Where did the term “semistars” originate?

[polakoff]

Talking about “semistars” in our industry is so commonplace, but it really is an absurd thing when you think about it. No one would ever actually call a player a semistar outside of card collecting. Did the term originate with Beckett magazines or has it been around for longer? It’s so ubiquitous that I find it hard to believe Beckett was the originator, but who knows.

[brianp-beme]

I have never thought about it, but I feel like I have heard semistars for about as long as I have been collecting, so at least from the late 1970's.

Brian

[steve B]

It's hard to tell after so long, but I think I recall hearing it before Beckett even began. Along with other terms for good to really good players who were not ones you immediately thought of as star players.

[jcmtiger]

I think it started with the price guides, not sure what year, 70’s I would guess.

[Casey2296]

The term may have come from "semi-pro" ball and been extrapolated to represent 2nd tier stars. Just guessing though.

[HobokenJon]

I choose to believe it was a term created specifically to refer to Harold Baines. And from there it just caught on. As in, yesterday’s semistars are today’s Hall of Famers.

[GasHouseGang]

The first time I remember seeing the term was in price lists for buying singles from sets. They might say something like "Commons are 5 cents each, semi-stars 25 cents, and star cards priced as shown." Then you would have to try to guess which category the card you wanted fell into when placing an order.