Sunday, June 23, 2024, Civic Center, Orland Park, IL

As late as I was to Madison Saturday morning, I was as early to Orland on Sunday. Easy load in. Only one dope got in my way while I laid out my binders.

I have a little extra space in Orland that I filled with two 5,000-count dime boxes ranging in years from 1976 through 1984. I don't bring out those boxes very often. Surprisingly, the most cards I sold came from the 1980's. There were guys and gals in that dime box all day.

I finished setting up at 8:30 a.m., pictured above. Nice thing about this show is that Rich, the promoter, does not allow anyone in the room until closer to 9 a.m. I had a good half-hour to kill. I was tired and jet lagged. I killed the time just staring into space.

Rich let customers in around 8:45 a.m. As usual, they all went over to Record Store Steve's tables. Steve just happened to cut me off on the drive to the Civic Center. Nice driving Steve! According to Rick, Steve had a bunch of pre-War stuff on his tables today. I soon became very busy and was unable to check it out. I think Rick bought it all anyway.

My regulars started to come by... there was Andy and Chris then Awesome Mike, who not only purchased a bunch of cards but gave me some money to take my son Kolby out to lunch when I bring him back to Michigan State this fall. Thanks Mike!

Will and Joe soon arrived with much needed coffee and sustenance. Thanks guys! Will also purchased a large pile of 1977 Topps baseball. Gil just about cleaned out my 1960 Topps binder and commented on how dead my binders are. Sorry Gil! I'm trying to load them as fast as I can!!

A customer I met last month, pulled some more 1971 Topps baseball. He also brought over his buddy who purchased a bunch of basketball from the 1970's. Rick purchased some 1972-73 Topps basketball.

One of my regular hockey guys purchased a bunch of hockey cards from the 1970's. Another regular purchased a pile of cards from the 1970's. A husband-and-wife team purchased some 1965 Topps baseball. A nice lady purchased a bunch of Cubs from many different years. My pal Phil purchased a bunch of cards. Thanks Phil!

Quite a few folks purchased cards and I ended up with another solid Orland show, as usual. I love this show! Real nice crowd today. Seemed like a larger crowd than last month.

Then Jeff Peterson brought over two guys who had a shoe box of mostly vintage cards for sale. I ended up spending most of my earnings with these guys, picking up all sorts of O-Pee-Chee hockey from the 1960's. Thanks Jeff, I owe you big time!! Occasionally, I can find some O-Pee-Chee from the 1970's but this is the first time anyone brought over O-Pee-Chee from the 1960's and all Blackhawks to boot!! Awesome!!

I went home with very little money after both shows this weekend but I was over the moon with my purchases. What a great buying weekend!!

We went over to the sub shop after the show where I went with a beef. I was tired and really feeling the jet lag but a great weekend all in all. A huge thank you to everyone who bought and sold me cards!! Sure was a fun weekend!!!

Next up is the show at the DuPage County Fairgrounds on Saturday, June 29, 2024. I am still trying to figure out what to bring out. I will probably go with two display cases of graded vintage cards along with all of my baseball binders. I am still working on that 1967 Topps binder which I would like to talk about a little bit.

I was only one year old in 1967. My older brother was buying cards then but my mom threw them out by the time I started collecting. I first started purchasing 1967's when I began to attend card shows in Hillside, Illinois, in 1978. I did not have a whole lot of money then because I was just 12 years old but I do remember purchasing semi-stars like Gil Hodges and Tommy John. I found a lot of cards in the dime and quarter boxes at shows.

In the 1980's, I largely sold cards at the flea market at the old Twin Drive-In Movie Theater in Wheeling, Illinois. I occasionally set up at card shows. My inventory back then was largely made up of cards from the 1970's which I had in binders. I remember that I made one binder of cards from the 1960's, including several pages of 1967 Topps.

It was not until the early 2000's when I was able to obtain a large quantity of 1967's and make a single binder from that year. The problem was that I had a very easy time purchasing cards numbered from 1 to 300 but finding cards numbered above 300 proved difficult. 

I remember the first time I brought that binder out to a Fred Copp show where customers who went through it kept asking where the rest of the cards were at. I did not have them and just could not find them.

To this day, I still have a degree of difficulty obtaining cards higher than number 300. As I work on my current reload, I probably have more cards above number 300 than ever before but still scarce compared to most every other year. Which leads me to believe that the 1967 Topps baseball set is one the most difficult post-War set to complete outside of 1952 Topps and certainly the most difficult set to complete from the 1960's. 

