General Forum

All this talk about boom and bust and speculation, was 1987-1993 the "Great Depression of Baseball Cards"?

And Billy, I concur with the term "junk" - I really don't think the 1987 Topps baseball set is junk. In fact, it may be one of the best looking sets ever (if only they had put the player's position on the front, it would be a definite). Some great sets came out during those years. Some awful sets did too. (You ever see me talk about 1990 Fleer?)

As far as throwing out cards, that actually was one of my jobs at Star, disposing of product that didn't sell. We tore cases of cards in half, and took them back to the company (they had access to a dumpster, plus I think the boss wanted to make sure they weren't being "disposed of" into my collection - they weren't) to throw away. The first couple rips broke my heart. Then it was just tedious and began to hurt our hands. I forget the amount that worked best, I think it was 2 or 3 at a time. One at a time took too long, and any more than 3 were too hard to rip. Also, you kind of had to "fan them out", so you started one, then you started into the next and then start in to the last, so that by time you started the last, you were almost done with the first. I ripped up plenty - and got paid for it!

As for really beat up cards in my collection, I have a stack of cards that are extras that are beat up. I'll put them in the box I have going for you, Billy.

Although not the original theme of this thread, I'm liking the comments on the state of the hobby during this period. I don't like the term "junk era" in describing cards, but as someone who collected through this era, I think the term is applicable to the mindset of many who were in the hobby looking to strike it rich by reselling cards.

I was living near Nashville during this period and I had access to flea markets, "antique" stores, and numerous local malls in the area....I had my choice of card buying "honey-holes" every weekend. There was an excitement to the hobby that almost bordered on a frenzy, but there was also a sinister side to the hobby that was fueled by greed and over inlfated prices. I still see a little of that in the hobby today....especially on ebay....where some sellers claim that every card is "rare" or they just made some "incredible find' in their uncle's attic....or selling off their ex's collection in revenge. We've even seen that kind of stuff here.

During the "junk era" that kind of stuff was the norm instead of the exception. So although I don't think the cards during that era are junk, I do feel that the term is applicable to the state of the hobby at the time. I do miss having my choice of weekend card shows but I don't miss the speculative frenzy or the "anything to make a buck" attitude of the hobby at the time.

I see the 'junk wax' era in generalized terms. I see it as just one of the defining features of the excesses of the 1990s. Excess, and everyone wanting to 'get in on it', whatever the 'it' may be. The same thing happened to comic books during the era of excess. Trading cards, comic books, action figures etc... Some good stuff floated to the top, but down in the muck lay Malibu comics and a lot of Image stinkers.  

Actually, the Great Depression of baseball cards is exactly what it was.  If you read some late '80s / early '90s Becketts, people were actually suing their own parents in court for throwing away their childhood cards from the '50s and '60s.  People weren't just collecting, they were "investing" in cards like stocks.  People actually thought that they would be able to send their children to college off of their collection.  These were grown adults at the time publicly proclaiming this stuff in published articles.  Some people even thought that they would be able to retire off of their collection. 

The entire concept of collecting changed significantly in the '80s.  It wasn't about throwing the cards in your spokes and not caring what happened to the card.  It also wasn't about dumping them in a shoebox anymore.  For the first time, it was all about secure storage of your cards in specialized boxes and protectors.  Collectors became speculators of future star rookies, purchasing 100's of a single player at a time.  Card dealers referred cards as investments.  There were Beckett articles that taught kids to beware of scrupulous dealers, of which there seemed to be many.   

Price guide cards values peaked in the Fall of 1991.  The Baseball Card Crash of 1992-1993 began the Great Depression of Baseball cards that lasted throughout the Decade.  In 1994, there was no World Series held for the first time since 1904.  Big deal.

There has never been a time in the sportscard industry at there was from the mid-80's to the early-90's.  In those days, sportscards were as good as stocks, and the Wall Street Beckett was littered with monthly up's and down's.  Vintage prices have remained nearly flat ever since the early '90s crash.

I prefer the term "Overproduced" or "Overproduction" era. It is more to the point of that time. Instead of just printing up say 100,000 copies of a specific card they produced over 1,000,000 or more copies. Some might be lead to believe that they are still producing copies of those cards.

As to "throwing away" cards I admit in the early to mid 1970s as a kid I tossed a bunch of cards away from my collection. I don't know specifics but I do remember a ton of 1970 and 71 Topps baseball going into a black or dark green trash bag while sitting on the floor in the area where our living room and dinning room met in my childhood home. Most I think were either severly damaged or heavily marked with my dreaded black magic markered "K" I used to identify my cards with at one time. Now days I can't even think of tossing cards. Recycling very overproduced cards that are heavily damaged sure I might consider doing that. Most of the time I cringe when I hear someone say that they are going to "toss" some cards away. We are no longer in the savage years without paper and cardboard recycling.

Bob Costas, whom I liked before he became a political commentator, stated once that he carried an old wrinkled and torn Stan Musial RC in his wallet.

I mention that just to say that even cards in poor condition need TLC. My 1965 Topps Joe Morgan rookie is personal proof of that.

I saw Bob Costas pull a '66T Mantle out of his wallet during a World Series game interview that he claimed had been in there for years.  I think that was in 1984, or sometime after that in the '80s.  I'd have to go back and review the film.

Sportzcommish wrote:

Bob Costas, whom I liked before he became a political commentator, stated once that he carried an old wrinkled and torn Stan Musial RC in his wallet.

I mention that just to say that even cards in poor condition need TLC. My 1965 Topps Joe Morgan rookie is personal proof of that.

I didn't mind Bob Costas till he came to Canada for the A.L. Championship series.  Made a complete a** of himself with his negative comments about a team outside the U.S.A.  Talk was to never let him cross the border again. Wonder what his post-series comments were in 1992...and then again in 1993?

Well, according to Wikipeadia, Costas has a Mantle RC in his wallet, BUT, he was also close enough to Musial to have spoken at his funeral. Either way, it's a grand case for TLC of baseball cards in poor condition.

For me, junk era is primarily 87-95 in baseball, and 89-96 in hockey.