The T206 Collection

This book is a great read for anyone who loves baseball, not just the collector. Enjoy your look at this snapshot in time! --Book Jacket.

“An entertaining history of baseball cards . . . An engaging book on a narrow but fascinating topic.” —The Washington Post When award-winning journalist Dave Jamieson’s parents sold his childhood home a few years ago, he rediscovered a prized boyhood possession: his baseball card collection. Now was the time to cash in on the “investments” of his youth. But all the card shops had closed, and cards were selling for next to nothing online. What had happened? In Mint Condition, his fascinating, eye-opening, endlessly entertaining book, Jamieson finds the answer by tracing the complete story of this beloved piece of American childhood. Picture cards had long been used for advertising, but after the Civil War, tobacco companies started slipping them into cigarette packs as collector’s items. Before long, the cards were wagging the cigarettes. In the 1930s, cards helped gum and candy makers survive the Great Depression. In the 1960s, royalties from cards helped transform the baseball players association into one of the country’s most powerful unions, dramatically altering the game. In the eighties and nineties, cards went through a spectacular bubble, becoming a billion-dollar-a-year industry before all but disappearing, surviving today as the rarified preserve of adult collectors. Mint Condition is charming, original history brimming with colorful characters, sure to delight baseball fans and collectors. “Jamieson explores the history of card collecting through an entertaining cast of characters . . . For anyone who can recall being excited to rip open their newest pack of cards, Mint Condition is a treat.” —Forbes

This book is for baseball fans, hobbyists, and history buffs. The brief biographical narratives along with the personal and professional statistics of each player offer you a peek into the developing world of baseball during the early part of the 20th century.The stories of the amazing array of T206 players from all walks of life with dramatically different skill levels will give you a real sense of how our national pastime was shaped by the events and players of that era.The last chapter discusses the value and grading system of this storied collection and brings the reader full circle. You will learn how a card like Kitty Bransfield¿s with the Sweet Caporal back is graded and valued. In addition, elsewhere in the book, you will learn about the ¿Bransfield Curse¿ and what it meant to Pittsburgh Pirates fans.This commemorative edition celebrates the 100th anniversary of the very special T206 collection. Along with the 38 Hall of Famers that make up this set, there are another 353 players who contributed to the evolution of the great game of baseball.

A collection of baseball cards organized by year with player statistics and information on teams. Includes quizzes on the sport and the cards.

Biographical profiles and fun factoids of 100 of the most memorable names in baseball history. The names I'm profiling here are divided into four groups (admittedly a few of these players could qualify for more than one category):?Baseball Poets/Men of (Few Different) Letters: Players with rhyming names and/or alliterative names.?Dirty Names Done Dirt Cheap: Players with scatological or otherwise naughty names.?Sounds Good to Me: Players with mellifluous/melodious names.?No Focus Group Convened: Players whose names don't fall into one of the prior three categories, or ones that might involve us questioning the intentions of the player's parents.Each player profile within has the following:?general demographic information (name they played under, their full name at birth, date of birth/death, years active in the majors, positions played, etc.)?etymology/definition of each part of their given name?baseball biography (generally, how they made it to the majors, what they did while they were there)?best day (a recap of a great day in their major league career)?the wonder of his name (why his name is memorable to me/us)?not to be confused with (names that sound and/or look like the player's name)?fun anagrams (anagrams of their given names, just because I can)?ephemera (factoids, tidbits, trivia about the player, details regarding their parents, their family and their life after baseball)

Wilker marks the stages of his life through the baseball cards he collected as a child. He captures the experience of growing up obsessed with baseball cards and explores what it means to be a fan of the game.

Baseball & Bubble Gum: The 1952 Topps Collection details the most iconic postwar baseball set in hobby history. With the end of World War II, the advent of television, and an explosion of love for our National Pastime, the players making up this historic collection became bigger than life. Mantle, Berra, Robinson, and Spahn are just a few of the stars who helped Americans forget the ravages of war and who opened the door to Major League Baseball's desegregation that was closed for so many years.Each player narrative in this book gives you a glimpse of what life was like for these athletes during and after World War II. Many of these men fought overseas, and some of them were even Purple Heart recipients. Organized in chapters by the Hall of Famers, the Commons, and the Uncommons, it's interesting to see that the love of baseball was the common thread between players like Hall of Famer Duke Snider; an uncommon player like Bobby Shantz, who, although is not in Cooperstown, had a wonderful career; and a typical common player like Jim Busby, who played day in and day out without any fanfare.The last chapter of the book discusses the great appeal of the 1952 Topps set; how the collection was developed; the nuances of particular cards, along with the scarcity, popularity, and in some cases, the card value. This set became the template for card collecting, and it is still going strong after 68 years. Kids and adults have been trading and collecting their favorite players for years.Today, collecting has become a big business, but when all is said and done, we are all still kids who love those little cardboard pieces of art. This book is a fun read for baseball lovers, card collectors, and baseball historians. Grab yourself some bubble gum, sit back, and enjoy the journey into the decade of "The Whiz Kids," "Dem Bums," and "The Bronx Bombers."

Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy baseball cards. When Tanner Jones came back to the hobby as an adult, he instantly fell in love with baseball cards all over again. In his signature comedic tone, Tanner retells his adventures in acquiring millions of cards, how he became a custom card creator, and the day he spent with his childhood hero, Jose Canseco, landing both of them on the cover of Beckett Baseball magazine. By popular demand, he shares the strategies used to assemble his world-famous collection, and how he quickly sold it for profit, while managing to keep several of his favorite pieces. Confessions of a Baseball Card Addict is an entertaining and insightful read for collectors of all ages. Continue reading about his adventures in cardboard at www.TanManBaseballFan.com.

The 100 Greatest Baseball Autographs showcases the most desirable signatures in the history of our National Pastime while detailing the story behind the professional and personal lives of the men who signed their names on the sweet spot.You will find a complete overview of each featured player, including individual autograph analysis along with the story of the man behind the autograph. PSA/DNA experts educate the reader in the specific characteristics of each of these special signatures and what to look for when hunting for the real deal. How many Mickey Mantle autographs were actually signed by clubhouse attendants? Why are there so few Joe Jackson signatures? Selected by highly regarded autograph experts using criteria including rarity, historical importance, and popularity, This title features the most sought-after signatures in the hobby. The book starts out with the absolute pinnacle of this grouping, "The Most Wanted List," showcasing the twenty most desirable autographs in the hobby. The players selected for this book represent a cross section of baseball history, from the very early years to the present. You will meet the men who developed the rules of the game, the field generals who implemented the rules and devised the strategies, as well as the players who blazed the trail for future generations.These players quickly became larger-than-life stars, and fans sought autographs both in-person and through mail requests. As their star power grew, many players' signing habits and signature styles evolved. This information, coupled with the story narratives of the players, makes for a fascinating and fun read.The pages of this book are filled with original autograph images on a variety of mediums, along with corresponding player images, giving you a visual look at the players who signed each desirable autograph. In some cases, the player images appear on a period photo or baseball card, but in many cases the player images are original works by renowned sports artist Arthur K.Miller.