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Lightning Doesn't Strike The Same Place Twice!

7/24/2012

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Sunday, July 22, 2012, Canton, Ohio -- You know that old saying... Lightning can't strike the same place twice... well, that about sums up my Canton show. My first time at this show, back in March, there were three autograph guests, the place was mobbed and I was selling cards like there was no tomorrow.  Major lightning all day long. Today, there was no autograph guest, the crowd was sparse, and I didn't sell a whole lot of cards.  No lightning. I thought this show gets an autograph guest every time. Next time I'll check first to see if there is a guest.

My drive out to Canton on Saturday was uneventful, until I arrived at the show site around 9 p.m. I pulled off the highway and noticed right away that both sides of the street were covered with people sitting in lawn chairs like they were waiting for a parade or something. I drove past the hotel where the show was slated toward the cheaper Motel 6.  The whole ride, same thing, tons of people on both sides of the road. There was police activity at a stoplight and traffic came to a halt. Next thing I knew, fireworks were popping overhead. Not just a few bottle rockets, but full-on fireworks show. There were people everywhere watching these fireworks. The Motel 6 was all booked up. So was every other hotel in town. I got back on the highway where cars were pulled over to the side watching this lengthy fireworks show.  I had to drive another 15 miles or so until I found a hotel with rooms available.  I ended up paying double for my room than I would have paid at Motel 6. I also learned that the "Soapbox Derby" was in town and was the cause of all the hub bub. I now have one question... WHAT THE HELL IS A SOAPBOX DERBY?  Second question... Why does it attract everybody and their mother?

With these questions in mind, I drove the 15 miles back to the show site around 8 a.m. on Sunday and observed that the countryside around Canton is beautiful. Rolling hills, streams, lush vegetation, nice. Load in went smoothly and the nice lady that promotes this show gave me two primo tables in the front of the room. The only drawback was that a large flat-screen television blocked my way to the back of my tables.  Worse yet, the TV was tuned to golf. I hate golf. I don't mind playing golf but I think there are few things worse than watching golf on TV. Might as well watch knitting. I just want to pull my hair out when I'm stuck watching golf. I try to respond nicely when people ask me about Tiger Woods but I never had an interest in his career.  These guys just swing a club. They don't have to throw, catch, shoot, skate, run, jump, dive, tackle, or do much of anything except swing that club. Snooze.

Snooze was the theme of the day. If it wasn't for a few customers, this would have been a total disaster. A kindly older fella purchased a good number of cards including a 1952 Topps Warren Spahn and a 1953 Topps Spahn, some '52 and '53 commons, a 1954 Bowman Pee Wee Reese, along with some '54 Bowman commons.  I then sold some cards to an older couple. The wife held the list and called out numbers while the husband pulled the cards. The pair purchased some nice stacks of 1972 Topps football and 1972-73 Topps basketball. I then made a cash and trade deal with Tom, who I remember from March. Tom gave me some 1952 Bowman baseball commons in exchange for some 1959 Topps commons. Tom also purchased my 1959 Al Kaline, Don Drysdale and Roger Maris. Then he went out and picked me up a sandwich from Jimmy Johns. Thanks Tom!

A collector wearing a Cleveland Indians hat purchased some 1960 Topps commons. A customer carrying a Cincinnati Bearcats folder purchased some 1960 Fleer football and some 1964 Philadelphia football. A customer I remember from March purchased some 1954 Topps commons and a 1952 Bowman Mike Garcia.  Another customer I remember from March purchased some 1960 Topps baseball, 1954 Topps baseball and some 1953-54 Parkhurst hockey. My last customer of the day picked up some 1965 Topps baseball.

In addition to trading with Tom, I made a trade with Tom's friend Gary, thinking Gary was going to buy some cards. But as my day went, Gary said he already spent his limit elsewhere. Though I enjoyed chatting with Gary, Cleveland's table-tennis champ. He promised to buy some cards from me upon my return to Canton. I'm holding him to it. With nothing but tumbleweeds in front of my table for most of the day, I had plenty of time to walk the room. I purchased some autographed 8 X 10 photos from Jane, the promoter.  Jane has a large inventory of signed mini-helmets, photos and postcards at reasonable prices. She gave me a nice deal on the photos, which I really appreciate.

