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Saw Some Cool Cards Today in Wisconsin

4/22/2013

Sunday, April 7, 2013, Serb Hall, Milwaukee, WI -- I don't know, maybe it is this crappy weather we have been having but I have just been tired lately. Loading up my car, driving to Milwaukee, loading into the hall and setting up my table is really tough when I'm tired. I struggled through it and got everything together for another edition of the Serb Hall Baseball Card Show. We were in the room next to the bar but the auction was in the bar. I pulled out some old 8X10 photos for the auction today. Nothing special. I think I had Charles Barkley and Steve Carlton in there. None of them sold. In fact, I was shut out at the auction for the second Serb Hall show in a row. I gotta come up with something different for the Serb auction.

Tiredness and bad auction aside, I had a pretty good show today. I have some solid regulars at this show. Jason got things going for me by purchasing a T206 O'Hara. It was nice to see Jim today. He doesn't always attend the Serb show. I love how he can tell you the number of any baseball card from the early 1950s. Just throw out a name from the 1954 Topps set and he'll tell you the card number, or whether it's a short print or double print. No Mark today. I brought along this creepy 1960s Los Angeles Dodgers doll for him that I picked up a the Sun-Times show. Mark likes the oddball stuff. Jim purchased some 1954 Topps baseball cards. I think he is working on his third or fourth set. I told him to sell me one, he just smiled. I love the '54 Topps set with rookie cards of Al Kaline, Ernie Banks and Hank Aaron, this is one of the coolest sets from the 1950s.

Jim Z. purchased a 1963 Fleer Bob Gibson. A dealer pulled some cards out of my 50-cent box. Jeff picked up a nice pile of 1957 Topps baseball and some 1972 and 1973 Topps football. A new customer found some cards in my dollar box. Another new customer purchased some cards from the 1970s. Then I sold a 1977 Topps baseball complete set to a new customer. A regular customer purchased my 1952 Topps Willie Mays rookie. I've had the Mays rookie for a long time. It is PHUGLY. It has a corner torn off and taped back on. I figured that it would sell eventually.

Kevin purchased some 1970s baseball. A regular customer purchased some 1969 Topps. A new customer found some cards in my 25-cent box. I started packing up early because I had an appointment to view a collection. A few other dealers had packed up as well. A guy came in and was talking all sorts of trash because we were packing up early. I have never seen this guy before and I really didn't think he was going to spend much money. He wouldn't shut up. I didn't want to start with him, so I kept my mouth shut but the whole time I'm thinking that maybe next time he should show up earlier. The Serb show usually starts winding down after noon. This guy was a little too upset. Get over it, dude!

I left the show, plugged the address for my appointment into the GPS and took some small winding roads to the middle of nowhere. Then I viewed about the coolest collection of cards I have ever seen. This was a childhood collection of someone who originally gathered the cards in the 1930s. There were complete sets of 1933 and 1934 Goudeys. The four 1933 Ruths were beautiful. I'm kicking myself for not taking a photo with those Ruths. There was some awesome '38 Goudeys, old scorecards from the 1930s, autographs, a scrapbook of newspaper photos from the 1930s, magazines and more. It was cool! I don't have the kind of money to purchase a collection like this but I'm helping the owner sell the items through one of the large auction houses -- a service I provide to anyone interested (contact me for more info).

It was a long day and I didn't get home until well into the night. Of course, I had to go to work in the morning. Tired once again!

Slowly but surely, I'm catching up on my blogs. As i write this, it is April 22, 2013, and I'm gearing up for the Orland Park show on April 28. Last week, I priced some 1980-81 Topps hockey and some 1979 Topps baseball. This week I'm working on some 1975 Topps football. I also hope to get to some 1953 Bowman Color baseball. I'll also have a bunch of new stuff priced and ready to go for my display cases. A big thank you to everyone who bought cards from me at the Serb Hall show. Next month, Serb and Orland are on the same day. I'm going to set up at Orland and hopefully my friend Andy is going to set up at Serb for me with a single table of stuff. Let me know what you'd like me to give Andy to bring out to Serb. As I said, it was a real nice show at the April Serb show and I hope to see I nice crowd at Orland this weekend. Take care!

