• Home
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Get Sports Collectors Daily via EMail
    • Advertise with SC Daily
    • Write for Sports Collectors Daily
    • Write About Your Sports Collection
    • Where Can I Sell My Baseball Cards?
  • Hot on Ebay
    • Most Watched Baseball Cards
      • Bowman Chrome Cards
      • Mike Trout Cards
      • Fernando Tatis Jr. Rookie Cards
      • Babe Ruth Cards
      • Hank Aaron Cards
      • Jackie Robinson Cards:
      • Mickey Mantle Cards
      • Willie Mays Cards
      • Vintage Baseball Card Sets
      • T206 Cards
      • Hottest Baseball Hobby Boxes
    • Most Watched Basketball
      • Top 100 Most Watched Basketball Rookie Cards
      • 100 Hottest 2020-21 NBA Rookie Cards
      • 100 Hottest 2019-20 NBA Rookie Cards
        • Zion Williamson Rookie Cards
        • Ja Morant Rookie Cards
      • Prizm Basketball Cards
      • Luka Doncic Rookie Cards
      • LeBron James Rookie Cards
      • Michael Jordan Cards
      • Kobe Bryant Cards
      • NBA Top Shot
      • Panini National Treasures
    • Most Watched Football Cards
      • Most Watched NFL Rookie Cards
      • 2020 NFL Rookie Cards
      • Tom Brady Cards
      • Patrick Mahomes Rookie Cards
    • Most Watched Hockey Cards
      • Top 100 Most Watched Hockey Rookie Cards
      • Most Watched 2020-21 Rookie Cards
      • Most Watched 2019-20 Rookie Cards
      • Connor McDavid Cards
      • Wayne Gretzky Cards
      • Bobby Orr Cards
    • Most Watched Soccer Cards
    • Most Watched UFC Cards
    • Most Watched Golf Cards
    • Most Watched Graded Rookies
    • Most Watched PSA 10 Cards
    • Most Watched 1 of 1 Cards
    • Most Watched Memorabilia
    • Most Watched Racing Cards
    • Most Watched Autographs
  • Ending Soon on Ebay
    • Baseball Cards
    • Basketball Cards
    • Football Cards
    • Hockey Cards
    • Golf Cards
    • Vintage Sports Memorabilia

Sports Collectors Daily

Sports collecting news - Sports cards and sports memorabilia industry news.

Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you click one and make a purchase, we may receive a commission.  It helps keep us afloat!

  • Sports Memorabilia News
    • Barnebys Sports Auction Highlights
  • Sports Card News
    • Modern Sports Card News
      • New Sports Card Release Calendar
      • Shop Talk
    • Vintage Sports Card News
      • Affordable Vintage Cards, Collectibles
      • Old Baseball Card Sets
      • Old Basketball Card Sets
      • Old Football Card Sets
      • Old Hockey Card Sets
      • Vintage Pack Facts
  • Business/Industry News
    • Sports Memorabilia Business News
    • Sports Memorabilia Industry News
    • Hobby Shops Selling, Breaking Online During COVID-19
  • Around The Hobby
    • Editor’s Blog
    • David Cycleback’s Identification and Authentication Advice
  • Popular Stories
  • Sell Your Cards
You are here: Home / Rich Klein's Ramblings / Ramblings: Reality Tie Makes Our Hobby Stand Out

Ramblings: Reality Tie Makes Our Hobby Stand Out

August 18, 2015 By Rich Klein

Back in the day when I would interact with either newspaper reporters or radio hosts while working at Beckett, a question which often arose was: “What makes sports cards different as a hobby than stamps, coins or other hobbies?”

While at that time we were still heavily kid focused, I would explain how ours was connected to current events—sort of a “living hobby”.  Every new career milestone or record chase impacted card prices.  Every auction sale or card show report often did as well.  But what really made it so were the performances of the young players who drove—and still drive– the current card market.Rich Ramblings 2014

A great example from the era where the hobby was often in the media eye was in 1986. Jose Canseco was hot but he also appeared on a card with another hot prospect, Mike Greenwell. It was really the only MLB-licensed card that featured Greenwell issued in 1986 and today could almost be considered a pre-rookie card.

