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Day 3 at the Fanatics Authentics Show

3/24/2015

The last day of the Fanatics Authentics Sun-Times show is always a lousy day for me from a sales perspective. I wish this was just a one day show because 90 percent of my sales occur on Saturday. Sunday, March 22, 2015, followed the usual formula -- slow sales. Other dealers reported slow sales as well. Like Saturday, traffic was sparse until about 11 a.m. A few sales started to come in.

A young collector purchased a nice pile of 1971 Topps baseball cards. A father with a young son and daughter purchased a nice pile of 1958 Topps baseball cards. My next customer was Greg, whose display case with the 10 Pete Rose rookie cards is prominently displayed above. I met Greg at the Sharonville Show in Cincinnati a few months ago. I also ran into him at the Fort Wayne, Indiana, show last month. Greg could not set up at the Sun-Times show. He has a pregnant cow to deal with on his farm in Indiana. He purchased a real nice 1966 Topps Roger Maris. Thanks Greg!

Sales were hard to come by the rest of the day. I went to the Starbucks and when I came back, my tablemate Bill had made a big one dollar sale for me. Woot! We ordered lunch from Giordano's for the second day in a row. Yesterday we had beef sandwiches that weren't all that good. Today, we went with the meatball sandwiches which were excellent. I went downstairs to meet the delivery guy. When I returned, a received another dollar for a card that was sold while I was away. Woot!

After lunch, a customer purchased some cards from my 25-cent box. This customer has been a regular of mine at the Sun-Times show for the past 15 years or so. I gave up long ago trying to get him to come out to other shows. He only attends this show.

Donny, a local customer, who collects oddball items, brought over a CFL Championship Ring that he purchased recently. The ring is covered in diamonds and rubies. It is cool!

After chatting with Donny, there was nothing but tumbleweed in front of my booth, so I decided to walk around. The booths located closer to the autograph section seemed to have more memorabilia and autographs than cards. The autograph section was jammed packed for Peyton Manning and Tony Romo. Huge lines. When I walked back to the table, I was given a little more cash from cards that were sold. Woot!

Pictured below are some of the booths near the autograph section.

Dealer Mike Johnson came by. He is working on a 1958 Topps set. He is down to six or seven cards. He was able to find the Dodgers Team card at my table. Then a customer wearing a Washington Senators Hat purchased some 1971 Topps Supers. Dennis, who has regularly been buying cards from me at this show the past couple of years, purchased a nice pile of 1979-80 Topps hockey... and that's all she wrote for the show. I did not buy anything today. I thought maybe some of the dealers would blow stuff out on the last day but no such luck.

Bill was able to secure us a large cart to load out which is key. Most of the dealers are eggheads and hoard the carts for themselves. So we were very lucky to get a cart. As a result, we were all out of there much quicker than usual. I was home by 6 p.m.

Next week, I'm hitting the road and heading to Jackson, Michigan, for show on Saturday, then Canton, Ohio, for a show on Sunday. I am still working on my 1953 Topps baseball binder. I hope to have that one done shortly. I think I am going to work on 1976 Topps football next. A big thank you to everyone who bought cards from me this past weekend. I met lots of new folks and saw many old friends. Overall, I really enjoyed myself. I'm already looking forward to my road trip next weekend!! Adios!!!

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Day 2 of the March 2015 Fan Fanatic Show in Chicago

3/23/2015

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On Saturday, March 21, 2015, I arrived at Day 2 of the Fan Fanatic Show around 8 a.m. The show did not open until 9 a.m. With time to kill, I thought I would get some breakfast at the Expoteria but the place was closed. I then went to the Starbucks in the Stephens Center, it was closed as well. I was in dire need of caffeine and food. I took the tarps off of my binders and display cases, sat around and chatted with Bob, Bill and Dave -- my boothmates.

A short while later, my friend Derek called and informed me that the Starbucks was open and he volunteered to wait in line. Yes! I am a big fan of Starbucks coffee. I don't know what they do to their coffee but it tastes so much better than any other coffee around. The coffee at the concession stand was absolutely terrible. I am not quite sure how it is possible to brew such bad tasting coffee, but the folks at the concession stand seem to nail it every show. Anyway, I met Derek at the Starbucks. We were in line behind a very nice lady who told me she was helping out at the Chicagoland Sports Cards booth this weekend. She said her pop is Les, the owner of Chicagoland Sports Cards.

Derek kindly sprung for my coffee and a blueberry muffin. Thanks Derek! I was ready to begin my day. My first customer of the day was a dealer who purchased a bunch of 1972 Topps baseball cards. The next customer hit my 25-cent box which drew sales all weekend long.

For the most part, the morning was kind of dead. The place did not fill up until 11 a.m. I did not get a chance to walk around at all last night. I decided to walk the row next to ours and observed a great many vintage autographs.

Once back at my booth, I made more sales out of the 25-cent box. I did not have the 25-cent box out at the November show. I may have to bring out several 25-cent boxes for the November 2015 show. It seems like customers at this show really like the cheapy boxes. I'm always trying to figure out how to increase sales and end up changing my display around for each show. My tablemate Bob does a tremendous job at changing his set up for each of Fan Fanatic/Sun-Times shows. I really think that at this show, more than any other show, I need to change up my display. A dealer booth can get stale in a hurry at this show and then it can be a very long weekend.

My day brightened up when my long-time friend Ross Foreman came by. We have been friends since we were 12 years old. In the spring of 1979, we took jobs together as janitors at a nearby day camp to earn money to buy baseball cards. I also remember riding my bike with Ross to the Convenient Food Mart near our houses to buy packs of 1980 Topps baseball cards. It took me all summer to complete that 1980 set.

