1613 - The Hobby: 1975-79, with Rich Klein

Dr. Beckett and Rich Klein continue their half-decade hobby reviews by focusing on the late 1970s, with 1979 as a major inflection point. Beckett describes earning his PhD, launching pricing surveys, and business partnering with Denny Eckes to produce multiple books in 1979, while Rich recounts starting to collect in high school, buying at local stores, and doing his first show in 1979. They discuss how publications like Baseball Hobby News and Card Price Update helped accelerate a growing market, debate where “vintage” ends (around 1979–81), and trace key trends including the rise of superstar pricing earlier in the decade, the late-’70s rookie-card fixation (notably 1977 Mark Fidrych), increased show circuits and buying trips, limited emphasis on card condition then, and how cable TV and broader access to players helped energize the hobby. 02:25 1979 Hobby Inflection 04:46 Vintage Cutoff Debate 06:45 Rookies Take Over 08:10 Cable TV Changes Fandom 09:52 Show Circuit and Collecting 11:40 Favorite 70s Topps Sets 13:28 Hobby Personalities 14:12 Buying Trips Peak 16:21 Condition and Strategy Shift