OT: Roberto Clemente & Kobe Bryant

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

Mr. Clemente was on a rickety plane taking supplies to comfort earthquake victims. Huge difference...

[drcy]

The answer is you can't predict.

Upon his death, I was surprised at how popular was Kobe. But I'm not a huge follower of the NBA.

[hcv123]

Kobe's death (as well as the death of the other 8 people on the helicopter with him) was tragic - trying to compare him to Clemente - just out of place.

[Tabe]

Not sure I buy Clemente as second-most collected.

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by vintagebaseballcardguy

Mr. Clemente was on a rickety plane taking supplies to comfort earthquake victims. Huge difference...

Plus, he was terrified of water, and was afraid of dying young. Yet he got on that plane. Clemente was a true hero, and lost his life as a direct result of his generous humanitarian efforts.

Kobe might've been a generally good guy, but his early death should not elevate his status, as Clemente's did his. There is little difference between Kobe's chopper crash and a basic car accident.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by Mark17

Plus, he was terrified of water, and was afraid of dying young. Yet he got on that plane. Clemente was a true hero, and lost his life as a direct result of his generous humanitarian efforts.

Kobe might've been a generally good guy, but his early death should not elevate his status, as Clemente's did his. There is little difference between Kobe's chopper crash and a basic car accident.

Clemente i believe still had some playing years left but yeah i agree, there is really nothing to compare in terms of the reasons of the flight...clemente was doing something not many people do, lots of fathers take their kids to games etc..

[pclpads]

Comparing the two deaths is an apples and oranges bit. Clemente was on a total humanitarian effort with little concern for his personal safety. Remember, he willingly got on a likely dilapidated vintage WW2 DC3 that was grotesquely overloaded with supplies. It was doomed to go into the soup as soon as the wheels left the ground. As noted above, Kobe was just on a helo trip to avoid LA traffic. As for the comparative value of their cards, Clemente's RC is and will likely continue to be out of reach in higher grades for most collectors. I don't think Kobe's death will ever see a similar price escalation in his cards. Not super stars like Kobe, but I liken his demise to Munston in '79, Ken Hubbs in '63 and Harry Agganis in '56. Similarly sad and tragic, but not close to heroic like Clemente.

[Exhibitman]

I'm from LA and a Lakers fan but the two are not even close. A humanitarian mission for EQ victims...crashing to attend a kids game isn't even worthy of comparison. The only point of similarity is that they were air crashes.

Kobe apparently was a nice man and a good father, and had his act together to an extent not often seen among superstars. His loss is a tragedy for his family and friends and sad for his fans. Clemente's death was a selfless charitable act. His death was a loss for humanity.

As for the cards, no comparison, really. You can't compare 1950s-1970s cards with junk wax cards. Kobe cards skyrocketed in the wake of the death. A year from now they will be back to earth: there's just too many of them. I know ardent collectors who sold their Kobe RCs immediately because the prices went up tenfold overnight. I would have done the same if I had any.

[samosa4u]

Some excellent replies. Thank you.

[bbcard1]

A fairly recent phenomenon is that we are mean to people in live and generous to them in death. Gerald Ford, who was one of the lesser respected Presidents in life, was compared to Lincoln in death. When Tony Gwynn dies, I heard a reporter say,"He was not only one of the best baseball players of all time, he was one of the best people of all time." I don't think there's a lot wrong with that, but maybe we should just be nicer to folks while they are alive.

[vintagewhitesox]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

I'm from LA and a Lakers fan but the two are not even close. A humanitarian mission for EQ victims...crashing to attend a kids game isn't even worthy of comparison. The only point of similarity is that they were air crashes.

Kobe apparently was a nice man and a good father, and had his act together to an extent not often seen among superstars. His loss is a tragedy for his family and friends and sad for his fans. Clemente's death was a selfless charitable act. His death was a loss for humanity.

As for the cards, no comparison, really. You can't compare 1950s-1970s cards with junk wax cards. Kobe cards skyrocketed in the wake of the death. A year from now they will be back to earth: there's just too many of them. I know ardent collectors who sold their Kobe RCs immediately because the prices went up tenfold overnight. I would have done the same if I had any.

I would jump in only to say Kobe' cards are not "junk wax." There are several issues, mainly inserts, that are extremely difficult to find.