Earliest Collectibles of Baseball Hall of Famers

[bcbgcbrcb]

The listing has now been updated to reflect a separate section for the Broadcasters & Sportswriters recognized by the Baseball Hall of Fame.

[h2oya311]

Phil -

I'm not sure if this has already been addressed, but I was searching around and found an 1870 The World Newspaper Woodcut of Candy Cummings graded by BVG. This would certainly pre-date the 1873 Baltimore Team Composite you have listed on this post.

Link to the website where I saw the Cummings card:

http://www.rustywilly.com/largecards...mingsCandy.htm

Thanks again for all your contributions on this site helping all those (myself included) HOF "rookie" card collectors out there - - all of us chasing the impossible dream.

[bcbgcbrcb]

Derek:

Thanks for your input on Candy Cummings. I am very familiar with it as I was the one who originally owned it and had it graded by Beckett.

With this listing, I have tried to stay away from newspaper cut-outs other than the New York Clipper Woodcuts which are catalogued in the SCBC. Any other newspaper images that I have included were full-page images, primarily picturing team composites.

You are correct though that it represents the earliest Candy Cummings professional baseball collectible that I know of.

[h2oya311]

Phil -

Two more questions:

1) Why not include Cal Hubbard's 1934 U1 Diamond Matchbooks collectible of him as a football player?

2) I have seen one earlier card of Judy Johnson, a "Cabinet Photo" sold in an REA auction in 2004:

http://www.robertedwardauctions.com/.../2004/249.html

I'm not sure if any of these should be updated on "the list" accordingly, but thought I would share them for consideration/comment.

[bcbgcbrcb]

Thanks for the input, Derek.

Regarding Hubbard, I stayed away from football items and strictly focused on his baseball umpiring career. I have actually seen an original 1924 press photo of him in a football uniform but did not include it on my list.

I do recall seeing the Johnson photo before but forgot to include it so I am going to make the update right now.

[slidekellyslide]

I once owned a postcard of the Chillicothe Business College football team from 1920 with Hubbard on it. Hubbard is second from right in the middle row



There is another photo of the CBC team with Hubbard on a website dedicated to famous Missourians.

http://shs.umsystem.edu/famousmissou...bbardteam.html

[Hankphenom]

Phil,
I think the Walter Johnson novelty cutlery postcard photo dates from the 1909 season, not 1907, when both the home and road caps were white. Unless it could be proven that one of the early cards (American Caramel, maybe?) pre-dated it, I would peg the earliest Johnson collectible as the 1908 Sporting Life premium. Is there a postcard of that, also?
Hank Thomas