Quote:
Originally Posted by Tomi
Mantle definitely is very far ahead of his contemporaries, but I wonder how much his off field exploits play into his popularity in the hobby. Its like everyone from his era has a story to tell. Still a monster in his prime peak years but the guy was like Ruth, everyone knew him.
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Mantle was larger than life, and for areas of the country who didn't have a MLB team in the 50's and 60's, he was their guy by default in addition to those in the baseball capital of the world in NY. When these same baby boomers took the card hobby retail in the early 1980's - Mantle was still their guy and thusly the most popular card in any set by default. Nothing has changed since. Ruth may be the greatest player in MLB history, but Mantle is the absolute undisputed king of the hobby.