Why We Love Collecting Pre-War Baseball Cards.

[Yoda]

Perhaps I was feeling a bit philosophical this morning, but while perusing a few cards, I began to think about what draws us to pre-war cards.

1. The game itself and how it has morphed over the years and how these changes came about; DH, steroids. middler reliever and closer, medical attention, money etc.
2. The players themselves, who over time seem bigger in life than today's heroes. The Babe is the obvious example but also the tragedy of Lou Gehrig, the battles of Grover Alexander, the travesty of segregated baseball, leaving out players like Gibson and Paige. Modern players, besides being highly paid, are pampered. Players we like are tough, hard men, like Johnny Evers.
3. The historical interest in a period in which America industrialized, consumerism rose, large groups of new immigrants absorbed, and fought in World War I.

Just a couple of meanderings. Love to hear others.

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by Yoda

Perhaps I was feeling a bit philosophical this morning, but while perusing a few cards, I began to think about what draws us to pre-war cards.

1. The game itself and how it has morphed over the years and how these changes came about; DH, steroids. middler reliever and closer, medical attention, money etc.
2. The players themselves, who over time seem bigger in life than today's heroes. The Babe is the obvious example but also the tragedy of Lou Gehrig, the battles of Grover Alexander, the travesty of segregated baseball, leaving out players like Gibson and Paige. Modern players, besides being highly paid, are pampered. Players we like are tough, hard men, like Johnny Evers.
3. The historical interest in a period in which America industrialized, consumerism rose, large groups of new immigrants absorbed, and fought in World War I.

Just a couple of meanderings. Love to hear others.

You know that I agree with you 120%.

Add to it, guys like Gil Hodges, Pee Wee Reese, Stan Musial, Al Simmons and literally countless others lived in the same neighborhoods as the fans, and actually worked jobs in the off season. Pampered you say? How about totally out of touch.

I don't watch baseball today because 1) completely different game today with all the (what I consider to be) stupid rules changes, 2) cannot stand the commercials, 3) cannot stand the announcers, 4) cannot believe the insane amount of money. Thus, I am totally uninterested.

However, I LOVE the old game, the players, and the announcers who, even on TV, described what was happening in a way I find better than today. No constant production team telling them what to say, and the TV screen wasn't cluttered with banners and boxes of endless, meaningless stats.

I love my old cards, and just as importantly, the stories behind the players, who actually had personality and even, God forbid, light hearted humor. It seems that virtually all the players whose cards we love had colorful nicknames.

Am I an old fogey? You bet, and proud to be.

[BioCRN]

My pre-war collection is only Cubs and it's been as important as any book about the team from the era for me...

My collection is broadly stars and notables, so it's full of obvious and not-so-obvious cards.

Diving into the stats to "discover" or investigate a player leads to diving into the story of the player. It occasionally leads into a deep dive because they were more important to the team than I realized, their full stories mostly not discussed too much.

It's nice to get something out of the cards aside from their value.

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by BioCRN

My pre-war collection is only Cubs and it's been as important as any book about the team from the era for me...

My collection is broadly stars and notables, so it's full of obvious and not-so-obvious cards.

Diving into the stats to "discover" or investigate a player leads to diving into the story of the player. It occasionally leads into a deep dive because they were more important to the team than I realized, their full stories mostly not discussed too much.

It's nice to get something out of the cards aside from their value.

Charlie Grimm, Stan Hack, Gabby Hartnett, Charlie Root, Riggs Stevenson and on and on. Wow, I can see why you collect Cubs, sir.

[z28jd]

The worse modern baseball gets, the more I like diving into history. I barely watched baseball over the last few months of the 2023 season, and I have little interest in it going forward. It's amazing how many fans think the quality of play even in the 1920s was awful, yet they are okay with watching 1,500 guys being used per season now when the popularity of baseball in the U.S. is continually dwindling.

So many people don't realize just how good you had to be to get into the majors back then when everyone played baseball. Every small town had teams and cities had their own leagues. People just played a ton of baseball. You look at the old newspapers from big towns and they had 20-30 boxscores on the weekends. Obviously that wasn't everyone playing either.

