Collector Larry Berman recently purchased a piece of hockey history so important he didn’t feel right about keeping it. The 1948 letter from New York Rangers executive Frank Boucher was an invitation to the team’s training camp at Saranac Lake, N.Y. The recipient was prospect Herb Carnegie. A highly skilled black player, Carnegie could have been the first to play in … [Read more...]
Dr. Jim Beckett Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award
The man who helped bring order to the wild world of trading cards during an explosive period of growth was honored Monday in Dallas with an award named in his honor. Dr. Jim Beckett, founder of Beckett Media, was given the inaugural Dr. James Beckett Industry Summit Lifetime Achievement Award. The Summit, held in Dallas for the first time, is a gathering of national … [Read more...]
Ramblings: Guides and Checklists Brought Order to Chaos
I don’t know about the rest of the readership but I’m fascinated by the race for the presidency. As in many campaigns, there are many great sound bites and famous lines used. And insults aren’t a new thing. Way back in 1884 James Blaine and Grover Cleveland supporters exchanged sing-song chants. Backers of the incumbent president spewed “Blaine, Blaine, James G. Blaine the … [Read more...]
Ramblings: Hobby’s Year of Change Recalled
The great storytelling sportscaster Red Barber once wrote a book titled: "1947, When all Hell Broke Loose in Baseball". I've always wondered what year we would say all hell broke loose in baseball card collecting and to me, one the of the candidates would be 1979. Why 35 years ago? In terms of card collecting, 1979 was truly a year in which we started growing up as a … [Read more...]