THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, July 10, 1994                  TAG: 9407100229
SECTION: SPORTS                   PAGE: C8   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY BRIAN L. BIGELOW, SPECIAL TO THE VP/LS 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   45 lines

CARDS

``If the Major League Ballplayers go on strike, will the value of my baseball cards go down?''

That is a common and legitimate question among individuals who have invested a lot of money, time, and emotion in their collectibles. It stands to reason that pictures of inactive ballplayers (adorned with the logos of dormant teams) would be unlikely to sustain the level of collector interest that makes for an active card market. The picture is bleak during a strike: No records being pursued, no pennant races, deserted ballparks. It sounds like a depressing scenario and one that, logically, could be expected to put a damper on collecting enthusiasm.

Fortunately, logic doesn't always prevail when it comes to indulging in a hobby. History shows that a strike is much less a tragedy in the collecting arena than it is for those focused on actual events.

The 1981 season suffered an interruption that resulted in a bisected pennant chase, skewed competition and ``asterisked'' individual-performance statistics. Card collecting actually gathered steam during the lack of real-world activity. Collectors used the interim to catch up on their set-building, concentrate on amassing more cards of their favorite stars and speculate on those players that they felt would be hot when play resumed. They used the hobby to compensate for the lack of baseball.

Also, the lull in activity seemed to evoke feelings of nostalgia. Collectors were hungry for baseball and some satisfied the appetite by working on older collecting projects. The growth in demand for both new and old cards, during the 1981 strike, gave a big boost to a hobby that was much less widely practiced than it is now.

Today, though the card sales are down in volume from what they were a year ago, the hobby market is enjoyed by a great many people. If a baseball strike does occur, collectors can, and almost certainly will, bridge the gap in play with extra time spent in the active pursuit of collectible heroes. MEMO: Brian L. Bigelow is store manager and appraiser for Candl Coins &

Stamps, located on Independence Blvd. and North (Lynnhaven) Mall Drive

in Va. Beach. by CNB