At most every show, folks ask me for 1967 Topps high numbers. I so rarely have them. I will have some soon once I complete this reload but I do not expect them to last very long. I may have the binder fully reloaded by the show this Saturday in Wheaton. If not, I will have them for certain in Oak Creek on July 6. Make sure you check with me the next couple of shows because the '67 highs just won't last, they never do!

Anyway, hope to see you Saturday at the DuPage County Fairgrounds!

​A couple more photos from Orland...

Saturday, June 22, 2024, Sheraton Hotel, Madison, WI

We arrived back from Hawaii in the morning on Friday, June 21, 2024. I slept all day. I was in a daze when I set my alarm clock Friday night. I thought I set it for 5 a.m. but woke up Saturday at 6 a.m., no alarm. Turns out I set the alarm for 5 p.m., not 5 a.m. Ugh!

It takes me a good hour to get ready which includes loading my bins of cards into the car. I hustled and was on the road to Madison at 6:45 a.m. It is a two-hour drive from my house in Illinois to Madison. Show starts at 9 a.m. I was resigned to be late which is so unfortunate because last month I was early and had the most pleasant set up -- that would not be the case this month.

I actually made pretty good time and arrived at the hotel around 8:35 a.m. I should have worn a hat because it was raining during load in. My cards are protected by plastic bins but there was nothing to stop the rain from hitting my bald head. I stuffed my glasses in my pocket.

I brought out most of the binders this morning. New this month was 1972-73 Topps basketball. I did not bring any basketball out last month. Instead, I brought hockey, which I left at home this month. 

As soon as I started placing binders on the tables, customers started to arrive. I had to chase them away. I need the front of my tables free of customers so I can lay out the binders. Folks did not seem to understand and kept coming, inhibiting my ability to set up! It was extremely frustrating.

I have three tables at this show. I placed out all of the baseball and basketball binders on the first two tables then set out to place the football binders on the third table. At that point, the floodgates opened and I could not stop people from attacking the baseball binders. I just ignored them while I'll finished placing out the football binders.

I checked the time once I completed set up -- it was 9 a.m. I was kind of proud that I had everything set up by the opening bell despite my late arrival and the hordes that would not allow me set up. I will be sure to set my alarm for 5 a.m., not 5 p.m., for the July show!!

Folks arriving early to shows is a big problem. I would appreciate it so much if customers arrived once the show officially opened and not before. 

Anyway, the Madison show brings out the vintage set builders, and to a man, they all arrive in the morning. My tables are always crowded before noon. Afternoon, tumbleweeds. 

Several of the early birds, who blocked my ability to set up, did not purchase any cards. Frustrating. A father and daughter team, that came by my tables three or four times while I was setting up, eventually settled in and purchased several large piles of cards. Nice folks. I just wish they would not arrive so early!

Soon there was a wall of people at my tables including my local football guy, Tom, Ken, Rod, Ben, and the two brothers who have been working on 1956 Topps baseball for the last several months. I sold quite a few cards in the morning. Not quite as many as last month but still pretty good.

On the buying front, Rod sold me a nice pile of 1955 Bowman baseball. Thanks Rod!

Normally, I stick around until 2 or 3 p.m. but there were reports of a nasty thunderstorm heading our way and I packed up at 1 p.m. in an effort to get out of dodge before the storm arrived.

No such luck! I spent the first 45 minutes of my drive home stuck in a torrential downpour made worse by heavy traffic and trucks kicking up spray. It was a scary ride. I tried to stick to the slow lane and was going about 40 MPH because I could barely see out of my windshield. Others zoomed by on my left kicking up spray. The rain stopped once I reached Rockford and had a much easier ride the rest of the way home.

This was a double-bill weekend with Orland on Sunday. Orland blog coming soon.

Next Oak Creek show is July 6. As usual, I have a full house, no more dealer space available. I am also painfully behind answering all my messages. Hope to get to everybody soon.

Prior to Oak Creek, I will be setting up at the DuPage County Fairgrounds on June 29 in Wheaton, IL. The show is operated by the Premier Cardshow guys who always do an excellent job. This will be their first show in Wheaton and I am not sure what to bring out. I am going to bring out two display cases of vintage graded cards. I am really not expecting too many set builders so I do not know yet if I will bring out the binders. I am working on the 1967 Topps baseball binder but don't think I'll have it ready by Saturday. I might just bring out more display cases of vintage raw star cards. What do you guys think I should bring out?

