Rip

egri · #1 08-29-2021, 01:05 PM

I haven't seen Tony Conigliaro mentioned yet. He tore it up for three years, then was beaned and was never the same. Then he had a heart attack at 37 and went into a nursing home before dying a few years later. His signed cards usually do very well.

Peter_Spaeth · #2 08-29-2021, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by egri

I haven't seen Tony Conigliaro mentioned yet. He tore it up for three years, then was beaned and was never the same. Then he had a heart attack at 37 and went into a nursing home before dying a few years later. His signed cards usually do very well.

Two years after the beaning, he hit 36 HR and drove in 116.

egri · #3 08-29-2021, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Two years after the beaning, he hit 36 HR and drove in 116.

Other than a brief stint with the Red Sox in 1975, he was out of the league by 26.

Peter_Spaeth · #4 08-29-2021, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by egri

Other than a brief stint with the Red Sox in 1975, he was out of the league by 26.

Yes but not sure the beaning is really the explanation. His best season was subsequent to the beaning.

Al C.risafulli · #5 08-29-2021, 01:14 PM

Lots of good examples here, but from a purely hobby perspective, I just keep going back to Brien Taylor and Todd Van Poppel, whose card prices rose to then-astronomical levels based on their promise, but who never had their promise materialize, for a variety of reasons.

As a young kid, we chased rookie cards from Bob Horner and Willie Wilson for similar reasons, with similar results.

Also, John is as nice a man as there is in the hobby, and if I had a dollar for each time I worded something awkwardly, I could quit my day job.

-Al

Peter_Spaeth · #6 08-29-2021, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al C.risafulli

Lots of good examples here, but from a purely hobby perspective, I just keep going back to Brien Taylor and Todd Van Poppel, whose card prices rose to then-astronomical levels based on their promise, but who never had their promise materialize, for a variety of reasons.

As a young kid, we chased rookie cards from Bob Horner and Willie Wilson for similar reasons, with similar results.

Also, John is as nice a man as there is in the hobby, and if I had a dollar for each time I worded something awkwardly, I could quit my day job.

-Al

In that same timeframe I recall Phil Plantier temporarily generating a lot of interest.

BobC · #7 08-29-2021, 01:34 PM

What about Brian Piccolo?

wolf441 · #8 08-29-2021, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

In that same timeframe I recall Phil Plantier temporarily generating a lot of interest.

The king of hype for me as a teenager in the late '80's was Greg Jeffries '88 RC with the Mets. His rookie card at the time was going for more than Yaz's rookie card. I remember arguing with a friend how illogical that was. Even if everything broke right for Jeffries, could he possibly have had a higher career ceiling than Yaz?

BobC · #9 08-29-2021, 02:16 PM

And speaking of lost potential, there's also Ernie Davis.

luciobar1980 · #10 08-29-2021, 02:16 PM

Geez Louise guys. I don't think the OP wants anyone to die. He maybe could has stated it a little more eloquently, I'll admit that. But I think it is an interesting topic.. a young rising star as hyped as a Zion. What would happen to his prices, god forbid something happened to him. Pretty morbid but an interesting thought experiment.

D. Bergin · #11 08-29-2021, 02:41 PM

Here's a thought experiment.

Bo Jackson

Remarkable hype, remarkable talent.

There's been a healthy resurgence in Bo cards and memorabilia the last couple years or so, as nostalgia and myth-making have kicked in.

For a couple decades however, you could have picked up all the early era Bo cards (Baseball and Football) you wanted, for very little investment. He had been essentially written off as a novelty by collectors.

Now, go back to 1990 or so. What if instead of dislocating his hip in a playoff game at the end of the football season, he had died in a plane crash or other incident, and we never saw his painful decent into irrelevancy on the baseball field?

He'd be a real life Roy Hobbs, without the comeback. The stories people would tell would be remarkable. His cards probably would be in the stratosphere right now.

Eric72 · #12 08-29-2021, 03:19 PM

Imagine if an arm injury didn�t prematurely end the career of Nolan Ryan. He only gave us 27 seasons; however, they sure were something to watch.

Forever Young · #13 08-29-2021, 01:14 PM

Len bias would be a great comp. unfortunately, no cards to compare. His photos are pretty rare and costly though.