On the other end of  the room was my old friend Mark Smith, who drove in from the Detroit area. Mark had four tables featuring some items I've never seen him carry before like old magazines and programs. There was a tremendous selection of cards, autographs and memorabilia in the room. Closer to my set up was a local dealer named Jack who has a phenomenal selection of vintage cards. On one end of his group of tables he had an old, tall table-top watch display case filled with drool-worthy old cards.  There was another local vintage dealer who outnumbered my binder set-up two-to-one. He had an absolutely amazing selection of commons. He also had a neat display where he put velcro on the back of toploaders and attached them to large boards on either end of his tables. It was a really cool display and he was very busy all day. I would have to rate this show as the best selection of vintage commons I have ever seen at a one-day show. This was a set-builders paradise.

Even though my sales were off, I like this show. I like the promoter, the dealers and the locals. Canton is a real pleasant place and I'll give this show another try sometime in the future. For now, I'm going to stay close to home. It's tiring traveling five to six hours to shows. I think I'll stick to the short drives to Schaumburg, Orland and MIlwaukee for a while. At some point I'll get the travel bug again and hit the road for shows. I'm actually taking the next couple of weekend off from shows. I want to spend some time with my kids before they go back to school. My youngest is turning 7 tomorrow (July 25) and my 10 year-old is growing like a weed. We're going to have some fun and goof off the next couple of weeks.

My next shows are scheduled for August 11 in Orland and August 12 at Gonzaga in Milwaukee. I'm still going to put some time in updating my binders. My 1962 binder is my next big reload project. I'm very jealous of those going out to the National in Baltimore the first week in August. I'm going to set up next year at the National when it is in Rosemont. If anyone wants to submit a guest blog over these next two weeks, I'd appreciate it and post it here. I'll also post some photos. A quick shout out to all the guys who have found my eBay auctions. I really appreciate your purchases! Thanks everybody! Take care!
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I Don't Look Like David Duchovny!!

7/17/2012

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Sunday, July 15, 2012, Milwaukee, Wisc. -- Well, I didn't get much sleep the night before the show. My wife and I woke up around 1 a.m. because someone was shining a flashlight into our bedroom window. The wife got out of bed to investigate. I tried to sleep. She returned to the room and said there were people on our front lawn with flashlights. I got out of bed and when I looked out the front window, an ambulance pulled up and the paramedics got out and started walking around my backyard with flashlights. I got dressed and went out the back door and approached a paramedic holding an axe. My wife didn't think that was a wise move on my part. Luckily, the guy did not slice my head off. He told me they were searching for a missing 4 year-old boy. I asked for the boy's name, his full name.  The paramedic would only tell me the boy's name was Allan and he was visiting someone in the neighborhood. He told me to search my premises. So I went back inside and looked for Allan. He wasn't in my house.

When I returned to bed, both my wife and I concluded that there is no way a 4 year-old boy would wander our neighborhood at night. My neighborhood is thickly wooded. There's all sorts of critters including coyotes. It's creepy. My own kids won't walk around at night by themselves. So I know that a random 4 year-old boy would not walk around by himself. Turns out we were right. The next day, we learned that the boy was found in his home, he's actually from the neighborhood, not a visitor, as the paramedic with the axe let on. He never left his house.  He was hiding under the kitchen table. My own son often hides under the kitchen table and that would have been one of the places I would have looked before contacting authorities to wake up the whole neighborhood to conduct a massive search. Luckily, they serve coffee at the show.

Extremely nice crowd today. Much larger crowd than last month and nearly triple the size from yesterday's Orland Park show. The only problem was that these folks were not spending money at my table. I had more people standing in front of my table watching the auction than looking at my cards. I was starting to think I might do better if I set up some bleachers in front of my tables and charged for seating.

