This Cubs Collection Spans Nearly a Century and a Half
Ernie Banks, Ryne Sandberg, Cap Anson, Gabby Hartnett — the Chicago Cubs have produced so many exceptional baseball players. This 150-year-old franchise steeped in history attracted card collector Stephen Benzel. For years, Benzel collected Cubs players on an individual basis. But when Banks, Mr. Cub, passed away in 2015, Benzel began looking into the franchise’s past and the players that were missing from his collection.
Over the last decade, Benzel has amassed quite a Cubs collection. It features thousands of unique cards, ranging from 1887 Old Judge selections to present-day Topps products.
“Everyone knows about Ernie Banks,” Benzel said. “But then you start to study the ’20s and ’30s and there were some really great Cubs teams. They went to the World Series every three years from 1929 to 1938.” While the Cubs fell short in those championship attempts, they showcased the talents of players like Gabby Hartnett, Kiki Cuyler, and Rogers Hornsby.
“Learning about the rich history of the Cubs outside of the big names that everybody knows, that was probably the most rewarding thing about it,” Benzel said. “Just to look at the collection from beginning to end and seeing both the history of the Cubs and the history of The Hobby all played out in that collection, that’s a lot of fun for me.”
Growing up with the Cubs
Despite not growing up in Chicagoland, Benzel became a Cubs fan at an early age. He has WGN television to thank for that since Cubs games were broadcast nationwide. As a teenager in the early 1990s, Benzel started his collecting journey. The first player he was obsessed with was Sammy Sosa. Benzel had a heavy focus on picking up Sosa cards, as well as other Cubs like Ryne Sandberg and Mark Grace.
“I would also collect, just generally, MLB stars,” Benzel said. “Frank Thomas was a guy I liked in the beginning. That was my focus through most of the ’90s. Then Kerry Wood came along in ’97. That was another big obsession for me. I’ve got a lot of Kerry Wood cards.”
Benzel paused as a collector for about a decade before getting back into The Hobby in the early 2010s. When he discovered Anthony Rizzo in 2014, he went gung-ho on collecting the young first baseman. Benzel believes he has the best Rizzo card collection in the world.
“My unique count on Rizzo cards with the Cubs is somewhere around 3,500,” Benzel said. “Pretty much any card numbered 25 or higher I’ve got. I’ve got almost all of his to 10, a bunch of them to 5, and I have over 100 1-of-1 cards of Rizzo.”
When Rizzo was traded to the New York Yankees in 2021 after nine-plus seasons with the Cubs, Benzel was bummed out. He still collects Rizzo Yankees cards but tends to buy higher-level pieces such as relic and patch cards.
Prized Possessions
Rizzo is Benzel’s favorite Cubs player of all time, which is reflected in his massive collection. Benzel’s second favorite Cub is Gabby Hartnett. The franchise’s catcher a century ago, he played 19 seasons in Chicago, won the 1935 NL MVP award, and was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955.
One of Benzel’s most prized possessions from his collection is an entire Topps run from 1954-71 of Banks cards. He has the impressive run displayed in his house. “Just seeing them all displayed together is so cool,” Benzel said. “You see the progression of the Topps sets for 18 years.”
Benzel’s top Banks card is his 1954 Topps RC, which he has in a PSA 8. There are only 30 examples with a higher PSA grade.
“I really like his ’55 Bowman, that horizontal wood grain card,” Benzel said. “I love horizontal cards. I know that’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but ’56 Topps is probably one of the prettiest sets of all time.”
As for Benzel’s top Cubs cards of all time, the Banks rookie is number one. Sandberg’s 1983 Topps rookie is right up there, along with an Anson 1887 Old Judge, and 1961 Topps rookies of Ron Santo and Billy Williams. As for a modern card, Benzel’s favorite is a Kris Bryant/Rizzo base relic card with dual autos purple numbered to 25 that shows the two stars celebrating their World Series title in 2016.
“That’s a big-time card,” Benzel said. “In my opinion, that’s a top four or five Cubs card of all time.”
Benzel finds collecting the longstanding history of Cubs cards challenging and rewarding.
“Because they’re so old since the very beginning of the National League, you’ve got to be informed about collecting the whole hobby — pre-war, post-war, modern,” Benzel said. “You’ve got to know Old Judge and you’ve got to know Bowman Chrome. It’s vast, and it’s a little intimidating. Most people don’t collect that way. They’re either vintage or modern or they’re a certain player. But to collect Cap Anson and Nico Hoerner, it’s a bit of an undertaking.”