I loved baseball growing up, but it was tough to ever get games going, so a lot of times I would spend hours playing catch with a tennis ball and a brick wall. Or just hit baseballs in a huge open field where my grandparents lived, collect them at the other end of the field, then hit them the other way. People now just don't play it often like they used to do.

These players now are training in an academy and barely playing real games. I had a job watching minor league ball for the last 14 years and did a lot of it before then, which is what landed me the job. These players in Low-A today are all toolsy player. The actual games though are garbage compared to just 5-10 years ago at the same level. Almost no one can play the game right, yet this is supposed to be the future of the MLB?

For those who don't know, MLB made minor league roster size cuts two years ago. They got rid of leagues, which are now non-affiliated summer collegiate leagues if they survived. They are cutting minor league roster spaces even more for next season. They are keeping the guys who have tools, throw hard/swing hard, while skilled low upside players are no longer there. In theory that makes sense, but these raw tools players used to get better due to the competition. Now they are just playing against other guys who are tools players. I don't think MLB anticipated this, but they have caused a real issue, which brings me back to the old days.

If you wanted to play baseball back during these Old Judge/T206 times, you just went outside and played. If you were great, you could play in one of these local leagues against people who played all of the time too. A lot of people were just good at baseball, and if you were really good, you could play minor league ball, and if you were great you could fight for one of the few MLB jobs available.

When you think about those odds back in the day to make it, then you factor in the conditions during the time. As good as you think any current player is right now, they aren't lasting a full season in 1920, and those zero chances of lasting go even lower (yes lower than zero, go with me here) the longer back you go in history. There are zero MLB players right now willing to get in the box against Amos Rusie, without a batting helmet, padding, batting gloves. Then need to go out and play without a glove in the field? We got an overnight eight-hour train ride and an exhibition game to play tomorrow, before more travel? They couldn't wave a white flag hard enough to end that simulation.

That's why I like the older players. They were gladly doing what no one now could do with no guarantee that they keep their jobs. Their stories are all great.

I just researched Harry Wolfe, who played 12 big league games in 1917. His pro career started in a low level of the minors with an Opening Day performance during the 1911 season that was so bad that he was released that same day at 22 years old. He then didn't play minor league ball until the following season.

That's a great story of perseverance. You can't find too many MLB stories that start with someone being released after one game in the low minors. Especially not someone who was college graduate age already. That's what you find with older players and what makes collecting their cards so interesting

[71buc]

I’ve been addicted to baseball since 1971. I really don’t watch any other sport other than the occasional football game. I attend spring training annually and go to roughly 25 games a year between Seattle and Pittsburgh. This year I also saw games in San Diego, LA, San Francisco, and Cleveland. Call me crazy. I’m a child of the 70s and that era is where my heart is. Nonetheless I believe there is more talent in the game today than any generation that came before it. I’m not a fan of all of the rule changes. Specialization has made the game more predictable. Nonetheless, 100 mph fastballs are now common, athletic middle infielders like O’niel Cruz, and Elly De La Cruz measuring 6’7” throwing 95+ across the diamond, while running 31.5 feet per second, with exit velocities of 122 mph are the future. Don’t get me wrong, I love baseball history. My son is named afterHank and Roberto. Nonetheless, please remind me how big was The Beast (Foxx)? He was 6’ 195 lbs which is about the size of an average middle infielder today. I highly doubt Foxx had comparable athletic ability. I’m a romantic like most baseball fans and collectors. However, I will take todays international game over any other generation’s even with the excessive strikeouts. Model Ts are cool and interesting I much prefer a new Corvette when it comes to performance.

[FrankWakefield]

After reading what James I. said up there about announcers back in the day (to which I agree), it reminded me of transition points in the broadcasts.

First... baseball was easily understood when the pennant winner of each league met in the World Series in a best of 7 series; AND this took place with day games. As a school kid, you could maybe watch a black and white TV to see a bit of the game in study hall. People walked around with transistor radios and an earphone tethered to the radio. People would ask or tell one another the score, the inning, and maybe a few details. You'd hear the game in most of the stores, where somewhere in there would be a radio.

