of baseball greats in most conversations.

[ALBB]

not baseball,...but the all time Hockey great- Gordie Howe..you would think the Babe Ruth of hockey might be higher valued...and that 54 T Howe is not a commonly seen set

[mechanicalman]

Al Simmons could rake, yet I’ve never seen a “Show Your Al Simmons” thread.

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by mechanicalman

Al Simmons could rake, yet I’ve never seen a “Show Your Al Simmons” thread.

It's about time...Al just got his own thread.

Brian

[Jason19th]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I say it every time this comes up. Warren Spahn. Look it up.

I think Spahn is an interesting case but he everything going against him for card value
1. Played in small market
2. Funny looking guy who was known as a jokester
3. Level of consistency that lulls you into thinking it’s no big deal what he is doing
4. Played on teams where he was overshadowed by others - Mathews and Aaron
5. Kept playing for so long that a lot of collectors memory of him might be as an old man losing with the giants

My favorite Warren Spahn stat - from Bill James - until 1985 Warren Spahn had more twenty win seasons as a lefty 13 the all of the New York Yankee lefties for the entire existence of the Franchise

[Peter_Spaeth]

At age 42, Spahn was 23-7 2.60.

[perezfan]

I've always felt that Stan Musial Cards are undervalued. One of the all-time greats, yet most of his cards are very affordable. May have been different, had he played in New York.

Also agree with Spahnie.

[GasHouseGang]

Originally Posted by perezfan

I've always felt that Stan Musial Cards are undervalued. One of the all-time greats, yet most of his cards are very affordable. May have been different, had he played in New York.

Also agree with Spahnie.

I agree with you on both Musial and Spahn. Most people have never even heard of Warren Spahn. At least most people have at least heard of "Stan The Man" Musial.

[h2oya311]

Originally Posted by perezfan

I've always felt that Stan Musial Cards are undervalued. One of the all-time greats, yet most of his cards are very affordable. May have been different, had he played in New York.

Also agree with Spahnie.

Agree on Musial, but it's hard to "collect" Musial when he has very few mainstream cards (Topps) during his playing years...and there was that little war that got in the way too.

[perezfan]

Originally Posted by h2oya311

Agree on Musial, but it's hard to "collect" Musial when he has very few mainstream cards (Topps) during his playing years...and there was that little war that got in the way too.

Good point...

But his '53 Bowman Color is a very "sexy" looking card. One of my personal faves, FWIW.

Forgot about Jimmie Foxx... that was a good addition as well.

[Jason19th]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

At age 42, Spahn was 23-7 2.60.

While that it is true - I was referring to his age 43 and 44 season where he went 13-29 with a 4.74 era

[Rascal1010]

Billy Williams

[z28jd]

In the Old Judge set, it always surprises me to see Charlie Ferguson go for barely more than common prices.

He died just after his 25th birthday as the 1888 season started, so the OJ cards are late in his life. Ferguson had four straight 21+ win seasons to begin his career (99-64 W/L record). In 1887, he started playing the field more often and hit .337 with 85 RBIs in 72 games, plus he had an above average fielding % at second base. He was a legit two-way star, who died at the start of his prime.

Ferguson was one of the first OJ cards I made sure to get when I started collecting from the set.