The answer to who originated sports collectibles - sorta OT

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Posted By: jackgoodman

I was looking thru some old Trader Speaks and ran across this ad in a 1975 issue. I read the first paragraph and immediately knew I had a responsibility to pass on this knowledge. A big shout-out to our old friend Goody.

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Posted By: peter ullman

Now...I can sleep!!! If I could turn back time!

pete in mn

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Posted By: Cobby33

Did he invent the Internet as well?

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Posted By: Griffins

I remember making reservations to go to the store about once a month starting in '72. You'd show up on time and wait 45 minutes while Goody dealt with a customer, and then he'd let you in. A tiny cramped store, he usually had whatever me or a friend was looking for. I recall buying a '39 PB Dimaggio with overprint back for $10. and a '39 Greenberg for a buck, along with a bunch of T206's and T206's.
Soon after we discovered the So Cal Collectors Club monthly meetings and the annual Anaheim show, and no longer had to wait out on the sidewalk before being barked at for our paper route money. As crusty and grumpy as Goody could be Esther was the polar opposite, and was always kind to kids.
For the second time this week, thanks Jack!

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Posted By: barrysloate

That 1877 letter written by Devlin to Harry Wright that was for sale in the ad was part of the Barry Halper collection and was purchased by one of the posters on this board. That is probably where and when Barry got it. Fun to make those connections.

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Posted By: Rob NYC

<< Did he invent the Internet as well? >>
No. That was Al Gore.

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Posted By: Robert Lifson

Hi Barry! I'm not sure if you were referring to me or not, it's been so long that it's hard to remember but I think I bought the 1877 Devlin letter from Goodie Goldfadden and traded it to Barry. I do remember buying the 1875 letter on Boston stationery signed by Morgan Bulkeley and Harry Wright. That was more than just a letter as described in Goodie Goldfadden's ad - it was the formal written declaration of the awarding of the pennant of 1875 for the National Association! I definitely traded that to Barry, and over the years traded for it back, sold it, traded for it again, and traded it back to Barry. This might have even happened twice on that item. That's why you can find the 1875 National Association letter in an old Wolffer's catalog as well as in Goldfadden's ad, as well as in the 1999 Halper auction catalog. Sometimes these great items changed hands back and forth like 1961 Topps cards years ago. Goldfadden had a lot of incredible early material from the Harry Wright estate, which was somehow broken up many years ago, and I couldn't believe he actually had this material for sale (it would be incredible today too, but I was a kid at the time and it seemed even more incredible). Goldfadden used to send me boxes of N173 Old Judge cabinets (they were small boxes, but they were boxes, with dozens of N173s). It was as if no one wanted the really great old stuff from him and I was doing his a favor, though I was probably paying great prices. There were no guides, whatever he wanted was the price and that's what I paid. He wasn't trying to give things away, prices were just a lot cheaper on the early stuff back then. The market changed quickly by the late 1970s.

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Posted By: barrysloate

Rob- wasn't it more fun back then, before the word got out that this was a hobby where one could make great discoveries?

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Posted By: Cobby33

Of course!

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Posted By: Chris Counts

I just word today from another longtime Southern California collector that Goodwin is "alive and well and living somewhere in the valley." To anybody living in the Los Angeles area, "the valley" means the San Fernando Valley. I recall his wife passing away back in the late 70s. I was surprised to hear he's still alive ... he must be in his 90s. My dad is 84 now, and when he used to drive my brother and I to the Adco Sports Exchange in the early 70s, he was considerably younger than Goodwin. I also recall he donated a ton of his stuff to the Notre Dame archives ...

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Posted By: jackgoodman

Goldfaden used to rent out neighbor's garages to store his stuff. I wonder if he still has anything squirreled away. That could still be one of those finds that would thrill us all.

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Posted By: Chris Counts

Jack,

If you're looking for a "find" from Goodwin, I recommend checking the pockets of his old shirts. He always had them stuffed with dog-eared '52 Mantles! The man never saw a sharp corner in his life. Even as a 12-year-old in his shop in the early 70s, I was appalled by the way he treated cards. He had this nervous way of bending a card or tapping (smashing!) its corners against a hard surface while he was transacting ...

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Posted By: Griffin's

Very true, except those rounded corners and small creases were called Ex to ExMint back then. Today we call them SGC30's or PSA2's.

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Posted By: jackgoodman

Chris, I lived about 8 blocks from his store so was a frequent visitor. He would routinely take a stack of cards, fan them out and then holding the ends in one hand, would ruffle them like you would a deck of playing cards. Even as a teen, I would cringe.

He once offered me a large brown box that was sitting on a shelf in the store that he said was full of 1957 Topps. He said I could probably make 4 or 5 complete sets from the contents. Only wanted about $50 - a small fortune to me at the time. I passed.