As usual, I'm being a bit overdramatic. My sales weren't that bad. Actually, sales were up from last month. I just felt that because there was such a large crowd in the room that I should have sold more cards. Anyway, my day got going with a regular customer who picked up a 1955 Bowman Eddie Waitkus. I then sold some vintage supplies to a regular customer. I don't carry supplies but folks have been asking me for stuff like top loaders for tall boys, eight-pocket sheets, four-pocket sheets and six-pocket sheets. I regularly come across this stuff and am happy to pick it up for someone in need. I'm actually debating on whether I should stock vintage supplies. There definitely seems to be a need.

Back to cards... a regular customer purchased some 1955 Bowman football but seemed to cringe when I told him the price. He only spent a few bucks and I don't discount a $3 sale. You gotta spend a little more money. Jeff picked up his usual large pile of cards. Today he purchased '56, '59, '60 and '61 Topps baseball. A new customer pulled some cards from my dime and dollar boxes.  A regular customer purchased some '55 Topps baseball and some cards out of my dollar box. A regular customer picked up a bunch of Braves from my 1961 binder.

A regular customer hit my 50-cent and $1 boxes.  Jason purchased some 1940 Play Ball along with some 1961 and 1978 Topps baseball. While Jason was looking through cards, his kids played under my tables. It's funny how kids like to hang out under tables. I think Allan's parents should read my blog. But I digress. A youngster purchased a 1980 Topps Robin Yount. A new customer purchased my 1975 Topps Mini Dave Winfield. Gary made a few trips to my tables and each time eyed my 1957 Topps Mickey Mantle. He eventually pulled the trigger.

A new customer purchased some 1954 Topps. A regular customer purchased cards out of my dollar box. A new customer purchased my 1933 Goudey Lefty O'Doul along with some 1959 Topps baseball commons. A regular purchased some 1973 Topps football. My main Milwaukee autograph hound pulled quite a few cards from the 1960s. We got to talking and he was telling me how his family is not very supportive of his hobby. He said that his grown kids were giving him a hard time for attending so many card shows. 

"My son recently said to me, dad, how many times can you look at Smokey Burgess?"

I got a nice laugh out of that one. Actually, I don't mind looking at Smokey Burgess, it's Don Mossi that gives me the hee-bee gee-bees.

Customers were chatty today. I don't mind talking about sports and cards. I never get tired of this stuff. Since it was kind of slow at my tables, I had quite a few different conversations. One customer said I look just like Ryan Braun. He said our mannerisms are even alike. This is a new one on me, even though I regularly get compared to people on television. It's actually been a life-long affliction. When I was a kid, other kids swore I was on TV.  They thought they saw me on an episode of Emergency or Adam 12.  In college, people regularly said I looked like this guy or "that guy." After college, people country-wide, swore I was David Duchovny. That one was really weird. There was a two-year period or so while the X-Files was on TV where I couldn't go anywhere without someone saying I looked like David Duchovny.  It happened in stores, in bars, restaurants, on the train, at parties... wherever I was at. I can't tell you how many times people flipped out, I mean they would get really excited and exclaim, "Oh my god, you look just like David Duchovny!" After a while, I started to respond, "Really, I always thought I looked like Oprah."

I've digressed terribly. The subject at hand is vintage baseball cards and I purchased some cards today. I picked up some 1953 Johnston Cookies, some 1962 Topps baseball, some 1964 Topps football, a couple of Kashin Publications cards from the 1920s and a few 1933 Goudey commons.  Cool stuff. I was happy with my purchases. I turned down a 1957 Topps Hank Aaron. It looked nice but the guy wanted $200 for a $75 card.

As I said in my Orland blog, I'm heading to Canton, Ohio, next week. I really want to go to Cooperstown for Ron Santo's induction and the local card show. I could swing it. Leave for Cooperstown on Friday, spend the day there on Saturday, then set up at the Canton show on Sunday. But that is a lot of driving. I've been doing a lot of card shows lately along with working a full-time job during the week and I'm tuckered out. I'll probably end up using Friday and Saturday to price cards for the Canton show. Either way, Canton should be a good time. I shouldn't have mentioned that David Duchovny stuff, now at every show, everyone is going to comment that I look like David Duchovny. Let the madness begin!! 
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Slow Show Can't Dampen My Good Time!

