I tried to get the Kolb to go with me to Orland but he wanted to stay home and hang out with his sister. Sans Kolby, I was on the road to Orland Park at 7:20 a.m. Mother Nature gave me thick snow from Deerfield down south to Ogden Avenue, then the snow suddenly disappeared. While driving in that thick snow I was worried the show would be dead. Thankfully, I was wrong and we had an absolutely terrific crowd today. One of the larger Orland crowds I've seen in a while.
This was the first show in the past several months where there were no empty dealer tables. Even the side hallway was filled up. There are usually some new dealers at every show and I saw quite a few new faces today. Across from me were two guys I met last month at Serb Hall in Milwaukee. They sell modern cards and have a real nice set up. One of them posted on the CU board asking whether the Orland show was worth the drive from Wisconsin. Several knuckleheads, who obviously never attend the Orland show, blasted it. I responded on the board that it is a pretty good show. Before the day was over, the dealer posted that Orland is a great show. I have noticed on the CU board and Net54 that there are a lot of guys, who never go to shows, but take every opportunity to blast them. These guys are ultra knuckleheads and are really missing out on a prime venue to buy and sell cards.
I missed out on what was in the room today because I was too busy to walk around. Seems like guys were finding reasonably priced vintage around the room. Though I did notice that the boneheads who set up the tables for the Civic Center did not leave much aisle space so it was tough to walk around. Notably absent today were vintage dealers Mike, Jim, and Mark S., and modern card dealers Dell and Jeff. There seemed to be a lot less vintage dealers than normal, which is unusual for this show. Tom Ward was set up today, I haven't seen Tom in a while.
Dave was set up again and was the first one at my table. We ended up doing a cash and trade deal where I received a nice grouping of 1960's era Beatles cards. Rick was there shortly after Dave and he picked up a nice pile of cards including my Lou Alcindor rookie, a 1970-71 Topps Jerry West All Star and some '57s Topps baseball. Another regular picked up my '59 Topps Hank Aaron. I sold some '73s to another regular. One of my regulars was wearing a cool early '70s Richie Allen jersey and he bought a mixture of baseball and football from my binders. Gil picked up a large pile of '66s. I have two customers named Chuck and both were at the show today. One Chuck told me about some terrific sales he has been having recently on eBay selling complete baseball sets from the 1970s. The other Chuck bought my '61-62 Fleer Bob Cousy along with some '57 Topps baseball. Tom Brown was back and picked up a few cards from the '70s. Another Tom, who is recently retired, likes the off-grade and he found some stuff. Another long-time regular was there and he picked up some '72s and '79s.
I have four regular customers named Larry. Two of the Larry's were at the show today. One is working on '63s and unfortunately, I had nothing he needed today. The other Larry bought a '39 Play Ball Lon Warneke. I had a new customer pull some '77-78 Topps Blackhawks from my hockey binder. I had a customer buy some '67s. Quite a few guys dinked around my binders and found small piles of cards for their collections. Joel found some 1950s White Sox for his collection. TJ was out today and picked up quite a few cards. TJ also brought me a Stan Mikita book and a University of Arizona lamp -- both are much appreciated.
Seeing that Arizona wildcat logo on the lamp brought back lots of memories. I earned a journalism degree at the U of A in 1990. It is also where I met my wife in 1989. We were seated next to each other in a Russian literature course. It was love at first sight for me. It took a while for the wife to realize she needed a vintage sportscard-obsessed husband who wanted to move from the warm beautiful city of Tucson, Arizona, to cold, icy Chicago. That woman deserves a medal for following me on my many hair-brained adventures. I started a publishing company out of our Chicago apartment back in 1994. She worked side by side with me while the company grew. We eventually had a series of offices. You can still find our book, "A Barfly's Guide to Chicago's Drinking Establishments," on Amazon.com. If anyone wants a copy, let me know and I'll bring you one for free. In 2001, I decided I had enough of working 80-hour weeks and all the headaches that a small business brings and decided to go to law school where I would study for 80 hours a week for three years. In law school I got the bug to do cards again and have been setting up at shows most every weekend since 2001. The wife draws the line at the shows. She'll post cards on eBay for me but she won't go to shows. So, I send her crude, distasteful texts while I'm at the shows.
