Rare Baseball Cards

Even novice collectors interested in rare baseball cards will quickly come across the name Honus Wagner. Although Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Hank Aaron are famous baseball players with collectible cards, none come close to this ball player.

The Honus Wagner Rare Baseball Card

Honus Wagner was an outstanding short stop and an early inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but what makes him particularly noteworthy is that one of his baseball cards sold for over $2 million. Wagner’s cards are scarce because he did not want them distributed with tobacco, but this particularly famous and expensive card is in exceptionally fine condition.

• The Official Site of Honus Wagner
• The Card: Collectors, Con Men, and the True Story of History's Most Desired Baseball Card by Michael O'Keeffe and Teri Thompson - The book covers Honus Wagner as well as the business of baseball cards.

Library of Congress Rare Baseball Cards

The Library of Congress is an excellent starting place for those interested in rare baseball cards.

• American Memory: Baseball Cards 1887-1914 Their Prints and Photographs Division has a collection of 2,100 vintage baseball cards donated by Carl Sandburg in 1954. Sandburg was given the cards by the daughter of a cigarette-card collector. You can browse these cards by Player, Team, League, City or Card Set-much like they way one collects baseball cards. Ty Cobb’s gallery, for instance, has 13 cards. A few are of Cobb alone, while others are of him with early players such as Hugh Jennings, George Moriarty, Chas. O'Leary and Sam. Crawford. Clicking on a photograph will enlarge the image and show the statistics on its back.

• Baseball Card Bibliography The Library of Congress also has a list of books about baseball cards.

Negro League Baseball Cards

The top Negro Leagues played ball before 1947 (the year Jackie Robinson was allowed into the Major League). No baseball cards of these players were issued in the United States at the time, although cards were later printed of players who signed with Major League teams.

• Baseball Trading Cards of Negro League Players in Major Leagues The Center for Negro League Baseball Research lists many of these baseball cards.

• American Negro League Players in Cuban Baseball Cards Famous Negro league ball players also participated in the Cuban Baseball League. Rare baseball cards from the Cuban League are also a source for collecting Latin American baseball player cards.

• Peter C. Bkarkman: Award-Winning Author, Cuban Baseball Historian The author of A History of Cuban Baseball, 1864-2006 has an informative website.

Beckett Media

Billing itself as The #1 Authority on Collectibles, Beckett Media is an enormous resource for baseball card collectors.

• The Baseball Card Page lists baseball cards for sale, dealers, and links to many kinds of storage supplies to protect rare baseball card collections.

• The Message Boards and Forums give more information about buying and trading baseball cards.

• The Beckett Baseball Card Price Guide 2007 edition is available as well as Beckett Baseball Card Plus magazines.

• 300 Great Baseball Cards of the 20th Century: A Historical Tribute by the Hobby's Most Relied Upon Source by Mike Payne and Beckett Publications - Illustrated with photographs of many rare baseball cards, this book reveals much about the sport, its history and players.

Baseball Card Adventure Series

The Baseball Card Adventure series are children’s books by Dan Gutman involving magic baseball cards used to travel back in time. They tell about baseball history such as Babe Ruth calling a hit, the Black Sox Scandal and Jackie Robinson. Honus & Me, Jackie & Me, Babe & Me, and Shoeless Joe & Me are a few titles. His books are perfect for kids interested in baseball or baseball card collecting.

• Dun Gutman Children’s Book Author

Three More Baseball Card Resources

• Baseball Card Database by Baseball Almanac Baseball Almanac’s database is extensive.
• NAXCOM “The Marketplace Where The Pros Go!"
• MLB.com The Official Site of Major League Baseball

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