Ross is a freelance journalist and is a regular contributor to a host of sports related magazines and newspapers. He always gets a quote from me for his articles in SCD. I really appreciate the exposure. This time around, Ross seemed to be doing a story on oddball sports memorabilia. I showed him some oddball items on my table like the 1959 Fleer Ted Williams cards. He took some photos. Hopefully, I make it into his next SCD article.

My conversation with Ross was cut short when I had a little rush of customers. I sold some Exhibits to one guy. Another purchased some 1964 Philadelphia football cards. Paul and his son, who I know from the Orland show came by. It has been a year or so since I've seen Paul. He is still working on that high grade 1975 Topps baseball set. He found a few at my table. He also started a 1974 Topps baseball set and purchased a nice pile from me.

A customer wearing a Cleveland Indians hat and jersey purchased some cards from my 25-cent and 50-cent boxes. A customer wearing a Kansas City Chiefs hat purchased a 1972-73 Fleer Globetrotters Meadowlark Lemon. Another customer purchased some 1973 and 1974 Topps baseball cards. Then a customer pulled a 10-cent card from one of my binders, gave me a dollar and told me to keep the change. Thanks! My next customer purchased 50 cents worth of cards from my binders. I was hoping for a second tip but no luck this time.

Another good friend, Tony Shaefer, showed up at my table. Most people who read my blog know Tony. He sets up monthly at the St. Louis show and occasionally appears in Orland. Tony purchased a bunch of cards from my display cases. Thanks Tony! He was staying near Trump Tower in Downtown Chicago and told me he was planning to go bar hopping that night with his college buddy Nate. From his Facebook posts, it sounds like they had a good time. I know they hit one of my favorite bars called Fado', a tremendous little pub located just over the Chicago River from Downtown Chicago.

My next customer is a long-time member of the OBC club. A forget his name but he is a good customer and purchased some Exhibits, 1969 Citgo Coins, and Fleer Globetrotters. Both the Exhibits and Globetrotters were new for this show and saw a lot of action. My next customer was a collector from Jackson, Michigan, who has to work next Saturday and can't make the show there where I am setting up. He purchased some cards out of the 25-cent box along with some 1972 Topps baseball.

Next up, a customer purchased some 1969 Topps baseball cards. A customer wearing a Chicago White Sox jacket purchased some 1973-74 Topps Hockey cards, which I also reloaded just before the show. A customer wearing a Chicago Bears jacket purchased some 1973 Topps baseball cards. A customer I know from both the Orland and Fred Copp shows purchased some 1974 Topps baseball cards. Then some dealers from Wisconsin, a couple of super nice guys whose names escape me, purchased a bunch of cards from my display cases. Thanks guys!!!

I ended up having a really nice day, much better than November. It costs $375 to set up at this show so it is always a nice moment when I make table and well beyond. With my pockets flushed with cash, I paid Bob, who fronted the table fee money and I also paid Joe for some cards I purchased a few months ago. I always seem to have some baseball card debts. I then purchased a nice pile of 1956 Topps football cards from a customer who came in with his son from Souix Falls, South Dakota.

After the show, Mark, Craig and I went over to Toby Keith's Bar and Grill, a new restaurant in Rosemont located just west of the Stephens Center parking lot. The restaurant is huge. We sat at a booth. Mark shockingly ordered a salad. I thought Mark only ate ribs. I think Craig had the pulled pork. I went with the smoked turkey. The food was okay. Nothing special. I think the real draw here are the pretty waitresses who wear short shorts and low cut T-shirts.

Mark and Craig reported good sales. It seems like most of the dealers I talked to had real nice days. I was home by 7 p.m. and hung out with the wife and kids. My report from Day 3 is on its way. In the meantime, below are a few more photos from Day 2.

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Boom, Pop, Rat-A-Tat-Tat; Boom, Pop, Rat-A-Tat-Tat

3/19/2015

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Years ago I purchased a beat up old drum kit. I can play two different basic beats. My wife laughs hysterically when she sees me banging on those drums. Neil Peart, I am not. But I really enjoy rhythm and I seek rhythm not only in music but in all aspects of life. I like each day to flow in a reliable pattern. Which means each day is consistent, sometimes even mechanical, and I can feel an imagined soothing drum beat in the background, motivating and driving me through the day.

I recently spent 14 months working a job where I desperately tried to find a rhythm. But I learned there cannot be rhythm when the person you are working for is absolutely toxic, a beast, really. So, I had to leave that job and find my peaceful rhythm elsewhere. For the past three months or so, I have been working full-time as a baseball card dealer. I was able to find a groove, a nice rhythm, but as much as I enjoy sports cards, it is not a sustainable way to make a living. I much prefer sports cards as a hobby instead of a profession.

I have a law degree and have been working professionally as a lawyer for most of the past nine years. With the exception of my last job, I have enjoyed the practice of law. I have earned some good money but more importantly I know I have done some excellent work and helped a great many people along the way.

My brief experience as a full-time sports card dealer ended this week. I started lawyering again and am beginning to hear that rhythm I so desire. Now I need to somehow meld the new job with my baseball card addiction and find a parallel rhythm that works.

I could not find a rhythm at all this week as I began training at the new job and tried to prepare for the Sun-Times show. It has been a very hectic week. I worked all day Thursday then spent all night in Rosemont setting up for the show. After a few hours of sleep, I was up at the crack of dawn for work Friday, which proved to be a crazy-busy day. After work, I raced to the Stephens Center, arriving at 4:45 p.m. for a show that began at 4 p.m. I definitely lost some sales from my late arrival. I was also tired, hungry and in definite need of caffeine.

For my first few hours at the show on Friday, March 20, 2015, I was pretty busy. I had customers. Guys were coming up to sell me stuff. I saw lots of friends, many who I haven't seen for a while. I shook a lot of hands. I did not get a chance to record any of my sales. I'm not exactly sure what I sold. Whatever it was, the money immediately went to purchase cards. I picked up Billy Williams and Ron Santo rookies. I also picked up a nice pile that included some old Parkhurst hockey which I absolutely love. I picked up a really solid 1958 Topps Ernie Banks All Star. I also purchased some rough '62s that included a Stan Musial and a Sandy Koufax. All in all, a really nice haul. I had to turn down a large collection because I did not have the funds. Though, I am absolutely satisfied with today's haul.