Anyway, there was a big crowd at the Madison show, as usual. Here are some photos:

Below are some of my purchases from the Madison show.

It has been a good three or four years since I last went on a family vacation, not because I don't want to, but because there is now a degree of difficulty in getting one organized as my kids are older and they work plus my wife works a lot and does not like to take any time off.

Thankfully, last year my sister in-law and brother-in suggested we all take a trip together to Hawaii this summer. Everyone agreed and moved around their schedules so we could have June 13 through June 21 free for the trip.

My in-laws live out in California and vacation in Hawaii regularly. They volunteered to plan the whole trip. They are both artists but missed their calling as travel agents. They said they prefer the island of Kauai and were going to procure and Air B & B on the island for the trip. They also planned our itinerary for each day of the trip. All we had to do was show up. Easy, peasy.

Well, I thought it would be easy, peasy, until my wife's alarm went off at 1:30 a.m. on June 13. I had only been asleep for an hour. Our flight to Seattle was scheduled for 5:45 a.m. The wife likes to be early for everything. I, on the other hand, prefer to be late, especially when it involves waking up much too early.

I fell asleep for another hour until wifey woke me up and instructed that I get ready to go to O'Hare. She had ordered a cab to come to the house at 4 a.m. Oh, it was painful to get ready on just two-hours sleep but I was able to bathe, dress and be ready by 4 a.m.

However, at 4 a.m. the cab did not show. My wife called the cab company. No answer. At 4:15 a.m. we loaded into my car and drove to O'Hare. I had hoped to save some money by taking a cab over the long-term parking fees at O'Hare. Oh, well.

We found the long-term parking lot but it was full. Yikes! Luckily, a security guard gave us a voucher and told us to park in short-term parking and hand in the voucher when we return from the trip.

We parked then set out to find Terminal 5 and the Delta departure gates. O'Hare is massive and a chore to navigate. It may be the only airport in the world that has a train to carry passengers from terminal to terminal.

We entered the airport at Terminal 3 and weaved our way up three flights of escalators until we found the train. There are practically no seats on the train and I found it difficult to maintain my balance standing as it rode through the terminals.

In Terminal 5, we entered the long line for the TSA security which went fairly quickly. Before long, we found our gate and boarded the plane where I promptly fell asleep. I woke up a few times because the seat was soooo uncomfortable. It was four hours or so to Seattle. I was in sorry shape when we arrived for a six-hour layover that turned into 8. I pretty much slept most of the time at our gate to Hawaii.

Once on the plane to Kauai, I tried to sleep during the four-hour or so flight. It was tough. The seats on Delta planes are incredibly uncomfortable. I limped out of the plane once in Kauai.

The in-laws had arrived a few hours ahead of us and procured a rental car and paid a local artist to place lays over our heads in the baggage claim area. I am so lucky. My in-laws are so sweet. 

It was around 9 p.m. Kauai time and we drove to the Air B & B in the dark. Nary a street light, though the roads are filled with reflectors which seem to light everything up. The Air B & B turned out to be a four-bedroom house on a golf course. It was beautiful. I went straight to sleep.

I was awoken by a freakin' rooster at 4 a.m. Ugh! Turns out the whole island of Kauai is overrun with chickens. Apparently, there was a hurricane in the mid-1990's that destroyed a bunch of chicken coops and set a large number of chickens free. In the last 30 years, these chickens, with no predators on the island, have procreated unabatedly and now roam everywhere. Yes, freakin' everywhere. I have never seen anything like it. The rooster screamed every morning at 4 a.m. I wonder if it is legal to kill those chickens.

Everyone was up early. The in-laws had filled the kitchen with groceries and we cooked up a massive breakfast. I felt like I was hung-over but prepared to go to the beach. The in-laws took us to a local beach. I was a little concerned because there were no life-guards and my kids are not the strongest swimmers. The kids went right into the water. I covered myself in sun-block lotion and went to sleep.

Initially, I was not going to go into the ocean because I am afraid of sharks but I could not help myself and went in. The water was wonderful. The scenery was amazing. There were chickens everywhere. I also heard quite few southern drawls from the other folks on the beach. 

We spent all day on the beach. The in-laws packed a picnic lunch. I later learned that I did not put on enough sun block as my whole chest and stomach were sun burned. Ugh! Once back at the house, my sister in-law cooked up some Italian sausage in tomato sauce. It was tasty.

