(12-29-2012, 08:53 PM)showstopper2 Wrote: once I started player collecting specifically I sold off most of the key 80's and early 90's rookie cards I owned. So IMO there are no must have cards for everyone's collection.
I agree with this. Collecting has changed a lot since the 80s. With all the different releases, and all the different inserts and parallels, a player may have hundreds of different cards each year. There is too much variety to have any seem as iconic as they did in the past, not to mention all the segmented collecting people do today.
I saw someone listed the hot rookies each year, but I think you used to be able to take that a step further. If you wanted a Griffey rookie, it was the UD version. Sure, there were others, but they just were never the same. If you wanted a Ripken rookie, it was the Topps, not Fleer or Donruss. A player may have had three or four rookie cards, but usually one stood out above all else.
Fast forward to today, and which of the Strasburgs are really iconic for everyone? What about Harpers? There are just too many options, for any single one to be iconic.