The night was really a blur. I didn't get home until 9:45 p.m. What a long day!

But all is right in the world again. I get to work law all during the week then sports cards all weekend, which is the way I prefer life to go. I will try and take some photos of the show tomorrow, take some notes, and provide a better report. With so many of my regular readers attending this show, I would also like to hear your experiences at the Sun-Time show. Send me your thoughts, anecdotes from the show and even some photos -- I'll post them here!

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Flea Market Fun In Highland, Indiana

3/19/2015

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I had one of my best weekends of the year with the Highland, Indiana, show on Saturday, March 14, 2015, and the Gonzaga Show in Milwaukee on Sunday, March 15, 2015. I haven't been to the Highland show in about eight years. I remember my last venture to Highland as a disaster. I could not find the venue and I remember calling promoter Roger, only to reach his wife who could not give me directions. I eventually found the place which was an old crusty community center where the doors were so small that I could not get my bins of cards into the room. I remember being amazed that everyone at the show seemed to be able to ignore the overwhelming stench of mold and decay. It was a disgusting place. To top it off, I had a lousy show so I was in no hurry to return -- big mistake!

On this sunny morning, it only took an hour to get to Highland from Northern Illinois. I used my trusty GPS this time around so I had no issues in finding the Lincoln Center. I was utterly amazed when I pulled up and observed that the old crusty edifice from memory no longer exists. In its place is a nice modern building, complete with a health club and other amenities. I walked in, past the health club, and saw a door leading into a large field house which held a humongous indoor flea market. On my last visit here, the card show had its own room so I tried to find another room holding the card show only to learn that the card show was located on the far end of the flea market. Many years ago, a Chicago area dealer Steve Zinn held shows at the indoor Wolf's Flea Market in Elmwood Park, Illinois, and I did very well at those shows. Based on that experience, I did not mind sharing the room with a flea market. Plus, I generally love flea markets.

So I pulled around back where there were wide large doors. Load in was easy. Once inside, no stench! I was then greeted by Dave F. who was there as a customer and already buying stuff from the dealer set up next to me, a very nice older gentleman. My pal Mark Smith was along the wall to my right. I recognized one of the other dealers from the Orland Show. Set up behind me was Bill and his grandsons, who I also know from the Orland shows. Then there were six or seven other card dealers that I have never seen before. They all had good stuff on their tables. The card show consisted of about two rows while the rest of the rows of tables in the field house featured flea market vendors.

I looked at the two six foot tables I reserved then scanned the room and decided to forgo setting up my display cases. I suppose there may be flea market customers willing to spend $400 on a 1950 Bowman Ted Williams, but I reasoned it was unlikely going to happen today. So I spread out my binders onto the two tables along with my newly created dime box. Without the display cases, set up was quick and easy. The dealer to my right did not show up and Roger let me spread out -- eat your heart out Orland dealers! I actually got three tables for the price of two!!

Pictured below are my binders and the dealers set up across from me as the show was opening up.

Dave moved on over and started going through my binders. One of the other dealers came over and purchased my dime box. C'est la vie. It will be several months before I get another dime box together.

Dave made my show by purchasing my entire 1975 Topps Minis binder and a large pile of 1970s basketball. Thanks Dave! Then Larry W., who I know from the Orland shows (seemed like quite a few customers skipped the competing Orland show and came out to Highland), brightened our day with his presence. Larry is working on 1976 and 1977 Topps baseball sets. Unfortunately, I recently sold my entire 1976 binder so I could not help him with those. Luckily, he found quite a few 1977s at my table. I love talking with Larry, a retired district commander for the Chicago Fire Department. Larry has his own brand of eloquence and I just enjoy selling him cards, joking around and talking with him. Here is a sample of our conversation on the sale of the 1977 Topps.

ME: You have $15 dollars in cards, I'll take $10.
LARRY: Give me a #$@%^& break! You'll take #$%^&@ $20! Come #$%^&* on!

Not much I can say after that. Larry is the best!

I seemed to have quite a few sales in the morning. An Orioles fan purchased a 1967 Topps Poster of Boog Powell. A customer purchased a nice pile of 1978 Topps baseball. I customer wearing a Bears jacket purchased a bunch of 1969 Topps baseball. A customer wearing a Blackhawks jacket purchased some 1978s. An autograph collector/dealer that I have seen around forever, purchased a few autographs from my autographed baseball card binder.

I sold some non-sports cards to another customer. Oddly, a different non-sports collector, one who I have been seeing for years at the Orland and Sun-Times shows did not purchase any cards from my non-sports binder. I was amazed he did not purchase one single card when for the first time I actually had some non-sports cards. Anyway, another customer purchased some football cards from the 1970s and some 1951 Bowman baseball cards. Then Mark sent a customer, Ken, over my way. Ken purchased a bunch of 1954 Topps including a Willie Mays. I was definitely buying Mark lunch after the show! Thanks Mark!! Thanks Ken!!

Sales came to an abrupt halt around noon after an older gentleman purchased some 1959 Topps baseball cards. I'm not quite sure why I couldn't sell any more cards the rest of the day. The flea market was open until 3 p.m. and there were still plenty of people in the room but I could not make a sale. I would have been concerned except for Dave and Ken had already made it a good day. So, I did what any self-respecting baseball card dealer would do -- I ate a bunch of food.