I had a tough night sleeping and struggled the next day. The in-laws planned a tour of a coffee plantation. The tour was pretty cool and interesting. Apparently, the company that operates the plantation began farming sugar cane in Kauai around 100 years ago. They started to grow coffee on some of their land in the 1980's. Foreign competition pretty much killed the sugar cane business in Kauai and by the 2000's they converted all of the sugar cane to coffee. We enjoyed many cups of tasty coffee that morning.

After the coffee plantation, the in-laws drove us around the island where we visited several small towns. I did not last very long and spent most of the afternoon sleeping in the car. There is a five-hour time difference between Chicago and Kauai time. I really struggled to adjust. 

The next day, they all went to the beach while I lounged at the house, trying to adjust from the jet lag and time change. The sister in-law cooked up salmon for dinner. Tasty. The next day, the ladies went to get their nails done while the guys went for a bike ride. Oh, I struggled on that bike ride but the scenery was amazing.

For dinner, we went to a Tahitian restaurant. I learned that the island of Kauai was formed from a volcano around 5 million years ago. The first humans to inhabit the island arrived on log canoes from Tahiti around 1,200 years ago. The food at the restaurant was funky. I had some sort of chicken thing. It was good.

I expected to see Polynesian food everywhere like from the Polynesian restaurants that I grew up with in the Chicago area. No such thing, apparently. Though, I did read that rocker Todd Rundgren lives on Kauai and operates a Tiki bar restaurant with his wife. I really wanted to go there but nobody else was interested. We seemed to eat this poke stuff all over the island which consists of rice, veggies and fish or meat or tofu. It was okay. I was really hoping to find a pu-pu platter. No such luck.

The next day we drove to the other side of the island which was real touristy but had beaches where giant turtles rested every afternoon. It was pretty cool hanging out there and looking at those turtles. Of course, there were chickens as well. Lisa got upset when she saw kids chasing the chickens around. I hoped the kids killed those freakin' chickens. If I ever hear another rooster again, it will be too soon!

The next day, the in-laws took us on a hike near the house. We hiked down a cliff made from ancient lava down onto a rocky beach. Lisa and I struggled on that hike. I brought along a piece of candy in case my blood sugar dropped. Well, it dropped and I needed much more candy to bring it up. Lisa started asking other hikers if they had candy. One mom offered some kiddie yogurt. I gratefully accepted and it gave me the fuel I needed to hike back up the cliff.

Back at the house, the sister-in-law cooked up some Italian meatballs. My family likes its Italian food. The ladies come from an old New York Italian family. Their mother made the best Italian food I have ever tasted. They are getting pretty good at cooking it up themselves.

We did more of the same for the rest of the trip, exploring beaches and small towns. It was really fun. The scenery was dazzling.

I really enjoyed our trip to Hawaii. I am not sure if I would go back because the flights there and back from Chicago are long and brutal. Anyway, I have now visited 44 of the 50 states. I am just missing West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Arkansas and Alaska. I would really like to see the Carolinas and Alaska. I am not sure if I need to go to West Virginia, Mississippi and Arkansas... but if they have card shows, you never know! No card shows or card shops on Kauai, which was a little disappointing.

​Now for some photos:

Sunday, June 9, 2024, Holiday Inn, Janesville, WI

It was tough waking up Sunday morning after three days in Indianapolis. I was impressed with myself in that I only hit the snooze button once. Up and Adam!

Easy drive. When I started to load into the building, it looked like the room was half of its normal size. Once fully inside, I could see that a portion of the room was walled off. I found promoters John and Mike who told me the hotel took away a portion of their room for another event. They were not happy.

To make matter worse, the hotel lied to them and told them they walled off that area because there was a leak from the previous night's rain. John and Mike demanded to see the leak... which there was none. The room was set up for an auction.

So the night before the show, the guys had to reconfigure the room to fit in all the dealers that reserved space. They had to place quite a few dealers out in the hallway. Thankfully, it worked out. Kudos to John and Mike for spending all night fixing the room and making it work!! Poor guys were exhausted by Sunday morning. I can relate!

If you go back about six years in my blog archives, you can read about the trouble I had with the Four Points Sheridan, the hotel where I started my Oak Creek show. Hotels are a nightmare. They do not care if you have a contract. They will bump you for someone who will pay more money for the room along with a big catering tab. I am still pissed at the Four Points Sheridan. Looks like these Holiday Inn folks in Janesville suck as well.

Despite the hotel's efforts to ruin it, Sunday's show in Janesville was a success. The show was well attended. My sales beat the Midwest Monster. I was happy. On the buying front, I picked up a handful of cards along with a 1962 American League media guide.

