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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

***  EXTRA-BASE HITS  -  ALL-TIME Leaders  ***
Player    Hits    1B      2B    3B    HR    EBH
----------------     -----   -----   ---   ---   ---   -----
Hank Aaron           3,771   2,294   624    98   755   1,477
Stan Musial          3,630   2,253   725   177   475   1,377
Babe Ruth            2,873   1,517   506   136   714   1,356
+ BARRY BONDS        2,727   1,377   563    77   702   1,342
Willie Mays          3,283   1,960   523   140   660   1,323
Lou Gehrig           2,721   1,531   534   163   493   1,190
Frank Robinson       2,943   1,757   528    72   586   1,186
Carl Yastrzemski     3,419   2,262   646    59   452   1,157
Rafael Palmeiro      2,914   1,768   569    38   549   1,156
Ty Cobb              4,191   3,052   724   298   117   1,136
Tris Speaker         3,514   2,383   792   222   117   1,131
George Brett         3,154   2,035   665   137   317   1,119
Jimmie Foxx          2,646   1,529   458   125   534   1,117
Ted Williams         2,654   1,537   525    71   521   1,117
Eddie Murray         3,255   2,156   560    35   504   1,099
Dave Winfield        3,110   2,017   540    88   465   1,093
Cal Ripken           3,184   2,106   603    44   431   1,078
Reggie Jackson       2,584   1,509   463    49   563   1,075
Mel Ott              2,876   1,805   488    72   511   1,071
Pete Rose            4,256   3,215   746   135   160   1,041
Andre Dawson         2,774   1,735   503    98   438   1,039
Mike Schmidt         2,234   1,219   408    59   548   1,015
Rogers Hornsby       2,930   1,919   541   169   301   1,011
Ernie Banks          2,583   1,574   407    90   512   1,009
Honus Wagner         3,420   2,424   643   252   101     996

***  EXTRA-BASE HITS  -  ALL-TIME Leaders  ***
Rank Player (age) Extra-Base Hits Bats
 1.  Hank Aaron HOF        1477
 2.  Stan Musial HOF       1377
 3.  Babe Ruth HOF         1356
 4.+ BARRY BONDS (40)      1349
 5.  Willie Mays HOF       1323
 6.  Rafael Palmeiro       1192
 7.  Lou Gehrig HOF        1190
 8.  Frank Robinson HOF    1186
 9.  Carl Yastrzemski HOF  1157
10.  Ty Cobb HOF           1136
11.  Tris Speaker HOF      1131
12.  George Brett HOF      1119
13.  Jimmie Foxx HOF       1117
     Ted Williams HOF      1117
15.  Eddie Murray HOF      1099
16.  Dave Winfield HOF     1093
17.  Cal Ripken            1078
18.  Reggie Jackson HOF    1075
19.  Mel Ott HOF           1071
20.  Pete Rose             1041
21.  Andre Dawson          1039
22.  Mike Schmidt HOF      1015
23.  Rogers Hornsby HOF    1011
24.  Ernie Banks HOF       1009
25.+ KEN GRIFFEY JR (35)   1002
26.  Al Simmons HOF         995
27.  Honus Wagner HOF       993
28.  Sammy Sosa             987
29.  Al Kaline HOF          972
30.  Jeff Bagwell           969
31.  Tony Perez HOF         963
32.  Robin Yount HOF        960
33.  Fred McGriff           958
34.  Paul Molitor HOF       953
     Willie Stargell HOF    953
36.  Mickey Mantle HOF      952
37.  Billy Williams HOF     948
38.  Dwight Evans           941
39.  Dave Parker            940
40.  Eddie Mathews HOF      938
41.  Harold Baines          921
     Goose Goslin HOF       921
43.  Willie McCovey HOF     920
44.+ CRAIG BIGGIO (39)      916
     Larry Walker           916
46.  Paul Waner HOF         909
47.+ FRANK THOMAS (37)      906
48.  Charlie Gehringer HOF  904
49.  Nap Lajoie HOF         903
50.  Harmon Killebrew HOF   887
51.+ GARY SHEFFIELD (36)    886
52.  Joe Carter             881
     Joe DiMaggio HOF       881
54.  Harry Heilmann HOF     876
55.  Andres Galarraga       875
56.+ LUIS GONZALEZ (37)     874
57.  Rickey Henderson       873
58.  Vada Pinson            868
59.  Sam Crawford HOF       864
60.+ MANNY RAMIREZ (33)     861
61.  Joe Medwick HOF        858
62.  Duke Snider HOF        850
63.+ JUAN GONZALEZ (35)     847
   + JEFF KENT (37)         847
65.  Roberto Clemente HOF   846
66.  Carlton Fisk HOF       844
67.  Gary Gaetti            842
68.  Mark McGwire           841
69.  Edgar Martinez         838
     Rusty Staub            838
71.  Jim Bottomley HOF      835
72.+ STEVE FINLEY (40)      834
     Jim Rice               834
74.  Al Oliver              825
75.  Orlando Cepeda HOF     823
76.  Cap Anson HOF          820
77.  Brooks Robinson HOF    818
78.  Ellis Burks            817
79.  Jose Canseco           816
80.  Joe Morgan HOF         813
81.  Roger Connor HOF       812
82.  Johnny Mize HOF        809
83.  Ed Delahanty HOF       808
84.  Chili Davis            804
85.  Joe Cronin HOF         803
86.  Jake Beckley HOF       802
87.  Roberto Alomar         794
     Johnny Bench HOF       794
89.+ ALEX RODRIGUEZ (29)    792
     Ruben Sierra           792
91.  Albert Belle           791
92.  Dale Murphy            787
93.  Mickey Vernon          782
94.  Hank Greenberg HOF     781
95.  Zack Wheat HOF         780
96.  Darrell Evans          779
     Bob Johnson            779
98.  Ted Simmons            778
   + JIM THOME (34)         778
100. Lou Brock HOF          776

