Everyone is correct -- definitely started in 1979 or thereabouts. I can remember running several shows in Long Island in the late 1970s where Al Chipurnoi (CHIP) would come in and sell us all the rookie cards everyone was asking for such as 1975 Brett, Younts, Rice, Carter, 1973 Schmidts, etc. He would invest in large quantities of potential rookies -- like 1,000s and some would materialize and others wouldn't. He eventually became a dealer and passed on a number of years ago. But I would pinpoint 1979 as the beginning of the rookie hunt.
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