Saturday, January 15, 2022, Salvation Army Community Center, Oak Creek, WI

While January card shows are generally well attended, there is always that fear of a bad snowstorm to throw a wrench into things. My Oak Creek show is generally held on the first Saturday of the month but that Saturday would have been New Year's day this month. As I stated previously, the Sal was closed New Year's Day and they had another event on January 8, so the first Saturday available was January 15.

I am soooo lucky we held the show on January 15 because Mother Nature roared on January 1, bringing a nasty snowstorm which would have killed the show. Even though I know the weather forecasts are rarely accurate, I kept nervously checking them in the weeks before the show. Initially snow was forecasted for January 15. On the Friday before the show, Ginger Zee was reporting a massive snowstorm that would blanket most of the country. I was concerned.

Luckily, Ginger's storm ended up far south of Milwaukee. We only had some flurries. It was a little cold out but not bad weather for a January card show in Milwaukee. Thank you Mother Nature!!

Attendance was tremendous! Probably the best attended show in the past six months. As Harry Caray would say, "Look at that crowd!" 

Bob, who operates the show in Lake Station, Indiana, was set up at the January Oak Creek Show. I appreciate his efforts in driving all the way up from Indiana. Thanks Bob! Early in the morning we were talking about how we both worry prior to the show if anybody is going to show up. Almost eight years in and I still worry before every show about attendance. 

Thankfully, my worries were quickly abated as piles of customers started coming in around 8:30 a.m. and kept coming and coming. Thank you everyone! Nothing makes me happier than to see the show packed with people, COVID notwithstanding.

I gave myself the space right by the front door. Initially, I was going to set up in the Game Room but we had to block off the back parking lot so the folks coming to the Sal for another event had space to park. I normally load in those back doors when I set up in the Game Room. I was feeling a little run down from my diabetes and did not want to cart my stuff all that far so I gave myself the prime spot by the front door.

PJ was the only dealer to complain about the lack of parking in back, so I gave him a spot by the front door as well. Everybody was happy. In fact, this is the first show I can recall, in about forever, that I did not receive any complaints from any dealers about anything! Everybody was truly happy! 

This was about the most perfect day I could ask for. Of course, a handful of guys cancelled last minute because they claimed they had COVID. A few guys were no shows but I overbooked and we had the place well covered with dealers.

Being the first table in, I had folks buying cards before I could finish setting up. It was nice to see Jason, a longtime customer, who has not been around in a couple of years. Jason purchased a few T205s. Thanks Jason! Scott made the drive from Illinois and purchased a bunch of cards. Thanks Scott! A few new customers purchased cards and things were rolling right away.

Normally, I have two helpers at this show, Jason and Rachel. Jason was out with COVID and Rachel had to leave early. Thankfully, she was able to come out earlier than normal and I was able to leave her at my tables and get everything done that I needed to get done, like collecting table fee from 65 dealers, which takes several hours to complete. I was able to make my rounds and be back at my tables in time for Rachel to leave for her real job. Thank you Rachel!!

It was nice to be out and mingling in the crowd. Such a great crowd at this one! I received a mix report from dealers on their sales. Most said sales were great but a few said sales were slow. I like when dealers who report slow sales also say it doesn't matter because they were having fun. Looked like everyone was having fun.

Big day on the buying front. A new customer said he heard about the show on the radio, which was awesome. I love free radio advertising! He had a box of cards including three T206s. I bought the T cards. The goofy guy from the Buenavista show sold me some 1955 Bowman football. I bought some of Eric's doubles. I picked up a box of 1960's baseball from Bruce. Then I picked up four boxes of cards from Jeff that included vintage from all four major sports. Nice haul!

One minor rant... I have one dealer that removes his name plate at every show and switches tables. It is starting to piss off other dealers and I have to put an end to it. Dealers! You gotta set up at your assigned table. Don't switch out tables! It is not fair to the other dealers. Play nice!

Nothing else to rant about for a change. It really was a picture-perfect day. I had two Sloppy Joe sandwiches, which were awesome as usual. They made a double batch this month because they ran out last month, so I was able to take some home. Thanks Mark!

Mark is the guy in charge at the Sal and I can't thank him enough. He shows up there with me at 6 a.m. and stays well past the end of the show at 3 p.m. He is an absolute superstar and one of the nicest guys I know. I would not be able to do this without Mark and am so grateful for everything he does.

I am also grateful to all of the tremendous dealers, all 65 of them. There are another 50 on the waiting list trying to get in. Be patient guys, I'll get you in... eventually. Most of all, I want to thank everyone who attended the show. We can't do it without you guys! Much love for you!!

Next up is a double bill weekend for me with Lake Station, Indiana, on Saturday, and Root River on Sunday. I'm probably bringing out show cases for these shows. Let me know if you want to see any binders. Have a great week and see you next weekend!!

I am always too busy to chat at the Oak Creek show but will have plenty of free time in Lake Station and in Franklin next weekend. Come on out!

​Below is a photo of one of my favorite dealers at the show Saturday, Jeremy Hasslebring.

Sunday, January 9, 2022, Civic Center, Orland Park

After the Rockford show, I checked the news reports online, and viewed reports stating that freezing rain was going to make travel unsafe Saturday night and Sunday. Later that night, I unloaded my display cases from my car and threw in the bins of binders. My driveway was a little slick but I fully expected the Illinois Department of Transportation to salt the highway for my trip to Orland Park in the morning.

I was surprised when I went out to my car Sunday morning and there was no ice on my windshield. Awesome. I figured the roads would be fine... which they were. While I was driving to the show around 7:30 a.m. and listening to news radio, the newscaster said the roads were a mess and advised everyone to stay home. What? The roads were fine! 

The only ice I saw was in the parking lot at the civic center. I parked, opened the car door, looked down and saw a sheet of ice. I also saw some scruffy bearded guy throwing down salt. I cautiously exited my vehicle and loaded my stuff into the civic center. I wore my winter boots and did not slip. 

I think guys who wore sneakers slipped in the parking lot. I saw one guy hit the deck. Lesson here... don't wear sneakers when there is ice on the ground.

Terry, who arrived at the show long before me, said the parking lot was a sheet of ice when he got there causing his car to slide and hit the curb. I was thinking this might be a good day for me to hand out my business card. Textbook case of negligence on the Village of Orland Park for not salting the parking lot the night before the show. 

Unfortunately, the weather reports and the ice scared off a lot of people. There were several empty dealer tables and we had maybe a fourth of the crowd we had at the last show. I was disappointed because the roads were fine. The only ice was in the parking lot at the civic center and it soon dissipated under salt.

In addition, after having such a great show in Rockford and Saturday, I was expecting a great show in Orland, which turned out to be a dud. It was a wasteland in front of my binders for most of the show. Good thing I brought out the dollar boxes because most of my early sales came from those boxes.

One guy asked if I would discount the cards to 50-cents each. I told him "no." The cards are already discounted at $1, plus I sell them 6 for $5. I've written about this many, many times, yet I am always frustrated with customers who ask for discounts on cards that are already discounted. There were quite a few cards in those boxes worth $5 to $10, I'm not going to sell them for 50 cents. I probably should not sell them for $1. Maybe I should increase the price to $2 each then give some numbnut the cards at a $1 "discount."

The guy obviously knew the value of the cards in the $1 boxes because he bought piles of them and came back a few times with no complaints.

I would like to talk about cheapy box etiquette. Now the guys that regularly go through the binders are very considerate of one another, which I appreciate greatly. However, the guys that go through the cheapy boxes have no manners at all. I think if a guy is standing in front of a box, going through it, making piles, no one else should stick their paws in there. Wait for the guy to finish going through the box -- "take turns" as Mrs. Utne, my first-grade teacher taught me in 1973.

I rarely bring out the cheapy boxes but when I do, there is always chaos around the boxes. I just don't understand. Honestly, the stuff in those boxes isn't that good. No need to fight over junk. There is much better stuff in my display cases and binders. I just brought the dollar boxes this time because I noticed I had extra space on my tables at the last show and I wanted to fill the space. I'm not bringing cheapy boxes to the January 30th show, too aggravating.

Also aggravating was the fact that almost all of my regular customers were AWOL at this show. Stop listening to the weather reports!

If it wasn't for Will and Minnanette, it would have been a complete disaster. Will purchased a pile of 1971, including a bunch of star cards. Thanks Will! He also brought me some breakfast. There is no bigger superstar than Will!

In addition to being my best customer and one of my best friends, Will tells the best stories. I love his stories about serving in the military during the Vietnam War. He was stationed in the south and has so many great stories. He should write a book. 

He told me that his mother saved everything, including his draft papers. He brought some of the papers to show me.

Some of Will's best stories are about his dad, who was a Chicago cop on the 1950's and 1960's. What a character!

One of my favorite stories about Will's dad is the one where he let Will's older brother Ed drive the family car when he was just 13 years old. Will's dad was a big fan of the A & W Restaurants, which used to be everywhere when I was growing up. So, in this story, Ed was driving his dad around Wisconsin and dad asked him to pull over at an A & W.

