E254 Colgans, has demand increased?

[FrankWakefield]

Conservative me bid on a couple of Colgans on eBay, and I didn't win either. I thought I might win one of them. Both were still in their natural state.

One was Dunn - Baltimore. I expected to be outbid on it. It went for $123.71. I figured the Babe Ruth connection was a factor.

The other was Lindaman - Louisville. I wondered if it was Vive Lindaman, who played for Boston in the majors. But I didn't find stats for him past Indianapolis in 1910, didn't ever see him with Louisville. Maybe he was a coach there. Anyway, that card went for $114.38. My last bid was $53 something, which I thought would have been close.

So are other Colgans going high nowadays, just these two, or what? I know I live in the past, but I didn't realize how far the 'present' has progressed...



Lindaman
http://www.ebay.com/itm/160655945157...84.m1435.l2649



Dunn
http://www.ebay.com/itm/160655129749...84.m1435.l2649

[rhettyeakley]

Both are rare cards in the set. The Dunn also has the Baltimore contingent going after him as I know there are several Balto collectors that are trying for the Colgan's. Unbeknownst to the vast majority of the collecting world the E254 set is the "true monster". There are very few collectors that have ever come close to the master set of these and when a rare card comes up you gotta be prepared to jump on it. Another VERY RARE card that the same seller had sold for a mere $15 so you get lucky sometimes, but the Dunn and Lindaman (Louisville) cards are both among the toughest 50 or so cards in the set (neither are among the absolute toughest cards, though). BTW it is the same Vive Lindaman that played for Boston (see below).

[FrankWakefield]

I never met Bill Haber in person; but we did have conversations on the telephone about old cards. Of all of the various sets, he seemed most interested in Colgans. It didn't matter what series I wanted to know about, he'd always bring up Colgans before we were done talking. He'd ask about any new ones I'd acquired. And he was a bit secretive about letting me know which ones he had or had just acquired. Your post reminds me of him, it's what he would have posted if he were still with us, and on this board. Thanks Rhett.

[KrenBats]

I came in second on the Dunn and put it what I thought was a crazy price. I guess you really have to step up for the rarer ones. I was a little surprised the the Flick didn't go even higher as I know that's one of the toughest HOF's in the set. I did pick up the Killian, Toronto (which I hope is the very rare one that Rhett mentioned).

[rhettyeakley]

The Killian (toronto) is fairly tough and you got a good price on that one--he is probably among the toughest 75-100 cards in the set but easier than the two mentioned above. The one I was referring to was the Jimmy Austin (St. Louis) and I was the high bidder on that one--the New York Austin is only moderately difficult but the SL version is very hard to find. The funny thing about the Austin is that I was able to find a E270 Tin Top before I was able to find the E254 St. Louis version.



E270 Tin Top Austin (St Louis) & E254 Austin (NY):

[cfc1909]

Dunn e254.jpg


for the record I paid more than the recent ebay Dunn

[spec]

I suspect Bill Haber would delight in being mentioned in a Colgan's post so many years after his premature passing.
For those readers unfamiliar with Haber, he was a major hobby force in the 70s and 80s. He worked for Topps (I believe he wrote the back text for most of the 60s sets, but I am not certain of the extent of his duties), and was also a founding member of SABR. His forte was biographical research, and he is responsible for the birth/death encyclopedia entries of many "cup of coffee" major leaguers from the early years of the 20th century.
Those forgotten players were the reason he focused on the Colgan's sets, which picture a vast array of c. 1910 major and minor leaguers. He also collected E107, T209 and T210 for the same reason: putting a face to many of his biographical quests. I believe Bill's Colgan's wound up with Larry Fritsch, while his E107s went to Keith Olbermann, bolstering two already legendary collections. The fate of his T209s and T210s I do not know.
Bob Richardson, who learned a lot about collecting, and research, from Bill

Originally Posted by FrankWakefield

I never met Bill Haber in person; but we did have conversations on the telephone about old cards. Of all of the various sets, he seemed most interested in Colgans. It didn't matter what series I wanted to know about, he'd always bring up Colgans before we were done talking. He'd ask about any new ones I'd acquired. And he was a bit secretive about letting me know which ones he had or had just acquired. Your post reminds me of him, it's what he would have posted if he were still with us, and on this board. Thanks Rhett.