The Highland Indiana Women's Club had a large booth located outside the field house in the hallway of the Lincoln Center. Oh my. I about melted when I saw the amazing display of homemade baked goods. In my mind flashed a large neon sign reading: DIABETIC SEIZURE. So, I willed myself past huge chocolate chip cookies, fresh-baked cupcakes flowing in frosting, brownies sparkling with powdered surgar, fudge, frosted cookies, sugar cookies, rice krispie treats, chocolate covered marshmellows......

Sorry, I drooled a little.

I ended up purchasing some homemade sloppy Joe which was pretty darn good. I even had enough will power to avoid potato chips.

After the sloppy Joe, I found another food area just outside the door behind Mark's tables. Of course there were more baked goods. I decided to not even look at them because they are only trouble. I found a very nice lady selling some of the most amazing tacos I have ever eaten. The meat was so well spiced that I could have just gotten a large bowl of the taco filling and sat there with a spoon and been happy. Knowing I was going to lunch with Mark afterwards, I stopped eating after the tacos. Though, I could have continued to eat those delicious tacos the rest of the day.

I then walked around the fieldhouse and checked out the flea market items. There was all sorts of brick a brack, board games, antiques, clothing, and other collectibles like coins and dolls. I called my Dad, who also loves a good flea market. I knew he was heading this way after taking my kids out to breakfast. Unfortunately, my folks arrived after the flea market was over. Dad was still able to find a few political buttons by razzing vendors while they were packing up.

On the buying front for me, I purchased some Jim Rowe postcards, some 1968s Topps baseball cards and some other odds and ends.

After the show, Mark and I went over to the Purple Steer Diner -- my kind of place with a huge menu. I went with the BBQ ribs which were pretty good. Mark went with rib tips. Overall, a really pleasant day. I now feel foolish waiting eight years to return to Highland. The next show/flea market is May 9 which conflicts with the Smith & Gordon Show. I'm going to shoot for the October 10th show in Highland. The Highland show has just risen from the bottom of my show rating list to near the top.

I was up bright and early on Sunday, March 15, 2015, to load some more stuff into my car for the Gonzaga show in Milwaukee. The temperature rose up to the 60s on Saturday, so I walked out of the house without a jacket on Sunday morning. While the temperature was not nearly as cold as last month (negative 9), the 30 degrees was too cold for a simple short sleeve shirt. I quickly grabbed a jacket, finished loading up the car and hit the road to Wisconsin.

I don't know if I will ever get used to seeing the empty space just inside the door at Gonzaga Hall where Mike Rodell used to hold court. Mike passed recently, as I discussed in a previous blog. He was always the first one to greet me when I entered the room at Gonzaga. In my mind, I find myself looking at that empty table and saying hello to Mike.

Anyway, I arrived to Gonzaga a little earlier than usual. I was hoping to finish my set up by the opening bell at 9 a.m. When customers started to come in around 8:45 a.m., I was only half-way finished with loading my display cases. I had priced a bunch of new cards for this show including a pile of T205s and was eager to show them off. I did not finish loading up the display cases until 9:30 a.m.

I got to talking with one of the volunteers from the auction who told me he was heading to Phoenix in two weeks to participate in a charity golf outing hosted by Fergie Jenkins. The event supports research for juvenile diabetes. We discussed Fergie and what an upstanding guy he is. He was able to find a 1972 card to get signed at the event.

It was fun to show off my new T205s to Jason, an avid pre-war collector. Jason purchased a few along with a T206 Fred Clarke. My next customer purchased some 1971 Topps Coins. Jim, my Milwaukee-based White Sox fan, purchased a bunch of 1959 and 1960 Topps baseball cards. Another collector purchased some 1970 Topps baseball cards.

I was then greeted by Bruce and his grandsons. I know I have probably said this in the past but it bears saying again, I absolutely love these guys. Bruce's grandsons appear to be between the ages of 8 and 10 and they absolutely love pre-war cards and are amazingly knowledgeable. You can just see the joy Bruce gets out of bringing the boys to the show and buying them cards. It is one of the coolest things I get to regularly be a part of. They ended up buying most of my T205s along with a 1940 Play Ball Mickey Owen and some post-war cards like a 1952 Topps George Kell and a 1953 Topps Mike Garcia. Thanks guys!!

Next up, a customer purchased some hockey cards from the 1970s. Jeff, the world's most perfect customer, purchased a large pile of 1952 Topps baseball cards and a smattering of football cards. Jeff collects post-war baseball and football cards along with modern baseball cards. He also collects comic books. I am pretty sure he has an amazing collection which I would enjoy seeing one day.

Then I sold a card that I thought would never sell -- a 1970-71 Topps Lou Alcindor (Kareem) in which someone erased Kareem's eyebrows and drew them in with a pen. It is really disheartening to see this type of attack on one of the coolest cards around. It came to me as the result of a purchase of a large group of cards. I placed it in my newly reloaded '70-71 binder at a really low price, ever hopeful that someone would purchase it. Amazingly, the card now sits in the collection of a collector who was happy to buy it.

We had a real nice crowd today at Gonzaga. The room filled up quickly with customers. Brisk sales continued with an older collector who purchased some 1952 and 1954 Topps baseball cards. A customer wearing a Brewers hat purchased some 1971 Topps Coins. A set builder found some 1963 Topps baseball cards. My pal Mark, who works for Miller Brewing, purchased a nice pile of cards. A husband and wife team purchased some 1970s hockey and basketball. Eric purchased a 1986 Jose Conseco rookie but I can't remember if it was a Topps, Donruss or Fleer. Eric also purchased some 1964 Topps baseball cards.

Pictured below is world-famous dealer Jeff Peterson attending to customers at the past Sunday's Gonzaga show.

Back at my tables, a customer purchased a 1972 Topps Billy Martin In Action card along with a 1952 Topps Eddie Stanky. Bill purchased a large group of 1953, 54 and 1957 Topps baseball while Mark Smith made faces at us, trying to make us laugh. Then a customer who I haven't seen for a while and whose name escapes me, purchased some 1975 Topps baseball. Rob rounded out my day purchasing a large pile of stuff after spending an hour or so at my table going through most every binder.