Neither was aware that a local policeman was in the parking lot and the officer observed the 13-year-old driver get out of the car. Ed then received a ticket for driving underage and without a license. This occurred in 1955. Will's mother saved the ticket, pictured below. What a cool piece of family history!

​Back to my big sales at the Orland show. After Will, long-time customer Minnanette was my next big spender.​

I haven't seen Minnanette in a couple of years. She said she was afraid to come out during COVID. I did not recognize her at first because she lost a lot of weight. She looks great while, I, on the other hand, have gained a lot of weight during COVID, and look a little like Uncle Fester. It is a good look for me.

It was business as usual with Minnanette as she pulled piles of cards out of my binders. I am going to try and put a box of cards together for her to give my binders a rest. I am not a wholesaler so it is difficult for me to sell to resellers like Minnanette. I have a simple system of inventory, I've got star cards, commons and a few cheapy boxes. I've got to figure out how to make a box for Minnanette. There are a lot of guys who just flip cards. They buy in quantity and have boxes ready to go for resellers. I'm just not set up that way. I prefer to sell to collectors rather than resellers.

I think I am going to bring display cases to the next Orland show coming up on January 30. It was depressing sitting there all day with very little action out of the binders.

On the buying front, I picked up a 1957 Topps Roberto Clemente -- Will has already claimed it. I also picked up a pile of 1958 Topps commons and some star cards from the 1960s. It is hard for me to get out of the Orland show without buying cards. I turned down a bunch of stuff because I just wasn't making any money, as result, had no cash to pay for cards.

Rare off day in Orland. Hopefully the weather is better for the January 30 show which will have former White Sox outfielder Carlos May signing autographs. I went through my autograph collection after the show and saw that I did not have a Carlos May autograph. I need to dig something out before the show to get signed.

Up next is my show on Saturday, January 15, 2022, at the Salvation Army, 8853 S. Howell, in Oak Creek, WI. We'll be back to the three rooms plus the hallway filled with dealers. My show has become the largest monthly show in the area. If you haven't been there, come check it out! It has really turned into the best show around. But don't take my word for it, come see it for yourself!

Saturday, January 8, 2022, Rock Church, Rockford, IL

Everybody knows that it is winter and the chance of snow, wind, bitter cold is high. However, the folks that issue weather reports resort to hysteria and consistent false forecasts. I have learned to ignore the weather reports.

All day Friday, I saw the reports calling for freezing rain and slick roads for Saturday. My drive to Rockford on Saturday occurred under sunny skies, a little cold, but a beautiful day for January in northern Illinois.

Looks like there are a lot of others that, like me, don't take these weather reports all too seriously because we had a really nice crowd at the Rockford show. There was some sleet and some light sprinkles on the drive home but nothing too bad. The roads were fine. My drive home was fine.

So after bringing out binders to this show the past two months, I changed it up and placed eight display cases on my tables. I filled the cases with baseball from 1909 to 1968 along with football from 1948 to 1968.

​I was located next to Skip and behind Tom. We have a nice number of vintage dealers at this show now which I think helps me greatly because vintage customers don't want to see just one vintage dealer. There were at least six of us with vintage on our tables. I think the word is getting out that there is vintage at this show. I had some really nice sales.

There was a young guy who bought a bunch of cards from me last month who was set up on this day. Nice guy. He came over and purchased just about all of my T206s. A new customer purchased my 1964 Topps Willie Mays. Skip purchased some 1959 White Sox. A father and son team purchased a bunch of Duke Snider cards, various years. There was another guy who bought a bunch of cards from me last month and this time he spent a good hour at my table and purchased a pile of cards from all years.

While I was helping the one guy go through all of my cases, another guy showed up and asked to see some of my Mantles. Already, I had quite a few guys look at the Mantles but none pulled the trigger. I did not recognize this guy and I assumed he was window shopping like the others. That will teach me! He purchased three Mantles. I was ready to go home but I stayed and sold more cards! Great day in Rockford! My best Rockford show to date!!

I did not buy anything at this show but was able to pay off the cards I bought last month from Terry Hatch. Not much brought to my table. One guy tried to sell me a 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey but I must have a dozen of them and don't need any more.

The local Rockford NBC station stopped by the show and posted a nice little write up on their website. Link to the story below:

Various collectibles on sale Saturday in Rockford | Top Stories | wrex.com

Next Rockford show is on February 12. Don't listen to the weather report!! 

Next up for me is my show on January 15 at the Salvation Army Community Center, 8853 S. Howell, Oak Creek, WI. I am leaning towards a display case set up. I brought binders to the December Oak Creek show. I have a really nice inventory of vintage football cards and want to show it off. I'll probably do two or three display cases of football then one case of basketball and hockey and the rest I'll fill up with baseball, maybe 1960's on.

Hope to see you Saturday in Oak Creek!!

​Pictured below is my offensive line at the Rockford show.

Sunday, January 2, 2022, Woodfield Hyatt Hotel, Schaumburg, IL

Honestly, I was a little disappointed I could not operate my Oak Creek show on January 1st. I knew it would have been difficult to pull off a New Year's Day show and I was a little relieved when I learned the Sal would be closed on the first... but I still wanted to have the show.

I scanned the Beckett Show Calendar for another show on January 1st but could not find any nearby. At least I had the Schaumburg show on January 2nd.

As it turns out, a January 1st show would have been a disaster as we were hit with the first big snowstorm of the season. The roads were horrible Sunday morning on my drive to Schaumburg. I had a very scary drive. Upon arrival, promoter Joe said he was surprised to see me. Well, it takes a little more than some snow to keep me from a card show.

In addition to the horrible state of the roads, it was bitter cold outside. I was hoping to snag a hotel cart for load in but they were all being used. I used my cart to load in but it takes two trips on my smaller cart. 

Doreen saved me from a headache and caught me as I was about to enter the elevator to head on down to the usual spot for the show in the basement. Instead of the basement, the show was in a back ballroom, which I did not know existed. I much prefer that back ballroom than taking the elevator down to the basement.

My tables were located in the middle of the room near the back, split between modern card dealer Steve and a younger modern card dealer. I like the brown velvety tablecloths that the hotel provides. The room looks good, classy.

Set up went smoothly. I brought out eight display cases thinking I had eight-foot tables but turns out they were six footers and could only fit seven cases. I filled the cases with baseball cards from 1909 through 1967.

I was amazed at the nice turn out with such awful roads covered in ice and snow. A few dealers braved the roads from Wisconsin like Josh Brothers and Randy and his kids. A lot of friendly faces at this show like Skip, Karl and Tom, who commented on my Orland blog and the dope who placed his cup of Coke on my table. Mike also commented on that guy as well.

​I received several comments and compliments about my pop-up shops that I ran at my law office in Palatine early last year. I need to plan for another one soon.

While the room was filled with people all day, kind of slow for me. Junior was my first sale of the day. He purchased my Yaz rookie. I sort of think I originally purchased the card from him. I bought a McCovey rookie from him as part of the transaction. My only purchase of the day. As usual, Tom and I were the only vintage dealers.

This has always been a modern show with just one or two vintage dealers sprinkled in. My expectations are always low for this show because the vintage crowd just does not attend. Joe told me our old buddy Andy called and asked if I was setting up but Andy was a no show. Hope to see you this weekend in Orland Andy! Joe told me he went to grade school with Andy.

I was thankful I made that early sale to Junior because sales were slow all day. A new customer, who said he is just getting back into collecting vintage, purchased a few Ernie Banks cards. A few more guys purchased some cards. I can't remember what I sold. I do remember that my old friend Randy purchased some 1957s. I gotta remember to bring the '57 binder for Randy at the February show.

The other Randy, who was set up across from me with his kids, and who came down from Oak Creek, purchased a few cards. Thanks guys! While this is not my worst regular show it does have the most expensive dealer tables out of all of the shows I do so after table fee, I was disappointed with my sales. I must admit, my sales were better than the December show.

I am not sure what to bring out for February. I brought the binders in December and display cases in January. Maybe I'll bring out a mix of display cases and cheapy boxes and binders for the February show, which I think is on Super Bowl Sunday. If any vintage collectors are planning to attend the February show, let me know what you want me to bring out.

The temperature really warmed up after the show and the roads were much better for my drive home.

Up next is a double bill weekend with Rockford on Saturday and Orland on Sunday. I'm thinking display cases for Rockford since I've done binders the past two months. I like to change it up. I'm bringing binders to Orland where I have a lot of table space and need to figure out what else to bring. I'm thinking maybe one display case with basketball and hockey.

Then my Oak Creek show is scheduled for January 15, 2022, at the Salvation Army Community Center, 8853 S. Howell, in beautiful Oak Creek, WI. Dealer tables are sold out as usual. I'm hoping the Oak Creek show starts out with a bang!

See you next weekend!

​Tony

It sure has been a strange couple of years thanks to this never-ending pandemic. I was on a nice roll in early 2020 before COVID hit. My Oak Creek show was gaining momentum. My sales were very strong. My buying was strong.

