It is with Unimaginable Sadness that we have lost our Dear Ted Zanidakis

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

I recall that absolutely nobody welcomed me more strongly to this forum than Ted when I signed up so many years ago. Wow, two decades have passed?!

Prior to this, Ted's path had never intersected with mine in spite of our years in the hobby due simply to him being into cards and my being nearly exclusive to autographs. But many emails were exchanged and we certainly shared a mutual respect for one another's knowledge.

Such a friendly and welcoming guy ("Hey guy!") who was always wanting to make introductions between hobby people so that we'd all know each other. He was simply a rare caliber of person. No ego whatsoever in spite of all that data bouncing around in his brain.

Rest well guy!

[Mozzie22]

I think the number of replies to this thread, from members here that rarely post, is testament to this man's impact on the hobby, and to so many others personally. I never had the pleasure of meeting Ted but he was the only person on this forum I had ever traded a card with. I helped him complete his T205 Wolter back run and he overcompensated me for it. Sad news. RIP, Ted.

[rebelsart]

Very sad news. Rest in peace Ted Z. Thank you for your passion, knowledge, and friendship.
Art Martineau

[npa589]

I wasn't blessed enough to have met Ted, but it has been wonderful reading everyone's stories and fond memories of Ted. I got involved in this hobby about 12 years ago once getting out of college, and though my only conversations with Ted were brief and on this forum, I am very grateful for the research and wealth of knowledge he selflessly shared for all to read. Lord knows that I spent hours upon hours reading his posts that were always meticulously laid out in astounding detail, and also were consistently updated with new findings. From the outside looking in, despite him most likely being the foremost authority on a ton of sets, he seemed to be a lifelong learner and always sought to share his knowledge with as many collectors as possible. The board will never be the same without him, but I am so grateful for the legacy and example he left for the rest of us to learn from.

[brunswickreeves]

Leon-could we start a Net54 Hall of Fame and induct Ted? Maybe it’s a section on the home page that contains folders for each legend which archives their posts and contains their picture and official Obit.

[FrankWakefield]

This thread reminds me of going to the funeral home for visitation when a dear old friend passes. People that I haven't seen in a while will show up, and it's sad, and it's heartwarming. Reminds me of Bang The Drum Slowly.

Here, I look through the posts and see folks who posted years ago, but not very often, nowadays. People that knew him better than me, people that knew him just barely, through the board... and in between. It's touching to see the old guys' posts, and the new members.

We on this board are his family... all of us.

[spec]

What an immeasurable loss to our hobby, and this board in particular. Let's honor Ted's memory by resolving to emulate his special qualities: his passion, his kindness, his generosity in sharing the vast hobby knowledge he amassed through research as well as experience. I've learned so much from Ted's posts about the sets that intrigued him: E90-1, 1947 Bond Bread, 1949 (yes, 1949) Leaf, 1949 Bowman and, of course, T206. I'll never look at my 1947 Bond Bread set (which still includes a few square-cornered interlopers) without thinking of Ted. My condolences to Dan, Ted's family and others who loved him.
B0b Rich@rds0n

[hcv123]

Originally Posted by brunswickreeves

Leon-could we start a Net54 Hall of Fame and induct Ted? Maybe it’s a section on the home page that contains folders for each legend which archives their posts and contains their picture and official Obit.

I'm going to start a separate thread with the suggestion

[Seven]

Many posts later, and I think it's just incredible how many lives Ted touched here on the forum, I can only imagine the amount of people that were impacted by him outside of it.

I find myself checking the forum more often, than my normal once or twice a day. Feeling a little hollow looking at the posts and the active members, and not seeing TedZ as active. He was a constant presence. The knowledge and stories that he would always include in his posts always brought a smile to my face. In some ways I think I find myself checking in the hopes that this tragedy didn't happen.

Dealing with loss of a friend or family, has to be the worst part of life. By Far.

[brunswickreeves]

Originally Posted by hcv123

I'm going to start a separate thread with the suggestion

Thanks for the assist! Some may argue there’ll be arguing, but did that prevent Cooperstown??