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I Was So Tired I Was Tripping My Brains Out!!!

4/20/2013

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Saturday, March 30, 2013, Indian Lakes Resort, Bloomingdale, IL -- Okay, Okay, I've lost track of the number of blogs that I owe you guys. March was an extremely busy month at my real job, so I've fallen waaaaayyy behind on the blogs. I'll catch up again... one day. But thanks to the wonders of technology and a little help from Wayne and Garth, we can go back in time to that pleasant Saturday morning before Easter. Please click on the video below and continue reading.

Well, one week after the Sun-Times Show, two weeks after a double-bill weekend at Orland and Gonzaga, and with just two days off over the previous 30 days from either my day job or a card show, I was soooo tired on this Saturday morning that I was tripping my brains out. Please click on the video below for some trippy music to accompany the rest of this exciting adventure.

I'm not really quite sure how I woke up this morning or how I made it to Bloomingdale and set up my table. The usual egg mcmuffin and coffee were extremely helpful. We had a nice dealer turn out with the regulars Fred, Willie, Ted, Corky, Mike, joined by Jeff, Del and another dealer who I have seen before but I don't remember his name.

I was pleasantly surprised when a customer with a terrific name, Tony, made my day by purchasing a bunch of 1954 Bowman baseball including a Gil Hodges and Jimmy Piersall. Tony also purchased some 1954 Red Hearts. I've seen Tony around for years and he occasionally makes some nice purchases from me. I really appreciated the purchases today! Then Adam and a friend purchased a bunch of Cubs from the 1970s. Kyle's dad, whose name I always forget, purchased a bunch of cards from the 1950s and 1960s.

I chatted with another customer about the West Town neighborhood in Chicago for quite a while. I love hearing old stories about this neighborhood. I have lived in several different apartments in West Town in the past and my great-grandparents settled there from Poland in the late 1800's. My grandmother graduated from West Town's Tuley High School, now called Roberto Clemente, in 1925. I have her high school yearbooks. Famous alums of Tuley include Knute Rockne, Saul Bellow, and Mike Todd. My grandmother is pictured below in her Tuley yearbook, middle row. She died about 20 years ago at age 89. Oddly, the first thing I thought about when she died was that she lived 89 years and never saw the Cubs win a World Series.

Anyway, we didn't have a whole lot of customers at the Bloomingdale show which was understandable being the day before Easter. A lot of folks were out of town this weekend. I did buy a few cards, some 1971-72 Topps basketball. I love the old basketball cards. I actually like anything old. Old stuff is cool.

I stopped off at Portillo's on my way home. Once home, I unloaded the car then went out and picked up some Easter candy and some Legos to give my kids on Easter. I couldn't get the kids to go to sleep that night. Did I mention how tired I was? Well, I had to stay up until the wee hours in the morning to hide some Easter eggs around the house. It was worth it, though. The kids loved it. But I was so tired on Sunday morning that I was tripping my brains out. Please click trippy music video again. More blogs on the way!!

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Day Three at the March 2013 Sun-Times Show

4/11/2013

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Sunday, March 24, 2013, Stephens Center, Rosemont, IL -- I'm dragging today. Three days is too long. I much prefer the single-day shows. I didn't make it to Mickey D's today so I went and got some horrible over-priced coffee from the food stand and a banana. I drank a bunch more of that horrible coffee throughout the day.

The crowd was slow to arrive today and was decidedly smaller than yesterday but more folks than Friday. A new customer got things going for me today by purchasing a nice pile of 1965 Topps baseball. It was great to see Dave today, who purchased some 1963 Fleer baseball, a 1959 Topps Corsair Trio with Roberto Clemente and a graded T206 common.