Everything came to a screeching halt in March of 2020. I am pretty sure I had COVID in March of 2020 but was unable to get a COVID test. While I was recovering, everything shut down. I felt like I did nothing but sleep for the next several months because I couldn't go to work and I couldn't go to a card show.

I kept checking in with Mark at the Salvation Army to see if we could run the show which was shut down after the March show. The other shows I set up at as a dealer were shut down as well. In September of 2020, I was finally able set up at a show after a five-month COVID hiatus, as the Schaumburg show was back up and running. I was about to give up on the Salvation Army when Mark called and said I could have the show but with a lot of restrictions. I was willing to jump through a wall of fire if that is what it took to get the show back. It was tough getting ahold of dealers and getting them to commit to that first Oak Creek show scheduled for October of 2020.

That show went on with many difficulties. The Salvation Army wanted six feet of space between each table, well, try and tell a sports card dealer to leave some empty space between tables. I might as well have been speaking French because up went the card tables in the space that was earmarked for social distancing. I had to tell many folks to put those tables away.

Getting everyone to wear a mask was another headache. I really hated having to tell guy after guy to put on a mask but I was worried the Salvation Army was going to shut down the show if we didn't mask up. I hate masks too, but I hated going five months without a card show much more than I hate wearing a mask. What a headache that was.

My other regular shows were shut down as well like Gonzaga and Orland so I decided to turn my law office into a card shop. Well, that worked out tremendously and I kicked off the new year 2021 with several pop-up shops in my office. The last one was scheduled for April 2021 but I cancelled when the Orland show came back.

Before I talk about Orland, I want to talk a little more about Oak Creek -- the show simply exploded in 2021. There must have been several thousand in attendance at the early shows in 2021. My waiting list grew from 15 to 75 people. In March of 2021, Mark showed me the Game Room at the Salvation Army and we figured we could fit 20 or 25 more tables in there. The only problem was that the venue was out of tables and all the Game Room vendors would have to bring their own tables -- I was concerned.

In April, 2021, we opened the Game Room, expanding the show from 75 tables to 100 and upping the number of vendors from 45-50 to 65. As I expected, the Game Room has been a headache because the vendors have to bring in their own tables. Guys complain and complain. I pay the venue a lot of extra money for that room and sometimes I wonder if it is really worth it. So many guys have asked for discounts on the table fee since they have to bring in their own table. My response is always the truth -- I do not get the room at a discount and pay full price, so you have to pay full price for your table! Oh my god, I'm charging a big 25 bucks for space at the busiest show in the Midwest! 

I've had flat-out full-scale shouting matches with idiots over this issue. Sometimes, I wonder if running the Oak Creek show is worth all the trouble.

Regardless, my waiting list dropped to 15 to 20 shortly thereafter but is now back up to 50 or more. There is one more room to expand into, but I do not want to do it without tables. I really need to have tables and set them up before the vendors arrive to have everything spaced out properly.

The Oak Creek show has grown into a monster. I have hired three great folks in Rachel and Jason and occasionally Andy to help me operate my tables while I collect table fee from the vendors.

The constant calls, texts and messages regarding the Oak Creek show has been overwhelming. I'm still just one guy operating the show and the degree of difficulty has increased exponentially.

With increased vendors and customers, came increased theft in 2021. I can't tell you how depressing I find the thefts. I just want to have a good time and I want everyone to have a good time. Nobody has a good time when their valuable cards are stolen. We caught one kid and I hope to catch more. I hate these thieves so much and curse them all.

Another ongoing problem has been dealers who reserve space then don't show up on the day of the show. I have started to ban some dealers. I have an ever-growing wait list of dealers so I don't have to rely on the unreliable to show up, like I did when I first started the show in 2014. Dealers have a cow when I ban them. Hey, it is your fault, not mine. You need to show up when you reserve space!

I have no idea what 2022 is going to bring to my Oak Creek show. I hope to have a group of good and responsible dealers and I hope we continue to bring in these tremendous crowds. The Oak Creek show is a huge task every month but when I see the number of dealers and the number of attendees at each show, I feel tremendous pride and continue on.

Pictured above is a photo from my April, 2021, show at the Salvation Army Community Center, 8853 S. Howell, Oak Creek, WI. Attendance in 2021 was amazing!

​​Onto my other regular shows. Now I am just a dealer at the other shows, not the promoter. Somehow people think I am the promoter of every local show and ask me for tables. I am only the promoter of Oak Creek and can't get you tables at any other show.

Back to Orland -- WOW! I have been setting up at the Orland show for more than 20 years and 2021 was by far, my best at Orland, even though the show only ran from April through December. That first show in April was my best show ever! The first show in December was one of my best shows ever. The second show in December was excellent. Just about all of the 2021 Orland shows have been excellent.

I think the success of my show and the Orland show can be partially attributed to the rebirth of the hobby during the pandemic. But I also gotta give myself some props because I work my tail off to promote my show and it seems my efforts have been fruitful. Also, Rich, the promoter at Orland does a tremendous job promoting his show. I am so thankful that Rich took over the show from John Leary, who was one of the worst promoters around.

As a vendor, I have a big drop off in sales at the other shows I attend, except for the National. I was so disappointed to learn that the Gonzaga Hall building was sold, and the Wisconsin Sports Collectors Association had to move the show to the Buenavista Restaurant. While the space at Buenavista was tight and I heard all the complaints from other dealers and customers alike, my sales there were excellent. I can put up with a lot when my pockets are filled with cash. I don't know for sure, but it looks like Buenavista may be done. I, for one, hope not and will continue to set up there if any new shows are booked. My pocketbook is taking a big hit with the lack of Gonzaga/Buenavista shows. 

While I like a lot of the new shows, my sales just don't touch my Oak Creek show, Orland or Gonzaga/Buenavista.

In 2021, I added a bunch of new shows to my regular schedule including the St. John's Church show in Woodstock, the Rock Church show in Rockford, the Sheraton show in Madison, Root River in Franklin, WI, and the VFW in Lake Station, IN, and have gotten back into the Schaumburg show after dropping out.

The Rock Church and the Sheraton in Madison seem to be the best of this bunch. I am going to give these others a go for a while but if sales don't improve, I can't justify the time spent setting up at these shows. There seems to be lots of new ones popping up as well and I may give some other shows a try.

A guy trying to organize a new show in Kenosha just contacted me for advice. I don't have a whole lot of advice for new show promoters. I'm still trying to figure it out in Oak Creek after seven years. My best advice is come to my show in Oak Creek and/or the Orland show and observe and talk to people there.

Like every card dealer, every promoter is different. I never wanted to be a show promoter and created my show just so I would have a Saturday show in Milwaukee to set up at as a dealer, as there were none in 2014. I was having tremendous success as a dealer at Gonzaga Hall and wanted another place for my Gonzaga customers to visit me, a place where I could control the environment and do away with some things that I do not like at some other shows like live auctions and the venue tearing down the room long before the show ended.

In addition, I had been attending shows since the late 1970's, so I knew a thing or two about card shows and I had a laundry list of things I liked and did not like and attempted to incorporate the things I liked about card shows into my own show. 

I think a lot of luck plays into having a successful card show as well. I really don't know why so many dealers and customers attend my Oak Creek show. It did not happen overnight, and I really think I have just been lucky. Again, come on out and talk to everyone at the Oak Creek show and ask the dealers why they come back month after month and ask the customers why they regularly attend the show -- they'll give you a better response than I can.

Back to my observations on the state of card shows. So, after a tough time in 2020, I have seen that card shows are back in a big way. I still think the Chicago area could use a few more shows and I have been toying with the idea of starting a show in Palatine, where my pop-up shops were excellent. I just need to figure out a day that won't interfere with all of these other shows.

I don't know how many times over the past several decades that I have heard people declare that card shows are dead. Well, card shows never died and are as healthy now as they have ever been.

Don't agree? Well, let's talk about the National -- that was quite a spectacle. The National was back in Rosemont in 2021 and I was set up in my usual corner with my usual mates. According to the folks that operate the National, the 2021 show was the second most attended. The show was jammed. I had my best sales ever! I was so jazzed during the show that I signed up for Atlantic City in 2022.

Also, online sports card sales reached record levels in 2021. There were record setting sale prices of the T206 Wagner, 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle Rookie, along with modern Tom Brady and Lebron James. Big money has come into the hobby in a big way. The following is a listing of recent big card sales. All of the cards were slabbed. 

According to Wikipedia, the new card boom started in February of 2020 when a 2003-04 Upper Deck Lebron James/Michael Jordan card, numbered 1/1, sold for $900,000 in Goldin Auctions. Then in May of 2020, a 2009 Bowman Red Refractor Mike Trout Autograph sold for $922,500 in a Goldin Auction.

Then things just went crazy in August of 2020 when Goldin sold a 2009 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Superfractor Autograph Mike Trout for $3.9 million. That card is currently the fifth most expensive card in the hobby. In September of 2020, a 2013-14 Panini National Treasures Logoman Patch Autograph Giannis Antetokounmpo sold for $1.8 million. That card is currently the seventh most expensive card in the hobby.

