Counting Down The 10 Most Iconic Sports Cards of Alltime Video - Thoughts

[rats60]

Originally Posted by todeen

I think the problem with some of your choices is that multiple cards you list are known only to true hobby enthusiasts. Whereas Iconic would reach people with less knowledge. None of my friends would know who Eddie Plank or Nap Lajoie are. But some of my friends would recognize the Goudey Ruth.

If that is your definition, then none of the cards on his list after the top 3 belong. People without knowledge of the hobby have no clue what those cards are. They know Tom Brady or LeBron James but would never recognize their RCs. Same for cards like the Bird-Magic or the Leaf Robinson. His list is just a bunch of random cards.

Iconic is something that stands the test of time. Plank and Lajoie were iconic to the hobby founders in the 1930s. They were iconic to collectors in the 70s and 80s as 2 of the 3 most valuable cards in the hobby. If newer collectors don't bother to educate themselves about all segments of the hobby and its history, that is their problem, not the Hobby's. If you are making a top 10 list, all segments should be represented.

I bet if you showed people pictures of 4 or 5 Ruth cards and asked them which was the Goudey, most would have no clue. When a Goudey Ruth sells, it gets no publicity. The last time the BN Ruth sold, it set the record for the most expensive sale of a sports card. If that isn't iconic, then I don't know what is.

[Yoda]

I doubt the modern card mob would know much about the E107 Matty; its elegance and beauty and historical significance as his RC.
My friend Kevin Struss sold me one many moons ago and I still rue the day I decided to part with it.

[jingram058]

Opinion, opinion, opinion...and if my opinion differs, it just doesn't matter.

[Carter08]

Billy Ripken f face might be close.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Carter08

Billy Ripken f face might be close.

Opinions vary greatly but I wouldn't consider anyone without the iconic Bill Ripken F Face card in their collection an advanced collector.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by bnorth

Opinions vary greatly but I wouldn't consider anyone without the iconic Bill Ripken F Face card in their collection an advanced collector.

Advanced collector lol. Perhaps the hobby term I hate the most, but that's another matter.

[Rich Falvo]

Hard to argue too much, but I'd drop the Brady and replace it with the 2011 Update Mike Trout.

I'm just glad I own one. Two if I can count the Topps Gretzky instead of OPC.

[Peter_Spaeth]

If the list is confined to knowledge and stature within the hobby, I don't see how the Griffey can be left off. That card was and is HUGE. Likewise the 11 Trout.

[BobbyStrawberry]

I'm curious about the Ruth on the list - does anyone know why the yellow one would be considered more iconic than #144?

[nwobhm]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

If the list is confined to knowledge and stature within the hobby, I don't see how the Griffey can be left off. That card was and is HUGE. Likewise the 11 Trout.

I can’t see how a player that didn’t even play 1 WS game could be included on any iconic list. At least a guy like Lebron, who lost more than he won, actually won something.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by nwobhm

I can’t see how a player that didn’t even play 1 WS game could be included on any iconic list. At least a guy like Lebron, who lost more than he won, actually won something.

The 89 UD Griffey ushered in and is the symbol of the modern high end card.

[rats60]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

The 89 UD Griffey ushered in and is the symbol of the modern high end card.

For people who collected in 1989-1994. The Exquisite LeBron made it an after thought. It is the symbol of modern high end now.

[Carter08]

Originally Posted by rats60

For people who collected in 1989-1994. The Exquisite LeBron made it an after thought. It is the symbol of modern high end now.

I was too young for the 84 Mattingly and too old for the Lebron rookie. The UD Griffey was my generation’s key card and there wasn’t anything remotely close.

[Rhotchkiss]

I think the list tends too modern, but I concede that many of the cards I would put on a top 10 list likely aren’t proper for an all time iconic, defining iconic as most widely recognized (definition 2 of Websters).

Here is my LAYMAN most iconic list

52 Topps Mantle
T206 Wagner
1987 Fleer Jordan
1989 UD Griffey
T206 red/green Cobb (Horner image)
1933 Goudey Ruth Batting
1980 Topps Bird-Magic
1954 Aaron
1914 CJ Joe Jackson
1979 OPC Gretzky

My Baseball card collector most iconic

T206 Wagner
BN Ruth
1952 Topps Mantle
M101-4/5 Ruth
T210 Jackson
T206 red/green Cobb
1914 CJ Mathewson
T206 Plank
1933 Goudey Lajoie
1914 CJ Jackson

Honorable mention
1933 Goudey yellow Ruth
1948/9 Leaf Paige
1948/9 Robinson
1963 Rose
1968 Ryan

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by rats60

For people who collected in 1989-1994. The Exquisite LeBron made it an after thought. It is the symbol of modern high end now.

I don't think Griffey has been supplanted at all.

[RCMcKenzie]

Rovell's list was from 2010. I think it was less random than the list in the 1st post of this thread. To me 'iconic' focuses on eras.

The 52T Mantle is the golden era, 1950's icon for cards. Wagner is tobacco era. Griffey is that card for the junk wax era collectors. I did not collect in college and so the Griffey doesn't ring any bells for me. I do recognize what it is, like a Gretsky rookie, or 1981 Topps Harold Baines.

