When a Large Priority Mail box arrived a few months ago packed with commons from 1981, 1982, and 1983 I assumed that was all that it contained. Fast forward to last week while unpacking the cards, I discovered the news paper used wasn’t an ordinary newspaper.
As I pulled out the newspaper, I noticed it was old. As I began to flatten it out, it became clear it was an old partial issue of Baseball Hobby News from September of 1985. While only three pages, it is still a really neat find.
I was a few months from turning four in September of 1985 and four years away from opening my first pack of baseball cards. The world of collecting was still a few years from the junk era boom.
The front page is an article about players refusing to sign their contract with Topps. Apparently, they felt Topps wasn’t reimbursing them enough at the time. Interesting…
The players are complaining
The ads were really interesting. Here is one for a card show in California.
Card show ad from 1985
A card show in Los Angeles with Pete Rose, Dave Parker, and Brooks Robinson signing autographs for $3.00 to $7.00!
The next ad is really interesting…
1984 and 1985 Star Basketball Sets For Sale
This is a massive full page ad selling sets from all four sports, but the basketball sets are interesting.
1984 Star Basketball sets for $3 to $5! The same Star basketball sets that have Michael Jordan pre-rookies. Even though Star went through a ton of scandals, those Jordan pre-rookies still pull decent cash.
I really wish the whole paper would have been included. I spent over an hour reading what I had and studying the for-sale ads.
What a time to collect!
5 replies on “A Surprise From The Past”
I *loved* Baseball Hobby News back in the day. Read it over and over. I only gave them away when they were starting to get musty and giving my wife allergic reactions. I can still quote bits of my favorite articles. In those days when there was no internet and all it was a fantastic way to find out what was going on in the hobby, and to shop the dealer ads.
It was unfortunate only a few pages were included. I would have loved to read the whole thing. There was such a different perspective on baseball cards back then.
Thanks for reading.
I love old collecting periodicals like this. I didn’t know anything about the player revolt against Topps. I don’t think many players carried it out, although Kevin McReynolds WAS absent from Topps issues during the 1980s.
I went to a card show as a teenager and Brooks Robinson was the guest signer. I don’t know how much he charged but it couldn’t have been more than a couple bucks because my youngest brother got his autograph and he had no money at that time.
I am guessing the revolt didn’t really last. I hadn’t heard of any of the players that were complaining.
The spring and fall shows in Rosemont, IL have a ton of signers– from today’s starts to hall of famers. The starting price is usually $50 just for a flat. Just too much for my blood.
Thanks for reading.
I don’t think I ever read Baseball Hobby News, but I do enjoy going back and reading older issues of Tuff Stuff and Baseball Card magazines to read their old ads. Can’t believe there was a time when you could meet Brooks Robinson and have him sign a ball for $4. That’s flippin’ cool.