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The Autograph Archivist Set-building like you've never seen it By Todd Tobias
Tom Ruggie’s hobby life started simply enough. As a boy growing up in Florida, his love of baseball was nurtured by the ability to attend Spring Training games for several major league teams. He enjoyed the opportunity to interact with the players and when he could, young Ruggie asked for an autograph. Game programs were his autograph medium of choice in the beginning, but after discovering baseball cards at the age of nine he quickly shifted his focus toward getting cards signed by his favorite hardball stars. Ruggie continued to collect through high school and after taking a break in college, he returned to the hobby in adulthood. He began right where he had left off, collecting autographed baseball cards. Three decades later, Tom Ruggie has amassed one of the most impressive autographed baseball card collections in the hobby. He is currently participating in three sets in the PSA
Set Registry: 1952 Topps Autographs — Basic, 1953 Bowman Color Autographs, and 1956 Topps Autographs — Basic, all of which share the “truggie” set name. Each set is listed at 95% complete or better, and each has been a Best of Registry winner for a minimum of two years. As stunning as those sets may be, his collection extends well beyond three Set Registry listings. In fact, Ruggie has assembled fully autographed examples of several of the most popular post war baseball card sets, in addition to acquiring specific signed cards of nearly all of the greatest names to step onto a major league field in the last 80 years; Hornsby, Dean, DiMaggio, Mantle, Williams, Robinson and all the rest. While Ruggie views his collection as an escape from the professional grind, the value of his collection requires the application of sound investment principles in acquisition that he uses in his professional life as a wealth management specialist. These guidelines have allowed him to buy and