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Below are some tidbits on baseball and sportscard collecting along with a listing of the All-Time and Active Leaders in a selected statistical cateogry. Visit our web site for more info on vintage and current baseball, football, basketball, hockey, sports and non-sport cards and card collecting.

Q2: How long have sports cards been around ? (part 2) The first important and mainstream basketball set was issued by Bowman in 1948. Other than a Topps set in 1957-58 and a 1961-62 Fleer set, there were no mainstream basketball sets issued until Topps started producing yearly sets beginning with their 1969-70 set featuring the rookie card of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who then went under the name of Lew Alcindor. In hockey, there were a few sets issued in the 1910's and while O-Pee-Chee issued some sets in the 1930's, the real modern sets began in 1951 with the itroduction of Parkhurst's first set. In racing, while cards go back as far as the early Indy car days of 1911, modern racing sets began in 1988 with the issues released by MAXX. A few Frequently Asked Questions from MLB.com (T9) What is the best way to start collecting baseball cards? The first rule to starting a collection is to remember to buy what you like. You want to collect items that are of interest to you. Make sure to enjoy what you are collecting! A few ways to accomplish this are to collect by your favorite player, team or set of cards. There is also collecting purely for the enjoyment of opening packs. The advantage of buying your favorite player is that they are cards you enjoy looking at, as well as following their stats over the course of a career. Collecting team sets presents the challenge of building a whole collection of a certain type of card. You will have to buy each card individually or buy unopened boxes in search of that missing card(s). Finally, collecting by set is a great project to do over a period of time. The "got it, need it" method is employed here as you rifle through packs to see what you have. Topps offers the ability to purchase some full sets, if choose to go that route. Opening packs to see what you get provides the enjoyment of not knowing what you are getting. The other nice thing is that you get the surprise of game used cards or other special cards included in the pack. However you collect, the designs and photography of the cards capture baseball at it's finest. Why should I collect baseball cards? By collecting cards, you will be continuing a tradition started over 100 years ago. In the present, collecting provides another forum for you being a fan of the game. You can collect in the manner that provides you with the most enjoyment. Besides it’s present value, your baseball card collection will be something to pass down, similar to family photographs. Future generations will enjoy looking at cards of the past to see images and designs. A great guardian/child activity that fosters communication, teaches children about statistics and how to complete a project (i.e collecting a full team set.). What was the first baseball card or set of cards produced? The first baseball cards were produced in the late 1800's. They were originally designed as a cardboard insert to give a pack of cigarettes a rigid inner, keeping cigarettes from breaking in shipping. One of the most famous of these cards is the Honus Wagner, which holds the record as most expensive card sold. Honus Wagner objected to smoking, and thus requested his card be pulled from the packs, creating the first "short print" Baseball Card. There are very few copies of these that have ever been found. A similar scenario just played out in 2006 Topps on the Alex Gordon Rookie Card. Alex Gordon was not yet eligible for his card to be produced, and Topps pulled his card from the set, but apparently not all of them as a few copies have been found in packs! How do I determine the value of my cards? Certainly, a card is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. You should always remember as well that most price guides list a retail selling price - it is not realistic to expect a retail store owner or dealer to pay you what the price guide may show for a card. Most cards that are being sold by collectors will sell for less than the guide, as stores have to buy at a wholesale level. Having said all of that, Beckett price guides are one of the oldest and trusted price guides that have been in use for over 20 years. Another reputable price guide is published by Tuff Stuff. Both will give you an idea of retail selling prices for cards. What is the production schedule of the card companies? Most cards are begun to be planned appox 13 months out. It takes time to design a card look, a theme that the set will fall under and the player selection. From there, players have to be approved for inclusion by the Players Association. The statistics and the biographies written and approved, and photos chosen. Finally, any insert programs that involve Autographs or Game Used Memorabilia items have to be acquired from the athletes, and made into cards as well. It takes time to put a set together. Once a baseball season ends, is that the last time cards for that year are produced? No - Baseball cards are being produced year round, as collector interest and different markets need different items. Rookies are often included heavier in late season releases to reflect call ups later in the Baseball season. What is a factory set? A factory set is the complete set of cards issued by a manufacturer. The most common and issued factory set is from Topps, but Upper Deck, Fleer and Donruss have also issued these over the years. The set will contain all of the base cards issued for that brand by the manufacturer. There will not normally be any shortprinted insert cards included in these sets, but any Rookie Cards that were part of the basic set will be included. Some of the famous Rookie Cards included in factory sets are the 1993 Topps Derek Jeter Rookie Card, 1987 Topps Barry Bonds, 1989 Topps, Fleer or Donruss Randy Johnson or the 1985 Topps Roger Clemens Rookie Card! Cards that were pulled from the set, like the 2006 Topps Alex Gordon, or the 1989 Fleer Variant Billy Ripken card that had a swear written on the end of his bat will not be included in the sets. Sets make a great "Legacy Collection" for yourself, or an excellent annual birthday or holiday present for a loved