December of 2020 saw a flurry of high dollar auction sales starting with the sale of a 2013-14 Panini Prizm Black Mozaic Giannis 1/1 for $1.1 million in Goldin Auctions on December 12, 2020. Two big sales occurred on December 13, 2020, with a 1979 OPC Wayne Gretzky selling for nearly $1.3 million in a Heritage Auction. Heritage also sold a 1997 Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems Green Numbered 9/100 Michael Jordan for $950,000.

The year 2021 saw much, much more of the same high-dollar auctions starting with PWCC's sale of a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle for $5.2 million. I had a sports card dealer living in my neighborhood growing up. I remember him complaining back in 1980 that he spent $2,000 on a '52 Mantle. The PWCC Mantle is now the second most valuable card in the hobby.

Goldin had a monster auction on January 30, 2021, with several high-dollar sales including a 2012-2013 Panini National Treasures Logoman Patch Autograph Anthony Davis numbered 1/1 sell for just over a million dollars. In that same auction, a 2009-10 Panini National Treasures "Century Platinum" Rookie Patch Autograph Steph Curry numbered 3/5 sold for $960,000. Also, a 2017 Panini National Treasures Black #161 Rookie Patch Autographs Patrick Mahomes numbered 1/5 sold for $840,000. Lastly, a 2018 Panini Prizm Gold Prizm #280 Rookie Card Luka Doncic numbered 3/10 sold for $780,000.

In a February 4, 2021, Heritage Auction, a 1997 UD Game Jerseys Autographs Michael Jordan sold for $1.4 million. On February 28, 2021, in a private sale, a 2018 Panini National Treasures 1 of 1 Logoman Autograph Luka Doncic sold for $4.6 million, now the fourth most valuable card in the hobby. Also on February 28, 2021, Heritage sold a 1969 Topps Reggie Jackson Rookie, from the Dimitri Young Collection, PSA 10, for a little over a million dollars.

Goldin had a monster auction on March 6, 2021, with six cards selling in the six and seven figure range, including a 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Rookie Card Parallel #94 Patch Autographs 23/35 Kevin Durant for $799,500; a 1952 Topps Jackie Robinson PSA 9 for $984,000; a 1955 Topps Roberto Clemente Rookie PSA 9 for $1.1 million; a 2004-05 Upper Deck Ultimate Signatures Logos #USL-LJ Signed Logoman Card Lebron James 1/1 for nearly $1.3 million; a 2003-04 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Rookie Patch Autographs #78 numbered 32/99 Lebron James for $1.5 million (now the ninth most valuable card in the hobby); and a 1996-97 Topps Chrome Refractors #138 Rookie Card Kobe Bryant, Beckett 10, for nearly $1.8 million, now the eighth most valuable card in the hobby.

On April 3, 2021, Leland's sold a 2000 Playoff Contenders Championship Rookie Ticket Autograph #144 Tom Brady, numbered 99/100 for $2.2 million, now the sixth most valuable card in the hobby. On April 26, 2021, PWCC sold a 2003 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Rookie Patch Autographs #78 Lebron James, numbered 7/23, for $5.2 million, now the third most expensive card in the hobby.

On July 29, 2021, in a private sale, a 2011 Topps Update Platinum #US175 Mike Trout, numbered 1/1, sold for just over one million dollars. The card was displayed in the Topps booth at the National. Then came the big bopper on August 16, 2021, when REA sold a T206 Honus Wagner, SGC 3, for $6.6 million, now the most expensive card in the hobby.

Pictured above is a photo I took at the 2021 National of the T206 Wagner, displayed at the REA booth, that later sold for $6.6 million.

​While the sports card hobby's demise has been declared many, many times over the years, a revival can certainly be declared for 2021 -- the numbers don't lie! The hobby is as healthy as it has ever been with record sales, strong card shows, and new participants from all walks of life. 

The hobby was not without its controversies in 2021. Amateur sleuths on the Blowout Cards Forums uncovered wide-spread fraud. In the past, these folks showed how fake autographs can get by the authenticators at all the grading companies. In 2021, they showed how doctored cards can get past the graders as well. They discovered slabbed cards that were purchased on eBay, doctored, resubmitted to PSA, then receiving much high grades, then sold by PWCC on eBay.

Let's start with PSA and then get to PWCC.

The response from PSA has not been comforting. PSA response was simply, "We're not perfect, we make mistakes." Well, it is your job to be perfect! What is the point of having PSA authenticate an autograph when they do not have the ability to authenticate an autograph? Also, what is the point of having PSA grade a card when the card doctors and trimmers are able to get their fraudulent cards past the so-called experts at PSA. Lesson -- you can't rely on PSA or any of the grading companies. Yet, the hobby continues to rely on these grading companies which are so deeply flawed. I think at some point, everyone is going to wake up and realize that their authenticated autographs are NOT authentic, and their PSA 10s are trimmed and worthless -- it will be an ugly day.

How many PSA 10s have been doctored? How many fake Babe Ruth autographs have been slabbed as authentic? I don't trust PSA. You should not trust PSA. The very first card they slabbed back in the day, the Mastro/Gretzky T206 Wagner, was doctored! They have a history of turning a blind eye to doctored cards. There is no evidence out there but you have to wonder if they are complicit in wide-spread fraud.

Not only am I concerned the grading companies show a complete inability to authenticate an autograph or properly grade a card, but the ownership structure is also incredibly concerning. I don't know this guy Nat Turner from Adam but apparently, he is a young wealthy tech mogul and he recently purchased PSA. He also purchased a large auction house, Goldin Auctions. My concern is that this guy can now personally grade his own cards under the PSA label and sell them at his own auction house and pull a "Mastro" and inflate the prices.

Now, I spent eight years working in government here in the State of Illinois, and one thing that was consistently drilled into my head was that I never wanted to do anything that gave an air of impropriety. For example, at one time I drew up the lease documents for the DMV facilities across the state. Years ago, another attorney, that drew up those lease documents, cut deals with his buddies and received kickbacks for contracting with his friends. That attorney is now in jail. 

While I was drafting the lease docs, I vetted out all the building owners to make sure they did not have a criminal history and to make sure they had no "special" relationship with anyone in state government. A state inspector general vetted me out to make sure I had no relationship with any of the building owners. 

Who is vetting out Nat Turner? Who is making sure he is not over-grading his own cards or authenticating fake autographs? Who is making sure PSA is not giving high grades to doctored cards? Who is making sure that the cards graded by Nat Turner or doctored cards are not going to his own auction house and selling at artificially inflated prices? There is an air of impropriety permeating our great hobby and I am very, very concerned.

Along these same lines, someone forgot to send the memo to PWCC. With regard to the reslabbed and doctored cards that PWCC sold, they simply responded that they were not aware that these cards were doctored and reslabbed. I believe this whole situation is being investigated by the FBI.

I've got a problem with PWCC because almost the minute they came on the scene, the accusations of shill bidding followed. Now there has been no evidence that PWCC was engaged in shill bidding, but the accusations are there, and PWCC has done nothing to quiet the murmurs. 

First off, I always wondered why cards sold under their name on eBay consistently garnered higher dollars than cards sold by any other eBay seller sans Probstein who has the same accusations of shill bidding.  I have always stayed away from PWCC and Probstein because I believe that where there is smoke there is fire. I just don't trust them.

I think PWCC just might be following the Mastro playbook. Not familiar with Mastro? Well NBC produced an excellent documentary on Mastro in NBC's American Greed series. I recommend watching it. After I watched it, I was hesitant to bid on cards from any auction house. The documentary shows how easy it is to cheat and there is no one monitoring the auction houses.

Mastro went to jail for fraud. He's out now. He was at the National. I wonder when he is going to start ripping people off again.

Now with PWCC, eBay kicked them off their site and explicitly stated they observed irregularities with the bidding on PWCC items. So PWCC now has its own site where no one can monitor them. I won't ever go on PWCC's site but apparently many folks do. Suckers, I think.

There is a lot of fraud in our hobby. There is no governing body, there is no inspector general to root out impropriety. We really need some government regulation; we really need the FBI to be far more engaged. There is too much money changing hands.

Much of this money is invested in modern cards. Now, I don't deal with modern cards, but I must admit that the hobby's current explosion is largely due to modern cards. I am amazed that cards depicting Tom Brady and Lebron James can sell for six or seven figures. Unfortunately, I see a huge crash in the future for this modern stuff. One, there is no way these cards can maintain their value. With one cheating or drug scandal, your six-figure Lebron cards will be worthless.

Additionally, the Fanatics company came in like a stealth bomber and essentially stole the sports card contracts from Topps and Panini. What I am reading about Fanatics is really disturbing. The guy that runs this company is out to conquer the world, starting with sports cards. Fanatics has proposed to eliminate the current distribution structure for modern sports cards. So out goes the distributor and out goes the card shops and the wax dealers at card shows. There will no longer be access to wholesale modern cards to anyone (well, maybe Nat Turner can get some wholesale, slab 'em and have his auction house sell 'em).

