What would be considered #3 on the list of "Baseball Cards Non-Collectors Know"?

ThoseBackPages

i was thinking about this the other day…

When talking to people that do not collect, or know much about Baseball Cards, what would be the third card they have "heard of/know"?

#1 is Wagner T206
#2 is Mantle 1952 Topps

itzagoner

'89 Upper Deck Griffey Jr.

jmaciu

Grimster

Hmmm....thats interesting to think about. My knee jerk reaction was either 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth or 1968 Topps Nolan Ryan. But really I dont know. People who know nothing about sports probably know the player's name and general era when they played....but probably not the year of their prominent card, let alone the brand.

The more I think about it...1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. is probably high on that list.

gregmo32

1989 Fleer Bill Ripken

mattyc_collection

Interesting topic for discussion. In my long experience with cards and talking cards with non-collectors/non-insiders, I have found that far more know of the 1952 Mantle than even the Wagner. I know that as a boy, I also was aware and into the Mantle long before I knew anything about the Wagner. It is understandably hard for hobbyists to take a step back from our own knowledge and perspective, but I'd bet that a random survey would bear out that the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle is actually the most recognized card to the masses. The Wagner would follow, and anything else would be a distant third. Among those third choices would probably be a 1933 Goudey Ruth #53, a 1952 Topps Mays, the Nolan Ryan RC, and perhaps the 1989 Griffey UD.

I can't even count how many times I've heard, when mentioning my passion for cards, the words, "Do you have that Mickey Mantle?" Recently I was in Vegas, and at a bar someone saw my home screen was the 52 Mick. The person says, "That's The Mick!" I responded, "Are you into cards?" The person said, "Nope. I just know that one." I had that identical, almost to the word conversation at a restaurant this week. I am also reminded of the time I had lunch with a collector who now has one of the top collections in the world. Over lunch, this was about eight years ago, we wound up talking baseball. I mentioned I was an avid card collector. He said, "One day I'm going to get myself a '52 Topps Mantle." Of course, he wound up getting that and much more, but I always found it telling that The Mick was the first card he mentioned.

Stingray

63 Topps Rose rookie. It has been in the spotlight in the past as a know reprint/fake, so word has been out on this card.

KendallCat

I would to say for the non collector like the title says it would be the 89 UD Griffey. Just the sheer number of this card out there, #1 card in Upper Deck's inaugural set, Griffey's top card and you have it all. Think of it this way - what is the most recognized card by decade?

50's - Mantle
60's - Ryan rookie, Rose rookie?
70's - Brett rookie followed by Schmidt rookie or Yount
80's - UD Griffey and maybe 1980 Henderson or 1985 McGwire

When you think about it you can really create some interesting debates.

Stingray

Beck6

Sorry double post

Stingray

Ok, what was the clitch?? Triple postings!!

Stingray

Beck6

I have found that most people think any t206 is the wagner or just as rare, so I would put the Mantle as #1. The Griffey might be #2 because of the 80's, but unfortunately I bet a card like the 1988 Topps Gregg Jefferies is in the top 10 too for the same reason.

billwaltonsbeard

<< <i>I have found that most people think any t206 is the wagner or just as rare, so I would put the Mantle as #1. The Griffey might be #2 because of the 80's, but unfortunately I bet a card like the 1988 Topps Gregg Jefferies is in the top 10 too for the same reason. >>



The 1988 Topps Gregg Jefferies is not on any list.

mattyc_collection

I'd say that decade by decade list is spot on a good way to gauge...

1950's - Mick #311
1960's - Ryan & Rose rookies
1970's - Brett RC, then Schmidt RC.
1980's - Mattingly, Henderson, Griffey, Bo-- lots of popular players and cards here due to the boom. I would contend the 1984T&D Mattingly cards were the hottest and most popular for a big stretch of the 80s, with the Griffey coming on huge late in the decade. The McGwire was enormously hot and popular, but loses some points for obvious fizzle. Due to the NYC market, initial performance, and hobby heat, the Gooden and Strawberry rookies were also huge cards to many.