Modern is really a different hobby to me. I don't really recognize any cards made after 2000, so I don't really know what symbolizes that era, other than refractors of the stars like Kobe, Brady, LeBron, and Messi, and Justin Herbert, and so on.

I just realized I don't own any of the top 10 cards in the hobby from post 1. I used to own a Leaf Robinson when I was a kid that my Dad bought me for $45. I may have a Bird rookie from a pack in a box in storage somewhere.

[nwobhm]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

The 89 UD Griffey ushered in and is the symbol of the modern high end card.

We apparently lived opposite lives in this hobby in the late 80’s. I remember near zero talk among collectors of the Griffey…. Jordan was like a tsunami. Gretsky, Montana, Jordan…. Clemons, Puckett, Gooden from the update were all the rage… FF Ripken was also always in the conversation. Everyone wanted the 84’ Donruss factory sets too. IDK…..Maybe it was a regional thing.

[rats60]

Originally Posted by nwobhm

We apparently lived opposite lives in this hobby in the late 80’s. I remember near zero talk among collectors of the Griffey…. Jordan was like a tsunami. Gretsky, Montana, Jordan…. Clemons, Puckett, Gooden from the update were all the rage… FF Ripken was also always in the conversation. Everyone wanted the 84’ Donruss factory sets too. IDK…..Maybe it was a regional thing.

It definitely was not a regional thing. I was setting up at shows across the country and it was all about the 1986 Fleer Jordan RC and 1986 Fleer basketball in 1989/90.

The Upper Deck Griffey was the new speculation in 1989, but many in the hobby were uncertain of Upper Decks future. It took a while for the Griffey to catch on, but by then Jordan was king of the hobby.

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by nwobhm

We apparently lived opposite lives in this hobby in the late 80’s. I remember near zero talk among collectors of the Griffey…. Jordan was like a tsunami. Gretsky, Montana, Jordan…. Clemons, Puckett, Gooden from the update were all the rage… FF Ripken was also always in the conversation. Everyone wanted the 84’ Donruss factory sets too. IDK…..Maybe it was a regional thing.

Were you in Chicago? If Jordan was such a tsunami in the card world, why did Fleer's basketball offerings basically flop? The Griffey was everywhere - that's why UD printed more of it.

[rats60]

Originally Posted by Tabe

Were you in Chicago? If Jordan was such a tsunami in the card world, why did Fleer's basketball offerings basically flop? The Griffey was everywhere - that's why UD printed more of it.

Jordan was a tsunami in 1988-1989. Fleer's basketball offerings didn't flop. They were a good seller, similar to Topps Football and Hockey products of the time and Fleer kept making them.

Upper Deck Griffeys were everywhere in 1989 because that is all that Upper Deck had and as it was a brand new company, they were going to milk it. The 1989 Griffey was just that year's popular rookie and it was only popular until Upper Deck made their high series. Then everyone wanted Jerome Walton. The card everyone really wanted was the 1986 Donruss Jose Canseco. 1988 MVP, 1st 40/40 player, 3x AL Champion 1988-1990, 1989 World Series Champion.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Tabe

Were you in Chicago? If Jordan was such a tsunami in the card world, why did Fleer's basketball offerings basically flop? The Griffey was everywhere - that's why UD printed more of it.

In my experience, since the day it was released, the UD Griffey has been an instantly recognizable and consistently popular card, synonymous with the modern hobby. I don't think it was supplanted by anything.

[Wanaselja]

Originally Posted by nwobhm

I can’t see how a player that didn’t even play 1 WS game could be included on any iconic list. At least a guy like Lebron, who lost more than he won, actually won something.

Scratching head out of confusion emoji.

[todeen]

Originally Posted by rats60

If that is your definition, then none of the cards on his list after the top 3 belong. People without knowledge of the hobby have no clue what those cards are. They know Tom Brady or LeBron James but would never recognize their RCs. Same for cards like the Bird-Magic or the Leaf Robinson. His list is just a bunch of random cards.



Iconic is something that stands the test of time. Plank and Lajoie were iconic to the hobby founders in the 1930s. They were iconic to collectors in the 70s and 80s as 2 of the 3 most valuable cards in the hobby. If newer collectors don't bother to educate themselves about all segments of the hobby and its history, that is their problem, not the Hobby's. If you are making a top 10 list, all segments should be represented.



I bet if you showed people pictures of 4 or 5 Ruth cards and asked them which was the Goudey, most would have no clue. When a Goudey Ruth sells, it gets no publicity. The last time the BN Ruth sold, it set the record for the most expensive sale of a sports card. If that isn't iconic, then I don't know what is.

When I think of iconic, I think of the crappy collecting books I could get at scholastic book fairs in the early 90s. The cards there were not B&W. They all had color. Goudey Ruth was chosen, and Wheaties Gehrig, and T206 Wagner, and 1952 Mantle. It also had Cracker Jack. But it did not have strip cards. I'm not even sure Turkey Red was included. When I started getting Beckett, pre-1948 was not included. I didn't learn about E90 until much later, after college perhaps. I also didn't know about strip cards.

So when I think of iconic for those "not in the know," I believe there are many other millennials who saw those crappy intro to collecting books and could identify some important cards even if they couldn't name them. And if they had to choose B&W or color, they would choose color because that's what those scholastic books had.

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