It looks to me that Fanatics wants to replace all the auction houses as well and wants to be the main depository for the secondary market. I don't see how they will achieve this, but they clearly announced their intentions. I have to wonder if Fanatics will insert 1/1's into packs. I really think they will print all sorts of 1/1's and just list them for multi-millions of dollars on their own website.

I think these dopes at Fanatics are going to kill the modern sports card. I strongly believe in the old adage, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Topps and Panini have been doing a bang-up job. The modern card market is healthy, the way new cards are made and distributed ain't broke. But greed from the players' associations gave Fanatics the green light to destroy the modern card market. We know how flawed professional athletes are because they consistently screw up their own lives (see Antonio Brown), now they're going to screw up the sports card hobby.

When Fanatics takes over the production of cards, will they create desirable cards? Will anyone buy these cards from Fanatics? Will anyone buy cards Fanatics gets slabbed... from Fanatics? Will anyone buy the 1/1's Fanatics makes available ONLY on their own website. This is trouble in the making.

I've also said this before... I am worried that Fanatics will attempt to overtake the vintage card market as well and put guys like me out of business. What is to stop them? They have billions of dollars at their disposal. I think if I see Fanatics start buying up vintage cards, I am going to immediately stop selling my cards and horde them until the end of time. I'm not letting this evil empire get my cards!

Yes evil empire! I see lots of villains in our hobby -- Mastro, Nat Turner, PSA, Goldin Auctions, Fanatics, and PWCC.

I've been part of this hobby since 1975 and I've witnessed all sorts of madness but nothing like I have seen in 2021. Yet, the stars are aligned for 2022 to be even more maddening!

I didn't even touch on all these new companies that have entered the hobby to take your money in non-traditional ways. Like you really need to pay a company to invest your money into sports cards. Really?

Back when I went to my first card show in 1978, vintage was king. Every single dealer at the old Hillside Holiday Inn sold vintage cards. This past weekend at the Schaumburg show, I was just one of two dealers who sold vintage cards. It has become a modern card world and guys like me are relics of the past.

Sales were not very good at the Schaumburg show for my vintage cards. Throw in very high table fees, and relics like me won't be at that show much longer. Overall, I think vintage dealers are disappearing from most shows.

While Honus Wagner and Mickey Mantle are still the kings of the hobby, the bread and butter of card show used to be guys building vintage sets. Like me, these guys are relics and disappearing fast.

While I do not see card shows ever disappearing, the make up has changed and down the road most shows will just be young guys selling high end modern cards. Us older guys are being put out to pasture. It is sad. To me, there is nothing better than building a set of vintage cards. It is great fun going through old cards at a card show, looking for the cards you need to complete a set. Sure, you can do it on eBay but it is much more expensive and much more difficult facing rival bidders in your efforts to complete your set. There is nothing like sitting down at a table with piles of old cards at a card show, list out, and finding cards for your set. I think this part of the hobby is fading away.

There are no young vintage dealers out there. All the vintage dealers, like me, are old. So it really is a new day in the hobby. The hobby I knew is long gone. I'll stick around for as long as I can, but I can't keep coming out to some of these shows where there is just no interest in vintage cards. I may start to spend more time online selling cards than filling all of my weekends with shows. Another option is to do more pop-up shops at my office and create a space for vintage collectors to regularly congregate. 

I have many questions for the year 2022. Will card shows continue to grow in 2022? Will prices for modern and vintage sports cards continue to climb? Will all these new companies, out to swipe your cash, continue to jump into the hobby? Are you willing to pay a company to invest your money into sports cards? Will the feds come in and jail all these scumbags sucking the life out of our hobby? What are the villains planning for 2022? Will this stupid pandemic ever end? 

I've just rambled on and on here.... what are your thoughts about 2021 and the state of hobby?

Sunday, December 26, 2021, Civic Center, Orland Park, IL

Man, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed Sunday morning. I was kind of annoyed the whole day. I had hoped to wake up at 5 a.m. but could not get up until 5:35 a.m. after a tough night not really sleeping, so, I woke up annoyed.

I was able to get on the road by 6:15 a.m. when I wanted to get out by 6, not bad. I had loaded the car the night before so that helped greatly. Traffic was okay except for a few tailgaters. I hate when I am tailgated in the slow lane, there is no place to go. Why tailgate me in the slow lane, go around me, a-hole!

I made it to Orland Park around 7:20. I wanted to get there early because my display case set up takes extra time. I was able to snag the green cart for load in, which has been very difficult to do this past year. The green cart, provided by the venue, is large and I can fit all of my stuff on it for just one trip in the building. 

I brought 10 display cases, laid them out and was annoyed when I saw space for at least two more cases. I really didn't have anything to place out in the extra space. I laid out some $10 cards and the '71 baseball binder I brought for Will along with flyers for my Oak Creek show. I really wish I brought extra cases because I could have easily filled up two more cases. Well, now I know for next time that I can fit 12 cases in my Orland space.

Then I was kind of annoyed with all the disruptions while I was trying to hustle to fill the 10 display cases. I mean, I like to chat with everyone, but I really need to set up my tables before socializing. I'm also not all that interested in purchasing cards when I first arrive at a show and need to set up before the room fills up with customers. I am much more interested in buying cards when my pockets start to fill up with cash later in the show. Also, I really don't need to buy any more cards because I have so much right now. I'll never sell all the stuff I already have let alone anything new.

Another annoying thing that happens often when I do the display-case set up is that guys try to purchase the empty display cases before I get a chance to fill them up with cards. When a dealer walks by my table at 8 a.m., an hour before the show opens, and sees empty display cases, wouldn't he think I am going to fill the cases with cards? Seems obvious to me but I always have to tell some guys that the cases are not for sale! They are to display my cards!! 

Then the most annoying pre-show event that regularly occurs involves the guys that hover over me while I am trying to set up. Ugh! The show is not open yet! Give me some space and allow me to set up! I had one guy at my tables at 8:30 a.m. when the show does not open until 9 a.m. I still had four cases to fill and was trying to get it done while he kept interrupting asking to see cards in the other cases. I should have told him to come back later because I was unable to complete my set up until 9:30 when I could have had it done by 9! I think this guy was set up somewhere, but I did not get an opportunity to walk around so I am not sure if he had a table.  He came back at the end of the show while I was trying to pack up. Go home!

Then once I was set up, I was annoyed that all my early customers were lowballers. I hate the lowballers -- they are sooooo annoying. I am not going to sell you my cards at half my sticker price! I won't be in business very long if I sell my cards for less than I paid for them. There was one particular guy that really annoyed me. I had a 1975-76 Topps Bobby Orr in decent but not perfect condition. I mark all my cards down when there are defects. This is a $20 card all day but I marked it down to $10. The guy offered $5. It took everything I had not to tell him to F off. Guys that offer half of my sticker price are as worthless as they come.

The guy gave me this look like I was crazy not to take his five bucks. Like I really need your five bucks? Any dealer that has to give their shit away to take home five bucks needs to reassess their existence.

The last thing that annoyed me the morning of the Orland show was when some guy going through cards on my neighbor's table placed a large McDonald's cup filled with soda on my table. I just hate when people looking at cards at one of my neighbors' tables place any of their crap on my table. I have also had idiots spill soda on my cards in the past, so I was not happy, and worried this guy was going to spill his soda on my cards or swipe some stuff off my table.

I watched the guy like a hawk because I had a bunch of $10 cards laid out on the end of the table where he placed his cup of soda. I did not want him to walk away with any of my cards. I then observed him place stacks of cards he pulled out of a box on my neighbor's table onto MY table. My blood started to boil. Then he started to rearrange MY stuff on MY table to make more room to place more stacks of cards that he pulled from the neighbor -- that's when I lost it. I wanted kick his ass. Don't move my freakin' stuff!! That is MY table that I pay for the right to display my wares.

I told him to get all of his stuff off my table, he gave me some lip. I was ready to deck him because I was in a shitty mood to begin with. He said something like, "Oh, I can't leave my stuff there because I'm not buying from you yet?"

Well, I saw that he was buying modern cards which there are none of on my tables, so I said, "You're not going to buy anything from me and I pay for that space, not you, so keep your stuff off of it."

He responded, "What's the big deal, there is plenty of room there?"

I said, "No, there is only room there because you moved my stuff around, you moved my stuff on my table that I pay for, so you can place your stuff there. NO, stay away from my table!" 

Anymore and I was throwing down. Though, I have to admit that I was looking around for big Joe to back me up. The guy paid my neighbor and moved along. I went to move my items back to where they were before he messed up my table. My neighbor apologized though I think he should have told the guy to stop putting stuff on my table and told him not to rearrange my table. WTF?

One of the things I miss about my old tables at Orland, back in the day when I was up against the back wall, was I did not have to deal with this sort of thing because I had the whole back space and no neighbors. 

Man, I was just annoyed the whole day and tried to make the best of it. Luckily, Will, Paul and Rick were at my tables most of the day and these guys are so funny that it was tough to maintain my annoyed demeanor.