Active Leaders for Extra-Base Hits
Rank Player (age) Extra-Base Hits
 1.  Barry Bonds (40)      1349
 2.  Rafael Palmeiro (40)  1192
 3.  Ken Griffey Jr (35)   1002
 4.  Sammy Sosa (36)        987
 5.  Jeff Bagwell (37)      969
 6.  Craig Biggio (39)      916
 7.  Frank Thomas (37)      906
 8.  Gary Sheffield (36)    886
 9.  Luis Gonzalez (37)     874
10.  Manny Ramirez (33)     861
11.  Juan Gonzalez (35)     847
     Jeff Kent (37)         847
13.  Steve Finley (40)      834
14.  Alex Rodriguez (29)    792
     Ruben Sierra (39)      792
16.  Jim Thome (34)         778
17.  John Olerud (36)       768
18.  Carlos Delgado (33)    767
19.  Bernie Williams (36)   750
20.  Ivan Rodriguez (33)    747
21.  Shawn Green (32)       718
22.  Jim Edmonds (35)       714
23.  Chipper Jones (33)     713
24.  Mike Piazza (36)       711
25.  Moises Alou (38)       709
26.  Vinny Castilla (37)    682
27.  B.J. Surhoff           670
28.  Todd Helton (31)       668
29.  Reggie Sanders (37)    662
30.  Garret Anderson (33)   656

1956 Topps Pins In addition to their regular issue 1956 Topps baseball card set, which in my opinion, was Topps' nicest regular issue set, Topps released a special pin set. This was the first pins ever issued by Topps. Few issues can compare to the 1956 Topps Pins set. The colorful and attractive 1-1/8" diameter pins, just like baseball cards from the era, were packaged with bubble gum. The pins featured a full color photo of the player with a pin clasp on the reverse. Interestingly, some images for the pin set are the same as those on the regular 1956 Topps cards. Even if you don't want to collect the set, if you collect 1956 Topps cards than YOU MUST add at least one 1956 Topps Pin to your collection. The 1956 Topps Pins set features most of the eras Hall-of-Famers including Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Jackie Robinson, Ted Williams, Ernie Banks, Duke Snider, Al Kaline, Yogi Berra, Eddie Mathews and also includes some super tough scarcities such as Chuck Stobbs, Hector Lopez and Chuck Diering. There is not firm opinion as to which of the 3 scarce short prints are the toughest to find. In the end, collectors in the day preferred their cards to pins and Topps cut back the 1956 Topps Pin set issue from a planned 90 pins to just 60.

1969 Topps Stamps This was Topps 3rd stamp issue in the last eight years and it was a good one !!! The stamps were not inserts but a totally separate issue . For a nickel you got a strip of twelve stamps plus a mini album. The 1969 Topps Stamps complete set contains 240 stamps. The 1 x 1-7/16 inch stamps were unnumbered and featured a color photo with the player's name, team and position inside a colored banner at the bottom of the stamp. The stamps were released in both vertical and horizontal strips of 12 stamps. The 1969 Topps Stamps are often confused with Topps' 1974 issue. The 1974 Topps Stamps have ovals rather than banners at the bottom and were released only in 12-stamp horizontal panels. Along with the stamps, Topps also issued a set of 24 albums, one per team, to store them in. The 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" orange albums were the same size as a baseball card and held a complete 10-stamp team set. To add even more collecting fun, the album's back cover had facsimile autographs of the ten players shown in the album. The 1969 Topps Stamps set is packed with stars like Pete Rose along with tons of Hall-of-Famers including MICKEY MANTLE, Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente & many, many more !!!

HARTLAND STATUES Hartland produced it's first baseball statues back in the early 60's. Sports Collectibles Digest stated that the 1960's Mickey Mantle Hartland is the single most popular plastic sports statue ever produced ! In 1988 Hartland created their 25th Anniversary Editions which, except for some very minor details, were identical to the original. Hartland partnered with America's leading hobby-periodical publisher, Krause Publications, to create the SCD Authentic series offering the original 18 as you've never seen them with each statue dramatically different from prior releases. They are amazingly beautiful and exquisitely detailed in their road uniforms with painted pinstripes and wood grained bats making them a unique collectible opportunity for both veteran collectors and Hartland newcomers alike. Limited to only 2,500 pieces each, these statues are BRAND NEW, MINT and in THEIR ORIGINAL BOXES !!!

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