Rookie card treasures now part of Museum exhibit
“Wow! He looks so YOUNG!”
Hard as it may be to believe now, rookie cards were not always highly sought after. For generations, hobbyists were generally “set collectors” – accumulating a given year’s set by purchasing inexpensive wax packs from the local corner store, then trading with other hobbyists in the neighborhood to complete the issue. When the season ended, so, too, did the collecting. The cards went into the shoebox and onto the closet shelf, where they joined previous years’ boxes.
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The prices of vintage 1950s cards first started to rise during the mid-1970s, beginning with early Mickey Mantle cards and quickly spreading throughout these now-rare sets. As the vintage card market soared, collectors in the 1980s and ’90s sought to get in on a new ground floor. They began purchasing and preserving new boxed sets from Topps, Donruss, Fleer and the countless new companies in hopes that these pristine troves, 30 years hence, might yield similar results. Card companies responded by printing ever more cards. The result was the infamous baseball card boom and bust of the 1980s and 90s.
However, as these set collectors zigged, other hobbyists zagged, seeking to find greater value in fewer cards. Since card prices generally track player performances and peak with Hall of Famers, the best value would theoretically be found in future Hall of Famers before they demonstrated their future greatness – that is, their rookie cards.
Over time, the rookie-card movement became a self-fulfilling prophecy and a niche unto itself. Having the rookie card of a great player showed that the collector had, due to his great prescience and intimate understanding of the player, found, kept and preserved (condition is always paramount in card collecting!) the rookie card of a future Hall of Famer. Topps began capitalizing on this segment by resurrecting the old Bowman brand and focusing it on rookie cards. Today, rookie cards remain among the hottest segments of the collecting market, and card companies have created new ways to make the niche even more interesting.
Beyond the basic rookie card (think Hank Aaron’s 1954 Topps), companies now create whole series of limited-edition combinations featuring chrome printing, refractors and autographs for each of their rookies.
These limited editions may consist of hundreds of examples printed and scattered among the variously-priced packs, or as few as a one-of-one. These latter are unique, one-of-a-kind cards that command the highest prices on the resale market. Some observers have likened the market to Willy Wonka’s “Golden Ticket” or a lottery ticket, with the new goal of scoring a rarity and flipping it. On the other hand, by creating so many variations of these sought-after chase cards, Topps has added more targets, and more variety, to the card hunt.
Fifteen rookie cards of today’s stars are on exhibit in Shoebox Treasures through 2021, on loan from the PWCC Vault, a sponsor of the exhibit. The cards belong to collector Nick Fiorella.
The loan features Ronald Acuña Jr., Nolan Arenado, Cody Bellinger, Mookie Betts, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Aaron Judge, Francisco Lindor, Shohei Ohtani, Buster Posey, Max Scherzer, Giancarlo Stanton, Juan Soto, Mike Trout, Justin Verlander and Christian Yelich.
The cards’ conditions are notable, all are graded at 9 or better on a scale of 10. The fronts show the flawless detail, perfect centering and sharp corners, while the backs indicate the card’s rarity.
With one exception, the cards are on display in the “From the PWCC Vault” exhibit drawers. These drawers were specially designed by the Hall’s Exhibits Department to permit the viewing of both sides of every card in the PWCC loan.
Superstar outfielder Mike Trout is the only card not in the PWCC drawer. The Trout rookie card, one of a limited edition of five autographed red chrome refractors, has instead been placed in the “Holy Grails” section of Shoebox Treasures. Indeed, a cousin to this card, a one-of-a-kind, recently sold for $3.936 million, breaking the record set by Honus Wagner’s T206 card.
All the players chosen for the exhibit are All-Stars, and several have drawn serious Hall of Fame discussion among their fans. Even the youngest visitors can contribute to the conversation about whether these stars will eventually make it to the Hall, as all of the players are active and well known to fans today.
John Odell is the curator of history and research at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
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