Sports Poster Warehouse -- featuring a wide array of sports posters. FREE SHIPPING on orders of $20 or more to "Hobby" listeners, through July 4, 2009. Use the link here.
Wax Heaven -- Mario Alejandro's great editorials on new products.
Hosted by Mike Schopp, The Hobby is WGR's new show for sports card and memorabilia collectors. Listen every Saturday from 8am-9am for in-depth information, interviews, tips, and tricks. Whether you have an appreciation for sports memorabilia, you're just starting a collection, or you're a serious collector, this is the show for you!
This week's guest: Michael O'Keeffe Michael O'Keeffe, New York Daily News reporter and author of The Card, a book about the legendary Honus Wagner T-206 card, joins me this Saturday morning (July 20) at 8 on "The Hobby".
Any of you ever see a genuine Wagner? Sunday, I saw the one on display at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. That's my only brush. If you've seen one, tell me the story at thehobby@wgr550.com.
Cornering a short-print market Some collectors enjoy attempting to collect every edition of a short-printed card. Hard to do though. Take a card numbered to 5. You have to find each copy -- who knows if each has even been opened? -- then hope to pry them all away from collectors. Good luck.
I've had fun with this idea myself.
Casey at the Bat, through cards Ben Henry authored The Baseball Card Blog for three years and went out in style last December with this card-themed rendition of "Casey at the Bat".
http://baseballcardblog.blogspot.com/
The top-pick QB -- 26 years ago The 1984 Topps set was loaded with rookies that collectors still find interesting -- John Elway, Dan Marino, Eric Dickerson, Howie Long, Andre Tippett, Jackie Slater, Darrell Green ... and these are just the Hall of Famers! I was an avid collector that year, and the card I remember everybody wanting was Seattle's Curt Warner.
My great uncle Cliff Fannin pitched in the majors, but my family didn't collect cards.
The best part about a big find Upon hearing that an acquaintance of mine had discovered a great box of old baseball cards, a friend asked me what I thought the best part of that would be. Would it be the discovery itself? Or, the research to find out the value of the cards? Maybe it would be just looking at the cards? Or maybe it would be getting paid.
I found this a near-impossible question.
Sidney Crosby a card bargain, for once? I was taken aback by a recent eBay sale of a Sidney Crosby 2005-06 The Cup rookie for $3,000, and another of the 99 copies of that card listed for $4,550 or Best Offer. Whoa, what happened to this $11,000 whale?
Pro Football Hall of Fame vote Saturday Bruce Smith and Rod Woodson seem like locks to make it to Canton in this Saturday's vote, but what about Andre Reed or Cris Carter? Both have been up for election before and come up short. We'll discuss the finalists and their rookie cards Saturday on "The Hobby", at 8 a.m. Eastern.
Got a favorite design? Let me know. The value of a card, both monetary and sentimental, comes down to more than just the picture on it. Certain sets are known for their daring designs, like 1975 Topps Baseball. (Pink and purple? Yellow and lime green? Hurts my eyes, but many collectors love them.) How about 1978, or 1985? Some say boring, I say classic.
"Cobb Steals Third" for $700 A friend of mine collected these 1912 Hassan Triple Folders for a while in PSA VG-EX 4. This one is called "Ty Cobb Steals Third". The December issue of Sports Market Report books this card at $700. They're bigger than cards now, about the size of a letter envelope. The first known baseball cards go back to the late 1880s -- good luck finding those in your attic!
6/27/09: Error cards can be thrillers Not every super-expensive card through the years features a Hall of Fame-caliber player. The names John Littlefield, Bill Ripken and Pancho Herrera are Hobby legends because of mistakes made in the production of their cards. Bob Snyder from Dave & Adam's Card World tells us more. Reed Kasaoka discusses the 1984 Michael Jackson "Thriller" set, and Mike Schopp ranks his top five sets from the 1960s.
6/20/09: Why is the Wagner T-206 so special? Michael O'Keeffe, co-author of "The Card", stops by to talk about the legendary T-206 Honus Wagner card, specifically the controversial copy once co-owned by Wayne Gretzky. Just why are this edition and the other Wagners so valuable? O'Keeffe tells the story, and Bob Snyder of Dave & Adam's Card World talks more about The Hobby's most famous set.
6/13/09: Are your autographs legit? Joe Orlando, the president of Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), explains how Hobby analysts can tell real autographs from forgeries, and tells us how PSA bought into the Set Registry concept. Mike Schopp ranks his favorite five card sets from the 1970s, and Reed Kasaoka from Dave & Adam's Card World tells us which kinds of memorabilia are perfect to sell through an auction house. A very interesting and informative episode.
6/6/09: Kobe, Lebron, and the 1950s Mike Schopp says it's time to rank the top 5 card sets of the 1950s. Not easy to fill the list out, but in his opinion the number-one choice is a slam dunk. Speaking of dunks, the NBA playoffs have basketball fans buzzing. What are the best rookie cards of Kobe Bryant, Lebron James and Dwight Howard? It's all on this week's episode of "The Hobby".
5/30/09: Ranking the Top 80s sets The 1980s marked the Hobby's greatest-ever period of popularity. Cards exploded (not literally, although they might be tossing that around in R&D these days). There were new manufacturers and lots of different looks. Which sets stood above the rest? Mike Schopp gives his Top 5, and his reasons, on this week's episode.
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