Who are the 10 most important collectors in hobby history

[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

[bh3443]

These are simply great names and the list goes on and on and I'd include Woody Gelman and I'd say Charlie Brookes contributed a great deal in the 60's, and he was instrumental in getting my generation involved!
Well, this list has sparked great conversations and a list of names that are fantastic! Thank you Bruce for starting this great thread!

[Collectorsince62]

I was pleased to see the name Gar Miller mentioned earlier. When I first started collecting older cards, he was always very courteous and helpful, even though I was a neophyte. I remember how cool it felt to be corresponding and trading with an advanced collector, especially one who dealt fairly and honestly, and often gave bonus discounts because I was new. I have tried to follow his lead whenever I can to help newer collectors.

[iggyman]

Ah, of course..........Gar Miller! How could I forget him, one of the all-time best. A true gentleman who still deals in cards...

Lovely Day...

[Wite3]

When I first started back in the hobby in the late '80s, I used to send Gar checks for $20 and he would send back whatever he thought fair for the $20. When he found out I was collecting the '53 Bowman Black and White set, he sent me all the Tigers (tougher for some reason) and the Stengel for my little check. Gar is still a class act and still sells. A great hobby person.

[Rich Klein]

Originally Posted by bh3443

These are simply great names and the list goes on and on and I'd include Woody Gelman and I'd say Charlie Brookes contributed a great deal in the 60's, and he was instrumental in getting my generation involved!
Well, this list has sparked great conversations and a list of names that are fantastic! Thank you Bruce for starting this great thread!

Bill -- glad to see you are still with us -- continue to battle that Big C

And I heard at the National that Charlie is now in a nursing home.


Regards
Rich

[Exhibitman]

For Exhibit collectors, Woody Scharf has to be mentioned. Woody Scharf wrote the seminal articles on Exhibit baseball cards in The Trader Speaks in December 1979-January 1980-February 1980. Many old collectors still use his set numbering nomenclature. Mr. Scharf was kind enough to correspond with me and share some of his notes back in the old VCBC days when I started advertising for info on the cards and writing articles on a few sets.