Dr. James Beckett: Sports Card Insights

Listen to this episode if you agree that athletes and celebrities should do a better job of signing their names in terms of legibility and recognizability.

The introduction of up and down arrows in Beckett Baseball Card Monthly was a turning point back in 1985.

We are in another period of explosive hobby growth - Rich interviews me on what we can learn from the last time?

I go down a path of "what if's" reimagining our annual National Sports Collectors Convention, considering that this year is the first year since inception with no National.

A SPAC is a special financial approach for helping companies go public more easily.  Is there another public company in the hobby's future?

Rich and I reminisce about the largest-ever (to that point) Topps baseball card set.

Derek and I discuss the hobby, what makes it great, and how Heritage is strategically positioned.

I am obviously not anti-analytics, but I realize there are some trailblazers out there who write their own "music" and scripts for success.  

A review of this popular Topps baseball product and a discussion of pack and box odds.

Pete and I discuss third-party grading, coming from the auction house perspective.

Music superstar and guitar hero Eddie Van Halen's life and death suggest insights for us sports collectors.

Derek was former head grader at SGC and has brought his keen eye and knowledge to Heritage serving as VP for the past nine years and evaluating and handling many of the great collections that have or will come up for auction.

Joe Morgan, perhaps the greatest second baseman in baseball history, passed away this past Sunday of polyneuropathy.

A very quick summary of the episodes of the past four weeks - thanks!  doctorjamesbeckett@gmail.com

Whitey Ford was an even greater pitcher than I remembered.

My friend Barrie Sullivan passed away almost six years ago.  He was an early strong contributor to the health and expansion of our hobby based on his friendly personality and sharp legal mind.

I took three routes to see which would be most pleasing or profitable in pursuing Stature.  I was surprised.

Huggins & Scott's auction logistics expertise allows them to profitably handle large lots as a service to the industry.

A closer look at Baseball Hall of Famer Bob Gibson's life, career, and cards, after his tragic passing at the age of 84 to pancreatic cancer.

My sister Claire and I share stories about the early days of Beckett Publications and our mom's influence on this her 95th birthday.

My sister Claire and her husband Jeff really stepped up when I had my heart attack exactly 24 years ago today and led Beckett Publications during that trying time.

Pew Research nationally surveyed for and then ranked the top 12 most concerning social and political issues involved in this coming presidential election.  Many of them have a bearing on our hobby.

Rewards for substantive feedback - listen and find out how and why during the month of October 2020.

Not all flippers are good ... or bad for the hobby.

Ryan Krueger's firm helps clients manage their investments.  Ryan and I compare and contrast publicly-traded stocks and publicly-traded sports cards.