What is a "Sports Card Historian"?

[jason.1969]

As someone who considers himself an amateur sports card historian, I like your definition. Perhaps the only tweak I’d make is to soften the “by” piece.

For example, one might write about the history of manager cards by going thru the Standard Catalog, TCDB, and Baseball-Reference rather than seeking out truly historical sources.

Jason


Jason
Twitter: @heavyj28

[nolemmings]

You may also want to add among your questions;
1) For what purpose was the card created? (often self-evident and generally advertising of some kind--but for what product/service?)
2) Are there known variations of this card? Are there known errors, corrected or uncorrected?
3) Was distribution limited to certain areas of the country? Part of artificial scarcity, i.e. "1 of 1"?
4) Is the subject found only in this or very few sets, or the only card in which he appears in a particular uniform? Rookie or last card?
5) In addition to whatever advertising may appear on the card itself, was the card marketed through media or other means when first issued? What were those (newspapers, trade mags, storefront/in-store displays)?
6) Pricing? What did one have to do to acquire the card or set if not pay retail money (e.g., giveaway, given with purchase of something else, redemption, mail-in offer) Was pricing tiered and if so at what levels-- wax packs, cellos, trays, racks?
7) Are there any reproductions known, either licensed or counterfeit?

[deweyinthehall]

I can't add anything to the definitions offered. But since we have any number of members of these boards who collectively probably comprise the greatest source of card history there is, I will ask a question again here that I never have been able to find an answer to:

In the old cardboard days (52-91, with an emphasis on, say the 60s-80s), what was the process of card making? From snapping a pic on the field, to finding the pic on a card in a pack, what were the steps?

So often, it is hard to follow discussions like the Thomas NNOF thread or understand all the different proofs, color separations, blank backs, slick proofs etc that came out of the Topps Vault or fully comprehend how some cards consistently wound up next to each other in packs because to my knowledge no one has published a 101- or whatever-step guide to the overall process which would explain it all - those slick proofs? Those are step 37. The Thomas NNOF? That happened during step 65.

Does anyone know where I could find a reference like this?

[asportscardhistorian]

Thank you all for the thoughtful comments! I read them all!

[Zach Wheat]

I would also like to emphasize what Todd indicated, that many collectors are interested in the different variations found for certain cards in certain years. As for different sets in post-war to pre-1970's era, I have always found it interesting on how players were chosen in the final set.