Dr. James Beckett: Sports Card Insights

Dustin and Brad invited me to be on their hour-long live YouTube show - catch the whole thing, but this is just a short excerpt of how it went - they made it fun - thanks guys!

A brief synopsis of the past twenty-five episodes - I get a chance to reflect on what I'd like to add and some of you get a chance to hear a little about an episode you may have missed - thanks.

GemRate has earned a place in the hobby in a short time - by bringing data analytic capabilities to pop reports - thanks Ryan for your free GemRate e-newsletter.

Industry veteran Ted Barker discusses exciting current trends in trading card industry events - not just card shows any more - lots more to offer!

Dustin has been a guest here before and has his own YouTube show - but this was a chance for us to exchange questions with each other about the hobby - thanks Dustin!

Should you open your box of sports card product immediately or wait a while? - or flip it unopened?  This dilemma repeats itself every day in the modern hobby - we discussed this  on Hobby Hotline with Val Marz, Adam Palmer, plus live call-ins and commenters.  

Rich and I break down the enigmatic 1981 Donruss baseball card product, which was rushed to market, and hence not their best product in hindsight, and yet by 1984 Donruss was riding high.

Ryan Stuczynski shares his hobby origin story, resulting in his founding of GemRate, which has been steadily gaining traction in the world of making sense of pop reports and grading capacity/velocity.  Thanks Ryan.

Industry veteran, Ted Barker, shares his sports card hobby journey experience, having worked for many of the key players in the industry, now serving visibly at Beckett Media.

Ryan and I continued our discussion of the mysterious allure of 1987 Topps baseball cards, and how that product has played some role in the renaissance of the hobby in the past two years.  Thanks Ryan.

Ryan Fagan, senior baseball writer for The Sporting News, joins me for a discussion of the historical importance of that weekly tabloid, to which I was faithfully subscribed in my early days in this hobby.

We had a three-person question session that was fun with three old-timers reminiscing about the good old days of the hobby (when it really was a hobby) - thanks TS and thanks Rich!

Dane and I don't seem to run out of questions for each other.  I am curious about his Dynasty Breaks business and he wants to know about the good old days of Beckett Publications.  Thanks Dane.

Rich and I break down the various Pacific hockey products that year: Aurora, Crown Royale, Dynagon Ice, Pacific (their flagship), and Paramount.  Unfortunately missing info were Omega and Revolution.  Thanks Mike Cramer!

Kin and I trade questions about the sports card hobby we have both pursued intensely for many decades - thanks Kin!

Dane Coenen of Dynasty Breaks is back for a third round of Dueling Questions with me about the sports card hobby and more specifically the business aspects.  Thanks Dane!

Hobby icon and pioneer Bob Lemke has been gone (but not forgotten) for the past five years.  We discuss his three huge contributions to the growth of our great hobby.

Rich Klein introduced me to Ryan, who has had a long-time special interest in 1987 Topps baseball cards - which is apparently shared by many who follow him - find out why?

Rich and I review and explain the Pacific official production and distribution spreadsheets for the following 1998 Pacific football sub-brands: Aurora, Crown Royale, Omega, Paramount, and Revolution.  We were surprised and you probably will be too.

Popular player and coach, Dan Reeves has passed away, due to complications with dementia - his rookie card is a proud member of my Card Wall of Fame for my visitors to see and have memories evoked.

John Clemens, veteran 1957 Topps baseball collector, minor league PA announcer, and all-around good guy passed away a few weeks ago from Multiple Myeloma.  Our condolences to his family - he is missed!

TS has worn many hats in this hobby/industry - many know him as the former editor of Sports Collectors Digest - but we first recognized him for his self-published artistic set of Baseball Greats from 1983 - Thanks TS and thanks Rich!

Michael Rubin, Fanatics primary owner, has moved very quickly again, strategically buying the trading card division of Topps for a reported $500 million - here's my take on the potential after-effects.

We hear from Kin about his sports card hobby origin story - pretty consistent over the decades and still enjoying the ride.  Thanks Kin for sharing!

Rich and I review official production and distribution figures for the following 1999 Pacific Baseball products: Aurora, Crown Collection, Crown Royale, Invincible, Omega, Paramount, Prism, Private Stock, and Revolution.