Who are the top 10 living vintage BB card experts?

[buymycards]

Depends on your definition of "Vintage". If it includes 1995, I opened a hell of a lot of 1995 Pinnacle baseball. Put me down for 1995 Pinnacle. Maybe not #1, but at least in the top 10. Wish I had spent that money on tobacco cards!

Rick

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by buymycards

Depends on your definition of "Vintage". If it includes 1995, I opened a hell of a lot of 1995 Pinnacle baseball. Put me down for 1995 Pinnacle. Maybe not #1, but at least in the top 10. Wish I had spent that money on tobacco cards!

Rick

Rick, thanks for reminding me that I'm an expert in 1967 Topps, but only if we go back in time to the summer of 1967. I was also an expert that summer in 'Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band' and jumping drainage ditches on a Schwinn.

[Rich Klein]

Originally Posted by Runscott

Rick, thanks for reminding me that I'm an expert in 1967 Topps, but only if we go back in time to the summer of 1967. I was also an expert that summer in 'Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band' and jumping drainage ditches on a Schwinn.

And the jukebox played Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

[steve B]

It's not really an answerable question.

There's so much to know, and as others have pointed out very few people even come close to knowing a lot about every set. There's different sorts of knowledge too.

If it's about what cards are worth- just pick any 10 guys who have been full time dealers for 25-30 years or so and you'll be close enough.

But many of those guys may not know some of the finicky details that someone who specialized in one set or series might know. Not because it's not worth knowing, but because it hasn't been important to them to know it.

Some knowledge gets just odd. I recall One of the Halls saying he could identify a topps card -year and player- while only seeing about 1/8th of the card, sometimes less. He actually did it, at least for the 20 or so cards I tried. All from 59-79, and I only showed about one square inch of card!
Yeah, I spent way too much time hanging out at the shop, but I learned a lot in the process

Todays access to information is amazing. In a short time we can get info directly from someone with a great deal of knowledge, and usually with a picture too.
I'm always amazed at the volume of knowledge the hobby pioneers gathered with not much more than paper pen and a few stamps.

Steve B

[drc]

I'm single, so appearing in a published top ten list concerning baseball cards isn't a good thing anyway. I might sue for retraction.

[batsballsbases]

Well I know of the top one on the list for me! My mother she was expert enough not to have thrown away my cards!

[tbob]

Tough question to answer because there may be collectors who have a vast knowledge about specific sets but are either unwilling or unable to share their knowledge with other collectors so it is hard to figure.
I believe that Mark Macrae is the most knowledgeable Zeenut collector and that his expertise extends in to pre-war PCL cards in general. By the time they complete their exhausting work, I believe Mike Peich and Tim Newcomb will know as much about T209 Contentneas (sp?) as anyone around. By putting together the master sets of E98s and E94s and doing research about the cards themselves and prices, Tim Kindler (E98) and I (E94) have a lot of knowledge about these two caramel card sets. Leon probably knows as much about the overprinted E94s as anyone. Jay and the others who wrote the comprehensive Old Judge book probably know as much about OJs as anyone.
Probably the best way to find out who to ask about various sets is to see who is writing articles about the various sets in VCBC and Old Cardboard magazines...
tbob

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Rich Klein

And the jukebox played Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Great song and inspired lyrics -- "she stepped out of a rainbow" for example.

[cfc1909]

Dan McKee has shared more information with me than anyone else I can think of. I do get to hang out with him more than most but it seems every time we hang out, mostly at shows I learn something.

I have had many very informative conversations with Mark Macrae also.

I am sure this list could go on and on but these two I have been fortunate enough to hang out with.

[ethicsprof]

Phone conversations over the years with Jon Canfield and Ted Zanidakis have taught me a great deal about tobacco packs,boxes,pouches,
tins and the cards associated with them(JC)---and various aesthetic nuances associated with the T206s(TZ). My acquisitions would have been
greatly lacking without the help of these two.
The writings of Lipset have been critical to my knowledge of type collecting.
And the Net 54 community of scholars taught me the Gestalt...that the whole
of our knowledge has become greater than the sum of the individual parts.
all the best,
barry

[wonkaticket]

"Dan McKee has shared more information with me than anyone else I can think of. I do get to hang out with him more than most but it seems every time we hang out, mostly at shows I learn something."

I have also hung out with Dan at shows but have never been able to learn too much, mostly because I have never been to a show early enough to catch him sober.

McKee at the 2009 Natl.



John

[danmckee]

See my young Jedi, you are not learning because you are not seeing the information.

I have tried to teach you that being Sober is overrated!

[tonyo]

Originally Posted by wonkaticket

McKee at the 2009 Natl.

Weird...I didn't picture Dan with a goatee