I really enjoyed being set up next to Gary G. and the Ziegert boys. Love those guys! Scott went out and grabbed me some Wendy's for lunch. Thanks Scott!

I have learned over the years that my display-case set up does much better in Janesville than the binder set up. I brought out binders to the last one and did not do so well. Today was so much better.

Next Janesville show is August 11 and I will once again bring out the display cases. In the meantime, I am taking the next weekend off for some much-needed family time. I'll be back at it on June 22 with the Madison show and on June 23 for Orland. I recently reloaded my 1972-73 Topps basketball binder and will have it out at the upcoming shows.

Next Oak Creek show is July 6. Normally, I have a tough time finding dealers for the July show... not this time! I am overrun!! Sorry, it does not look like I will be adding too many guys from the ever-growing wait list. Though, I recommend that some guys show up Saturday morning ready to set up because I always have last-minute cancellations and no-shows. Like last month, I am way overbooked and hopeful a bunch of guys drop out before the show!!

​Have a great Father's Day everybody!

Friday - Saturday, June 7 -8, 2024, Midwest Monster, Fishers, IN

There are just no ifs, ands or buts about it -- I am just disappointed. I've been disappointed ever since the Sports Spectacular folks announced several months ago that they were not doing a show in Rosemont this summer. Instead, they moved the show to Detroit. Now, I had been planning to set up at their summer show in Rosemont ever since their last one in the summer of 2022. WTF? Why skip Rosemont for Detroit?

I was not about to set up at a new show in Detroit. Instead, I opted for the more established Midwest Monster in Indianapolis. I used to set up in Indy regularly back in the day. I have set up at many of Jeff Meyrose's monthly shows at the VFW in Fishers. Jeff has been doing the Midwest Monster, a 400-table show, for three years now. His VFW show is only about 50 tables. When I called him to reserve some space for the Monster a few months ago, he told me to bring extra cards because many dealers ran out of cards at the last Midwest Monster. Thanks for artificially increasing my expectations Jeff!

I was soo disappointed at the Midwest Monster because I laid an egg, even though it was well attended. Nobody wanted my cards. Poor me. Wah, wah!

There was a nice number of vintage dealers set up at the Monster, just not near me. I was on an isolated island in a sea of shiny stuff. Most everyone walked past my table, not even giving me a courtesy glance. The few that stopped were snotty and arrogant. It was a strange two days.

Just about all of them commented on my Bill Walton rookie. Yes, I know he died. No, I did not raise the price on it just because he kicked the bucket. Just buy the damn card! Nobody bought the card.

A couple of the vintage dealers I talked to said they did well. Not me. I did not do well. Probably my worst show of the year, so far.

It would have been a complete waste of time if I didn't head down there Thursday to hang out with my childhood friend Shelby G., who has been living in Indy for the past 34 years. Love that guy! We met at age 12 when we were on the same Pony League team. He caught my no-hitter, though, he has no recollection of it. He only remembers the fight he got into with Bryan Sakolsky.

Even though he can't remember the highlight of my youth sports career, it was still great to catch up and also hang out with his two boys, who both collect cards.

Shelby took me to the Chatham Tap in Fishers. We sat out in the beer garden and ordered some Bell's Amber Ale. Bell's is out of Kalamazoo and is my favorite brewery.

Before heading down to Indy, I told my pal Stan A., an Indy native who now lives in the Milwaukee area, that I was setting up at the Midwest Monster. He advised that I order a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich, the specialty dish of Indianapolis. Stan sent me several photos. 

Both Shelby and I went with the breaded pork tenderloin. Man, it was good. We also ordered some Buffalo Wings because the super cool waiter recommended them. The wings were awesome. The Chatham Tap is awesome.

Another highlight from my weekend in Indy was having dinner Friday night with Mark and Greg. Love those guys too! Greg has not lost his touch and picked another excellent restaurant, the Ale Emporium. I started with a Hefeweizen, which was full bodied and tasty. I also ordered a burger which was delicious. Mark and Greg went with a pan pizza.

Okay, so it wasn't all bad. I also enjoyed chatting with a ton of people I knew at the Monster like Noah V., Tommy Larson, Shong, Eddie, J.D., Walt, Jose R., Tommy and Frank Cascio, Jason G., Josh B., Juan, Perry, who was set up with his son; and Ash, the man with the cards! 

