Collecting One player only

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Posted By: Jerry Rucker

This may sound stupid but I have been conteplating (SP?) changing my Collecting focus for awhile now. I'm thinking of just collecting one player, my favorite player. I've never run across anybody that collects this way but I'm sure there are some that do.
I know it can be very limiting but I'm 59 yrs old and there is enough cards of this player to keep me occupied for the rest of my life. If I decide to change I will have to sell my entire collection and just go after some of the rare stuff first because I don't have alot of disposable income, being retired.
By now your probally wondering who the player is, well it's Matty. He has always been my favorite player and I could be happy just collecting him. The fun of this hobby for me is the fun of the chase and hunting down some of his rare cards should fullfill that aspect.
I may not even have enough stuff in my modest collection to even undertake this venture and I'm not 100% sure yet that I want too. I'm just throwing the idea out to get some pros and cons from other collectors. The limiting aspect does not bother me, it's the financial aspect that has me worried. I do have a nice Toy collection also that I could liquidate.
Give me your thoughs,
My Cards and toys
http://imageevent.com/ruckers

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Posted By: Steve Murray

"Contemplating" Close though

Not stupid at all. I get hung up on certain players and just have to have everything I can find. Happened (and continues) with Deacon McGuire; Matty to some extent; Buck Weaver; Harl Maggert, and a couple more.

There's a guy on this board (though I haven't seen him post of late) that is strictly a Jimmy Foxx collector.

It's not all that unusual.

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Posted By: Matt

I think it's a great idea! PSA has been encouraging this kind of collecting with their Master Set registry where they have listings of Master Sets for each player and you can achieve a rank, much like ranking on the list of best T206 sets. I'm sure you're aware Matty's got some pretty pricey stuff out there, especially if you're sticking to at least 4s and 5s.

edited for spelling. <- should be in my sig

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Posted By: anthony

jerry, people change their minds all the time. i've done it maybe 130 times in the last year or so. i think that is a cool idea you have and depending on your current collection, it can pay for several cards.

i've dwindled my collection down to just 6 "keeper" cards. these six different players are key guys in the history of baseball (imo). of course i still need one very expensive one but buying, holding and selling off other cards helps.

good luck if you decide to take this path.

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Posted By: Jason L

that is what gives you the most joy!
There is little sense in collecting things that don't do anything for you, or that you no longer look at, etc.
Matty is a tough choice, from a cost perspective, so you just need to be realistic about what you can afford, and if you can get far enough so as to not frustrate you.
And hey, it's better than picking Honus Wagner, as I understand he has one card in particular that is rather tough!

Good luck with it, whatever you decide.

If you don't mind me asking, why Matty? any interesting collecting stories regarding him?

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Posted By: Joe D.

I completely understand your feelings on this -
and I have greatly narrowed the scope of my baseball collection.


I have limited (or at least attempted to limit) my purchases to a handful of players -
but there is no way I would be able to further limit myself to just one.
Matty, WaJo, Cobby, and Honus.



So - I say pick 3 to 5 players. Not just one.

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Posted By: Jason L

If you are uncertain, maybe start slowly along the Matty path and see if it is a passing fancy.
Maybe start by paring back your least loved items and acquiring a few of the cheaper Matty items on your wantlist, and see how it goes...if this new chase starts to lose its luster, then not much lost since you've only parted with your collection's lesser items...

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Posted By: Bob Pomilla

Being a narrow focus (one team) collector myself, keeps me happy. So if you think, Jerry, that collecting one player only will keep you happy, hey, why not? My only caution would be in your liquidating those other cards and toys. Make sure you don't sell something you will wish, one day, that you had back

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

I've contemplated doing this with Eddie Collins who is my favorite deadball era player. I guess what has been keeping me from starting along that path in a serious manner is that there are too many issues that are one of a kind (Herpolsheimer) or very rare that I think it might frustrate me. Plus at the moment my other two areas of focus have been keeping me quite busy this past year.

On another note, Jerry, what year is that Houston Buffs jersey in your avatar?

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Posted By: davidcycleback

Specializing in one player is fairly common, with the collections often of modern players like Cal Ripken and Walter Payton. Most of the specialists also collect memorabilia, so they will get stuff like ad signs, magazines, books, toys. I've met a few collectors who specialize is common players, often because the player was a local boy.

As there are many one player collectors, there is resale value in a diverse single player collection. The non specialist might find it neat to acquire a Christy Mathewson collection all at once, while the Willie Mays or Troy Aikman die-hard is always on the look out for obscure items to add to the collection. If one finds a neat 1-of-1 Cal Ripken item, you can bet there are Ripken specialists who will want it.

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Posted By: Jerry Rucker

First Let me say thanks for the responces so far.
Jason you might be on to something by starting Slowly and see if it's a passing fancy. Although I was hoping to snag a major piece first such as a T3, M110, W600, Steve's Uhlman (J/Kidding Steve) or Quan's D304 right off the bat but that wouldn't be starting slowly.

Dan, The Buffs jersey is 1931 about the time Dizzy, Pepper & Ducky were around here.

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Posted By: Joe D.

I am insulted that you did not listed my Astoria Giants as one of the potential major pieces you would like to snag.

and to think.... I was just going to contact you to see if you were interested.









Seriously - I couldn't fault anyone going for all Matty stuff.
Slow and steady wins the race.