I did not buy anything today. I was too busy to walk around the room and nobody brought anything to my table to sell. I saw other dealers buying stuff but I did not have any opportunities on this day. Which is just fine by me. I never mind going home with a pile of Monopoly money.

Then I actually turned down a free lunch from Gizmo, even though it is against my nature to turn down anything that is free. I was just tired out and wanted to get home and take a nap. The drive home was quick and easy. I inhaled some chicken thing my wife cooked then took that nap.

Since the Gonzaga show, I have had a crazy week. I have been trying to prepare for the Sun-Times Fan Fanatic Show this coming weekend while starting a new job in Downtown Chicago. It has been very hectic, to say the least. I was originally planning on arriving in Rosemont to begin set up for the Sun-Times show on Friday morning. But my new employer has me hitting the ground running and I have all sorts of work to do on Friday. I am going to try and set up Thursday night and hopefully make it to the show by the opening bell of 4 p.m. This should be interesting.

I have reloaded some Exhibits, some 1970 and 1971 Topps Supers, some non-sports and some autographs. I am working on 1973-74 Topps hockey. I was hoping to reload 1953 Topps baseball but I don't see how I will have the time now to get it done. I have some craziness in store while trying to complete training at the new job, getting new assignments completed, prepping and setting up the Sun-Times show, working the show, then going to work Downtown on the Monday morning after the three-day show. I think that nap after the Gonzaga show may be my last nap for a while....

Anyway, I am looking forward to the Fan Fanatic Sun-Times Show this weekend. I'm setting up in my usual spot with all-around good guys Dave McDonald and Bob Downing. Stop by and say hello!!

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Grand Rapids Has The World's Greatest Doughnuts!

3/11/2015

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As I travel across the Midwest and meet sports card collectors in different cities each weekend, many say the same thing when I tell them I am from the Chicago area -- "I hate driving through Chicago." ME TOO!!! Chicago traffic was a nightmare Friday, March 6, 2015, as I attempted to drive from the northern suburbs around the city to Indiana. A drive that should take about an hour or so was a three-hour folly. Six hours after I left home, I was in Grand Rapids. I was in no rush to get there since I was a day ahead of the show at the West Side Christian School but I still did not enjoy sitting in my car for six hours when I knew it should have only been a 3-hour ride.

To make matters worse, I could not find a hotel. I drove all around Grand Rapids, which is a really cool-looking town, but could not find cheap lodging. I eventually found a place that put the "flea" in the "flea-bag motel." This was one of the nastiest motels I have ever stayed in. The walls were covered in filth and pocked with assorted holes. There was no chain link lock on the door. I can't even begin to discuss the crust on the TV remote. I scanned the bed for bugs but did not see any. I was afraid to use the covers so I turned the heat up real high. Whoever was in the room above me seemed to walk back and forth all night long! Needless to say, I did not sleep very well. On the bright side, I was only 20 minutes away from the show and had an easy morning drive.

Upon arrival at the school on Saturday, March 7, 2015, I was greeted by promoter Vern, the former principal at the school. Vern runs the card show once a year as a fundraiser for the school. He also recruited parents as volunteers to help out with the show. Vern placed me outside the gymnasium, the main room for the card show. I was a little concerned but thought I would wait it out to pass judgment. Once I was set up, I did not mind the location. Everyone who entered the school stopped by my table to have a look.

A lot of dealers flip out if they do not like their table location. My experience has been that location does not matter nearly as much as the product you place on the table, especially at a small one-day show where most everyone in attendance is going to visit all the tables.

To my benefit, I was located right next to the concession stand and the autograph table -- former Tiger Dan Petry was the guest. I observed some amazing looking doughnuts at the concession stand. I was not going to partake until the concession stand volunteers brought the doughnuts to each dealer table and offered some for free. When I looked into that box of doughnuts, I saw fireworks and heard orchestra music. Oh my. Those were the most amazing doughnuts I have ever seen. They were huge and in all sorts of shapes and sizes with layers of different types of frosting on each one. I then had an out of body experience. I saw my hand reach into the box and pull out a chocolatey sweet creation covered in whip cream. I'm not sure if I thanked the volunteer, I only remember chomping on doughnut and entering Nirvana. I'm pretty sure I heard the Jefferson Airplane's song "Go Ask Alice" in the background.

I reasoned that if I had a diabetic seizure at that moment, I wouldn't mind and decided that this would be the ideal way to go out. After inhaling that doughnut, I quickly awoke to reality and found myself in desperate need of a coffee chaser. The concession stand sold cups of coffee for just a quarter. A few cups of coffee later, I was a-okay. I avoided eating additional doughnuts all day, even though I could not take my eyes off of them. The doughnuts were from a local shop in Grand Rapids. If you are diabetic, do not ever go to Grand Rapids. I realized later that I can never return to this town as long as it contains the most amazing doughnuts in the world.

With my sugar up and body good and caffeinated, I was ready for business. My first customer of the day wore a John Deere hat and found a bunch of 1959 Topps baseball cards for his set. Then I was approached by Toby who saw my business card and remarked, "You're the guy who goes to shows all around the Midwest."

Yep, that's me.

Toby said he Googled the show today and my website was the first one that popped up. Cool! Toby found some cards in my newly reloaded 50-cent box and some 1951 Bowman baseball cards. The hockey autograph hound that I met in Holland, Michigan, at the December show, found some cards to send out for signatures.