The Chicago Blackhawks were well represented all weekend, especially today when a few Hawks were signing autos. Tons of Hawks gear throughout the room.

I met the nephew of Dave Koslo, a major league pitcher from 1941 to 1955. A Wisconsin native, Koslo pitched for the New York Giants, Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Braves. Koslo was a teammate of Willie Mays during the early years of the career of the "Say Hey Kid." Koslo's nephew said his uncle regularly brought his family to games and events. The nephew said his mother got to have dinner with Mays on many occasions. According to the nephew, Mays was a shy kid in 1952 when he was teammates with Koslo. Neat stuff!

I enjoyed talking with Koslo's nephew. Afterwards, Gary purchased some cards from my 50-cent and dollar box. A new customer purchased some 1958 Topps baseball. Jason purchased a T206 Mordecai Brown and some 1952 Bowman baseball. A new customer purchased some 1972 Topps football. Then I watched a guy go through my binders for about a half hour or so. He pulled out a smattering of cards from my 1970 Topps football binder. I started to suspect some trouble when I saw his hands go in and out of a bag. He walked away without buying any cards. I suspect he stole about $5 worth of cards. I didn't chase him down figuring he needed the cards more than I did. The Stephens Center is a magnet for thieves and scumbags. Luckily, none of my binders walked off this weekend. I was tempted to leave the binders at home but they're such an important source of revenue that I gotta bring them. I'm still on the fence as to whether or not to bring the binders out to the National this summer.

I was more in disbelief than angry when I saw that thief. My mood changed quickly when I saw my friend Joel, who purchased some 1952 Bowman White Sox. For every scumbag there are 25 great customers like Joel. I wasn't going to let the loss of five bucks get me down. A new customer helped my mood when he purchased some 1976 Topps baseball. Chuck, another great customer, purchased some 1960 Fleer football. A new customer purchased some 1970 Topps baseball. Another new customer found some cards in my dollar box.

Then things slowed up and I took a walk around. I noticed the overall number of dealers was down significantly from past Sun-Times shows. Whole rows were gone. I didn't see the guys from New York who sell jerseys and T-shirts. I wonder where they were this weekend? I walked by 707 with their amazing selection of extremely high priced T206s. Though, it was a ghost town over there. Do they ever sell anything? I mean they have the best inventory in the world, hands down. I love looking at their cards. But prices are high and there is something very Adams Family about them. 707 is kind of a mystery.

I saw Mark Smith, he seemed to be doing a brisk business. The guys from Arizona, who have the non-sports cards, were noticeably absent. All the major auction houses were accounted for as well as the grading companies and Beckett. I picked up some supplies from a dealer I have never seen before. There was a guy from Tennessee with new boxes of cards at extremely reasonable prices. I was tempted to buy a box of Heritage. I saw Eddie in his usual spot selling supplies. His lovely wife was absent. Leroy was helping Eddie this weekend and he looked tired. Leroy said he would much rather be buying cards than selling behind a table. I saw Mr. Mint walking around. He stopped to chat with Dave a few times. I saw the two guys from Wisconsin whose tables I took over at Gonzaga. I had thought they sold out but I guess they're still dabbling. I chatted with Bill Nest for a short while. I saw a bunch of the other regular Chicago dealers like Dell and Jeff. I didn't really see anything to purchase. As a rule, cards are priced high at this show.

Back at my tables, I made some more sales. A new customer purchased some 1959 Topps White Sox. There were more Cubs and Sox collectors this weekend than I have ever seen before at this show. I used to bring out a box of Cubs and Sox cards but it never got much action here. Next time, the Cubs/Sox box is back. A new customer finished off my weekend with a purchase of some 1972 Topps baseball.