I say start parting with stuff that is least painful to get rid of -
and start matty-shopping.

I am actually a little excited to see what pickups you make.

enjoy!

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Posted By: Jerry Rucker

Joe, Please send me a scan Astoria Giants card. I'm interested in learning more about your card. Is it a Postcard?. The scan you posted is to big
ticotiger14@peoplepc.com

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Posted By: Scott Mt. Joy

I am primary a Roberto Clemente collector and really love the PSA master set (its what got me back into collecting after a 13 year break). I have about 150 different but have since branched into exhibits but only because I am down to less than 20 clementes and I got tired of waiting months for one to go for sale and then get 2nd on the bidding, doh. That said the three years it took me to go from #17 to number #3 on the master set was awesome. Loved every minute of it.

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Posted By: Jason L

is fun.
One of my players is Ron Cey, and when I happened to be browsing the Player sets list one night, I saw that the Ron Cey collectors numbered only 1 at the time. So I threw my small collection up there and vaulted to #1 immediately. That was fun.

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Posted By: dennis

i would keep a few other things that i might feel are special or might be missed,but i think it's a great way to collect. of course the player is well liked in these parts.

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Posted By: Joe D.

astoria email sent.


looking forward to seeing your matty pickups.

Regards,
Joe

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Posted By: Mark Tylicki

I have the HOF collection of course but have recently started building up my Dave Winfield collection. As a young teenager, I remember a neighborhood kid had some '87 Topps baseball cards that a group of us were flipping through. I recall spotting a Winfield card. What a great baseball name WIN-FIELD. He became my favorite player. The rookie card was issued the year I was born and his middle name was the same as my first name - Mark. Little did I know at the time - this guy was no ordinary ballplayer! Four years later this helped trigger my obsession with card collecting.


Player collecting is fun - GO FOR IT!

------------------------------
MY COLLECTION: http://www.rustywilly.com/MYCOLLECTION.htm

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Posted By: peter chao

There will always be a premium on Matty's cards. Unfortunately, that is the drawback also, as you continue collecting they will get more pricey.

David C., had a pretty good suggestion. When collecting Matty gets pricey, have a secondary collecting interest that is less pricey. That way you stay interested in collecting cards instead of having long dry periods.

Peter C.

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Posted By: Brett

I was actually going to only collect Mathewson cards, then I was going to only collect Cobb cards but the prices for the ones I want are crazy. If i could get an e94 Wagner and Young and a e94 or e98 Cobb, i'd quit collecting for a long time. I'm still trying to collect all 4 colours of e98 Mathewson, but so far i can't find a green and red in poor shape.

If I was Jerry, i would sell alot of those t206 HOFers and buy a T3 Matty, w600 and some nice caramels

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Posted By: Brad Green

I collect Lefty Grove cards. He is in about 75 different sets that were issued during his playing days (1925-1941). There are also a lot of variations of those cards (color variations, print variations, back variations, etc) and I collect all of them that I can find. So, you will need to decide if you want to collect variations or not. I have a wantlist of about 9 cards (issued between 1925 and 1941) that I need and some days I wonder if I'm ever going to find those.

I also collect the modern stuff of Lefty, but it's impossible to get all of those because of the cards (especially the autographed cards) serially numbered 1 out of 1. Collecting the modern stuff is fun, because I feel like my collection is always growing (but never will be complete), especially when I can't find the vintage stuff that I need.

If you're going to start collecting Matty cards, then I would put a list of stuff together up front that you're going to collect. Are you going to collect only cards? What about photos? What about books where he is pictured on the cover? What about books that have nice articles about Matty, but doesn't have his picture on the front? What about cancelled checks? What about personal memorabilia? I would try to decide up front what your collecting focus will be.

Collecting single players also makes going to shows a lot easier. While perusing a dealer's table, you can simply ask "Do you have any Matty stuff?" You don't have to hand him a detailed wantlist of what you're looking for.

Sorry for rambling. I'll stop now. You can see my Lefty Grove collection on my website below.

http://www.bandkgreen.net/lefty_grove

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Posted By: Lyle

as long as you don't pick Ty Cobb like me . Seriously , I have collected only Cobb cards for several years ( with a few notable exceptions ) and have really enjoyed collecting that way since I don't have any cards I don't like. Of course , I don't have nearly the qauntity of cards that Quan , Wesley or Richard have in their collection .

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Posted By: DMcD

Jerry et al: I think it's very neat the way different folks on this board collect. Some guys collect just Tigers players or maybe cards of a distant relative that played in the bigs way back when or only catchers or a HOFer from Hometown, USA. Many collect more broadly but still have a Ty Cobb or perhaps a Home Run Baker jones going on the side. Me, I collect whatever but I do like my Mattys. (Forgive me for showing off).

(Also got a bitchin T205 I forgot to include in this photo)

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Posted By: Jerry

David, all I can say is WOW, Thats some very nice Matty stuff. Thanks for sharing, that may have pushed me over the edge.
Brad your Grove collection is remarkable.

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Posted By: Brad Green

Thanks, Jerry! I have found that putting a website together makes collecting even more rewarding and allows others to enjoy the collection as well.

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Posted By: Joe D.

beautiful cards and books!

very cool.

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Posted By: Matt

Great Matty collection - swap that Conlon Collection card out for the T205!

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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

Don't sell the toys, they are your alternate for when the Mattys are few and far between.