Plus, I could not really be all that annoyed when sales were excellent. Rick spent a ton of dough. Thanks Rick! I can't even remember what Rick purchased but it was a nice stack of stuff. Gil spent a ton of dough on '52 Topps. Thanks Gil! Will spent a ton of dough on '58 Ted Williams and Willie Mays. Thanks Will! Chris purchased my 1962 Topps Roger Maris. Thanks Chris! Then I had many more good sales and went home with a pocket full of cash.

Quite a few guys tried to sell me cards during the show but I felt I either had the cards already or the prices were way too high. I'm a reseller, I can't pay retail.

I felt much better after I had a hot dog and downed three or four diet Cokes. Though, I did get annoyed again when I was trying to pack up and that same guy from the morning, who interrupted my attempts to set up, came back to look at more cards as I was obviously packing up.

Definitely NOT annoying was the tremendous attendance. The show was jam packed with people all day long. There were so many people in the aisles that it was tough to walk through. I started to get worried about COVID and threw on a mask. Most people were wearing masks but the way this Omicron variant is spreading, I bet some folks woke up the next morning feeling sick.

I had my booster on Friday and my arm was still sore. I am going to keep getting those boosters. A lot of people commented on my mask and said I don't need one if I have been vaccinated. Well, I know plenty of people who caught COVID after being vaccinated. More importantly, I'm diabetic, as a result, my immune system is compromised and COVID kills people like me, so think what you want but I am going to wear a mask and continue to get boosters, thank you.

I was so tired after the show, I skipped the sub shop, went home and slept for three hours. The next Orland show is only two weeks away on January 9. I'm going back to the binders for that one. The binders are less annoying because they are easier to set up and take down and they are self-serve so a lot less busy work for me helping customers during the show. I just finished filling up my 1977 Topps football binder and am starting on 1959 Baseball, I hope to have it done by January 9.

In the meantime, I am planning to drop a blog shortly that will recap 2021 and include my thoughts on the state of card shows and the hobby in general. I am also setting up on January 2 at the Hyatt Woodfield in Schaumburg, IL. I have to figure out what to bring to that show. I brought out binders to the December show and sales were not very good, so I think I am going to bring some sort of display case set up but not sure exactly. I don't want to have the same set up I had in Orland because I will see many of the same people at the Schaumburg show. I have to figure this one out.

I am sorry that I was a little ornery at the Orland show. I think I may have grunted at a few people who said hello to me. I normally have a cheery demeanor but can get crooked sometimes. Will loves to remind me about the time I went after the big bald guy that used to work at Orland. I don't think I'll ever learn!

Reminder, my Oak Creek show is scheduled for January 15th, NOT January 1st. The Salvation Army will be closed on January 1st. See you in Schaumburg. I promise to be in a better mood!

I should have taken a photo of the douchebag who placed piles of cards from this box, pictured above, onto my table and also placed a large cup of soda on my table. I think that guy pictured all the way to the right is the one who lowballed me on my Bobby Orr. Look at that crowd! The place was jammed!

See the guy in the background to the right wearing the Justin Fields jersey? He fell of his chair earlier in the show, making me wonder if he was weak from COVID. Anyone get sick after the show?

Gotta end the blog on a happy note. Later in the week, my kids and I found this place called Tita Mia's Filipino Restaurant & Cafe in Niles, Illinois, which was awesome! I had Filipino food once before when I was a teenager as some of my close friends were Filipino and I was pretty much at their house every day when I was 14 years old. Their father was some sort of diplomat and was never home and almost always in the Philippines. I don't recall their mother being home much as well. But their grandmother, on the other hand, was always in the kitchen hovering over a huge pot of stew which I regularly partook and remember it being quite tasty.

Well, we tried a few dishes at Tita Mia's and really enjoyed a grilled pork dish. We also ordered a stewed chicken dish that I did not like. The highlight was this ice cream desert. My, oh, my!  

Sunday, December 19, 2021, Root River Center, Franklin, WI

This show has been running for a while but this was my first opportunity to set up. I'm always hesitant to set up more than twice a month in the same town. For years, I've been setting up at my Oak Creek show and the Gonzaga show in the Milwaukee area. I just felt a third Milwaukee show would kill my sales.

Unfortunately, it looks like the Gonzaga/Buenavista show might be done -- I hope not, but that was the word on Sunday morning at Root River. I just might start setting up at Root River regularly.

Root River is pretty easy to get to, just exit the highway at Rawson and the venue is a few miles west. I thought the room that housed the show was really nice. It has a bar, dance floor, disco lights and stage.

Maybe 30 tables in there. All eight-footers which is nice. I reserved two but PJ tossed me an extra table, which was much appreciated. I was able to place out all of my binders with some space left over to throw down some flyers for my Oak Creek show.

While this was my first Root River show, I have been setting up in the Milwaukee area for the past 20 years so I knew most of the dealers and customers. I felt right at home at Root River.

Eric, pictured above, told me I had my buddy Larry Larsen's tables. I texted Larry while at the show to let him know I stole his spot. I'll gladly relinquish it to Larry when he is back doing shows! Get well soon buddy!

There were a couple of no-show dealers which is the bane of my existence. I told PJ I could relate. I'll say it again as I've said it before, guys who reserve a table and don't show up just suck! 

Folks trickled into the show all day long at a steady clip. I had a lot of little sales that did not add up to much at the end of the day but I do appreciate everyone who purchased cards from me. Thanks guys! 

Jerome was the big winner with the largest purchase. He picked up a bunch of 1954 Topps. Then my other buddy Larry purchased some 1960 Topps. A few other regular customers bought some cards.

On the buying front, I ended up buying a box of modern football from Randy. I have wanted to purchase some 2021 football all season long but the prices for boxes have been too high. Randy, set up across from me next to Eric, had some reasonably priced stuff. When he informed me at the end of the day that he had not made one sale, I immediately purchased a box. I was hoping for a Justin Fields rookie but no such luck.

Now Randy's set up appears tough to me. He roams the Walmarts, Targets and Meyers to purchase blaster boxes and hanger boxes and resells them. Randy's approach to selling cards is not new but has been taken to new levels during the Pandemic as those Walmart boxes were selling for double on eBay and at shows early on.

Looks like the prices have leveled off and guys like Randy are going to have a tough time making sales down the road. Randy said he thinks if he saves some of this stuff it will increase in value over time. I am a little skeptical but impressed at how well Randy knows his stuff. I am a vintage dealer and have very little knowledge about modern cards. I like to buy some boxes here and there and rip a little but I do it for fun, not in the hopes of getting that big hit and making some money at it.

Randy, on the other hand, has detailed knowledge on each modern product and seems to have a sixth sense when determining which product will sell. I really think he is going to have to start ripping some of this stuff and sell some singles to increase sales at future shows. That is just my opinion and, like I said, I do not really have a whole lot of knowledge when it comes to modern cards, but when you set up all day and do not make a sale, that is a for sure sign that you need to make some adjustments.

I think Randy's selling model may become more popular when Fanatics takes over the modern card market and does away with wholesaling, but for now, I think this method of selling cards is on the downside, albeit temporarily. 

The highlight of my day came when my main man Stan, pictured below, brought me a cake! It was my birthday on Dec. 18th and I requested cake in last week's blogs. Stan happily obliged. Thanks Stan! The cake was awesome! A bunch of guys wished me happy birthday. Thank you!

I find it so awesome that so many people read my blog. Robin, who purchased some hockey cards, thought my idea of a 1972 Topps booth was a good one. I am getting good feedback on that idea.

Although sales were low at my first Root River show, I am confident that they will pick up the more I attend the show. My sales are often low at my first time setting up at a show. I need to get the word out that I will be set up at this show. I'll be at the next one on January 23. I'm planning to bring showcases for that one. Come see me at Root River on January 23!!!

In the meantime, my last show of 2021 is coming up this Sunday, December 26, at the Orland Park Civic Center in Orland Park, IL. I'm bringing showcases to Orland and am expecting another monster show.

Reminder, my Oak Creek show is scheduled for January 15, NOT January 1. Dealer tables are sold out, as usual, and that should be a monster show as well. Hope to see everyone in Orland on Sunday. Merry Christmas!

Saturday, December 18, 2021, Lake Station VFW, Lake Station, IN

No Mike Slinkman Road Report for this one because the drive was essentially the same as my drive to Orland last week. Mike, pictured above, was set up next to me at the Lake Station show. We like to joke but Mike's cards are no joke. He has some amazing cards. I love his 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth.

Back to the road report, only wrinkle on this morning was that I thought I could make the drive without the aid of a GPS but got nervous once I entered Indiana and did not see an exit for Central Avenue. As soon as I plugged in the GPS, the Central Avenue exit popped up. So now I'm confident that I can make the drive in January without the aid of the trusty GPS.

Lake Station, Indiana, seems like a weird place to me, one that is stuck in time. Nothing looks new in Lake Station. Everything seems old and a bit crusty, which makes me feel right at home.

I love the bar in the VFW. There were a bunch of middle-aged ladies chain smoking in there, reminded me of Marge Simpson's sisters. They were serving up hot dogs today, thankfully. I ate two of 'em. Only cash in the bar. No credit cards but they do have an ATM which I had to hit to get some funds for a purchase.

