1949 bowman richie ashburn

[cards01fan]

Can someone explain to me why it is so expensive?

[KCRfan1]

Rookie card, high number / series in the Bowman set for 1949 which commands a premium, and Ashburn is a Hall of Famer.

[cards01fan]

Thanks, I knew the hof but the other I didn't

[tedzan]

There are quite a number of reasons why the 1949 rookie card of Richie Ashburn is expensive. Some of which have been already stated.
A significant one is that there are a large number of Phillies team set collectors that buy this rookie card in multiples.

Besides having a great BB career, Richie was the Phillies radio & TV color commentator from 1963 - 1997. He had an enormous following.

Therefore, the high value of Richie's 1949 Bowman card essentially boils down to the law of supply vs. demand.


TED Z

[Paul S]

Originally Posted by tedzan

...Therefore, the high value of Richie's 1949 Bowman card essentially boils down to the law of supply vs. demand.TED Z

Ted, well I demand some supply! How many are you hoarding?

Paul

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by tedzan

Besides having a great BB career, Richie was the Phillies radio & TV color commentator from 1963 - 1997. He had an enormous following.


TED Z

This quote is spot on. Obviously, rookie cards of Hall of Famers are always going to be in demand. But Ashburn was beloved like almost no other figure in Philadelphia sports history. I am 40 years old, so Ashburn was already retired as a player for 10 years by the time I was born. But two generations of fans in the Philadelphia area grew up with him as the voice of the Phillies (along with Harry Kalas).

When Ashburn died, the outpouring from fans really showed how beloved he was in the Philadelphia area. Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton may have been the best players in Phillies history, but they weren't universally beloved like Ashburn was.

[tedzan]

I've met Richie Ashburn twice at BB card shows in the early 1990's. A real classy guy, he would talk BB trivia with you for hours (if he had the time).
One of several bits of trivia that I asked him...." were you the fastest runner to 1st base ? " [especially when he layed down a drag bunt (as shown
in this photo)].
Richie told me...."year after year the sportswriters would time Mickey Mantle (batting lefty) and I running to 1st base. Everytime it was 3.0 seconds.
Richie was one of the best lead-off BB players in the game.





TED Z