***  BATTING AVERAGE  -  ALL-TIME Leaders  ***
Active Players - "+" BOLD in CAPS with AGE
Rank Player              Batting Average
 1.  Ty Cobb HOF            .3664
 2.  Rogers Hornsby HOF     .3585
 3.  Joe Jackson            .3558
 4.  Lefty O'Doul           .3493
 5.  Ed Delahanty HOF       .3459
 6.  Tris Speaker HOF       .3447
 7.  Ted Williams HOF       .3444
 8.  Billy Hamilton HOF     .3443
 9.  Dan Brouthers HOF      .3421
     Babe Ruth HOF          .3421
11.  Dave Orr               .3420
12.  Harry Heilmann HOF     .3416
13.  Pete Browning          .3415
14.  Willie Keeler HOF      .3413
15.  Bill Terry HOF         .3412
16.  George Sisler HOF      .3402
17.  Lou Gehrig HOF         .3401
18.  Jake Stenzel           .3386
19.  Jesse Burkett HOF      .3384
20.  Tony Gwynn             .3382
21.  Nap Lajoie HOF         .3381
22.+ TODD HELTON (31)       .3366
23.  Riggs Stephenson       .3361
24.  Al Simmons HOF         .3342
25.  John McGraw HOF        .3336
26.  Eddie Collins HOF      .3332
     Paul Waner HOF         .3332
28.  Cap Anson HOF          .3326
     Mike Donlin            .3326
30.+ ALBERT PUJOLS (25)     .3324
31.+ ICHIRO SUZUKI (31)     .3323
32.  Stan Musial HOF        .3308
33.  Sam Thompson HOF       .3307
34.  Bill Lange             .3302
35.  Heinie Manush HOF      .3298
36.  Wade Boggs HOF         .3279
37.  Rod Carew HOF          .3278
38.  Honus Wagner HOF       .3274
39.  Tip O'Neill            .3257
40.  Bob Fothergill         .3255
41.  Jimmie Foxx HOF        .3253
42.  Earle Combs HOF        .3248
43.  Joe DiMaggio HOF       .3246
44.  Babe Herman            .3245
45.  Hugh Duffy HOF         .3241
46.+ VLADAMIR GUERRERO (29) .3240
47.  Joe Medwick HOF        .3236
48.  Edd Roush HOF          .3227
49.  Sam Rice HOF           .3223
50.  Ross Youngs HOF        .3222
51.  Kiki Cuyler HOF        .3210
52.  Charlie Gehringer HOF  .3204
53.  Chuck Klein HOF        .3201
54.+ NOMAR GARCIAPARRA (31) .3197
55.  Mickey Cochrane HOF    .3196
     Pie Traynor HOF        .3196
57.  Ken Williams           .3192
58.  Kirby Puckett HOF      .3181
59.  Earl Averill HOF       .3178
60.  Arky Vaughan HOF       .3176
61.  Bill Everitt           .3174
62.  Roberto Clemente HOF   .3173
     Joe Harris             .3173
64.  Chick Hafey HOF        .3170
65.  Joe Kelley HOF         .3169
66.  Zack Wheat HOF         .3167
67.  Roger Connor HOF       .3165
68.  Lloyd Waner HOF        .3164
69.  Frankie Frisch HOF     .3161
70.  Goose Goslin HOF       .3160
71.  Lew Fonseca            .3158
72.  George Van Haltren     .3157
73.  Bibb Falk              .3145
74.  Cecil Travis           .3142
75.+ DEREK JETER (31)       .3139
76.+ MANNY RAMIREZ (33)     .3137
77.  Hank Greenberg HOF     .3135
78.  Jack Fournier          .3132
79.  Elmer Flick HOF        .3130
80.  Ed Morgan              .3128
81.  Larry Walker           .3127
82.  Bill Dickey HOF        .3125
83.  Dale Mitchell          .3123
84.  Johnny Mize HOF        .3121
     Joe Sewell HOF         .3121
86.  Fred Clarke HOF        .3119
     Deacon White           .3119
88.  Barney McCosky         .3118
89.  Edgar Martinez         .3115
90.  Johnny Hodapp          .3114
     Hughie Jennings HOF    .3114
     Freddie Lindstrom HOF  .3114
93.  Bing Miller            .3113
     Jackie Robinson HOF    .3113
95.  Baby Doll Jacobson     .3112
     Taffy Wright           .3112
97.+ MIKE PIAZZA (36)       .3110
     Rip Radcliff           .3110
99.  Bug Holliday           .3109
100. Ginger Beaumont        .3108
   
