Rookie Sports Card 101 - By: Frank James Howard

There are quite a few reasons that sports rookie cards are so popular with sports card collectors. Some people collect rookie cards simply because that is what they wish to collect. Some people, known as prospectors, enjoy speculating in rookie and prospect sports cards much like a stock broker operates on Wall street. Sports card prospectors are collectors who specialize in collecting sports rookie cards of unproven young players. Prospectors start by buying sports cards of promising prospects while they are still low-cost. When and if the players make it big, they sell the prospects' sports cards for an amount far greater then what they paid. With the physical grind of theProfessional sports, and the minefield of potential injuries that can shorten a young career combined with the phenomenal level of competition in the professional ranks, speculating is not for the feint of heart.

As of 2006 no player is allowed to appear on a rookie card till they were promoted to a club's 40 man roster. Official baseball rookie cards have a logo on the front that says rookie card. This is where most of the confusion about rookies arises. There were masses of sports cards which were created earlier than 2006 of players who have still not yet played in their initial professional debut. These sports cards don't sport the rookielogo featured on them, however most sports hobby enthusiasts still regard them as a players true sports card rookie, despite the new regulations from the MLB and other Professional sports associations. This new rule has already undoubtedly puzzled a lot more people, further exasperating the circumstances in the process.

Adding a touch more confusion to the situation, there also are what is referred to as 1st Year Player Cards now as well. First Year Player Cards are cards of players still working their way through the Minors , in essence making them pre rookie cards. There's an entire set of pre rookie cards in virtually every Bowman baseball card set produced since 1995.

In the past rookie sports cards were the most precious sports cards a athlete could possibly have. Often times this is still the case for many old trading cards, but modern era cards are a different story. The advent of game used memorabilia cards, autographed cards and a copious mixture of SP sports cards has forever evened the playing field. This is the case for cards produced since the turn of the century.

Collectors collect rookie sports cards for many different reasons. Regardless of why you are interested in them, its critical to understand the substance of what a rookie card is prior to spending your hard earned cash on them.

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