I observed that all sorts of colleges and universities were represented on hats, coats and shirts worn by customers at the show. I learned last night while I was driving around looking for a hotel, that Grand Rapids is home to quite a few colleges including Aquinas College, Calvin College, Central Michigan University, Cooley Law School, Cornerstone University, Davenport University, Ferris State University, Grace Bible College, Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Valley State University, Kendall College of Art & Design, Kuyper College, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, Secchia Institute for Culinary Education and Western Michigan University. So when a customer approached my table wearing jacket with a logo from Keene State College, I assumed it was one of the many local colleges. However, a quick internet search revealed that Keene State is in New Hampshire. I hope you are taking notes, because there is going to be an exam at the end of this blog.

Anyway, Mr. Keene State purchased a bunch of 1951 Bowman baseball cards. My next customer found some 1965 Topps baseball cards for his set. An older gentleman found a bunch of cards for his vintage Detroit Tigers set -- which seemed to be the theme today. A great many of the folks were wearing Tigers garb and were working on Tigers team sets. A guy wearing an Orange Tigers hat found a few 1962 Topps baseball cards for his set.

My next customer seemed to have a bottomless pocket full of change. He started to go through my 1970 Topps baseball binder and pulled a few cards then game me two quarters. He did this over and over for about 20 minutes. I soon had a pocket full of quarters. One of the many kids at the show pulled a card from my 50-cent box. I saw quite a few groups today made up of a grandfather, father and grandson. There were also several Cubs fans in Grand Rapids today. One completed his 1975 Topps Cubs set at my table today.

Pictured below is the gymnasium at the West Side Christian School in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Overall, a real nice crowd. I recognized many folks from the Holland show, including Holland promoter Bill who had a real nice set up with vintage cards. Bill and several of the other Holland dealers said hello. Folks really made me feel at home. I had a really nice time even with the doughnut jitters.

Dan Petry showed up around noon. I can't say enough about Dan Petry. What an incredibly nice guy. He was engaging with all the customers. They talked about the Tigers past and present. He made a special point to get a conversation going with every kid that came up to his table. He also let each youngster try on his 1984 World Series Ring. I found a 1981 Fleer Petry card in one of my binders and got it signed. Petry said he currently is a high school baseball coach for a private school in the Detroit area. I was impressed watching him truly enjoy talking to fans and signing autographs. There are so many players out there from his era that seem to hate any contact with fans like Mike Schmidt and Rod Carew. I became a fan of Dan Petry after today. I pondered these thoughts and others while I dined on a hot dog from the concession stand.

Pictured below is Dan Petry signing autographs for fans. The middle photo is the line of folks waiting for an autograph. You can click on the photos for a larger view.

After lunch, a father and son team worked on Tigers sets from the 1960s and 1970s. My 50-cent box was a nice draw today. Quite a few folks hit that box all day long. One of the grandfather, father, grandson trios purchased some 1973 Topps baseball cards. Ken, who I met a few years ago at the Sun-Times Show, purchased a nice stack of 1950 Bowman football cards. I sold some 1972 Topps baseball to a customer wearing a Tigers hat. A father-daughter team rounded out my day by purchasing some 1970s Topps baseball cards.

I didn't buy anything today. No one really brought anything to my table to sell. One of the other dealers out in the hallway near my tables brought over a smattering of low-grade baseball cards. He seemed disappointed when I told them they did not have much value. Another dealer wanted to trade me his post-War cards for my pre-War cards. I declined. I walked around the gym where there were many dealers selling vintage cards. Prices were reasonable but there was nothing there I could make any money on.

Pictured below are a couple of the dealer tables along with my Dan Petry autograph.

Overall, a real pleasant day in Grand Rapids. I definitely want to come back some time soon and somehow avoid those doughnuts. Did I say there were AMAZING! I was on the road home by 3 p.m. and had a much easier drive this time around. I was pretty tired when I arrived home. I remembered to set my clock ahead but forgot to set my alarm back. I needed to give myself a few hours in the morning to make the drive Sunday to Madison, Wisconsin. Thankfully, the Madison show does not start until 10 a.m. I got there around 9:45 a.m. on Sunday, March 8, 2015. My late arrival did not seem to matter.

I've done the Madison show before but it has been about seven years or so since I was last there. The problem with the Madison show for me is that it is usually scheduled the same day as the Gonzaga show in Milwaukee. Gonzaga is my favorite show and I won't skip that one for another show.

Again, like Grand Rapids, I was placed in an oddball spot. This time I was in the back of the room behind a large pillar. I was a little worried that no one would find me back there but again, I decided to wait it out before passing judgement. Turned out to be a really good spot. I had a lot of extra space and created my own booth. Most everyone in attendance came by to check out my spread.

The first customer of the day purchased a 1962 Topps Ken Boyer All-Star. I had the card priced at the book price of $8 because the card was flawless. The customer asked why the card was priced so high and I had to explain myself. I price all my cards to condition. Every once in a while, I obtain cards that are flawless and price them at book. Most of my cards are priced at half or quarter book.

My next customer was a younger collector who found some cards in my 50-cent box. Next, I had a nice conversation with a collector who told me he got back into collecting 10 years ago when his son was young. His son gave up but he still presses on. He found some 1964 Philadelphia football cards and some 1957-58 Topps basketball cards at my table.

The room at the Crown Plaza Hotel was real small and very crowded. I tried to walk around the room a few times but was unable to pass because the aisles were filled with people. Several familiar faces were set up in that room including Jerry, George and Mike. It seemed like several of the other dealers all owned card shops in the area.

Pictured below is the main area of the Madison card show.

Back at my cubby hole, a young collector found a bunch of 1950s and 1960s football cards. He also purchased some 1969 Citgo Coins. A customer wearing a Brewers hat and carrying a Packers bag purchased some 1951 Bowman baseball cards. A husband and wife team purchased some 1964 Topps baseball cards. A customer wearing a Brewers hat covered in assorted pins purchased a 1974 Topps Hank Aaron Special. Then I had a guy working on White Sox team sets who found quite a few cards at my table. He said he grew up in a small town in Wisconsin but lived in the Chicago area briefly in the late 1960s and became a Sox fan. He now lives in Madison and has the only White Sox vanity license plate in town.

