Who are the 10 most important collectors in hobby history

[FrankWakefield]

I knew what Joe meant when I saw that my buddy, Rob D had posted. I'd think Rob could have told you about Mr. Haber, too. And I didn't wax on about Mr. Haber until someone asked.

[Rob D.]

Originally Posted by FrankWakefield

I knew what Joe meant when I saw that my buddy, Rob D had posted. I'd think Rob could have told you about Mr. Haber, too. And I didn't wax on about Mr. Haber until someone asked.

Frank, you're probably the only one on the board who previously knew about Bill Haber. Most of us know only about the numbers on slabs. Thank you for continually educating us newbies. By the way, who is this Sy Berger I hear about sometimes? Please help!

Just to clue you in, I don't think Joe -- and I know I wasn't -- referring to you in our previous posts. But keep fighting the good fight, buddy.

[FrankWakefield]

Well then, Rob. I apologize. And to you, also, Joe. Truly.

Sometimes I read the acknowledgments and credits in the fronts of books and stuff. I just looked in the Standard Catalog to see if Mr. Haber was listed there, but he's not. Even though some of what's in there could be traced back to him.

I doubt that I'm the only one here who's heard of Mr. Haber. Minimally, Mr. Lipset looks here on occasion, I'm certain he knew Mr. Haber. And I'd think a few others here do.

As for Mr. Berger, I never met, nor corresponded with, nor talked on the phone with him. I've heard of him. Here's a link about old times that mentions him, and Mr. Haber.... http://www.oldbaseball.com/refs/lerner/irv_lerner.htm

And whenever I dig down to a Baseball Encyclopedia, I'll scan the credits to show Bill Haber's name, there's no way they've not credited him.

As for the top 10 list, I'd think bubbling under there is Scot Reader, Ted Z, and Mr. Masson. The three know a right smart about old cards, they're collectors, and they share their knowledge.

[barrysloate]

I remember when the Sports Collectors Store auctioned Bill Haber's collection via an insert in SCD. The two lots that come to mind are a complete T210 set and a virtually complete (missing a card or two) E107 set. Both were won by the same collector.

[arexcrooke]

thanks for the info guys. As a newbie collector it is nice to learn about the history of the hobby!

[Rich Klein]

Was not being able to meet Mr. Haber. I was visiting Topps for Beckett in 1995 (Sort of an ex-officio visit as I was visiting my dad and took a day to go to the city, etc). I got a great tour from Marty Appel and we passed by Bill Haber's office only to be told that he was sick or out of the office on that day. A scant four months later, Mr. Haber was gone.

I still remember that visit and my instinctive feeling of realizing when he was not in the office, I would never get to visit with him

Regards
Rich

[Wite3]

Has anyone mentioned Woody Gelman yet....he contributed to the hobby a great deal both on the sports and non-sports front.

Joshua