February 27, 2007

The Honus Wagner Baseball Card, "The Holy Grail of Baseball Cards" has sold for $US 2.3 Million Dollars. One of the first baseball cards, and extremely rare, this specimen was previously owned by Hockey great Wayne Gretzky.

A fine collection of over 2,100 baseball cards via the Library of Congress. (But no Honus Wagner card!) Coincidentally, about 2.3 million people are displaced due to the genocide and fighting in Darfur, Sudan. It's a strange world.

posted by petebest 17 years ago
  • I've seen the one in Cooperstown. It's just in an ordinary glass case, together with a bunch of other cards. No real security to speak of -- which was quite surprising. Same thing for Babe Ruth's 60th home run ball. And the one from his called-shot. Not that I'd condone lifting anything, especially since they'd be unsellable, but they would make a nice addition to anyone's living room decor. Little conversation pieces on the coffee table. "Oh, that? That's Babe Ruth's 60th home run ball. You've heard of Babe Ruth, I take it?"
  • I was in Cooperstown last summer and was similarly struck by the lack of security on some of the displays. No doubt there were cameras watching my every move, but it made for a very close-up and interactive experience. Nice little town, too. As for Darfur, you might want to take that up with China, who seem to be putting the brakes on any UN intervention.
  • Oh, Cooperstown is quite lovely. I especially enjoyed sitting in the stands at Doubleday Field, watching a pick-up game, sitting in the brick grandstand, looking out to the townscape and backyards just behind the outfield wall. I couldn't imagine a better setting for the Great Pastime.
  • Have you heard about this year's Derek Jeter card featuring Mickey Mantle and George Bush? Apparently, someone had fun with photoshop and no one noticed until it was too late.
  • Good point rocket, but I would think there would be other ways 2.3 million dollars could help there. China's obstruction notwithstanding. I just find it so disconcerting that millions are spent on this flap of paper when an epic saga of human suffering plays out at the same time, virtually unnoticed. And we have the ability to change it quickly - relatively speaking it's not like it takes months to get there or . . bah. The other part is I like baseball cards.
  • The mass market for trading cards may have collapsed, but apparently there's still demand at the highest reaches! Psst if you know anyone who wants a Mike Schmidt rookie card, I've got a couple. Mint. I also have the entire '69 NY Mets with thumbtack holes from when I pinned them on the wall in their positions on a home-drawn backdrop of a baseball diamond.
  • That's funny, I was just telling people about this yesterday. At my historical society we have a bunch of pins (example) that were later premiums from the same cig company that did this card. Sadly, unlike baseball cards, there doesn't appear to be any good information on these serieses - we were trying to get a date and a value on the lot of 'em.
  • Speaking of photoshopped baseball cards, who can forget the 2001 American Crusade cards?
  • The Great One is doing a lot better with his card than these guys.
  • grover96: really interesting link.
  • My grandfather played sandlot ball in Pittsburgh (many steel mill workers played after work and on breaks) and told of getting tips from Honus, whose name he pronounced "Hans". Imagine what price these cards will fetch in 20, 50, 100 years (presuming humans are still here and still ready to pony up huge sums)? It boggles the mind.
  • P.S. Cooperstown is a lovely place to visit, any time of year. They've managed to keep chains and hypercommercialism at bay, and have a charming main street and a lakefront grand hotel as well as a delightful inn right in the middle of town (the Otesaga and Tunnicliff, respectively). Sharon Springs, north of Cooperstown, is also worth a side-trip if you go (historic former spa town now undergoing a quiet revival, much of its old architecture still intact).
  • From the wiki article, his name was Hans, but newspapers called him Johannes which was shortened to "Honus". Americans is funny.
  • Carrot Top, anyone?
  • Please, oh please, tell me he's Canadian...
  • Pete Rose bet on Reds 'every night' as Manager well, you find the thread this fits in then!
  • Maybe this one?
  • Yeah I thought about it. But this one had the word "baseball" in the title at least. Freakish and ill-considered as Rose's gambling was, I wouldn't describe it as "unnatural". The world series threads were also a consideration but after a certain amount of time the sidebar title is the thing, innit? Perhaps the all-wise and all-linking Aytchdoggva can bestow some enlightenment.