Paying tribute to hobby pioneer Jefferson Burdick

As a longtime hobbyist, I know the importance of the late Jefferson Burdick, especially in the Syracuse area.

Jefferson was born and grew up in Central Square, N.Y., which is just 15 miles north of me. He also went to Syracuse University and worked at Crouse-Hinds Electric Company for 23 years. Crouse-Hinds is literally three blocks from my home.

For those who may not know Jefferson Burdick, he has been called the “Father of the Hobby.” He's responsible for designating names and cataloging early tobacco cards to make identification and set completion easier for the masses. He also started two of the first hobby publications with his Card Collector's Bulletin and his American Card Catalog.

During the back nine of his life, he cataloged and donated his 306,000-card collection to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. He also worked in a corner office at the Met and, knowing his health was failing quickly, finished cataloging his collection before his passing in March of 1963.

Also see: Father of card collecting—a look back

I made the wrong assumption that Burdick was buried somewhere in New York City. It recently came to my attention that he's actually interred at Hillside Memorial Cemetery in Central Square.

I wanted to visit his grave and pay my respects. An online search at findagrave.com revealed that his grave was located in section 44 of the cemetery. Unfortunately, many cemeteries do not have a map or label their sections. I was fortunate that Hillside had both.

One Saturday morning, I made the trip and found his headstone wedged tightly between his parents. Burdick never married or had children, so his grave was actually unmarked for 34 years until 1997, when a family friend purchased a headstone for him. While finding the gravestone was not difficult, reading it was not as easy. Years of lichen, algae, and dirt buildup covered his headstone. I used a wet wipe I had in my car to try to clean it, but that was not very effective.

While driving home, the condition of his headstone weighed heavily on my mind. That inner voice we all have was telling me to be a good steward and clean it.

I started to research what to use and what not to use. I surely didn't want to damage the stone. Armed with my new knowledge and cleaning agents, I decided to return first thing Sunday morning. When I mentioned this plan to my wife, Sharon, she encouraged me to do it, which cemented my decision.

I drove up on Sunday with a handheld pump sprayer filled with water, a soft bristle brush, a solution of cleaner, and some toothpicks. I'll be honest, it was a little more difficult than I anticipated, requiring some decent elbow grease and vigorous brushing.

After completion, I realized I probably should also clean his parents’ headstones as well, so they look uniform in their visibility. More than an hour later, I was done.

I posted before-and-after photos on social media. My intent then, and now with this article, was to draw attention to one of the hobby’s most important figures. While many know of his accomplishments, many in the hobby still don't, and I wanted to shed light on him and what he has done for the hobby.

I have received 10 to 12 messages from people who admitted not knowing who he was but looking him up after seeing my post. I truly hope the same occurs with this article as well.

We all enjoy the modern hobby, and I feel we have to acknowledge the past history, which has helped us get to the present day. Driving home from the cemetery, I decided I would be the steward over his grave site and headstone, which reads “ONE OF THE GREATEST CARD COLLECTORS OF ALL TIMES.”

Also see: The world of Jefferson R. Burdick; Research sheds more light on some mysteries

I feel it's the least I can do for the amazing contributions he gave to the greatest hobby on the planet — one we all love so much.

— John Newman is a collector, dealer, and the host of the Sports Card Nation podcast. Catch his Hobby Quick Hits on Monday and his guest interviews on Friday on your favorite podcast plat­form. You can reach him at sportscard­nationpc@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ sportscardnati1