I think of Greenwell because he was part of a large class of Boston Red Sox rookies over a three or four-year period who were touted as the class that would end the curse. Many thought players such as Greenwell, Ellis Burks, Sam Horn (remember the hype for him?) and even Jody Reed were going to be the next generation of Red Sox stars. Greenwell was going to be the next Yaz and the others would be like Rico Petrocelli, George “Boomer” Scott and Reggie Smith. Well, Greenwell and Burks had very nice careers but the team success never quite panned out.  Still, you can’t tell me it wasn’t a fun time to be a Red Sox collector or a rookie card prospector looking to identify potential stars.

1989 Topps Update Griffey-JohnsonMeanwhile, clear on the other side of the country, the Seattle Mariners were accumulating some incredible young talent in the late 1980s and early 90s. They had a future Hall of Famer in Randy Johnson (although his rookie cards are from the Montreal Expos), a guaranteed Hall of Famer in Ken Griffey Jr. and strong candidates in Edgar Martinez and Omar Vizquel. This does not even count players such as Jay “Bone’ Buhner, forever immortalized as a theme in the old Seinfeld television show for being traded for THE Ken Phelps.

Even with that formidable talent and other good players picked up over the years, the Mariners have never even made the World Series but around 1990 or so, there was a steady stream of cards being traded and bought by collectors, shop owners and show dealers throughout the Pacific Northwest.  After struggling for years, Griffey and the M’s were helping drive the hobby in an economic fashion we probably still can’t quantify.

We won’t even go into detail about the Gooden/Strawberry era in New York of a few years earlier.

Kris Bryant-Strata-SignaturesBut you know, we call this a living hobby because the hobby does evolve and in some cases even quicker than 25 years ago. We can turn on a dime now and this year’s team is the Chicago Cubs led by the rookie cards (or upcoming rookie cards) or Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, Kyle Schwarber and Jorge Soler. The Cubs have become so deep in prospects that Javier Baez, Junior Lake and others I have probably forgotten are now relegated to the “who, he?” prospect list.  Regardless of whether you love or hate the Cubs, it’s good for the hobby when there’s such a deep team of prospects in the major collecting hub of Chicago, for a franchise that hasn’t won a World Series in over a century.

However, despite the brilliance of Theo Epstein and his team as talent acquirers and Joe Maddon as a manager there is no guarantee of how the future will turn out for this great Cubs crop. Will they become like Boston, where the group of prospects ended up as a few fond memories?  Will they become the Seattle Mariners of the 1990s? Or will they be something much bigger, a group that finally ends that World Series drought and carries a couple of guys to Cooperstown?  Now that would be a story.  Either way, it’s all part of why this is a “living hobby” which always evolves but sometimes even reminds us of the days when it seemed there was a card shop in every neighborhood.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • Facebook Messenger

Related Stories:

Ramblings: No Such Thing as a Sure Thing Kris Bryant 2015 Topps Update base rookie cardRamblings: No Shortage of New Chicago Sports Stars 2014 Bowman Chrome auto Kyle SchwarberMost Watched Kyle Schwarber Cards on eBay Rizzo Cards Tick Up But Still Affordable 2017 Topps Fire Baseball Hits Shelves as Target Exclusive Ramblings: Never a Dull Moment at Local Shows Ramblings: Grab Bags and Games of Chance Ramblings: Reader Question About Starting a Card Show Jerry Morales 1974 ToppsRamblings: Cards That Try to Pair Old Faces with New Places 1962 Houston Colt 45s tickeetRamblings: Why a Sport Rules a City and its Collectors

Filed Under: Rich Klein's Ramblings Tagged With: Cubs, jose canseco, Ken Griffey Jr., Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Mariners, Ramblings

Our articles may contain affiliate links. When you click one and make a purchase, we receive a commission.  The revenue is what helps keep SC Daily afloat!