On the buying front, I picked up a nice grouping of cards from the 1950s. Overall, sales were down so I didn't do a whole lot of buying. I am disappointed with my sales. Friday was horrible. Saturday and Sunday were okay. It's just that, at a show like this, where thousands walk through the door over three days and some of the biggest dealers are here along with some of the most popular athletes of today and yesterday signing autographs, I think my sales should be above average, not below. I told Dave and Bob that I'm not doing the show in November. But the more I think about it, I did have a really good time. The Sun-Times show is the largest show in the Midwest other than the National. I got to talk with a whole lot of new customers and I always enjoy hanging out with my tablemates Dave and Bob. There is a buzz in the room. It really is a fun time. So, I just may set up again in November.

Dave and Bob, unlike me, had excellent shows. They have figured this place out. I'm a little slow and am lagging behind. If I come back in November, I've got to try some new things to increase sales. I think one of the things I should do is skip some of the regular shows I attend prior to the Sun-Times so I can spend more time updating my binders. I brought out a couple of complete sets this time around but they didn't sell. I also brought out more graded cards than usual and they didn't sell much. I even brought out some autographs -- nothing sold. Oh well, C'est la vie.

But I can't really complain (HaHa) because cards are just fun and I'm hopelessly addicted. I'm looking forward to getting back to my regular stomping grounds. Come see me this weekend at Orland Park on Saturday (April 13) and Gonzaga on Sunday (April 14). A huge thank you to everyone who stopped, chatted and bought some cards at the Sun-Times Show. Adios!!

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Day Two at the March 2013 Sun-Times Show

4/9/2013

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Saturday, March 23, 2013, Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, IL -- I was too wired from the long day yesterday to sleep much. Though, it sure was nice to not have to load up the car. I was actually able to have a leisurely morning as I stopped at McDonald's for an egg mcmuffin and some coffee. About 20 minutes later, I pulled into the CTA station in Rosemont, parked and walked the six blocks to the convention center.

It was nice to see a line already forming at the door when I arrived around 8 a.m. Morning set up was easy. I just had to remove the tarps I placed over my tables the night before. We had a nice steady stream of customers today. I like the fact that collectors come from all over the Midwest for this show. Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Ohio, Michigan and Missouri were well represented today. I saw a lot of Detroit Tigers gear.

Ken, a regular dealer at Orland, got things going for me today by purchasing a 1955 Bowman Ernie Banks to get signed. A new customer purchased some 1971 Topps baseball. Another new customer purchased a 1970-71 Topps Lou Alcindor. A new customer purchased some 1967 Topps baseball. Another new customer purchased some 1976 Topps baseball. A new customer purchased some 1971 Topps coins and some cards out of my 50-cent box.

A new customer purchased some 1971-72 and 1977-78 Topps hockey. Another new customer purchased some 1966 Topps baseball. A new customer purchased a 1975 Topps Mini Mike Schmidt and a Strikeout Leaders card featuring Nolan Ryan and Steve Carlton. Then the boys from Old Baseball Cards (OBC) made my day. One member picked up some 1952 Bowman football. Another OBC picked up some 1967 Topps baseball. My old friend TJ picked up a group of cards including a 1952 Bowman Willie Mays.

A new customer purchased some 1970 Topps baseball. A young collector purchased some 1976-77 Topps basketball. Another young collector purchased some 1970's hockey. You know, I hear guys complaining all the time that there aren't any young collectors. This is absolute nonsense. I see young collectors every single weekend. Unlike the complainers, I think the hobby is healthy and there are plenty of collectors under age 20. I see quite a few father and sons at the shows and this weekend was no exception. Sports card collecting is alive and well and a great thing for families to do together.

After the young guys, I engaged a new customer in a cash and trade deal. I gave the guy a 1952 Topps Bob Feller in exchange for some cash and a 1933 Goudey Fred Lindstrom. A husband and wife team then purchased some 1971 Topps baseball and some cards out of my 50-cent box. Dennis then purchased some Packers out of my newly loaded 1973 Topps football binder. My day ended with a guy looking through a dozen or so binders. I write the book price and my sale price on the sleeves in the binders. Well, this guy wanted my Beckett so he could look up the prices himself. He spent like an hour looking up cards and spent a big 75 cents. I should have charged him an hourly rate to look at my Beckett.

