Posted By:
Al CrisafulliOne of the things that I love about HOF collecting is that you can make your own rules.
For the set I'm working on, I am starting by trying to get one card from every member of the Hall. I am also trying to do it with as many card types as possible. Right now I'm at something like 95 players and 85 card types, or somewhere in that ballpark.
In many cases, I have a specific card in mind for one reason or another. For example, I want a T206 White Cap Matty, because I think that's a beautiful card. I pass on all other Mattys. For McGraw, I want a card that uses an actual photo, since I think his face has so much character - so I've passed on lots of tobacco and caramel McGraws. For Rube Waddell, I wanted a T206 portrait, since that was one of my favorite cards as a kid, and the first T206 I ever bought with my own money.
For people who are in as managers, I am permitting their player cards to be included in my set, and vice-versa.
Lastly, I am allowing "tribute cards" in my set, although I prefer the cards to be in period. However, I'm not adverse to a 1950 Callahan or a 1961 Fleer being in my set. A good example is Yaz - Yaz cards are plentiful. However, the summer I opened a box of semi-shiny modern stuff with my son, and we pulled out an autographed Yaz. I thought it was cool, and it went right into my HOF set.
My set, my rules. I think virtually every HOF collector I know has their own set of rules. That's what makes it so much fun.
-Al