Kurt, who I know from the Gonzaga shows, purchased my 1934-36 Batter Up Tony Lazzeri. Then I had a customer spend half the day at my tables pulling a large pile of cards from most every binder. I love customers like this who are working on sets from most every year and most every sport. He was very pleasant to deal with. Thank you!

On the buying front, I was shut out for the second day in a row. Nothing appealed to me on the other tables in the room. One of the card shop owners came by with a stack of 1970-71 Topps basketball cards that he wanted to trade for baseball cards. I politely declined. I offered to purchase the basketball cards but he offered me the cards at retail value. I can't buy cards at the same price I would sell them at. You would think a card shop owner would be aware of that. On top of it, this guy was relentless and kept coming over with different stacks of basketball cards wanting to trade them for baseball cards. I told him no every time. It was kind of weird. Jerry offered to sell me a stack of 1956 and 1957 Topps football cards. Jerry is wise enough to offer them to me for less than their retail value but still his price was too high for much of a profit for me.

After the show, I decided to get a bite to eat. Just about every chain restaurant in America is located on the same block as the Crown Plaza Hotel. I ended up at the Homestyle Buffet and was disappointed. I thought the price of $14 was a bit high. Then when I sat down, I was greeted by the smell of butt. I wanted to vomit. The food was okay but there were not a whole lot of choices for a buffet. I cannot recommend the Homestyle Butt Fay.

Next week, I'm setting up at the Highland, Indiana, show on Saturday. Like the Madison show, I think it has been seven years or so since I was last in Highland. Mark Smith is also setting up in Highland. Together we will have a tremendous selection of vintage cards. I'm working on reloading 1975 Topps football and 1952 Topps baseball for the Highland show. On Sunday, both Mark and I will be at the Gonzaga show in Milwaukee. The baseball card train rolls on! I had a great time in Grand Rapids and Madison this past weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing lots of old friends this weekend in Highland and Milwaukee. Thanks for your continued support!!

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Nice Crowd at the Smith & Gordon Show

3/5/2015

4 Comments

Hi everybody. I am feeling much better. Thank you! My sugar is under control at the moment. My constant battle with diabetes continues. I felt good last weekend at the Smith & Gordon show and at the Schaumburg show. For the life of me, I could not wake up Saturday morning (February 28, 2015). I was one of the last dealers to arrive at my own show! Thankfully, Mark had everything under control. All the dealers showed up!! We had a really good group of dealers with several new ones and an excellent mix of modern and vintage sports cards. Most everybody reported good sales. We also had one of our best crowds to date. A big thank you to all the dealers and customers who attended the show!!

I had a really nice show. We were in the larger Mitchell Room so I was able to take a few extra tables for myself and ended up with five tables. I brought extra stuff along by filling my car floor to ceiling. It took me a while to set up. If you recall, I purchased a new display case in Holland, Michigan, in January. So I am up to 10 display cases -- all were out and filled with cards at the show. New items for this show were reloaded 1975 Topps baseball and 1975 Topps Minis. The Minis were a big hit on this day. Jason, Jeff and Tim all purchased some Minis. Jeff also picked up some 1953 Bowman Color -- one of the coolest post-War sets in my opinion. The 1953 Bowman Baseball has the best photography of any set of cards in history. I tried to find the name of the photographer but came up empty. This guy was an artist and captured amazing images of some of the greatest players to ever wear a major league uniform. I love the candid shot of Stan Musial, or the shot of his teammate Enos Slaughter where the angle makes his bat look like the size of a huge tree. Then there is the shot of Pee Wee Reese high in the air avoiding a player sliding into second and firing the ball to first. Just imagine what the quality of cards would have been from 1956 to 1988 if Topps had not purchased Bowman before the 1956 season. The Topps photographers were all amatuers when compared to the Bowman photographers. By the 1970s, the Topps cards looked atrocious. It is amazing to me that there is not one card showing Lou Brock stealing a base or Hank Aaron hitting a home run. There really should have been better photos of so many greats like Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Frank Robinson, Pete Rose and like. But I digress. Even though I think the 1953 Bowmans are some of the coolest cards ever produced, sales of '53 Bowmans run hot and cold. For the past year, sales have been hot and my inventory is low. I'm due to restock.

It was nice to see Jim on Saturday, he was missed at the Gonzaga show earlier in the month. He just purchased a cabin in the North Woods of Wisconsin and was up there fishing. Sales came in early and often on this extremely cold Saturday (the thermometer in my car read -9!). Jim purchased some 1955 Bowmans for his third set! A father and son team purchased some 1959 Topps baseball. An older gentleman purchased a 1965 Philadelphia Paul Hornung, a 1957 Topps Football Joe Perry, and a 1960 Topps baseball Gil Hodges. Another customer purchased a 1977 Topps Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and a 1948 Leaf Boxing Max Schmeling. Oddly, this customer does not regularly attend Milwaukee shows and remembers me from the Sun-Times shows in Chicago.

A customer purchased a large pile of 1959 and 1960 Topps baseball for sets he is building. A customer dressed head to toe in hunting garb purchased a 1963 Topps Hank Aaron. Rich purchased my 1979 Topps Football James Lofton Rookie and a 1970-71 Topps basketball Lenny Wilkins. An autograph hound purchased some 1970s hockey cards to send out for signatures. Robin purchased some cards. Willie bought my 1971-72 Topps Rick Barry rookie. The day ended when I sold several cards to one of the hotel employees while I was packing up. I know I forgot to write down a few sales because I was busy all day, even after half the dealers went home, I was still making sales. We seemed to have an afternoon rush which brought a nice second wave of sales for all the dealers that stuck around. We ran an advertisement with the Milwaukee Journal on the Tuesday before the show which seemed to help attendance. I am going to run another ad before the April 4th show.