On the buying front, I purchased a small group of cards from the 1950s and 1960s and a nice group of T206s. There were more people trying to sell me cards than I have ever seen at this show. I bought what I could.

We had a really nice crowd today. The aisles were jam packed for most of the day. My sales were okay but down from previous Sun-Times shows. The famous Steve was out and about. He bought us Subway sandwiches which was much appreciated. Though, I had to listen to a rant about social workers. I got home around 7 p.m. and was tired. One more day!

Below is a video I shot while walking back to my booth from the washroom.

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Day One at the March 2013 Sun-Times Show

4/6/2013

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Friday, March 22, 2013, Stephens Center, Rosemont, IL -- Well, the wild and wacky month of March continued on with the Sun-Times Show. While I've been setting up at this show for years, I took the past two shows off, choosing instead to set up in Canton, OH, and Milwaukee, Wi. For whatever reason, the Sun-Times is a bad show for me. It takes a ton of effort and stamina to deal with this three-day show where sales have been slow the past few years.

The March Sun-Times show is especially troublesome for me because March is an extremely busy month at the real job. Luckily, the boss gave me Friday off of work. The Friday show officially opens to VIPs at 3:30 p.m. and to the general public at 4 p.m. I got there around 10:30 a.m. When I got to my spot, my usual Sun-Times Show partners, Dave McDonald and Bob Downing, were already set up. Dave even had dealers going through his stuff and was making sales.

The three of us have a terrific set up. We have three spots. Dave is a stickler in that he has to have one table along the aisle. At the end of Dave's table, I go back with my tables about 10 feet. Then we have a back row where I got one card table this time around and Bob took the rest of the space. Then along the far end of the back row, Bob sets up tables heading back to the aisle. I then put five card tables in the middle of our space. I realized I needed one more table and ran out to Target to pick another one up. Once I finally set everything up, about four hours later, I had to go move my car out of the building. I don't quite understand why the folks that run this show, Mounted Memories, don't allow dealers to keep their cars in the building. There is plenty of room for all the dealers. Bob thought that maybe the Village of Rosemont doesn't allow the cars in the building to force everyone to park across the street and pay the $13 parking lot fee. I always park down River Road at the CTA station where parking is $5 a day. It's about a six-block walk to the CTA station but I don't mind.

Dave sells high-grade vintage and absolutely kills it at this show. He was mobbed from the minute I got there until we left for the night around 9 p.m. Bob has an eclectic mix of vintage cards and memorabilia. He had five or six display cases filled with ticket stubs, schedules, odd-ball items and Chicago-themed cards. He fills up his side tables with a terrific assortment of old programs and magazines. At the end of the side tables he had gumball-machine size mini-football helmets. He always sells a great deal of these mini-helmets. i didn't have enough space to put out all my display cases. I got them all out except one. I brought out my graded cards for this show. The graded rarely sells at the small shows so I don't normally bring them out. I was also able to get all my binders out on the six card tables in the middle. We had a really nice set up and I was hoping for a decent weekend.

Dave made us some salami sandwiches. I was much appreciative because I was starving by the time I returned from the CTA lot. Bob brought his brother Bill along. I met Bill once before but this was the first chance I had to sit and talk with him. What a neat guy! He recently retired from the U.S. Post Office and is selling cards for Bob on eBay along with old vinyl record albums. My cousin Mark is big into collectible record albums. Bill knows my cousin. They see each other regularly at estate sales. Bill explained the finer points of buying and selling records. It was interesting. Bill is also the former owner of a baseball academy which I thought was really cool. I enjoyed talking with Bill all weekend.