It was my birthday. I can't think of a better place to spend my birthday than at a card show... and spend I did as I bought myself a 1969 Topps Mickey Mantle White Name Variation -- tough card. First time I have ever owned one and the perfect birthday gift for me!

Mike and Derek greeted me with happy birthdays. Thanks guys! I love that so many people read this blog and many knew it was my birthday from last week's blog. Derek liked my idea of a 1972 Topps booth. I am going to start working on it soon. It will take a while to get it together.

The Lake Station VFW is a great place for a card show. The hall is absolutely huge. I bet you could fit a 100 or so tables in there. Unfortunately, seemed like less dealers than my last adventure to Lake Station. I'd love to see this show grow because it fits perfectly into my monthly schedule and is such a great venue. We definitely need to get more dealers and more customers out for this show.

As I learned in operating my Oak Creek show, the most difficult task is getting the word out and getting folks to attend the show. Bob, the promoter, regularly takes out a Facebook ad which is very helpful. I just googled Lake Station, Indiana, newspaper and came up with the Northwest Indiana Times and posted the January 22nd show in their events calendar. Woot! Doing my part! I firmly believe that dealers must assist in promoting the show.

Needless to say, sales weren't so great at my birthday show. So, what does any self-respecting veteran sports card dealer do when sales are low? Answer: buy your way out of the show.... and buy I did with that '69 Mantle along with a box of low-grade vintage. Nice haul when I was not expecting to purchase anything at this show.

I did have a few guys buy some cards. One guy was working on some upgrades for his 1959 set that he started as a kid back in 1959. He had a great story about how he completed his set back then. He told me that by the fall of 1959, he was down to just one card -- Jerry Lumpe and just could not obtain the card. He enlisted his folks for help. His dad told everyone at the local tavern that he would supply the drinks to anyone who could find his son a Jerry Lumpe.

Well, our hero said that the summer of 1960 arrived and still no Jerry Lumpe so he started to work on the 1960 Topps baseball set. At some point over the summer of 1960, his dad received a call from a bartender at the tavern alerting him that there was a cust0mer at the bar who had the Lumpe and was waiting for his drinks. Our guy's dad went down to the tavern, bought the guy some beers, drank a few himself, and returned home, a little sloppy, but with the Lumpe and, thus, the '59 set was complete.

Our guy told me that his mother promptly took the set of cards put them in a shoe box, taped it shut, and hid it away, telling her son that these cards will be worth some money some day. How did she know? I mean nobody in 1959 had any idea that baseball cards would have any value in the future. I think a pack only cost a nickel in 1959. What foresight! How about that! A mother who preserved her kid's cards instead of tossing them in the garbage. Wow!

I love hearing old stories. I reconnected with another customer I met at the November show, who was working on upgrades for his childhood sets from the late 1960's. He said he rediscovered his cards during the COVID lockdown last year and has been having a ball working on them again.  That's why I love vintage cards, there are so many memories attached to these wonderful pieces of cardboard.

Not much else to report. My brother Jon came out to visit me for my birthday. I was kind of hoping he'd show up, which made my day.

I was supposed to meet my folks after the show for dinner but was too tired when I got home and promptly fell asleep. Now my crazy 84-year-old parents are driving down to Florida. I'm not sure when I'll see them next but will get dinner with them down the road. Warning: anyone on the road from Chicago to Miami this week, beware! My dad is the world's worst driver!! He will speed by you and cut you off. He is NOT your typical old man driver. My wife and kids won't get into a car with him.

He plays this game every time he drives down to Florida. It is a simple game; he must make it to Miami in less time than the last time he drove there. He is a madman and will stop at nothing to beat his time.

He has been playing this game my whole life. It was torture for my siblings and I as children as dad refused to ever stop for a bathroom break during those childhood trips to Florida. We all learned the hard way not to drink a thing during the drive. Speaking of 1959, that was the year my folks got married. They're still together and still driving to Florida, wreaking havoc on the roadways!

But I digress. Anyway, this was another double bill weekend with the Root River show on Sunday. Root River blog coming soon! 

Pictured here is my view from behind my tables at the December Lake Station show. A guy I have dubbed Low Ball Lester stopped by my table several times but did not make a low-ball offer on any cards like last month. I am not a big fan of the guys who offer you less than half of your sticker price. That's Low Ball Lester pictured above looking at one of my fliers. Maybe he'll drive up to Oak Creek next month and spread his low ball joy there.

As you can see, not many people attended the show. I'm setting up at the next one on January 22... COME ON OUT!!!

Also, please note that my Oak Creek show will NOT be on January 1st. I've scheduled the show for January 15th. I'll be back on the first Saturday of the month for the rest of the 2022 shows.

My last show of 2021 is Orland on December 26th. See you then!

Sunday, December 12, 2021, Civic Center, Orland Park, IL

Another tough night of sleep but I was able to make it out of the house by 7 a.m. It sure was nice not having to load up the car. I did not unpack after Rockford so I would be ready to go to Orland.

Here is a detailed account of my drive to Orland for my friend Mike Slinkman... It was an easy drive to O'Hare but weird to see empty space where the O'Hare Road Oasis once stood. Just past the former spot of the Oasis, road construction kicked in and lasted all the way to I57. I arrived at the Civic Center around 8 a.m. and happily observed all the Christmas decor. They do a great job decorating both the outside and inside of the Civic Center for Christmas.

Load in went smoothly. I'm usually blocked getting into the room by big Brad who was noticeably absent. Someone said he was recovering from COVID. Get well Brad! Blocking the aisle instead of Brad, was Terry, who quickly moved out of the way.

On my second trip in, the dealer at the front tables to the left stopped me to let me know we had a mutual friend in Bill from Antioch. Any friend of Bill's is as friend of mine! If Bill is reading this blog, you now have two reasons to come on down to Orland!

So those first tables to the left have been occupied by many different dealers over the years. This was the first show where Bill's buddy had the tables. Those tables are usually occupied by a modern card dealer I refer to as the "Tall Guy" because he is literally like seven feet tall. When I first started setting up at the Orland show some twenty years ago, those tables belonged to vintage dealer John Melcher. John was a big guy as well and unfortunately passed away many years ago. 

After John, Gary occupied those tables for years. I think Gary moved to Florida some time ago. I can't remember the last time I saw Gary, a real good guy who sold modern cards.

I am going to assume the Tall Guy will be back for the December 26 show. I observed that many regular dealers were absent at this show like Steve Zinn and Jimmy C. Someone said Jim has COVID. If so, I hope Jim recovers quickly and is back at the next show. I just saw Steve last week at my Oak Creek show and was surprised he was not set up.

Another surprise was seeing Dave Frazier at the Orland show. I saw Dave at the Lake Station show in October after an absence of several years. It is nice to get Dave back into the fold!

The modern card dealer from Downstate who I met at the October show was next to me again on my right. He said he had my tables at the November show while I was in sunny California. He told me he grew up in California and that is where he learned how to cook. He currently works as a cook at some ma-and-pa type place located in a tiny town outside Champaign, Illinois. I'd like to try his cooking some time. I'll have to write down the name of the restaurant next time I see him. Nice guy.

Another group of nice guys, younger, were set up on the other side of my tables. One of the guys was bummed I did not bring out my cheapy boxes like I did in October. I thought about it but did not have the time to reload them prior to the show. I like to have the cheapy boxes reloaded before I bring them out.

It was a late-arriving crowd on this crisp December morning which seems to be the norm at Orland this past year. Not much doing at my tables during the first hour of the show. Around 10 a.m., Eddie spotted my display case filled with graded cards. I don't think I brought out any graded cards to Orland this year. My main man Eddie went to town and purchased eight or nine graded cards including all of my T206's, a 1934 Goudey Kiki Cuyler, a 1958 Mickey Mantle All Star, a 1968 Mantle and my Walter Payton rookie. 

After pulling all the cards, Eddie reached into his pocket and pulled out a large stack of hundreds and started peeling them off. Woot! What a great way to start the show! I was ready to go home afterwards but it was only 10:15 a.m. I figured anything else I sold the rest of the day would be gravy.

My pals Will and Joe arrived shortly thereafter bringing me a much needed and a much-appreciated cup of coffee. Will also purchased quite a few 1956, 1958 and 1971 Topps baseball cards. Thanks Will! He was just starting on his '56 set. As we discussed, the '56 set is not a bad set to attack because there are no big rookies. Unfortunately, the Mantle and the Jackie Robinson have shot up in value this past year. The second-year Clemente and Koufax have always been expensive cards, at least in recent years. When I first started to attend card shows back in 1978, you could buy either of those cards for a mere twenty bucks. Currently, 1956 Topps Roberto Clemente PSA 5s are consistently selling on eBay for $800. It has been crazy to watch the price of cards grow from 1978 to today. If I only had more money back in 1978, I'd be filthy rich today! I might have mentioned this before, but in 1979 I got my very first job with the sole purpose of earning money to buy cards!! I was a janitor at a day camp. I think I was paid $1.25 an hour. Not much money but just enough to buy some cards which were crazy cheap in 1979 when compared to 2021 (gawd, I'm old!!).

