Bill Bengen Inducted into Hall of Fame

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Posted By: JimCrandell

News just crossed the wire that Bill Bengen has been inducted into the PSA Set Registry Hall of Fame. Bill has a simply incredible collection of non-sport sets--mostly from the 50s and 60s. He has several duplicate sets and is always ready to help other collectors finish their sets. Congrats to a great collector!

Jim

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

As a member of the PSA hall of fame do you get a vote Jim or is it decided by the folks at PSA solely?

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Posted By: Anthony S.

The writers decide.

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Posted By: JimCrandell

Dan,

Solely by PSA with Joe Orlando having the deciding vote.

Last year I felt strongly that both Don Spence and Steve Solloway should get into the Hall so I wrote Joe an e-mail saying so. Both got in. This year I thought there were a number of candidates and one is a close friend so I did not want to express an opinion.

Great choice though and for those who don't know him he is a great guy.

Jim

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Posted By: Alan

Jim - Is he the only one ? Aren't there 2 per year ?

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Posted By: JimCrandell

Alan,

Last year was the first year in which there was two. The first four years there was one each year starting with Marshal.

Jim

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Posted By: Craig W

Congratulations to you, Jim, on your 1957-58 Topps Basketball

The following are being inducted into the PSA Set Registry Hall of Fame for outstanding individual sets:

Scott. D. Ireland Collection - 1915 Cracker Jack Baseball

Scott. D. Ireland Collection - 1934 Goudey Baseball

The Duke of Mint - 1952 Topps Baseball (Basic)

Charles M. Merkel - 1953 Topps Baseball

Donald E. Spence – The Lone Star Collection - 1951 Bowman Baseball

Jim Crandell (Davalillo) - 1957-58 Topps Basketball

William Gray - 1948 Leaf Football (Basic)

GHR Collection - 1952 Bowman Small Football

Benjamin Martello (The Hammer Collection) - 1965 Topps Tall Boy Football

Don Louchios - 1932 US Caramel Misc Sports

Don Louchios - 1933 Goudey Sport Kings Misc Sports

Al Glaser (SuperbowlTicketCollector) - Super Bowl Tickets (Basic)

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Posted By: fkw

At first glance I thought it was Bill Bergen ....... and I just sold a couple of his cards at common card prices. whew

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Posted By: leon

I thought the same thing...and I just SOLD a Nadja Bergen at a common price......that was close....

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

The last two posts are the only ones worth reading in this thread, thanks Frank and Leon. I too thought of that weak hitting white border fellow.

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Posted By: Al C.risafulli

So long as we're judging posts, the one above mine is the one LEAST worth reading in the entire thread. Why comment? If the posts are so worthless, why not just ignore it and post about something else?

-Al

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

FWIW Mr. Wakefield I thought your post in this thread was worthless as well.

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Posted By: leon

I was just kidding around...I have nothing against registry guys...if that is how they want to collect it's their hobby too....I really did think of Bergen making the Hall though and that is why I commented....

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Posted By: Rhett Yeakley

Bill Bergen getting into the Hall of Fame made me laugh quite bit, as I read the same thing for half a second. His lifetime .170 batting average in over 3000 at bats makes you wonder... how did he get 3000 at bats? He must have been some fielding/thinking catcher. Add into the mix that he was Marty Bergen's brother, and he must be one of the most interesting "ultra-commons" out there. Eleven years in the bigs and he batted over .200 exactly once!!!

I wonder, if .200 is the Mendoza line, is .170 the "Bergen line"?
-Rhett

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Posted By: Bottom of the Ninth

Maybe I missed one but was the content or sentiment in Frank's post any different than all previous ones?

Greg

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Posted By: Al C.risafulli

Edited to say that I think we all know Frank's opinions about grading by now, so I don't understand why he feels the need to be insulting towards people who embrace the concept in their approach to the hobby.

-Al

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Posted By: Anonymous

Typical of Frank who attempts to ruin a good thread every chance he can with an opinion he has stated thousands of times on the board.

Craig, thanks for your congratulations. Its my second Hall of Fame Set and I am pleased over the recognition. There are some awesome sets you list there Craig--by singling any one of these out it would not do justice to the others...so congrats to all the winners on their great achievement.

