Baseball card HOF default selections

I think these are cards that should go in without a vote. They are all significant and important cards in the hobby. If there is a big enough objection to any I'll put them in the regular voting.

1933 Lajoie
t206 Plank
t206 Magie
1952 Topps Mantle
1989 Upper Deck Griffey Jr

Jay

i don't agree with the magie pick, it doesn't have quite that iconoclastic stature imo.

I agree with Quan. Actually, I don't think that the T206 Plank should go without a vote either. The T206 Wagner, of course, but Plank and Magie error are not on the same level as the others. Valueable, yes. Iconic within the prewar community, perhaps, but if you asked post war guys, would they think they are no brainers?

ok, 2 objections is enough for me to kick them to the vote.

I also agree with Quan and Brian on the Magie.

I do believe the Plank should be there, but a vote for that one is fine with me.

I think I'd put all of them except the Mantle up to a vote. They might all get in anyway, but the Wagner and the Mantle might be the only two cards in the hobby whose significance to us nerds is recognized even outside of the collecting world.

A lot people would recognize the Griffey card but have no clue about Mantle or Wagner. Griffey is the current generation's Mantle in the card world. Not as pleasing to the eye as the Mantle, but easily the most significant card of the post Topps monoply era.

Jay

I definitely recognize the Griffey card's importance to hobby history, but if you showed 1,000 non-collectors a Wagner, a Mantle and a Griffey and asked them "Which of these cards is the most significant?" the Griffey would probably get fewer than 100 votes. Many people might more easily identify the Griffey name and maybe even the card itself but I think few would consider it as important as the other two. That might just be due to the age of the cards, but that's not an irrelevant factor.

Tangentially related point: I'll have to closely read the other thread, which I just kinda skimmed to look at pictures, but was there no love for the '84 Donruss Mattingly? It hasn't aged as well as the Griffey, which hasn't aged real well either, but it was almost as transformative as the UD Griffey.

Close, but UD introduced the glossy, high tech cards we see today. I remember when the 89 set came out and there really isn't a card aesthetically that stand out to me so the Griffey is good default choice. Kind of like a t206 Cobb card. They are all ugly to me, but important to that set. I liked the 84 Donruss set a lot. Then again, I was always partial to the 71 Topps set too.

for a big post-war collector like myself the griffey UD is like the #1 topps card ever . it really did usher in the new $5/pack premium stuff that later elevated to the chase/refractor/auto'd/GU modern shiny cards. took me 15 years after its release to finally get one...i can take it or leave in the hof.

the griffey does have an advantage over the older cards with the new tech hologram & better paper stock tho, not sure if the old-timers would vote it in...maybe make a separate section in the hall for its kind.

Here's a link to the site. It still needs work but the modern stuff is separated from the vinrage stuff. I think I'll have to split up the 1900-1920 category as that is where most of the cards are now. I also need to work on the sizing and layout so it doesn't look so messy.

Jay

IMO there are some who are not thinking outside of the box, so to say, and are stuck in pre-war. I would think there are probably more post-war and even some modern cards that are worthy of a true HOF Baseball card set.

Could not imagine a HOF without Mathews (even though I don't like it), Koufax, Williams, Robinson, DiMaggio, Ryan, Ripken, etc.

If it was purely for the card and not the player, "F*ck Face" has my vote.

onlychild wrote:If it was purely for the card and not the player, "F*ck Face" has my vote.

It would get my vote too

Jay

There are most certainly several post war and even some more modern cards that will warrant HOF induction. I just thought the point of this particular thread was for those that didn't even need a vote... ie. T206 Wagner, 1952 Topps Mantle.

In the grand scheme of things, is it so bad to include them on a ballot such that they likely get unamimous voting? I know what we are doing is akin to the "first baseball HOF class", but there were some that are jaw dropping when you think that they were not included in that first class - Cy Young comes to mind. I certainly would put him with the other 5 that were initially enshrined.

My point is, why not just include the 5 or so "no need to vote" cards in the voting anyway - to eliminate the debate?

BTW, I would vote for the Billy Ripken's card too.

I just thought the point of this particular thread was for those that
didn't even need a vote... ie. T206 Wagner, 1952 Topps Mantle.

Ah yes, now that makes sense!

Right. I'm not necessarily arguing against the Griffey as Hall of Hobby Fame worthy, but I think there are only two cards whose status is so iconic that they'd garner close to 100 percent of the inaugural vote.