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The E-Sylum: Volume 20, Number 2, January 8, 2017, Article 7

ROBERT LEMKE (1951 - 2017)

George Cuhaj submitted this note on the passing of a longtime Krause Publications editor and author. -Editor

Lemke card Bob Lemke of Iola died January 3rd.

Folks remember him most recently as editor of the Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards, and the Standard Catalog of Vintage Baseball Cards. However when he joined Krause Publications in 1977 it was first to work on Numismatic News, then successively editor of Bank Note Reporter, Old Cars Weekly, Sports Collector's Digest and eventually Publisher and Vice President. But it was research and cataloging that he really liked.

In numismatics he was co-author (with Chet Krause) of the Standard Catalog of United States Paper Money (which uses the Krause-Lemke (KL) numbering system) and was also a former editor (along with KPer Doug Watson) of the TAMS Journal.

The KP company history he wrote was A Building is only as Good as its Foundation for the 45th anniversary in 1997. It included plenty of financial and company growth data, more than either of the two later books. He also authored The Media of Exchange of Our Penal Institutions.

He was an ANA Century Club award recipient in 1980, 1981, 1983, 1985 at a time when KP was a proud supporter of them.

I'm very sorry to hear the news. I never knew Bob, but knew his work. He was also very active in the Numismatists of Wisconsin (NOW). George also provided Bob's official obituary, below. Thanks. -Editor

Robert Lemke, 65, a pioneering figure in the baseball card and sports collectibles arena and a noted author and editor, died of congestive heart failure on Jan. 3 at a hospital near his home in Alexandria, Pa. Lemke also lived part of the year in Iola, Wis., where he had worked for nearly four decades at Krause Publications (later F & W Media). He courageously confronted each and every challenge with an indomitable spirit and resilience that left family and friends in awe.

Born in Fond du Lac, Wis., Lemke graduated from L.P. Goodrich High School and then attended the University of Wisconsin/Oshkosh School of Journalism, graduating in 1973. After a brief stint at the Wautoma Argus, he moved to Iola and joined Krause Publications, starting in the Coins and later Old Cars divisions before moving into sports.

He helped to orchestrate the launch of Baseball Cards Magazine in the spring of 1981, the first such periodical to appear on national newsstands and a revolutionary event in a fledgling hobby/industry. Only months later he would lobby for the company’s acquisition of Sports Collectors Digest, a move that played a pivotal role in the dramatic expansion of Krause Publications over the next two decades. Over that span he would serve as editor, publisher and ultimately vice president of the Sports Division, affixing his name to literally dozens of books as author and/or editor, perhaps most notably as a creative force behind the Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards, one of the most highly respected journals in the industry.

His authorship also extended to Krause titles in coin collecting, paper money, detecting counterfeit cards and even a volume on Prison Money, The Media of Exchange of Our Penal Institutions. After retiring from the company in 2006, he later worked for Whitman Publishing and stepped away from F & W Media more completely in 2011, turning over the reins of The Standard Catalog. While ostensibly retired, he continued working in the hobby he loved, creating stunning “homemade” baseball cards of many of his favorite players from the postwar era and producing heavily researched articles for his long-running blog, the eponymous “Bob Lemke’s Blog.”

He is survived by his wife Mary Ann (Henkel) Lemke, who he married in 1973; their daughter, Crystal Gearhart; and brothers and sister Jim, Tom, Dan and Carol. He was preceded in death by his parents, Orv and Lou Lemke, and his brother David.

Memorial contributions can be directed to: Hemophilia Outreach Center, 2060 Bellvue St., Green Bay, WI 54311

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Wayne Homren, Editor

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