FirstBeard

1989 Fleer Ripken F**k Face is probably higher than most would expect.

rcmb3220

there would be a big dropoff after those two. Probably the 89UD Griffey or the Ripken FF. I'd maybe throw out the 86D Canseco too. I think 20/20 or Dateline did something on the baseball card craze and highlighted that card.

mattyc_collection

I forgot how huge 86D Canseco was at the time.

begsu1013

most of them have been said but I no particular order

51 bowman mantle
89 billy ripken
89 ud Griffey
86 donruss canseco

jfkheat

85 Topps Mark McGwire

slum22

Moving past just baseball cards, I think the third most recognizable sports card is the Michael Jordan 86 Fleer RC.

esquiresports

There are a lot of great suggestions here. If you don't collect and don't know much about baseball cards, it's difficult to say whether any of these would be commonly known. I am pretty sure neither my mom, dad, wife nor sister could pick out any of these aside from possibly recognizing the player. They may have heard about the Wagner or Billy Ripken. Back in 1989, it seemed everyone was talking about the FF card.

One card I might add to the list is the 1990 Score Bo Jackson black and white. Because it matched up with a famous poster and Nike advertising, it was extremely popular back in the day.

Dboneesq

I think the '52 Topps MICK would be #1 by far. Have to think about the others. Notwithstanding the fact it is such an iconic card among collectors, I don't think the Wagner would be in the top three.

LarkinCollector

<< <i>I think the '52 Topps MICK would be #1 by far. Have to think about the others. Notwithstanding the fact it is such an iconic card among collectors, I don't think the Wagner would be in the top three. >>


The Wagner hits national news every time one sells, ESPN, CNN & Fox at the very least. People may not be able to picture it, but it's really well known outside of the hobby.

Rose rookie was my first thought, but I'm leaning towards the 89UD Griffey after seeing the other responses.

Nathaniel1960

The non-specific "Babe Ruth Rookie Card"

Gball16

Ruth Goudey 144

ReggieCleveland

If we're talking non-collectors then it's going to be something that made the news and is probably modern. All the suggestions of cards from earlier eras are important to those in the hobby but I don't recall any of them being mainstream media noteworthy. I'd probably guess it's something oddball, like the FF Ripken.

The Wagner is "the card that sold for a million dollars" so I'd guess that would be the clear #1.

MrVintage

I would go Wagner, Mick, and then 89 UD Griffey. BTW there wasn't an 88 topps Jefferies. There was an 89 topps future star which is probably the one you guys were referring to.

athleticsfan

Maybe u should try posting this question in the coin forum

Nikklos

I think non-collectors would even have trouble recalling the Wagner and Mantle. Any others, forget it unless it was something they once collected.

MinorLeaguer

1976 Kurt Bevacqua 1975 Bazooka Bubble Gum Champ, Oscar Gamble fro's, any Don Mossi card and even 1990 Fleer Kevin Maas might make the top 100.

lostdart58

I think the only answer to this question would be found by asking Non-collectors.

At my upcoming monthly poker game I will ask. All players but myself are non-collectors.

WinPitcher

Rose rookie

jrboles

How about the Carl Yastrzemski baseball card from 1973 when he had big sideburns that Milhouse wanted to buy from Comic Book Store guy?

fiveniner

Mark Fidrych

Jakt

I think the 75 Brett would make the cut.

coachnip13

Through no fault of their own, people in this thread are inadvertently looking at this through the eyes of a collector. I can tell you that my friends, rabid sports fans who know all about Pete Rose and George Brett and Ken Griffey Jr., couldn't tell you the first thing about any one of their baseball cards.

FirstBeard

<< <i>Through no fault of their own, people in this thread are inadvertently looking at this through the eyes of a collector. I can tell you that my friends, rabid sports fans who know all about Pete Rose and George Brett and Ken Griffey Jr., couldn't tell you the first thing about any one of their baseball cards. >>



This is spot on. We can sit here and rattle off every major HOFer RC card through the decades, but that doesn't equate to a card a non-collector could identify, whether by name or its "look." To me, that is what makes a card "iconic" under the definition we are using.