Regardless, part of me never wants to go back to Indianapolis ever again. Another part of me wants to give the Monster another shot, just with different inventory. Binders, maybe. There was a big crowd. For the life of me, I can't understand why nobody wanted my stuff? I'll probably give it another try. It is worth it just to hang out with everybody.

Biggest drawback of the Midwest Monster is the concession stand. The food at the show was downright vulgar. How can a concession stand serve such crappy food? I made sure I stopped at Starbucks on the way in Saturday for some real coffee and some snacks. Of course I spilled my coffee on my crotch and walked around with a brown stain all day. It looked like I pooped my pants. Then the pretty girl set up next to me, who I am sure saw the poo stain, alerted me to the tag I neglected to remove from my new shorts... that I ruined with that poo/coffee stain. I was killing it!!!

So happy to be home!!!  

Now for some photos from the Midwest Monster:

Some final thoughts on the Midwest Monster...

I observed that the most popular athletes in Indy, based on the number of jerseys worn at the show, are Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers and Anthony Richardson of the Indianapolis Colts.

I also observed quite a few manbuns at the show and a handful of mullets. Tons of tattoos.

Traffic in Indy is horrible. All the roads are under construction. Driving around Indy just plain sucks!!

Anyway, I was back in familiar territory on Sunday for the Janesville show. Janesville blog coming soon.

I am taking next week off from shows to spend some time with my family. Next Oak Creek show is July 6. As usual, tables are sold out and I am way behind in responding to the endless messages. Will get to them soon!

Happy Father's Day!

​See you soon!!!

Saturday, June 1, 2024, Salvation Army Community Center, Oak Creek, WI

Traditionally, this is a difficult time of the year for card shows with competing graduation parties and youth sports. We have done surprisingly well so far at the Oak Creek Card Show with 801 people through the door on June 1.

My biggest problem in operating the show at this time of year is the large number of dealers who take a show or two off then I have to hit the wait list to fill their spots. Quite a few dealers took off the April and May shows then came back for June which created a dilemma because I added many new dealers while they were out and most of the new guys came back for June as well. So I ended up with 192 tables reserved about a week before the show when I only have space for about 185.

I was able to get it down to 187 tables by Friday before the show. Then Friday night, three dealers cancelled. One more cancelled Saturday morning and one just did not show up after confirming earlier in the week.

Luckily, quite a few guys showed up with their cards in tow looking for tables. So I was able to plug a bunch of guys in and even found some space I didn't realize I had. I think we had 188 tables on Saturday! Woot! Special thanks to Kevin, Juan, Omar, Randy and Terrance who showed up ready to set up and helped me fill the spots vacated by the cancellations.

Everything went smoothly on Saturday. No reports of theft, thankfully. I did go out and purchase a security camera, I just haven't figured out how it works yet. Once I get an understanding of how to operate it, I'll start purchasing a bunch of them to see if we can combat all the thefts and arrest some of these criminals.

So, I wear two hats at the Oak Creek show. One as show promoter and the other as card dealer. 

I placed myself in Josh Brothers' spot in the back hallway as Josh was not feeling well. Feel better Josh! I brought out seven display cases and filled them with my graded cards, high-end Exhibits, my overflow raw cards and a few other odds and ends. Normally, I bring out binders to this show but I was not able to reload any of them this week and figured a lot of the customers in Oak Creek saw them last week in Madison.

Big mistake. My sales were abysmal. One of my worst shows ever in Oak Creek, after killing it last month. I will definitely be bringing out the binders to the July 6 show!!

I made up for my lack of sales with some really nice buys featuring names like Mantle and Berra.

Overall, a really fun day. I really appreciate all the dealers and all the customers who attended the show! THANK YOU!!

Next one is July 6. The July show presents in own set of problems. A lot of my regular dealers will miss the show for vacations. I will add a ton of guys from the waiting list which is ever-growing. I find in remarkable that I get calls, texts and messages for tables every single day, seven days a week. Crazy!

In the meantime, I have a crazy, crazy weekend coming up. I am setting up at the Midwest Monster in Fishers, IN, on Friday and Saturday, June 7 -8. Looking forward to seeing my buddy Mark Smith, who is setting up as well. Then Sunday, I am setting up in Janesville. I am bringing out display cases this weekend and those attending the Midwest Monster and Janesville will get a preview of my inventory I have been squirrelling away for the National. I'll have some great stuff this weekend! If you want to see any binders, let me know before I hit the road for Fishers on Thursday.

Hope to see you this weekend!