But I digress. Back at Orland Park, a new customer picked up a '55 Bowman Nellie Fox. My pals Will and Joe made it out today and I gave them some cards they purchased from me on eBay. Will also picked up a small pile of stuff including a 1961 Topps Nellie Fox All Star. I also have three or four guys named Dennis who regularly buy cards from me. Today the Dennis that collects Braves cards picked up quite a few cards including a 1955 Bowman Hank Aaron and 1958 Topps Hank Aaron. Another customer picked up a 1953 Topps Joe Black. I have a customer that collects New York Mets cards and he found a bunch today. A new customer cleared out my 25-cent book. I sold him about 350 cards. Jim, who sends cards out for autos, picked up some 1960s Topps. I have these autograph hounds at every show I do. I think it would be cool if some of them sent me some scans or photos of some cool autos from their collections to post here. All in all, it was a terrific day.
On the buying side, I wasn't all that interested in spending money because I'm saving my cash for some large deals. I turned down a binder of '74 football. I have a ton of this stuff. An older couple came up to my table carrying some bags of cards. I tried to explain to the lady that I only buy old cards. So she says, "It looks like you have lots of cards from the 90s in your binders." I kindly told her I don't have any cards from the 90s and am not interested. She moved on. I picked up a few things from Junior including some '62 high numbers. I didn't buy much else.
I had a great day today. I was very busy and enjoyed the banter and the stories that are shared at my table. Next week I'm at the Park Inn Radisson in Schaumburg. I am currently in the midst of a very good string of shows and hope everybody reading this blog comes out to Schaumburg before the Super Bowl begins on Sunday. You'll have plenty of time to see me, buy some cards, and get to your Super Bowl party!! I'll have my binder of '74s ready for the show. If there is time, I'll have some '57 football as well. A big thank you to everyone who bought cards from me today and hope to see you all next week!!
This was the first show in the past several months where there were no empty dealer tables. Even the side hallway was filled up. There are usually some new dealers at every show and I saw quite a few new faces today. Across from me were two guys I met last month at Serb Hall in Milwaukee. They sell modern cards and have a real nice set up. One of them posted on the CU board asking whether the Orland show was worth the drive from Wisconsin. Several knuckleheads, who obviously never attend the Orland show, blasted it. I responded on the board that it is a pretty good show. Before the day was over, the dealer posted that Orland is a great show. I have noticed on the CU board and Net54 that there are a lot of guys, who never go to shows, but take every opportunity to blast them. These guys are ultra knuckleheads and are really missing out on a prime venue to buy and sell cards.
I missed out on what was in the room today because I was too busy to walk around. Seems like guys were finding reasonably priced vintage around the room. Though I did notice that the boneheads who set up the tables for the Civic Center did not leave much aisle space so it was tough to walk around. Notably absent today were vintage dealers Mike, Jim, and Mark S., and modern card dealers Dell and Jeff. There seemed to be a lot less vintage dealers than normal, which is unusual for this show. Tom Ward was set up today, I haven't seen Tom in a while.
Dave was set up again and was the first one at my table. We ended up doing a cash and trade deal where I received a nice grouping of 1960's era Beatles cards. Rick was there shortly after Dave and he picked up a nice pile of cards including my Lou Alcindor rookie, a 1970-71 Topps Jerry West All Star and some '57s Topps baseball. Another regular picked up my '59 Topps Hank Aaron. I sold some '73s to another regular. One of my regulars was wearing a cool early '70s Richie Allen jersey and he bought a mixture of baseball and football from my binders. Gil picked up a large pile of '66s. I have two customers named Chuck and both were at the show today. One Chuck told me about some terrific sales he has been having recently on eBay selling complete baseball sets from the 1970s. The other Chuck bought my '61-62 Fleer Bob Cousy along with some '57 Topps baseball. Tom Brown was back and picked up a few cards from the '70s. Another Tom, who is recently retired, likes the off-grade and he found some stuff. Another long-time regular was there and he picked up some '72s and '79s.