Once the doors opened, the crowd was light. Probably one of the smallest crowds I've ever seen on a Friday night at this show. I did see a few people I know walking around like PJ, Don, Terry, Junior and Harry. Card sales, however, were at disaster levels. I drop a pretty penny to rent the space and I need to make a certain amount on Friday to have any chance at a profitable show. On this Friday, I wasn't even close. I had a whole bunch of 50-cent and dollar sales that didn't add up to much.

A dealer bough some hockey cards. A new customer purchased a 1968 Topps Tommy John. Another new customer bought some football cards from the 1970s. A new customer bought a 1958 Topps Bill Mazeroski. Another new customer purchased some White Sox from the 1972 Topps set. A new customer purchased some 1961 Topps baseball. Harry purchased some 1963 Fleer baseball. Thanks Harry! Normally Harry spends a couple of days at the Sun-Times show but this time around he had to go to Germany for work. I'd love to go to Germany sometime. It's one of the few European countries that I haven't visited. A guy who spent most of the night buying cards from Dave, picked up some 1959 Topps baseball as I was shutting down. That was all she wrote for sales on Friday night. While I appreciated everyone who purchased cards, I probably could have made more money sitting outside with CTA station with a tin cup, asking for help to buy a sandwich.

I had one mope show up at my portion of the booth and ask if I would sell him cards at 7 percent of book. Now why in the world would I do that? I'm there to make money, not give it away. I'm happy to give a discount but to discount the cards so much to where I'm losing money is absolutely asinine.

On the buying front, I picked up some nice groupings of cards including some 1972 Topps football with a Staubach rookie, and about five different Dr. Js from the 1970s.

That was a long day! I was tired as hell when I left. When I got home, I was all wired and couldn't fall asleep. Ugh!

Below is a very short video from Friday night at the Sun-Times Show. I shot this video while sitting behind my table and it features the activity in my booth.

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Hey! Stop Smoking That Wacky Tobacky!!!

4/3/2013

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Sunday, March 17, 2013, Orland Park Civic Center, Orland Park, IL -- I found the video above on YouTube. It explains the meaning of St. Patrick's Day. Though, it missed one very important point about St. Patrick's Day... it really should be celebrated by buying vintage sports cards from me at the Orland Park card show.

St. Patrick's Day aside, I noticed this Orland show on the calendar back in January because Orland promoter John Leary rarely schedules shows two weeks in a row. The Orland show is usually scheduled for the second Saturday and the last Sunday of each month. John explained that he had to schedule the Sunday show early because he did not want to go up against the Sun-Times show.

As a dealer, I had to carefully consider whether I wanted to do the show. I guessed attendance would be down because of St. Pat's Day and the fact there was an Orland show the week before. So I checked the Beckett calendar for other Midwest shows and couldn't find one that was appealing. I just didn't feel like driving five-plus hours to an out-of-state show and I felt this show gave me the best opportunity to make the most sales locally. Though, I knew sales would be down.

Well, attendance was definitely down and there were many empty dealer tables. Luckily, I had some decent sales and didn't do too badly. I wore green, like the geek that I am. I also had a craving for a corned beef sandwich all day. On the following day, I went to Perry's Deli, the best sandwich shop in Downtown Chicago, and ate a fantastic corned beef sandwich.

Dan got things going for me today with a purchase of a 1961 Topps Brooks Robinson, a 1958 Topps Lou Burdette and some 1978 Topps baseball, which I had reloaded for this show. In an effort to raise some funds to pay off some baseball card debts, I broke out a portion of my autograph collection for this show. Steve picked up a Hank Aguirre auto. A regular customer purchased some 1971 Topps baseball.

Gil was kind enough to purchase some Girl Scout cookies along with some 1971 Topps baseball. Walt M. picked up some 1968 Topps baseball. Paul picked up some 1972-73 Topps hockey. Jim picked up some 1958 Topps baseball. Will picked up some 1957s, along with some cards he purchased earlier from me via eBay, and a 1960 Topps Mickey Mantle. My friend Tony Schaefer saved my day with a large purchase of cards from various years. Tony was kind enough to accept the cards as payment for my share of our booth at the National, slated for five days this summer in Rosemont, IL, begining on July 31. I kept coming up with the cash over the past several months but would then spend it on cards. Cash doesn't seem to stay in my pocket for very long. It's much too fun buying cards.