Wagner, '52 mantle, '89 Griffey, '89 F'Face, all fit that bill.

I don't think a causal non-collector would even be able to come up with the names Goudy or Bowman, and while they probably wouldn't know the set Wagner is from either, they could probably explain what the card looks like and the story behind it.

This is a really cool thread topic by the way. Never looked at cards through this lens before...

hammered

I think #3 would be 85T McGwire, due to the shop-at-home stuff and how crazy people were about this card (and his record) in the late 90s.

Or, maybe the 93 SP Jeter. I've seen that card referenced in several places that are not hobby-oriented.

Tabe

<< <i>The non-specific "Babe Ruth Rookie Card" >>


This is probably the right answer.

PSASAP

The Nolan Ryan rookie. Remember the story about the card store employee who sold the card for $12?

yankeeno7

I would say the 1985 Topps McGwire. Every time someone tells me they have 80s cards from when they were a kid, they ALWAYS mention that one.

mrmopar

I'd say anything that is known outside of the hobby in general needs to have been featured in print or on video numerous times to even be considered. Where else is a non-collector even going to see a photo of a trading card other than a news article/story. I used to clip any article that referenced baseball cards when I was younger and inevitably the Wagner was the photo to go with most of the time.

I know when I was younger, one of the more iconic cards was the 33 Goudey Ruth #181. That is still one of my favorite card images of all time and I would like to own a nice copy some day. When the green background is dark and vivid, that card just pops.

Jackie Robinson's Leaf rookie card may be one to consider as well, given the publicity his career generated.

mrmopar

For a card to reach a non-collector, it has to be featured in some sort of media, either a magazine article, newspaper or perhaps a video/TV show. When I was a kid, I used to clip out any article i could find that discussed baseball cards. Often a Wagner was featured.

How about a 33 Goudey Ruth #181. That is one of the most recognizable card images from when I was a kid. I would love to own one some day and when the color is right, that green background just pops.

How about a Jackie Robinson Leaf RC? The publicity from his career certainly reached non-collectors and that card has been reprinted. It has been a SGA as well.

gonzer

Bo.

LarkinCollector

If using the popular media theory, number three has to be Joe Shlabotnik of the Waffletown Syrups rookie card.

bishop

Sent email this morning to 20 people I know who, as far as I know, do not collect baseball cards, asking them to identify 3 such cards, if any, they are aware of for any reason. It will be interesting to me to see the responses

hammered

<< <i>How about the Carl Yastrzemski baseball card from 1973 when he had big sideburns that Milhouse wanted to buy from Comic Book Store guy? >>



Reminds me of this card I saw recently. I dunno, I think it's an improvement:
Pornstache Yaz

MrVintage

The 85 topps Big Mac was extremely popular for a few years but I would still go with 89 UD Griffey.

ClockworkAngel

To the OP's question, I don't think there is a 3rd that compares. The 52T Mantle and Wagner are in a class by themselves. Non collectors and people that don't follow baseball will know the names of Babe Ruth, Gehrig, Cobb, Dimaggio, etc, but there's no famous card anyone associates with them.

If I had to pick a 3rd, it would be the 1989 Fleer Ripken FF "error". That made the news. There were articles written about it in newspapers. It was a card a lot of people knew about that didn't know the first thing about baseball cards. On top of that, people were scrambling to buy that card thinking there were very few made and/or the demand would be ridiculous. In the end, that wasn't quite the case...

Now, if we're talking about a 3rd card that is iconic and a must have for any serious collector, I'd go with wither the Aaron RC or the Clemente RC as 3 and 4 and probably Nolan Ryan's RC 5th.

FINESTKIND

I think most non collectors wouldn't know the difference between a T206 and old ticket stub. Everyone knows who Mickey Mantle is. Most non colloctors might of heard of Ty Cobb. A lot of non collector might have heard of the Wagner card, or at least of some old card that at one time sold for 2.5 million $. I never heard of the Wagner when I was a young kids in the 60's. I would put Babe Ruth before Wagner that non collector would know of first.