One more note--congrats to Net 54 poster Anthony Nex for achieving regional set of the year with his 58 Dodgers Bell Brand set--great accomplishment for a great guy.

Jim

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Posted By: Alan

Jim - Thanks. That explains it. If that is the only one this year, then I am disappointed that Mike Rakosi did not get in. I hope he's still coming to the National.

Oh, Mazel Tov (congrats) on your superb 1957-58 Topps basketball set. That is one of my favorite, if not my favorite basketball sets.

Alan

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Posted By: Jay

Jim-CLCT, PSA's parent company, has lost money three quarters in a row(the last three quaters reported on the Yahoo website). Their stock price has lost more than half its value over the last year. What happens to the value of all those PSA slabbed cards if CLCT went under? For someone like yourself with effectively what is a pretty undiversified graded card portfolio(almost all PSA), do you ever worry about this?

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Posted By: Joe D.

BEST PRE-WAR VINTAGE BASEBALL SET OF THE YEAR: Jim Blumenthal (JimB's E93) - 1910 Standard Caramel (E93)

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Posted By: JimCrandell

Jay,

No--psa is the gold standard and my collection is fine.

I also have a pretty valuable SGC card collection that you may not be aware of

What percentage of the value of your collection is PSA?

Alan,

Thanks for the Mazel Tov. Rakosi is highly deserving as well--his vintage basketball collection tops the registry with all the mainstream vintage basketball sets. I would not have my 57-8 Hall of Fame set if it was not for Mike.

Jim

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Posted By: barrysloate

Is PSA the gold standard? I would give that title to SGC.

PSA has the largest volume of business, but not necessarily the best product.

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

Notwithstanding how I feel about grading...


This thread is not about vintage baseball cards. I don't know who Mr. Bengen is, I guess he's a baseball card collector of sorts. Never heard of him. Minimally it should have an OT in its title.

I'm guessing that some PSA site has a posting board, that would have been a better place than here.

That was my point. Some folks won't fool with this thread because they care not about a grading hall of fame (what a way to encourage grading loyalty and patronage). Some folks are nice and won't post, either. And some will pile on after I put this one up. Still, the thread isn't about vintage cards. Jim C posts enough on topic stuff that I don't begrudge him an OT post. Jim knows a right smart about cards. But this should have OT in it or be on some PSA board, I think.

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Posted By: Joe D.

Barry -
as far as a registry is concerned PSA is the gold standard.... and SGC and others are not even silver or bronze.... probably copper.



As far as overall grading services / product:

So far - I still prefer SGC.

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Posted By: Al C.risafulli

Fair enough, Frank.

I do think it's relevant to the board, as we all participate in the hobby and when a collector receives some accolades - whether it be from the PSA Hall of Fame, recognition in Old Cardboard, a mention in the Standard Catalog, or whatever it may be - it's a nice gesture to give it a mention. And there are some very nice collections recognized by these awards.

-Al

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Posted By: Tom Boblitt

big drop from mid 17's to 7 bucks on their stock in last year. Is it correct they pay a 25 cent per quarter dividend?

Lotta people would be hurting.....cards, coins, paper money, etc. if CLCT dropped. $65M market cap. You should just buy them out and take them private Jay.........

Congrats to Bill B on his award. My only question now is do they make a yellow HOF plaque postcard for these guys too!

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Posted By: barrysloate

Joe- while you are correct I know a number of vintage collectors are paying more attention to the SGC registry, and I predict there will be a migration to SGC over the next few years.

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Posted By: JimCrandell

This thread is highly relevant to vintage cards. Look at all the awards given to vintage card collectors here...did not know the 1910 Standard Caramel set belonged to a board member--congrats to Jim Blumenthal for his top notch set.

There will be signed cards given out at PSA's booth at the National of HOF members--stop by and pick up a few if you like.

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Posted By: Anonymous

I think YOURS are the least worth reading, that is, until this one.

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Posted By: Al C.risafulli

"I think YOURS are the least worth reading"

I kinda figured that was a given, and went without saying, Mr. Spaeth.

Yours in uselessness,
-Al

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Posted By: paulstratton

Autographed cards of the PSA registry HOF'ers? Seriously?

