Harry Beecher is Credited as the Subject of the First Football Card. But Who was He?
The player on the first football card isn’t a known commodity to most The first true football card, often like the first ‘anything’, is always up for [...]
Football
Should Strip Cards Receive Numerical Grades?
Strip Cards Receive Numerical Grades … But Is That Correct? One of more interesting discussions when it comes to graded cards centers around strip issues. Strip cards, [...]
Jefferson Burdick Viewed Cards Differently than we do Today
Jefferson Burdick is known for creating the American Card Catalog (ACC), the standard book in the hobby that helps us to categorize early trading cards. But while that is [...]
The Great Debate: What is a Rookie Card?
Rookie cards are among the most sought after cards by collectors. When the rookie craze began exactly, I couldn’t tell you. But I know but the time I was collecting, it [...]
Trade Cards were at the Forefront of the Sports Card Hobby
When trade cards became popular in the 1800s, few could have imagined their future importance. But those issues coupled with the emergence of American sports came together to [...]
Keys to Effective Pre-War Setbuilding
A Few Tips to Collecting Sets in the Pre-War Era There are all sorts of collectors out there. Some focus on individual players or teams. Some have a regional focus. Others [...]
Five reasons why grading companies are necessary for the card industry
I have to preface this by saying, I’m not a huge graded card guy. As a set collector, my cards are often of the lower-grade variety. And I’ve generally handled [...]
Pre-War Rookie Cards Often Difficult to Determine
Finding the first cards of early athletes can prove challenging Lots of collectors consider themselves to be rookie card enthusiasts. The idea of finding a player’s [...]
(Not) Live from the 2018 National Sports Collectors Convention: Thursday
Commence Shenanigans Against my better judgment I’m doing this for another day. Beyond that? Ehhh, I don’t know. I can only sing and dance for so long. If you [...]
(Not) Live from the 2018 National Sports Collectors Convention: Wednesday
What is this? Living in nearby Pittsburgh, I had every intention on going to the National this year. I’d never been to one and, as I’m only about two hours away, [...]
To Slab or Not to Slab: The Graded Sports Card Conundrum
I’ll admit to mostly being a fan of raw cards. Typically I’ve gone that route for buying and, as someone that doesn’t generally sell much, it comes less [...]
Newly Added Card to Rare R873 Victorian Football Expands Checklist and Removes Doubt
The R873 trade card set features the rough and tumble game of early football. While I had only previously ever seen two cards, a third added to the checklist not only expands [...]
