Collecting Sports Legends – The Ultimate Hobby Guide – A Must Read for All Sports Card and Memorabilia Collectors
Collecting Sports Legends – The Ultimate Hobby Guide is an outstanding resource for any sports card and memorabilia collector. The book was written by the President of Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) Joe Orlando, one of the foremost experts in the hobby today. Additionally, experts like Brian Bigelow (set collecting), Steve Grad (autographs) and several other hobby legends provided useful insight. The book is easy to read and chalked full of detailed information and pictures of some of the rarest cards and memorabilia in the hobby today. This book is the resource for individual trading cards, complete sets, autographs, game-used bats, tickets and unopened packs. It was extremely enjoyable to read and will be used as one of my primary sports card references.
One of the most useful chapters for new collectors is the “Ten Tips for Building a Collection.” These tips should be the ten commandments of collecting and read by all collectors. My favorite tip was to keep collecting fun. Today, too many collectors lose sight of how fun the hobby can be and treat it like a business or only buy boxes of cards hoping to make it rich on a big pull. Keep collecting fun and the hobby will always be enjoyable!
The meat of the book presents the top 250 sports cards and the top 30 complete sets in the hobby. It is a fascinating look at the best cards in the hobby based on popularity, scarcity and historical importance and covers cards from the 1800s to today.
While baseball does monopolize the list, there are plenty of cards from basketball, football, hockey, boxing and golf to make the read enjoyable for all. Every card on the top 250 sports card list has a few paragraphs about its history and some interesting facts on why it is so sought after. Also, there are high grade pictures of each card to give the reader an authentic look at some of the rarest cards in the world.
Building a Dream – A Look at Collecting the Top 30 Complete Sets in the Hobby written by Brian Bigelow is a set collector’s dream. The chapter takes an in depth look at 30 of the greatest sports cards sets. Brian dedicates several pages to each set and images of the best cards in each set truly making it a set collector’s encyclopedia.
While sports cards are the most covered part of the hobby in Collecting Sports Legends – The Ultimate Hobby, the authors do a great job at covering the top 100 autographs in all the major sports, the top 40 game-used bats, collecting sports tickets and the top 25 unopened packs of sports cards. From Babe Ruth to Tiger Woods, you will learn some interesting facts about some of the most prolific signers from the past 100+ years. I don’t collect much outside of sports cards, but it was fascinating to learn about some of the most sought after game-used bats and ticket stubs.
In the final chapter, Tempting Treasures – A Look at Collecting Unopened Packs, Joe goes through a brief history of collecting packs and runs through the top 25 unopened packs in the hobby. It takes a different collector to seal a 1952 Topps Baseball pack of cards into a PSA casing instead of opening it! From the 1933 Goudey Sport Kings pack to the 1964 Topps Football pack you will learn why some collectors choose to seal their packs into a time capsule versus opening them.
As a sports card collector, Collecting Sports Legends – The Ultimate Hobby Guide was a joy to read. Joe Orlando pooled together some of the best minds in the sports card and memorabilia hobby and produced a must read resource for the sports collecting world. I learned a lot of sports card history and enjoyed seeing some of the mint condition gems in all sports. I might not be able to hold the most sought after cards and memorabilia in the world, but with the Collecting Sports Legends book I got to see the cards that drive collecting today and learned some interesting hobby facts.
You can pick up your copy of Collecting Sports Legends – The Ultimate Hobby Guide on Amazon or eBay below!
#1 by jdio13 on March 2nd, 2009
Quote
Wow, this book sounds very interesting and informational. Sounds like some great tips are given. I will have to pick up a copy sometime!!
Jason
#2 by StainLss on March 2nd, 2009
Quote
I really want to get a copy of this book. Sounds like a great read. Library here i come.
#3 by 11chaos on March 2nd, 2009
Quote
One of my favorite things reading through the synopsis was the quote to keep collecting fun. I try to do that. This looks like a book I would enjoy reading as well as sharing with my son.
Bill/11chaos
#4 by Dave30 on March 2nd, 2009
Quote
Sounds like a interesting book and will be enjoyed.
Dave
#5 by Captngeetch on March 2nd, 2009
Quote
Sounds to me like a great reference for both new and old collectors..Hope it’s available at B & N..finally something worth using my giftcards on !
#6 by andrewcstein on March 3rd, 2009
Quote
Looks like a great read with some nice background about some iconic cards!
#7 by Lzuperku on March 3rd, 2009
Quote
This could become the best reference book in the card collecting hobby.
#8 by CoolHandLuke on March 3rd, 2009
Quote
I collect more and more vintage cards and migh want to get a copy of this book, thanks for the review.
#9 by spuds1961 on March 3rd, 2009
Quote
great article and it definitely made me want to buy a copy of this book hoo-rah.Take care Steve
#10 by etmill01 on March 3rd, 2009
Quote
very well written article, would definitely like to check the book out…
#11 by SingleDaddyof2 on March 5th, 2009
Quote
Definitely going to seek out this book on my next trip to the bookstore! Looks like this book is a must for sports card fanatics like me.
#12 by tarheelsnipe on March 5th, 2009
Quote
“Today, too many collectors lose sight of how fun the hobby can be and treat it like a business or only buy boxes of cards hoping to make it rich on a big pull. Keep collecting fun and the hobby will always be enjoyable!”
This is so true. Keep it fun and focus your collection. You’ll have a hobby that lasts a lifetime.
#13 by RenegadeLonghorn on March 5th, 2009
Quote
Very cool. Will have to check this out at a local bookstore.
#14 by indyreds on March 6th, 2009
Quote
Sounds like a fun read. I will have to look it up just for the autograph section!
#15 by Stewart20rulz on March 8th, 2009
Quote
Great article. Looks like a great book and something that would be enjoyable to read and have around the house. I’ll have to check Barnes & Noble or other book stores to see if I can find it.