T206 Reference / Reflections.....Tuesday Nite Trivia

[tedzan]

* * * * * * * * * * * * * T206 Reference, Theory's, Surveys, etc. * * * * * * * * * * * * *




In the early 1980's, the biggest BB card Show in NJ was situated in the Meadowlands. Most of the big-time Dealers back then set up at this Show, starting with Barry Halper.
My 2 main missions that day in the Spring of 1982 were....acquiring some 1949 LEAF 2nd series (short-print) cards for my set. And to further my new project, The Monster.

I made the rounds of the dealer tables, and found quite a number of T206 cards to choose from. I spotted this sharp-looking Walter Johnson. I had to get it for my T206 set.
A friendly dealer from St. Louis sold it to me for ? ?
I leave it up to you to figure out what I paid for this Ex-MT card


At the far end of the showroom, I met Rick Starks and Jim Johnson, dealers from Erie (PA). I'll never forget them...... They made my day !
Their display had a 1949 LEAF Satchell Paige rookie card. I did not have much cash left, but I did have some cards for trade. Rick selected my 1955 TOPPS Ted Williams and
my Reggie Jackson rookie. The value of those 2 cards did not quite equal the price of the Paige card. I had just $100 left with me and I offered it to them. Rick gave me back
$20, so that I would have some cash for gas on my long trip back home.

We talked a while about the source of rare LEAF cards. Jim said they had acquired a large collection on a buying trip in Ohio that had a good number of these rare LEAF cards.
I noticed that they also had 4 more LEAF (Short-Prints)...... Whitey Kurowski, Danny Murtaugh, Eddie Stewart, and Harry Walker. I asked them if they could mail them to me.
Rick packaged up these 4 cards and gave them to me and told me to mail them a check when I returned home.

Subsequently, at the Willow Grove Show, Rick and Jim brought me about a couple of dozen 1949 LEAF Short-Print cards. They priced them at $25 each, which was a very fair
price back in those days. This made quite a dent in my want-list towards completing this most difficult of the post-WWII sets.


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TED Z
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[Tao_Moko]

I was 10 years old in the mid eighties and got my first "office" job after having grown up doing farm labor. That job was at a baseball card shop in Portsmouth Ohio. I was a subscriber to Lew Lipset's The Old Judge and really interested in the history of baseball. I had the key to open the shop, combo to unlock the safe and was even granted buying power 🤣. There were still walk ins with shoe boxes, but not often. A lot of early '70's cards in beat up shape mostly. However, one day a Clark Griffith portrait walked in the door and was had for $10. It had tape on it, creased and stained ,but that was all it took. I had the fever and still do 35 years later. My 13 years in the Marine Corps were largely absent for collecting but otherwise it has been a part of my life.

[maniac_73]

I can't contribute much to this thread since I'm still learning and grew up during the junk era of the 90's. Just getting into vintage the last few years and the stories here are awesome! Thanks Ted and everyone for sharing!

[tedzan]

Kali Mera....Costa

I'm assuming you are Greek.

Thanks for the compliments.

This is the place to be for vintage BB card knowledge.


TED Z
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[tedzan]

* * * * * * * * * * * * T206 Reference, Theory's, Surveys, etc. * * * * * * * * * * * * *




The guy responsible for my "fascination" for collecting T206 front/back permutations is our old Net54 member Barry Sloate. I remember this as it was only yesterday, when
I responded to Barry's SCD Adv. in the Spring of 1983. Barry was selling cards from a 1949 BOWMAN set. I needed some tough Hi #'s to complete my 2nd set. We were on
the phone for over an hour....Talkin' BB cards. Besides BOWMAN's, we also talked T206's. Barry sold me this Lundgren, it was the very first T206 in my collection that had a
Tobacco brand other than the usual PIEDMONT, SWEET CAPORAL, or OLD MILL. And, as they say.... "the rest is history".
Furthermore, years later when I started my all - SOVEREIGN set of T206's, Barry had acquired a large collection of T206's. Included in this find was a significant number of
SOVEREIGN cards. He contacted me, and I purchased 270 different SOVEREIGN cards. That was quite a boost for me, since 408 cards are needed to complete this set.



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TED Z
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[Ronnie73]

Originally Posted by tedzan

The guy responsible for my "fascination" for collecting T206 front/back permutations is our old Net54 member Barry Sloate. I remember this as it was only yesterday, when
I responded to Barry's SCD Adv. in the Spring of 1983. Barry was selling cards from a 1949 BOWMAN set. I needed some tough Hi #'s to complete my 2nd set. We were on
the phone for over an hour....Talkin' BB cards. Besides BOWMAN's, we also talked T206's. Barry sold me this Lundgren, it was the very first T206 in my collection that had a
Tobacco brand other than the usual PIEDMONT, SWEET CAPORAL, or OLD MILL. And, as they say.... "the rest is history".
Furthermore, years later when I started my all - SOVEREIGN set of T206's, Barry had acquired a large collection of T206's. Included in this find was a significant number of
SOVEREIGN cards. He contacted me, and I purchased 270 different SOVEREIGN cards. That was quite a boost for me, since 408 cards are needed to complete this set.



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TED Z
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That's a great memory of your Lundgren EPDG. I also have a memory for the same exact card. I was in the hospital and on very high doses of narcotics for pain. But that wasn't going to stop me from searching the newest T206 listings on eBay. The next day I noticed a reminder to pay for my purchase on eBay. I thought that was odd since I don't remember purchasing anything. Well, guess what? I was the proud owner of a SGC 60 Lundgren Chicago EPDG. Luckily I did need the combination but probably would have waited on the card to come around at a lower less expensive grade. Never surf eBay or the internet while under the influence lol

[tedzan]

Originally Posted by Ronnie73

That's a great memory of your Lundgren EPDG. I also have a memory for the same exact card. I was in the hospital and on very high doses of narcotics for pain. But that wasn't going to stop me from searching the newest T206 listings on eBay. The next day I noticed a reminder to pay for my purchase on eBay. I thought that was odd since I don't remember purchasing anything. Well, guess what? I was the proud owner of a SGC 60 Lundgren Chicago EPDG. Luckily I did need the combination but probably would have waited on the card to come around at a lower less expensive grade. Never surf eBay or the internet while under the influence lol

Ron

Truly a great story. And, what an amazing coincidence, we both posted stories regarding exactly the same T206 card. Imagine the probability of this occurrence ?
After all, it's not just any "old run of the mill T206." It's one of the toughest T206's in the Elite 11 group. I really appreciate you posting your story here.

Originally Posted by tedzan

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TED Z
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