I have four regular customers named Larry. Two of the Larry's were at the show today. One is working on '63s and unfortunately, I had nothing he needed today. The other Larry bought a '39 Play Ball Lon Warneke. I had a new customer pull some '77-78 Topps Blackhawks from my hockey binder. I had a customer buy some '67s. Quite a few guys dinked around my binders and found small piles of cards for their collections. Joel found some 1950s White Sox for his collection. TJ was out today and picked up quite a few cards. TJ also brought me a Stan Mikita book and a University of Arizona lamp -- both are much appreciated.
Seeing that Arizona wildcat logo on the lamp brought back lots of memories. I earned a journalism degree at the U of A in 1990. It is also where I met my wife in 1989. We were seated next to each other in a Russian literature course. It was love at first sight for me. It took a while for the wife to realize she needed a vintage sportscard-obsessed husband who wanted to move from the warm beautiful city of Tucson, Arizona, to cold, icy Chicago. That woman deserves a medal for following me on my many hair-brained adventures. I started a publishing company out of our Chicago apartment back in 1994. She worked side by side with me while the company grew. We eventually had a series of offices. You can still find our book, "A Barfly's Guide to Chicago's Drinking Establishments," on Amazon.com. If anyone wants a copy, let me know and I'll bring you one for free. In 2001, I decided I had enough of working 80-hour weeks and all the headaches that a small business brings and decided to go to law school where I would study for 80 hours a week for three years. In law school I got the bug to do cards again and have been setting up at shows most every weekend since 2001. The wife draws the line at the shows. She'll post cards on eBay for me but she won't go to shows. So, I send her crude, distasteful texts while I'm at the shows.
But I digress. Back at Orland Park, a new customer picked up a '55 Bowman Nellie Fox. My pals Will and Joe made it out today and I gave them some cards they purchased from me on eBay. Will also picked up a small pile of stuff including a 1961 Topps Nellie Fox All Star. I also have three or four guys named Dennis who regularly buy cards from me. Today the Dennis that collects Braves cards picked up quite a few cards including a 1955 Bowman Hank Aaron and 1958 Topps Hank Aaron. Another customer picked up a 1953 Topps Joe Black. I have a customer that collects New York Mets cards and he found a bunch today. A new customer cleared out my 25-cent book. I sold him about 350 cards. Jim, who sends cards out for autos, picked up some 1960s Topps. I have these autograph hounds at every show I do. I think it would be cool if some of them sent me some scans or photos of some cool autos from their collections to post here. All in all, it was a terrific day.
On the buying side, I wasn't all that interested in spending money because I'm saving my cash for some large deals. I turned down a binder of '74 football. I have a ton of this stuff. An older couple came up to my table carrying some bags of cards. I tried to explain to the lady that I only buy old cards. So she says, "It looks like you have lots of cards from the 90s in your binders." I kindly told her I don't have any cards from the 90s and am not interested. She moved on. I picked up a few things from Junior including some '62 high numbers. I didn't buy much else.
I had a great day today. I was very busy and enjoyed the banter and the stories that are shared at my table. Next week I'm at the Park Inn Radisson in Schaumburg. I am currently in the midst of a very good string of shows and hope everybody reading this blog comes out to Schaumburg before the Super Bowl begins on Sunday. You'll have plenty of time to see me, buy some cards, and get to your Super Bowl party!! I'll have my binder of '74s ready for the show. If there is time, I'll have some '57 football as well. A big thank you to everyone who bought cards from me today and hope to see you all next week!!
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