Dr. James Beckett: Sports Card Insights

Syracuse has had three amazing HOF runners carry their number 44: Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, and Floyd Little.  John Newman shares his interactions with Floyd, the man.

Val Marz, Jeremy, and John Newman, mainstays of the Hobby Hotline call-in show, join this wide-ranging (and live) discussion about the hobby's future (which no one know incidentally!).

This iconic set was under-appreciated until it wasn't.

Great Baseball Hall of Fame knuckle-balling pitcher Phil Niekro has passed away from cancer at 81 - his cards and memorabilia have always been very reasonable compared to his excellence.

A brief recap of the past twenty episodes in case you missed any of them.  Episode ideas or suggestions can be sent to doctorjamesbeckett@gmail.com  for consideration - happy new year!

Jeremy Lee of Sports Cards Live interviewed me on his YouTube channel about the biggest stories of 2020.  We were largely in agreement.

We hear Rob's exciting predictions for the sports card hobby in 2021 - no secret that he is very bullish.

Mike and I discuss what we think will happen next year in our industry (which is trending!).

Mime and I talk about the past year - a year like no other in our sports card hobby. 

Rich and I discuss the just-named 25 Pro Football Hall of Fame semi-finalists and their Hall chances as well as any potential impact on their particular football  cards.

Hobby sports memorabilia auction pioneer and co-founder of Leland's, Josh Evans has passed away - he is greatly missed and mourned.

Rich and I discuss the impact on the sports card hobby of MLB deciding to now include and integrate 1920-48 Negro Leaguers and their certified playing stats into their records. 

A quick review of the notable sports deaths this past year, undoubtedly the deadliest ever.

Dave and I discuss some miscellaneous issues on a range of hobby topics.  If you have questions, try doctorjamesbeckett@gmail.com  and feel free to attach an audiogram.

Christmas means gifts to many, but most of those gifts are expected reciprocal gift exchanges - but what about unsolicited gifts within the hobby from those you really don't know that well?

On Christmas Eve we have anticipation for what we might get for Christmas - deferred gratification is a helpful trait for sports card collectors.

Cleveland has announced they are retiring the Indians name to be replaced with something else - Rich and I ponder the possibilities and whether that matters in the card world.

Val Marz and Jeremy Lee, co-hosts of Hobby Hotline, join the discussion of the impact of the noteworthy new round of investors in StarStock, including Kevin Durant and AJ Vaynerchuk.   

Phil Spector, good friend of Rich's and mine, and all who knew him, passed away early last week.  He was a mainstay in the hobby at the Nationals, East Coast and Philly shows, and was a key player in the success of Score Board.

I joined with Val Marz and Jeremy Lee on Hobby Hotline for this short thread on additional benefits that may accrue to the owners of PSA if they are taken private early next year.  Highly recommend checking out the whole episode of Hobby Hotline, the hobby's live call-in show, every Saturday morning.

Ken Marks and I continued our conversation on his very challenging and successful master set quest.

Kevin and I trade questions based on his thoughtful email to me at doctorjamesbeckett@gmail.com  - thanks Kevin!

Rich Klein and I discuss this turning point set from Topps - more complicated than you may think.

Ken Capell and I go a second round of dueling questions initiated by his thoughtful email to doctorjamesbeckett@gmail.com  and its implications.

Rich and I discuss those special instances where demand is strong for certain world champs, especially in vintage baseball cards, for example, the 1968 Detroit Tigers.