On the buying front on this day, I picked up a nice assortment of 1950s and 1960s baseball cards. I was very pleased with these purchases. Then things went sour when a couple of guys come by my table with cards to sell. They had nice stuff but their prices were way out in fantasyland. The first guy had three binders filled with Chicago Bears cards. Two of the binders were filled with cards from the 1990s that have zero value. The third binder was 1/3 1950s through 1970s and 2/3 1980s. The guy wanted $450 for all three binders. He wouldn't separate out the vintage. I'm thinking he maybe had $100 worth of cards. Hey buddy, you need to lay off the wacky tobacky!! Why would I give you $450 for $100 worth of cards?

The second guy had a couple boxes of cards mixed between vintage and modern. He had some decent vintage cards like Mantle, Maris and Mays but all the vintage cards were in low grade. He wanted high book for each card! When I tried to explain to him that high book price is reserved for cards in high grade, not the low-grade stuff he has, his response was: "No!" He argued with me that his beat up, torn, frayed, creased and stained cards should get the high book price. I showed him my cards in my display cases and how I list the high book price on a tag and also list my sale price which is usually half or less of the high book price. He shook his head and walked away. I saw him show his cards to other dealers. Nobody purchased any. He took them home. I saw him the next weekend at the Sun-Times show with the same boxes of cards. I didn't see anybody buy his cards there as well.

As I've said many times, baseball cards are not gold. The value is largely based on condition. If your cards are in poor condition, you will NOT get high book price. In addition, you have to be a real doorknob to ask a dealer to pay you high book price for your low-grade cards. Why would I do that? I can't sell them for that price. It's gotta be the wacky tobacky.

After the show, I went with Tony and an old college buddy of his to that sub shop on LaGrange Road, right near the Civic Center. I really like that place. Good hot dogs and good beefs. It was a nice way to end the day.

Once again, I'm plugging the April 7th Serb Hall show, my next show. I'm slowly but surely reloading 1974 Topps football. I have some 1960 Leaf baseball ready to go. I'll also have some new cards for the display cases. I'd like to get 1953 Topps baseball done but I don't think it will happen.

Baseball season started this week, so all is right in the world. Come on out to Serb Hall on Sunday!!!!!

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Ain't It Foggy Outside

4/1/2013

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Sunday, March 10, 2013, Gonzaga Hall, Milwaukee, WI -- Please click the video above for the perfect background music to accompany this intriguing and compelling baseball card show blog.

I was up late the night before the show, pricing 1952 Topps. Then at midnight, it was time to "spring ahead" with the yearly spring time change. I ended up losing an hour. I was TIRED in the morning and was slow getting out the door. I was counting on everyone else sleeping in a bit because of the time change. No such luck. There was an early crowd as usual.

But before I could get to the show, I had to sleepily drive through some treacherous weather. I think for the first time ever, I made it through the winter without a snowstorm prohibiting my travel to a card show. Though, the March 10 Gonzaga show was a close call because of extremely dense fog coupled with freezing rain. The fog grew thicker and thicker as I drove north on Interstate 94. I held my breath at times because visibility was down to 25 feet or less in some spots. I was tempted to pull over. I kept thinking of those 50-car pile-ups you read about occurring on some random North Dakota highway. If one car stopped in front of me, I'd never know and smash right into it. Thankfully, I arrived in Milwaukee in one piece, though a little shaken.

