1949 bowman richie ashburn
 

Can someone explain to me why it is so expensive?

Rookie card, high number / series in the Bowman set for 1949 which commands a premium, and Ashburn is a Hall of Famer.

Thanks, I knew the hof but the other I didn't

There are quite a number of reasons why the 1949 rookie card of Richie Ashburn is expensive. Some of which have been already stated.
A significant one is that there are a large number of Phillies team set collectors that buy this rookie card in multiples.

Besides having a great BB career, Richie was the Phillies radio & TV color commentator from 1963 - 1997. He had an enormous following.

Therefore, the high value of Richie's 1949 Bowman card essentially boils down to the law of supply vs. demand.


TED Z

Ted, well I demand some supply! How many are you hoarding? ;)

Paul

This quote is spot on. Obviously, rookie cards of Hall of Famers are always going to be in demand. But Ashburn was beloved like almost no other figure in Philadelphia sports history. I am 40 years old, so Ashburn was already retired as a player for 10 years by the time I was born. But two generations of fans in the Philadelphia area grew up with him as the voice of the Phillies (along with Harry Kalas).

When Ashburn died, the outpouring from fans really showed how beloved he was in the Philadelphia area. Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton may have been the best players in Phillies history, but they weren't universally beloved like Ashburn was.

I've met Richie Ashburn twice at BB card shows in the early 1990's. A real classy guy, he would talk BB trivia with you for hours (if he had the time).
One of several bits of trivia that I asked him...." were you the fastest runner to 1st base ? " [especially when he layed down a drag bunt (as shown
in this photo)].
Richie told me...."year after year the sportswriters would time Mickey Mantle (batting lefty) and I running to 1st base. Everytime it was 3.0 seconds.
Richie was one of the best lead-off BB players in the game.


http://i603.photobucket.com/albums/t...shburnbunt.jpg


TED Z

Ashburn was a great person and very popular among Phillies fans,as was mentioned.I got to meet him in the early '80's,when the Phillies Caravan
came to Reading.Great story teller! At the local shows I go to,all of his cards bring a good price.

One of my favorite hobbies when I was a kid was writing to retired athletes for autographs. I had a book that listed addresses for thousands of ex players. I wrote to Ashburn twice in care of the Phillies and he sent me an autographed postcard each time.

I probably had about 200 successes overall before I outgrew the hobby. The stories the last couple posters shared about meeting Ashburn reminded me of those letters. I had not thought about them in several years, but I am pretty sure they are still at my parents' house.

I don't know if you guys are familiar with this book, but one of the books on my bucket list to read is "Richie Ashburn: Why the Hall Not: The Amazing Journey to Cooperstown." I just have not had time to order the book and give it a read as yet. The book centers around Ashburn being kind to fan Jim Donahue when Donahue was a child and met the player during Ashburn's active career. Donahue subsequently got to know Ashburn later in life and started a grass roots campaign to get Ashburn elected to the Hall of Fame.

http://www.amazon.com/Richie-Ashburn...pr_product_top