Hall of Fame > Bob Crisler

Dr. Robert M. "Bob" Crisler (#769)

Bob Crisler does not hold the lowest ALPCA member number in his family; his son Chuck #488 does. That is one of the unique facets of ALPCA in that the plate-collecting gene can be inherited in either direction.

Bob was born in 1921 and has an impressive resume that he has brought to the club without pomp and circumstance. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Missouri in 1941 and later earned Masters and Doctorate degrees from Northwestern University in Illinois. Bob taught at Washington University in St. Louis and moved to Lafayette, Louisiana in 1954 where he still resides today. Bob was a Professor of Geography and Head of the Department of Social Studies at South-Western Louisiana Institute and the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now known as University of Louisiana-Lafayette). He served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1972-1976. In his spare time he is devoted to family and even found the odd moment to discover that plate collecting is a lot of fun.

Bob joined ALPCA in 1968 and served the club in the following capacities:

Bob was one of several collectors to propose creation of a pricing guide for license plates. The idea was initially rejected due in part to the lack of consensus among the leading collectors of the day concerning the need for a guide and the variables involved in grading, rarity or significance. The concept was shelved until 1994 when Bob and son Chuck took the work of Eric Tanner and other collectors and melded it with their own to create .License Plate Values. a guide to the relative prices of collectible U.S. & Canadian Auto License Plates and their grading.

To use Bob's own words regarding the hobby: "It's all driven by the instinct human beings have to collect things. Nostalgia takes different forms. Some people collect coins and stamps. There are those who restore old cars. But license plates don't take up as much room as cars do."

To use one nominator's words: "Bob has a great sense of humor, and a scholarly approach to the hobby while never making you feel like a small fish swimming with large ones. He was always gracious and made you feel welcome every time."

ALPCA proudly welcomes Dr. Robert M. (Bob) Crisler to the Hall of Fame.