Then came Fox. The first World Series game I remember seeing on Fox, was a night game (which had become somewhat common by then). But that wasn't what's seared in my memory. Fox higher ups had forced upon the baseball announcers the need to promote some new TV show that was on Fox... I don't recall CBS, NBC, nor ABC ever doing that crap. I felt like Fox was prostituting baseball to improve ratings in some unassociated timeslot. I'm still put out over it.

I hated the pitch clock less than I thought I would. I dislike the massive everchanging playoff system, which is geared towards generating more money for owners, the players, MLB, and the MLBPA... it all couldn't give a hoot in Hell about how confusing it is as it changes, and how crazy it his to have World Series games scheduled for around Halloween and even into November.

[Yoda]

Who would you rather listen to call a game on radio, Joe Buck or Red Barber?

[Chuck9788]

One thing that attracts me to vintage cards (especially pre war) is wondering who the original owner was and how over time the card ended up in my hands.

[lampertb]

Originally Posted by Chuck9788

One thing that attracts me to vintage cards (especially pre war) is wondering who the original owner was and how over time the card ended up in my hands.

Exactly why I actually like cards with personalized stamps on the back. I remember a number of years ago there was a long T206 thread about who this one particular guy was who stamped hundreds upon hundreds of T206s, which are now dispersed around the market. Such stuff is simply interesting!

[FrankWakefield]

Between the two, Joe Buck, barely. Barber was great.

Scully, true greatness.

I know there are McCarver haters out there, bunches of them; but I liked him. He knew baseball, knew baseball history, he was a ballplayer. I liked when he'd get revved up so that he could try to explain something. I really liked Jack Buck. I recall him adding color for Harry Carey. Thumb's up for Carey, two thumbs up for Jack.

Garagiola and Kubek were a good team. Waite Hoyt adding some color and knowledge. I liked Shannon adding color for Jack Buck... during a pitching change, I think, where the Braves were beating up on the Cardinals, H Aaron had just doubled in a run or two and was standing on second base... Shannon says something close to this, "Folks, there's two baseball superstars standing out there at second base, Hank Aaron and Dal Maxvill." I loved it!

I liked Joe Morgan and Jon Miller. I liked Joe Nuxhall, "the old left hander rounding third and heading for home." Not a fan of either Brennaman; nor of Skip Carey. Thumbs up for Eduardo Perez, and Ron Darling, and Mr. Hershiser.

[darwinbulldog]

I don't pretend to know what caused it, but I suppose I'm lucky it's baseball cards that hooked me and not something more psychoactive.

[Jstottlemire1]

Originally Posted by Yoda

Perhaps I was feeling a bit philosophical this morning, but while perusing a few cards, I began to think about what draws us to pre-war cards.

1. The game itself and how it has morphed over the years and how these changes came about; DH, steroids. middler reliever and closer, medical attention, money etc.
2. The players themselves, who over time seem bigger in life than today's heroes. The Babe is the obvious example but also the tragedy of Lou Gehrig, the battles of Grover Alexander, the travesty of segregated baseball, leaving out players like Gibson and Paige. Modern players, besides being highly paid, are pampered. Players we like are tough, hard men, like Johnny Evers.
3. The historical interest in a period in which America industrialized, consumerism rose, large groups of new immigrants absorbed, and fought in World War I.

Just a couple of meanderings. Love to hear others.

Amen! I love this post and your thoughts here.

[Brian Van Horn]

Harder to find and more variety:

[TheBig6]

I lived in a typical lower middle class neighborhood growing up. White frame 2 bedroom houses the norm. I played on same little league team with major league pitchers son ,who’s family just lived a few streets over. I tried over and over to pull the dad’s card from a pack. On the way to school one day I rode my bike to the local utotem and bought a pack of 59 Topps and put in my top pocket. Sometime during the school day , I was sitting on the can and remembered the pack in my top pocket. Opened it and pulled the beautiful green 59 Topps Bill Henry. Miss those times collecting cards as a kid.