assessing vintage card scarcity

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Posted By: Julie Vognar

team (player) finsihed high in the standings of 1912, and uncommon if the team finished lower--in EXACT PROPORTION TO THE FINISH OF THE TEAMS, says to me that they were produced this way. Although attrition would account for this distributuion over the first year, you get past that, and it doesn't apply any more.

An interesting contrast is the T202 set, which was produced in 1912, between the two years that the two teams it chiefly celebrates (Althetics and Giants) played in the World Series. The producers of the set OBVIOUSLY made many more of the star players of the two teams, especially Matty and Chief Myers of the Giants, than any other cards---which is clear from looking at the end panels on a set. More Mattys and Myers than anyone else, period. 8 and 10, if I remember right.

So now, when we collect the set, we scratch our heads over the great proliferation of Myers, who was good, but give me a beak, and have to pay a fortune (still) for all the Mattys, because he was great for all time. There are quite a few Collins and Bakers (As), and four cards of "The Athletic Infield." No premium for "The Athletic Infield," and Collins and Baker only because they are HOF anyway, like Matty, only less so.Aside from these guys, Cobb, Young, Johnson and Speaker command the high prices, and a card (they conme in three parts) with Tinker, Evers AND Chance on one card.
They really missed a bet, though, when they produced 10 "Just Before the Battle" (the first line of a Civil War hymn, which I'll not reproduce, you're welcome, Scott), and McGraw came out of the dugout and dutifully shook hands with--coach Harry Davis? On 10 different cards! Was Mack under the weather?
Of course we're talking apples and oranges, because I'm talking About the number of times a player appears IN THE SET, and you're talking about the number of times a PLAYER CARD appears, period--either now, or in the past.

Still, it's an interesting comparisaon--and certainly shows that the card manufacturers were well aware of who was doing what in baseball, and not just randomly putting players' pictures on them.