Are Baseball Cards Destined to Slowly Diminish in Value?

[bosoxphan]

i think about football in relation to baseball. Football is clearly the most popular sport in America and its really not even that close. Wonder if classic football cards will eventually gain in popularity quicker than baseball cards going forward.

[mcadams]

Funny to hear everyone state their ages. I too am 34 and I don't collect much of anything from the 50's, for many of the reasons already discussed here. I collect Aaron because my parents were at the game at the old Atlanta Fulton County Stadium when he broke the HR record, so we have sort of a family connection with Aaron and the Braves in general. But other than Aaron, I don't touch 50's stuff because I never saw any of the guys play, and more importantly I don't have ANY attachment or sentimental view toward that era.

I do feel an attachment to most all N series cards because I view them more as historical pieces and also as artwork. I recognize that our country invented the game of baseball and THOSE were the guys who were there as the game was first created. That kind of historical appeal, I agree, will never go away.

[theseeker]

In this global economy, America's middle-class will continue to be squeezed. As the standard of living in this country heads downward, the very American hobby of Baseball card collecting will almost certainly follow the same path. In American, the lower economic classes never have participated in the hobby for obvious monetary reasons. With many more projected to join their ranks in the future the hobby will largely dwindle down to affluent history buffs.

[bbcard1]

Originally Posted by bosoxphan

i think about football in relation to baseball. Football is clearly the most popular sport in America and its really not even that close. Wonder if classic football cards will eventually gain in popularity quicker than baseball cards going forward.

I sincerely doubt it. Football is very much an event driven thing. Most fans don't care if it's Leroy Kelly or Thurman Thomas or Ahmad Bradshaw tottin the rock...it's just the result that matters.

History in football is not nearly as appreciated. Most guys you'll find at your average NFL game have no idea who Pete Pihos or Tommy McDonald were. And there's a good reason for that.

It is absurd to compare the eras. A decent DIII team could probably play with most NFL squads of the 30s. As late as the 1960s, players as a whole were either far smaller or far slower than the modern player. It's not to say they didn't have great accomplishments...they did...or that the best then wouldn't be the best now...I think Jim Brown may well be the greatest American athlete...but we're talking about a mean.

Football players have short careers as a rule which keeps them from building a strong fan base over more than a decade.

They don't look on the field like they look on the street. They have a helmet on.

These are just a few of the reasons...I think football card collecting, for the most part, will be a lot like penny collecting. It's a great hobby but not necessarily a great investment.