What\
  • Football
  • Basketball
  • Baseball
  • Hockey

High End Cards and Memorabilia

  • BBCE Authenticated Boxes, Packs
  • Graded Rookie Cards
  • Authenticated Photos
  • Graded Tickets & Stubs

Bargain Corner

  • Michael Jordan cards $5 and less
  • Kobe Bryant cards $5 and less
  • Mickey Mantle Cards Under $150
  • Graded T206 Cards Under $75
  • Pre-1980 Graded Baseball Cards $10 and Less
  • Pre-1985 Graded Football Cards $5 and Less
  • Pre-1980 Graded Basketball Cards $10 and less
  • Pre-1990 Graded Hockey Cards $5 and Less
  • Complete Sets Under $10 with Free Shipping
  • Baseball Hall of Famers for $5 or Less
  • Football Hall of Famers for $5 or Less
  • Hobby Boxes Under $30
  • Pre-1986 Rookie Cards Under $1

RSS Auction Report

  • Historic Items from Al Tapper Collection Coming to SCP Auctions
  • Memory Lane’s Spring Auction to Feature 1,700 High-End Lots
  • Bid in The Collector Connection March 14, 2021 Post War Sports Cards VII


Categories

  • Around the Hobby
  • Business/Industry News
    • Sports Memorabilia Business News
    • Sports Memorabilia Industry News
  • David Cycleback's Identification and Authentication Advice
  • Editor's Blog
  • Hobby Shop Talk
  • National Sports Collectors Convention
  • Popular Stories
  • Rich Klein's Ramblings
  • Sports Card News
    • Modern Sports Card News
      • New Sports Card Release Calendar
    • Vintage Sports Card News
      • Old Baseball Card Sets
      • Old Basketball Card Sets
      • Old Football Card Sets
      • Old Hockey Card Sets
      • Vintage Pack Facts
  • Sports Memorabilia News

Sponsor Links

  • Sports Card Forum
  • Buying Vintage Sports Cards
  • Game Used Jerseys
  • 1952 Topps Baseball
  • Championship Rings For Sale
  • Vintage Basketball Cards
  • NBA Signed Items
  • Signed Sports Memorabilia
  • UFC Memorabilia
  • Autographed Baseballs
  • NASCAR Autographs
  • Vintage Graded Baseball Cards
  • Player Pictures
  • Vintage Football Cards
  • Sports Card Boxes
  • Sports Collectors Store