*** BATTING AVERAGE  -  Active Leaders  ***
Rank Player (age)        Batting Average
 1.  Todd Helton (31)       .3366
 2.  Albert Pujols (25)     .3324
 3.  Ichiro Suzuki (31)     .3323
 4.  Vladimir Guerrero (29) .3240
 5.  Nomar Garciaparra (31) .3197
 6.  Derek Jeter (31)       .3139
 7.  Manny Ramirez (33)     .3137
 8.  Mike Piazza (36)       .3110
 9.  Frank Thomas (37)      .3071
10.  Alex Rodriguez (29)    .3069
11.  Magglio Ordonez (31)   .3062
12.  Sean Casey (30)        .3050
13.  Juan Pierre (27)       .3049
14.  Ivan Rodriguez (33)    .3042
15.  Mike Sweeney (31)      .3040
16.  Chipper Jones (33)     .3031
17.  Bobby Abreu (31)       .3029
18.  Jose Vidro (30)        .3021
19.  Jason Kendall (31)     .3019
20.  Lance Berkman (29)     .3018
21.  Moises Alou (38)       .3010
22.  Mark Loretta (33)      .3006
23.  Placido Polanco (29)   .3005
24.  Barry Bonds (40)       .3000
25.  Shannon Stewart (31)   .2996
26.  Julio Franco (46)      .2993
27.  Brian Giles (34)       .2992
28.  Kenny Lofton (38)      .2991
29.  Garret Anderson (33)   .2980
30.  Bernie Williams (36)   .2978

1959 Fleer Ted Williams Ted Williams was one of the greatest hitters ever to play the game ! The 'Splendid Splinter' played from 1939-1942 and 1946-1960 all with the Boston Red Sox. He missed 1943 thru 1945 due to military duty when he was a pilot during the wars. For his career he hit .344 with 521 home runs. Ted Williams was one of the biggest stars baseball has ever seen, and his baseball cards remain very popular and valuable. Ted's rookie card was in 1950 Bowman and he was exclusive with Bowman from 1950 thru 1954. In 1954 he also allowed Topps to make his cards which they did from 1954 thru 1958. In 1959 Fleer signed Ted Williams away from Topps and assumed the star Ted Williams would be retiring, put out an entire 80-card set of cards highlighting Ted Williams and illustrating his life both in and out of baseball. Williams decided late in the fall to resign for another year perhaps damaging the sets impact. Today these cards remain extremely popular with most of the cards in teh set still quite affordable. There is one very rare card in this set, #68 picturing Ted with Bucky Harris. UNFORTUNATELY Topps had Bucky Harris under exclusive contract and Fleer had to quickly halt production of this card making it a significant SHORT PRINT. Only a few made it out to the public. This card is quite rare, hardly ever seen and a plain old simple checklist making it the perfect candidate for counterfeiting. NOTE: This card has been counterfeited in significant quantities so you should be very, very careful when looking to acquire this card. Other interesting cards are those that picture Ted with Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Sam Snead and Jim Thorpe. In addition, cards of Ted fishing or with his airplane are also very popular.

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