Sales were consistent the rest of the day. No more monster sales but quite a few that added up. I was able to pay off a large debt I owed another dealer for some cards I purchased recently on credit. 

On the buying front, Mike offered me some low grade stars that I had to take a pass on. As I told Mike, I can sell low grade cards but only at a low price. He offered me the cards at a price about what I would sell them for. I do appreciate the offer.

I picked up a 1963 Topps "Bombers Best" card featuring Mickey Mantle, Mike Tresh and Bobby Richardson. I probably have several of these already but when a Mantle comes to my table with a reasonable price, I snatch it every time. Not much else doing on the buying front.

Chicago Blackhawks legend Bobby Hull was signing autographs all day in the front hallway. I forgot to bring something to get signed. Then I thought about getting a photo with him but I had spilled coffee on my white shirt and did not want a picture with my all-time favorite hockey player while I was wearing a large coffee stain. Will got a Hawks St. Patrick's Day jersey signed by Bobby Hull, pictured below. Photo by Joe Schwenn.

I was crazy hungry by the end of the show and all set to hit the sub shop with Will and Joe but my son texted and wanted me to bring some food home. I gave my wife some money the night before so she could get the kids some lunch before she went to work. Unfortunately, she failed to do so and the kids were hungry and wanted Browns Chicken. So I bid Will and Joe farewell and drove to Browns Chicken and brought home a pile of food for the kiddos.

This was my second best show at Orland, thanks to Eddie, who was a major player in my best show at Orland back in April. Thanks again Eddie!

It was a pretty fun day. Real nice crowd that seemed to thin out around noon. During football season, most card shows clear out around noon as everybody wants to watch football and see how their fantasy teams are performing.

So Rich is running two shows this month in Orland. The next one is December 26th and I plan on bringing out showcases to that one. I don't know if I have ever done just a showcase set up in Orland so this should be interesting. I have a good number of regulars in Orland that like the binders, I hope they can find some cards in my showcases. I'll be set up with 10 showcases with vintage baseball. I don't think I'll have enough space for football, basketball and hockey. If the showcase set up goes well, I'll do it again in January and then bring out the football, basketball and hockey. If I don't sell much out of the showcases, I'll go back to the binder set up. So no binders on the 26th, if anybody wants to see one, let me know and I'll bring it out for you. I've been working on reloading 1977 Topps football and hope to have it done shortly.

That was quite a weekend with Rockford on Saturday and Orland on Sunday. I'm revving it up again next weekend with the Lake Station VFW on Saturday and Root River on Sunday. Hope to see everyone next weekend. Make sure you bring me some cake on Saturday as it is my birthday... turning 55.

I've kind of been feeling bad about getting older when a new client walked into my office on Monday and asked me in a snotty tone, "How old are you? 40?"

"Turning 55 on Saturday," I replied.

"Really, I thought you were between 35 and 40," she said.

"Awesome," I thought.

In my mind, I'm still the long-haired 11-year-old little leaguer playing shortstop for the Glenbrook Insurance team. That's me, pictured below, top row right, next to Mr. Minus. The photographer made Mr. Minus sit in and look like a coach as our coach did not bother to show up along with most of the team. Good thing we did not have to play a game that day!

Pictured along with me, back row left, is Armen Klujian whose family operates Klujian Rugs in Chicago. Armen did not go into the family business and currently lives in LA with his wife and kids. Next to Armen is John Rice, who currently lives out in Las Vegas. Next is Adam Kosh, who lived behind me growing up, just up the street from John. There were epic Whiffle Ball games at John's house and epic basketball games at Adam's house. Adam lives near me now and operates Antioch Wine and Liquors. Front row is Corey Fertel, just how I remember him, a little scrawny kid. Today he is 6'4" or 6'5" and operates United Process Servers in Chicago, a company I regularly hire for service of process at my law firm. Lastly is Paul Fleschler (I think that is his last name, memory is fading). I don't know what happened to Paul, lost touch. He was a great athlete as a kid.

So that was our 1977 little league team. We all collected 1977 Topps baseball cards. Somone always brought a stack of cards to the games. There was lots of card trading amongst teammates.

Man, 1977 seemed like yesterday. It is just crazy that we are heading into 2022! Come see me this weekend! Let's talk little league!!

Saturday, December 11, 2021, Rock Church, Rockford, IL

The winds were howling when I woke up this morning. I basically live in a forest where a few trees have fallen on the house over the years. So I am always wary when the winds roar.

It was scary loading my car under the trees with that wind making itself known. I knew I was going to have a tough drive out to Rockford. I was actually having a tough morning because I had a tough night falling asleep. I wanted to get on the road by 7 a.m. but didn't get going until 7:45 a.m.

I recently wrote a blog complaining about late arriving dealers at my show. Now I was going to be a late arriving dealer at another show. I hate to be a headache for the promoter when I am well aware of all the headaches involved in operating a card show.

Anyway, those winds pushed my car around during the whole ride out to Rockford. It would not have been so bad if there weren't so many trucks on the road. It sucks pulling alongside a truck that can't stay in its lane. I was worried the wind was going to slam my car up against a truck or cause a truck to crush me.

There was sleet the whole way as well making for a slippery and windy ride. I sure was happy when I pulled into the Rock Church parking lot in one piece!

There were a few other late arriving dealers. One was a real numbnut who decided to park in front of the front door sideways, taking up three parking spots and leaving me little room to open my side doors to pull out my bins of cards. There is always that one inconsiderate dealer who parks like an a-hole at every show I do.

Once inside, I saw Skip who motioned me to the tables to his right where promoter John had placed a sheet of paper with my name on it. There were a few empty tables by us due to late cancellations. 

I went with a binder set up for this show which is a really quick set up and perfect for when I am running late. I was set up and ready for business in no time. After setting up, I observed that the sleet turned into full-on snow which probably kept customers away until late morning.

I made only one dollar during the first hour of the show. At least I wasn't shut out. Thankfully, more folks arrived and there were people in the room well into the afternoon. My sales weren't quite as good as last month but I can't complain. 

I had two guys that purchased nice stacks of cards. One drove in from Freeport and went through ALL of my baseball binders and pulled ALL of my Cubs. The other guy was working on quite a few sets and found a great many baseball and football cards. Kevin found a bunch of 1952 Topps. Thanks Kevin! I had a few hours where there was some heavy action at my tables. I sold all sorts of stuff. I think if that morning weather would have been better I would have matched last month's sales or beaten 'em. I did pretty well for the circumstances.

​On the buying front, I picked up a stack of vintage cards from Skip. Thanks Skip! Not much else which was fine because I blew a ton of cash last week at my Oak Creek show and at the Schaumburg show. I need to recover and refill the coffers.

I enjoyed being set up next to Skip and behind Nelson Rodriguez and Gary George. Tim Fritz and Tom Mularz were set up at the opposite end of the row. It is always great to hang out with these guys. I watched Gary purchase a slabbed Ernie Banks rookie, a real beauty. I also liked looking at the signed Dr. J rookie in Gary's case.

This is an excellent show with a large number of dealers and a wide variety of cards and memorabilia. I highly recommend visiting this show. Next one is January 8. John said he will have even more dealers at that one. I think I am going to go back to the display case set up for the Jan. 8 show after two months of binders. I'll have two six-foot tables at the Jan. 8 show and can fit six display cases on them. I'm going to fill them up with high end baseball cards. If anybody wants me to bring out some binders, let me know beforehand.

This was a double bill weekend with Orland on Sunday. I'll have that blog out shortly. I have another double bill weekend coming up with the Lake Station VFW on my birthday on Saturday, December 18, and Root River in Milwaukee on Sunday, December 19. I am going to do the binder thing next weekend as well. Come on out and wish me happy birthday! A cake would be nice as well.

Someone commented at the Schaumburg show that I was running myself ragged with all these shows. Au contrere mon frere! I love doing card shows. It is my thing! I have been doing it a long, long time and have no plans to slow down anytime soon. When I am not running the show, there are very few headaches and all sorts of fun. I had nothing but fun this weekend.

Also, this past year has been a banner year for buying and selling cards at card shows. I have both bought and sold more cards than ever before. My inventory of vintage cards right now is just plain silly. 

As I was sitting at the Rockford show watching guys dig through my binders, I thought wouldn't it be funny if I just set up with 1972 Topps baseball and nothing else? I could probably fill eight or nine binders, several display cases with just 1972 Topps baseball along with some complete sets, random lots, maybe some quarter boxes with nothin' but '72 Topps. I think it would be kind of funny to have a whole table with nothing but '72 Topps. Anyone interested in a stack of 100 or so 1972 Topps Elliot Maddox cards?  How about 200 Ron Fairly's? Maybe 75 Chris Speiers? I just need the time to organize it which is the hard part as I just don't have the time to put that together.... but it sure would be fun to spring it on you guys one day.

I really, really need to stop buying cards... or at least stop buying '72 Topps!

Below was the scene at my tables at the December 11th Rockford show most of the day. A big thank you to everyone who visited me in Rockford!