Pages

  • 10 Hottest Kareem Hunt Rookie Cards
  • 100 Hottest 2019-20 NBA Rookie Cards
  • 100 Hottest UFC Trading Cards
  • 100 Most Watched Graded Rookie Cards for Sale on eBay
  • 100 Most Watched Tom Brady Card Auctions on eBay
  • 20 Hottest Barry Sanders Football Cards
  • 2016 Cubs Replica Championship Rings Don’t Cost a Fortune
  • 2017 Topps Definitive Collection Box Breaks, Most Watched
  • 2019 Toronto Raptors NBA Championship Memorabilia Guide
  • 2019 US Women’s World Cup Apparel, Merchandise, Memorabilia Guide
  • 50 Hottest Baseball Hobby Boxes at Auction on eBay
  • 50 Most Watched Golf Trading Cards on eBay
  • 50 Most Watched Kevin Durant Auctions on eBay
  • 50 Most Watched Wrestling Trading Cards on eBay
  • 75 Most Watched Bowman Chrome Cards
  • 8 Types of Kobe Bryant Collectibles to Remember Him By
  • Aaron Judge Game Used Memorabilia Inventory Growing
  • About Us/Contact/Advertise
    • Advertise with SC Daily
    • Contact Us
    • Get Sports Collectors Daily via EMail
  • Affordable Vintage Sports Cards and Collectibles
  • Barnebys Sports Memorabilia Auctions
  • Baseball Card Auctions on eBay Ending Soon
  • Basketball Card Auctions on eBay Ending Soon
  • Best Derek Jeter Baseball Cards on eBay
  • Best Display Cabinets for Sports Memorabilia
  • Best Joey Votto Rookie Cards
  • Best Pascal Siakam Rookie Cards
  • Chiefs Super Bowl Champs Memorabilia Hits the Market
  • Current Most Watched Baseball Cards on eBay
  • Dale Murphy Rookie Card Remains Popular, Affordable
  • Eagles Super Bowl Champions Memorabilia Guide
  • Fanatics Under Wraps 2017 Next Level Edition Autographed Baseballs
  • Football Card Auctions on eBay Ending Soon
  • Frank Gore Rookie Cards Get No Respect
  • Gardner Minshew Rookie Cards Heat Up as Fun-Loving Rookie Shows His Ability
  • Great Gifts for Cubs Fans
  • Guide to 2018-19 Clemson Tigers National Championship Memorabilia
  • Guide to Houston Astros Championship Memorabilia
  • Guide to LSU National Championship Merchandise, Memorabilia
  • Guide to Nationals World Series Champs Memorabilia, Merchandise
  • Guide to St. Louis Blues Stanley Cup Champions Merchandise, Memorabilia
  • Guide to Vegas Golden Knights Stanley Cup Memorabilia
  • Hank Aaron Cards on eBay
  • Henrik Lundqvist Rookie Cards a Strong Long-Term Play
  • Hockey Card Auctions Ending Soon on eBay
  • Hottest 2019 Baseball Rookie Cards
  • Hottest 2019 NFL Rookie Cards on eBay
  • Hottest Chicago Bulls Memorabilia Auctions on eBay
  • Hottest Devin Booker Rookie Cards as Suns Star Piles Up Points
  • Hottest Kyle Lewis Rookie Cards on eBay
  • Hottest Lonzo Ball Rookie Cards on eBay
  • Hottest Panini National Treasures Cards on eBay
  • Hottest Panini World Cup Stickers on eBay
  • Hottest Pokémon Card Auctions on eBay
  • Hottest PSA 10 Cards for Sale on eBay
  • Hottest Topps Living Set Auctions on eBay
  • Hottest Topps NOW Cards on eBay
  • Hottest Xander Bogaerts Rookie Cards
  • LeBron James Lakers Jerseys Already Available
  • Links
  • Mickey Mantle Cards on eBay
  • Most Popular Bobbleheads on eBay
  • Most Popular Mark McGwire Rookie Card Auctions on eBay
  • Most Watched 1/1 Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Basketball Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Complete Baseball Card Sets at Auction on eBay
  • Most Watched Football Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Football Rookie Card Auctions
  • Most Watched Goudey Baseball Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Hockey Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Kobe Bryant Basketball Card Auctions on eBay
  • Most Watched Racing Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Soccer Cards for Sale on eBay
  • Most Watched Sports Autographs on eBay
  • Most Watched Sports Jerseys on eBay
  • Most Watched Topps Project 2020 Auctions on eBay
  • Most Watched Unopened Sports Card Boxes, Packs on eBay
  • Most Watched Vintage Sports Memorabilia on eBay
  • Nick Bosa Rookie Cards Getting Collectors’ Attention
  • Patriots Super Bowl 51 Champions Merchandise
  • Ryne Sandberg Rookie Cards, Minor League Issues Still Collector Favorites
  • Selling Sports Cards on eBay for Cash
  • Sports Card Bargain Bin
  • Sports Memorabilia Auctions Ending Soon on eBay
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Test
  • The 2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Kris Bryant Auto Saga: A Timeline
  • Tony Gwynn Rookie Cards Recall “The Best Hitter Since Ted”
  • Top 100 Most Watched Baseball Rookie Cards on eBay
  • Top 100 Most Watched Basketball Rookie Cards for Sale on eBay
  • Top 100 Most Watched Hockey Rookie Card Auctions
  • Top Authenticated Vintage Unopened Sports Card Boxes, Packs on eBay
  • Top Selling Patriots Super Bowl Championship Items
  • Upper Deck Authenticated Autographs Remain Popular, Accessible
  • Vintage Sports Memorabilia on eBay Ending Soon
  • Wade Boggs Rookie Cards Still a Collector Favorite
  • Wayne Gretzky Cards
  • What’s Hot on eBay
  • What’s It Worth
  • Where Can I Sell My Baseball Cards?
  • Where to Buy the Anthony Fauci Topps Baseball Card
  • Write About Your Sports Collection
  • Write for Sports Collectors Daily

Copyright © 2021 SportsCollectorsDaily.com | Genesis Web Design by Wickam Group