what is the most recognized sports card in the world?

cardcollector2000

A. T206 Wagner
B. 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle
C. 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan


My Choice is C The Jordan. The Jordan Rookie Is very popular in asia and other parts of the world. A and B are mostley just recognized in The USA

handyman

1989 Donruss Ken Jr Rookie. Who doesnt know what that card is!!
But Ill go with A

jivan

1988 donruss ellis burks

esebille

1989 topps future stars greg jeffries.

bighurt2000

1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. #1

yanyak5

<< <i>1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. #1 >>




This +1

Ironmanfan

1989 Fleer Bill Ripken FF card

IMF

ROCKDJRW

C

Yankees001

I'd go with a T206 Cobb, Walter Jonhson or Christy Mathewson. Although 1933 Goudey Gehrig and Ruth cards hit the spot.

I would not go with the Jordon RC, uptil a few years ago I had no idea what it looked like. I also do not collect Baseetball.

Dave

leathtech

<< <i>1989 Donruss Ken Jr Rookie. Who doesnt know what that card is!!
But Ill go with A >>



Agreed, followed by the Jordan rookie.

Jakt

<< <i>I'd go with a T206 Cobb, Walter Jonhson or Christy Mathewson. >>



I'm going to disagree with you on these. Only a more "sophisticated" collector would recognize these at first glance.

The 89 Upper Deck Griffey crosses most generations. Young and old collectors will instantly recognize this.

My vote would be the 1952 Mantle. There are people who collect who actually got to see him play, unlike Wagner.

scotgreb

I'm surprised by any answer other than A. T206 Wagner

For those outside "the hobby" I don't believe any other card is remotely close.

My wife, kids, mother, mother-in-law, neighbors, etc., recognize that card -- no chance at any of the others.

My 2c


edited for typo

itzagoner

you'd better redefine world.

throughout most of the world, people are too busy milking yaks or separating socks to give half a crap about sportscards.

but those who do know Jordan like he is their king.....the image of him swooping to the hole with the ball in the cradle and the wagging tongue stands alone.

mygotta

I would not have thought the 89 UD Griffey to be one, but perhaps so. I would guess maybe the 89 Fleer Ripken as it made the news when it was out. But I think generally the 52 Mantle would be the most recognizable card as Mantle seems to be the bridge between the old and the new.

dontippet

My definition of "recognized" is that you could name the person on the card without reading the name. That being the case, there would be many people, even sports people, that would not be able to name Griffey, or Mantle, or Wagner. My brother is an avid sports fan, but since he isn't a collector, I don't think he would be able to name any of those three individuals by just showing him their card. Jordan on the other hand is very, very recognizable. I can envision my wife, mom, and my sport-fanatic brother naming Jordan, but not the other three. Just show somebody a picture of a basketball player, and Jordan would be a lot of people's first guess. Most people would not guess Griffey, Mantle, or Wagner if shown a photo of a baseball player.

So my vote is overwhelmingly for Jordan.

Juggs

In the World? Jordan. Not even close.

gstarling

I don't see how it's anything other than the t206 if you are talking specifically about the card itself. It's the only card I think most non-collectors are even aware of.

If you're talking about the person on the card, either the 1986 Jordan or the the 1997 Grand Slam Ventures Tiger card.

MattyC

The original post lends itself to a wide array of interpretations.

If I were going with sportscard as a card only (meaning not just the player pictured), and recognizable to the "world" meaning to a broad, random sampling of people across ages and sexes (and therefore not just card enthusiasts) I would bet that most people have seen the 1952 Topps Mantle pictured somewhere in their lives before-- moreso than the other cards listed.

More people today in a random sampling would know Jordan of course (and then I'd venture Mantle), but I doubt they have seen his Fleer RC. I bet again that more random people have seen the Mantle.

I think, to enthusiasts, the Wagner and Mantle tend to be uttered right off the bat in response to, "what are the most famous/recognizable cards in the hobby."

I have found through personal experience that when a collector or even casual hobbyist hears that "Person X" is an avid, serious collector, especially one with some means, the first two cards one wants to know if Person X has are the Wagner and Mantle. Knowing, of course, how few Wagners are out there and just how wildly expensive it is, one tends to go right to the, "Do you have that famous Mickey Mantle?"

We can probably debate ad nauseum which card we'd all each rather have and why, which is a better investment at which price, etc. Yet I really would bet that if we asked a large sampling of random people which of those cards they have seen somewhere before (in a vacuum here, that is my working definition of recognizable) they would say they've seen the 52 Mick.

itzagoner

Matty, you make a good point, but i think with regards to the '52 Mick it's the image on the card which transcends the card itself as being recognizable.

remember, part of the ability to recognize a sportscard is to have seen one before.....from a worldwide perspective, i doubt very many people have known about a T-206 Wagner, other than in stories they may have seen or heard about the famous Serial #00000001 Gretzky/McNall, etc. example.

to a lesser degree, the Mantle would be recognizable if that many were actually being presented for show or sale on a worldwide basis.

i doubt that there are very many which fit that description.

now, imagine how many Jordan rookies are out there. just based on production and worldwide popularity.....there must be quite a few out there which fit that description if there are examples sitting on store shelves in Australian trinket shops, Egyptian bazaars, Middle European toys and electronics stores, Brazilian footwear outlets.....who knows?

but i could feel pretty confident in an opinion that if ANY of the three fit the description, it's gotta be Mike, and it's not even close.

and remember also, that of the three, he's the only one who's still alive.

mygotta

I would say Jordan is a more recognizable figure. We have seen him, not only play, but in x-number of ads, commercials, etc. So he is very recognizable. But that does mean they know what his rookie card looks like. So yes, culturally, I think is more recognizable, but I dont think the card is. I think the Mantle card is more iconic while the Wagner card is mythic. The Jordan card is not the same holy grail that Mantle and Wagner are (this is arguable of course).

Incidentally, if the 52 Mantle is the grail of baseball (or Wagner for pre-war). Jordan being for basketball. What is for football or hockey?

larryallen73

I like the mention of '33 Goudy Ruth. I think that is more recognized than the others. EVERYBODY knows who Babe Ruth is but not everybody knows who Mickey Mantle or Honus Wagner are.

Foo3112

I like the mention of '33 Goudy Ruth. I think that is more recognized than the others. EVERYBODY knows who Babe Ruth is but not everybody knows who Mickey Mantle or Honus Wagner are.

+1000000

The black swamp people who found the cards while cleaning out the attic said they knew they came across old baseball cards but didnt know if they were valuable although they recognized some names like Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner. They put the box of cards aside and kept on cleaning. I feel more confident that if they had seen a Babe Ruth Crad in there, they would of stopped cleaning immediately and would have jumped on a computer to see its value. The name Babe Ruth in itself is common knowlege.