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Posted By: Jay

Jim--next to nothing. If CLCT went under wouldn't the value of their cards drop like a rock. The registry incentive would be gone and all cards would have to be crossed to another service or maintained in a moribund slab.

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Posted By: JimCrandell

Paul,

Sure--or send me your mailing address for an autographed picture.

Jay,

I thought you kept the cards I sold you slabbed--losing money and going out of bus are two different things.

Anyway, Dave has seen my collection many times, sold some of my best ones to me and thinks 99.999% would cross or be upgraded at SGC....so no worries.

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Posted By: Rich Klein

No rush -- whenever you can

Regards
Rich

P.S. I'm pretty sure I sent you my mailing address; but if not; let me know, and I'll send it again

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Posted By: leon

"Anyway, Dave has seen my collection many times, sold some of my best ones to me and thinks 99.999% would cross or be upgraded at SGC....so no worries."



That is a bold faced lie. You lose even more credibility with statements like that....

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Posted By: Joe D.

"That is a bold faced lie. You lose even more credibility with statements like that...."


and with that... this thread just got a bunch more interesting.

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Posted By: JimCrandell

Leon--you have absolutely no sense of humor--99.9% of the world would know I am kidding. Foer those like Leon--Dave has seen my collection many times, he has sold me many of my most valuable cards but no--he did not tell me 99.9% of my cards would cross or be upgraded--happy now Leon?

Rich, Sorry I have been deluged with requests--had to get a second printing--don't worry though, I have your address and I have not forgotten you.

Jim

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Posted By: Anonymous

1776 items found for: sgc
27344 items found for: psa

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Posted By: Anonymous

I think even if CLCT tanks someone would acquire the rights to the PSA brand and the grading business would continue under other auspices.

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Posted By: John S

Would SGC slab my autographed copy of Jim's PSA HOF card?

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Posted By: Jay

Peter--Maybe so, but could you imagine what a mess that would be. I would bet that the current market value of PSA slabbed cards is multiples of the net worth of CLCT. This is a true house of cards; pardon the pun.

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Posted By: Brian

Jay,

Wouldn't the same be true of any grading company? I would guess the aggregate value of SGC slabbed items is greater than the value of SGC as a company. Same for PSA. Same for any TPG (cards, coins, comics, auots).

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Posted By: Jay

True, but my sense is that SGC is making money and has not lost 55% of their market value over the last year. Also, it would be less of a mess for SGC collectors because the registry set is not as big a deal there.

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Posted By: JimCrandell

Jay,

I don't agree--of course the value of the cards is more than the company but why is that important--same with SGC.

You can't tell me PSA the grading company does not have a significant franchise value. It has an overwhelming market share and I would bet is cash flow positive.

Do you think the financial footing of SGC who is a small fraction of PSA is stronger?

If SGC went out of bus, I am not worried about the value of my SGC cards.

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Posted By: Jay

Jim--I don't know if PSA is making money or not (although the half grade cash grab on their part makes me wonder)but I do know that their parent isn't. I would say the the CLCT ratio of slab value to market cap dwarfs the comparable ratio for the SGC family. Higher ratio, weakening financial condition, sure looks like the potential is there for a significant issue down the road.

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Posted By: Brian

<<True, but my sense is that SGC is making money and has not lost 55% of their market value over the last year. Also, it would be less of a mess for SGC collectors because the registry set is not as big a deal there.>>

2 good points.

In my line of work, a 50% reduction in market cap means some job loses at the top.

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Posted By: JimCrandell

Brian and Jay,

If SGC was public perhaps theirmarket cap would have declined by 55%--who knows?

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Posted By: Dave F

Jim,

Dont play the roley-poley game here. It is what it is.

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Posted By: Alan U

Looks like last year they didn't have a good year, profit wise anyway.

I'm not sure how big a portion PSA is of all of Collector's Universe though.

http://tinyurl.com/5c38jj


-Alan

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Posted By: MikeU

"In my line of work, a 50% reduction in market cap means some job loses at the top."

If Joe O. gets fired and SGC picks him up, I would highly encourage them not to adopt the "Never Get Cheated" battle cry.