Where did the term “semistars” originate?

[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.

[drcy]

It's true that it appears to be a baseball card thing, likely made for price guides. It's a spot between common players and stars.

The first time I heard a collector refer to a baseball card as "gem mint," I thought he was making a joke. I also remember when PSA & SGC were still something of a novelty.

[ALBB]

yes, the price guides back in the day - CCP, and CPU , recall they used that term " semi stars"

[CTDean]

The first use that I remember was in Sports Collectors Digest ads and dealer sales list from the 1970's and early 1980's.

[toppcat]

Originally Posted by ALBB

yes, the price guides back in the day - CCP, and CPU , recall they used that term " semi stars"

I worked on the first 15 issues or so of CCP and the term was around well before then. I suspect, as noted above, that is originated in dealer catalogs or ads of the late 60's or 1970's. You had a five or six level of stratification by the time CCP was launched that was generally understood. Ignoring test cards and the like, it was essentially, in descending order: Superstar/HOF-Star/Semi Star/Popular or Local Player/Common, with the latter of course segregated by series.

[Deertick]

Originally Posted by drcy

It's true that it appears to be a baseball card thing, likely made for price guides. It's a spot between common players and stars.

The first time I heard a collector refer to a baseball card as "gem mint," I thought he was making a joke. I also remember when PSA & SGC were still something of a novelty.

Joke? Oh, they were dead serious. And for something so serious you need protection!