On the buying front, I picked up a group of 1922 American Caramel Baseball Cards. I'm planning on posting nine of them to eBay and the rest I'll price and bring out to a future show. I also picked up a nice group of 1957 Topps football. Overall, a really nice day for both selling and buying cards. I can't say how happy I am with the Smith & Gordon Show. It has turned out to be one of my most solid shows every month.

Right now, I'm planning for the smaller Rembrandt Room for the April 4th show and we're just about at capacity for dealer tables. If I can get an early commitment from more dealers, I'll bump it up to the Mitchell Room. The Mitchell Room is nearly double in price, so I need dealers to stick to their guns when they say they will set up.

I had trouble waking up again on Sunday morning, March 1, 2015, for the Schaumburg, Illinois, show. Though I still beat Luis and Eli to the show. I got a great laugh when Eli told me he went over to Rolling Meadows, thinking that was Fred's show. He went to the promoter Betty and asked where is Fred? She told him Fred is up the street.

I think the faulty weather forecast calling for six-inches of snow hurt our attendance on Sunday. It was actually a beautiful day. The sun was out, not a cloud in the sky. Having missed last month's Schaumburg show due to snow, I was expecting a much better crowd. We still had people at the show, just not what I expected. A big thank you to Randy, Derek, Andy and the others who purchased cards today. I ended up buying a group of stars from the 1950s to 1970s; a binder of 1970s football cards and a nice pile of 1957 Topps baseball cards. Willie and I went over to Moretti's after the show and had some pretty good burgers. Overall, a really pleasant weekend.

The only downer was when we heard Sunday morning that the Great Minnie Minoso had died. I can't believe my hometown of Chicago lost its two biggest baseball legends in a month's time. Just a few weeks ago, Ernie Banks died, now Minnie Minoso on Saturday.

As for as Ernie is concerned, I can't believe the media focus on the battle for his estate. I, for one, have no interest in his estate and/or the details of the battle. I will always remember Ernie Banks as the greatest post-War Cub and the greatest ambassador that baseball has ever known. I wish the media, for once, would report the news instead of celebrity gossip.

As for Minnie, when I think about the Chicago White Sox, the names that best represent the franchise for me are Nellie Fox, Luis Aparicio, Billy Pierce and Minnie Minoso. I don't think that sports fans in general, outside of White Sox fans, realize just how good Minnie and the Sox were in the 1950s and 1960s. The Sox were right there with the Yankees every year. Minoso was one of the best and most consistent Sox players of that era. Here are a couple of Minoso stats from his Wiki page:
    -- He was the first black player on the White Sox and hit a home run on the first pitch of his first at bat as member of the Sox in 1951;
    -- He had a phenomenal rookie year batting .324, second in the league behind Ferris Fain's .344;
    -- He was robbed of the 1951 rookie of the year honors due to New York bias because Minnie had better stats in every category than ROY winner Gil McDougald;
    -- He batted over .300 eight times;
    -- From 1950 to 1960, only Willie Mays had more stolen bases than Minnie Minoso;
    -- He lead the AL in triples and stolen bases three times;
    -- He had one season where he lead the AL in hits, doubles and total bases;
    -- In addition to speed, he could hit for power and was one of the most prolific home run hitters in White Sox history;
    -- He was also a great fielder, earning three gold gloves in his career;
    -- Seven-time All-Star.

Minnie left Major League Baseball to play and manage in the Mexican leagues just before I was born. I first heard of Minnie Minoso as a 10-year old kid who watched a lot of White Sox games on the old Channel 44 in Chicago with one of the best broadcast teams in the history of the game -- Harry Caray and Jimmy Piersall. The Sox hired Minnie as a coach that year. I still remember the shock and awe when this old guy with a funny name came to the plate in a few games in 1976 and became the oldest player in major league history to get a hit. Topps commemorated the hit in a card in the 1977 set. Minnie again took some swings in 1980 in a game. He ended up setting the record for batting in five different decades. Minnie got his first at bats in the late 1940s while a member of the Cleveland Indians. He wanted to step in there again in the 1990s but current Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf wouldn't let him do it. It is a shame we no longer had Bill Veeck who would have certainly allowed Minnie to take same swings in every decade. Though, kudos to Reinsdorf for retiring Minnie's uniform number 9 and for erecting a statue of Minnie at the ballpark.

As a kid, I mostly learned about Minnie Minoso by purchasing his baseball cards and reading the backs. I was able to attend one of the old Hillside Holiday Inn shows in the late 1970s where Minnie Minoso was signing autographs for free. I scoured the room for Minoso cards to get signed. I was able to purchase his 1952 Topps rookie card for a song because cards didn't cost much at all back then, no matter who the player was. I had Minnie sign the '52 Topps card which was in my possession until I enrolled in law school and sold most of my autograph collection to pay for books.

The coolest thing about Minnie was that he was always around and always friendly. Oddly, I mostly ran into him at Sluggers over by Wrigley Field. In the 1990s, his big old Cadillac, with the vanity license plate that read "MINNIE," was parked in front of Sluggers on Clark Street most every Saturday night. I once saw is son, Orestes Junior, outside of a game and mistook him for a player and got his autograph. Junior was real nice and told me he wasn't a major league player but did play some minor league ball.

For me, Minnie Minoso was a living legend and I appreciated what he accomplished on the field and that he was always such I nice person who was always accessible. It is going to be weird not seeing that Cadillac around town. RIP Minnie.

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Day 3 at the Fanatics Authentics Show

Day 2 of the March 2015 Fan Fanatic Show in Chicago

Boom, Pop, Rat-A-Tat-Tat; Boom, Pop, Rat-A-Tat-Tat

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Grand Rapids Has The World's Greatest Doughnuts!

Nice Crowd at the Smith & Gordon Show

Tony Gordon

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