Pictured above is a photo I took just past the Illinois/Wisconsin border. This is at about 7:30 a.m. The fog became much thicker as I drove on. Thanks to the weather, turn out was lighter than usual. Surprisingly, quite a few folks drove up from Illinois. I have a regular Illinois customer who collects ABA cards. He usually drives up to the Wisconsin shows. Today he found some 1975-76 Topps ABA cards. Do you remember my last Serb Hall blog where I met Al Bundy? Well, lo and behold, Al showed up at my table early today to pick up those 1955 Bowman umpire cards he said were too expensive. I kind of wish I didn't have them. It would serve him right. I don't respond well to folks who try to bully me. This guy is pure aggravation. After he purchased the Bowmans, he asked me if I would sell him 1965 Topps high numbers, which book at $8 a piece, for just 75 cents a piece. I politely declined.

Other than Al, I had no problems with anyone at this show (sorry Ted). Even the folks watching the auction today did not block my tables from paying customers. After dealing with Al, I had to go get a piece of cake to put me in a better mood. My buddy Dave had the red velvet today. I went with the marble.

I priced out some Red Man's for the show today. I've had a small group sitting around for a while and I thought it was high time to get them out. Well, I won't be bringing Red Man's out any time soon because I sold almost all of them. I love the Red Man's. They are over-size cards with the players depicted in a painting, much like the paintings in the 1953 Topps baseball. They're really cool and you just don't see them around that often.

A new customer purchased a 1953 Red Man Warren Spahn. He was eyeing some others and came back later in the show only to find them gone. Steve then purchased some 1972 Topps football. Jim picked up some 1952 Topps and some 1953 Topps, including a Carl Furillo. Jim also bought me a cup of coffee. Thanks Jim! A regular customer picked up some 1933 Goudeys. Jason pulled a bunch of cards out of my 1970s' binders. Jeff picked up some 1953 Topps, 1954 Bowmans and some 1975 Minis.

Then I had a bit of a rush where sales were happening quickly and I couldn't write them all down. Here is what I was able to jot down: a regular pulled some cards out of my $1 box. Another regular purchased some 1968s and 1972s. Mark picked up a small box of non-sport cards called World on Wheels. I picked up the cards a month ago with Mark in mind. He also purchased an assortment of 1950s baseball. Thanks Mark! A new customer purchased a 1976 Topps Fred Lynn. Then Keith bought three boxes of Somoas, the ever-tasty coconut Girl Scout Cookies. Thanks Keith! My daughter is selling Girl Scout cookies again. Keith, who is one of the coolest card show promoter around, emailed me earlier in the week and offered a table in the front hallway for my daughter to sell cookies. Her troop had set up at a restaurant the day before. There was no way I could wake her up to sell again. So I put out a few cookies at my tables. I think I sell more cookies at the shows than the troop does at their "Sight Sales." Did I say how cool a guy Keith is? He also gave me some Easter goodie bags for my kids. The kids were pretty happy when I pulled those things out when I got home.

But before I went home, I made a few more sales. Gary purchased a 1955 Topps Yogi Berra. A new customer pulled some cards from my quarter box. Another new customer purchased some 1960 Topps. A regular customer purchased some 1952 Topps. A regular customer purchased a 1974-75 Topps Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Bill rounded out my day by purchasing some Girl Scout cookies. Thanks Bill!

On the buying front, a guy came to my table with a pair of 1978 Topps Eddie Murray rookie cards. He wanted just $10 a piece for them, which isn't a bad price, but I already have a dozen or so Eddie Murray rookies in stock. I just don't need any more at any price. Then I purchased 12,000 or so cards in binders and a shoe box full of stuff. Thanks Del and Jeff! The cards are mostly from the 1970s and I plan on building a whole bunch of sets. It was tough getting all those cards into my car after the show. The drive home was just as scary as the drive to the show with dense fog, freezing rain.

I'm still behind on the blogs. I have a bunch more on the way. My next show is Serb Hall on Sunday, April 7. I plan on pricing about a dozen or so T206s I recently purchased. I know I have a few T206 collectors at the Serb Hall show. Hopefully, there isn't any fog on Sunday!!

Below is a short video from the show. There is also a picture of the binders I purchased.

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