7/14/2012

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July 14, 2012, Orland Park, IL -- Kind of a slow day at the office today. Summer can be tough at the card show with so many other competing things going on. Yet, prior to today, I had three excellent weeks in a row,  along with a nice string of Orland shows going back several months.  I guess I was due for a slow show. My sales weren't terrible, just a little off. The thing that was most notable today was the small crowd.  There is usually a much larger crowd at this show.  Needless to say, I still had a good time.

My day got off to a soggy start with a severe downpour here in the northern suburbs of Chicago. Though, once on the highway, the skies cleared up and it was bright, sunny and hot when I arrived in Orland Park.  Load in went smoothly.  The room was practically empty at 8:15 a.m. Though most of the tables eventually filled up. Show number two without the hot dog lady. I was hungry all day. The front area is starting to look like someone's basement. One table had a bunch of cans of tennis balls. The other tables had odd assortments of junk. It's weird not seeing Eddie and his lovely lady or Tom the memorabilia guy.

I noticed quite a few new memorabilia dealers today. There was a new guy set up next to me with memorabilia. I don't think he sold much and he was out the door pretty quick around 1 p.m. A couple around the corner had some tables filled with memorabilia. I don't think they sold much either. The room was strong on vintage today with me, Jim, Mike, Bill, Steve, and Mark. We had quite a selection of old cards today.

A regular customer got things going for me today with a purchase of some 1970 Topps baseball.  Another regular picked up some 1971 Topps and informed me about our friend Lenny who is recovering from a heart attack. I'm hoping Lenny has a speedy recovery and is back at the card show soon! Another regular purchased some 1975 Topps.  Aaron found some 1961s and 1960s. Larry picked up my 1955 Topps Jackie Jensen.  A semi-regular customer picked up some 1961s to send out for signatures.

A regular customer purchased a group of oddball/insert cards. Another regular found some 1972s.  A new customer purchased a bunch of 1970's football.  Another new customer picked up some 1965 Topps baseball.  Rick bought some 61s, 59 baseball, some 1972-73 Topps basketball, and my 1955 Bowman Willie Mays and Yogi Berra cards.  Those puppies were nice. TJ made an appearance today and bought some 1952 Bowmans, which was much appreciated.  A new customer bought my 1958 Topps Yogi Berra. Another new customer purchased my 1961 Topps Billy Williams rookie. Thanks to Jim for directing that customer my way! I saw Chuck again today. That's two weeks in a row. Today he had his son with him, who I'm dubbing "Too Tall." Chuck picked up my 1954 Bowman Gil Hodges and some 1968 Topps football.  A new customer purchased some 1957 Topps baseball, some 1962 Topps football, and some 1970-71 Topps basketball.  Will rounded out my day with some 1957s, 1966s and some 1961s.

On the buying front, I picked up some 1962 Topps baseball and a binder of Cubs cards including seven Ernie Banks cards. A dealer came by with some Red Man tobacco cards but I didn't have the funds on me. Another dealer offered me some 1981 baseball, which I declined. Not much else doing on the buying side.

I got out of the show pretty quick today because I was so hungry. Me, Will and Joe went straight to Burger King. That double Whopper really hit the spot.  With the diabetes, I can't eat French fries any more. Man, do I miss French fries. Once home, I priced some 1961 Post baseball for the Gonzaga show tomorrow. I also reloaded my cheapie boxes. I'm hoping for a nice show tomorrow. My last Gonzaga show was slow. I don't think I've ever had two slow Gonzaga shows in a row. Though with today's light turn out in Orland, I'm a little worried about tomorrow. Yet, one thing I know is a fact, I can't predict how a card show will go. I truly never know. I could have my worst show ever or my best show tomorrow. Each show is different, which is probably why I enjoy it so much. I've got some great friends in Orland and had a real good time today. I've also made some nice friends up in Milwaukee and am looking forward to the show.

Next week I'm trucking out to Canton, Ohio, for the monthly show out there. I did this show in March and it was terrific. I'm hoping for more of the same next week. I'm also debating on driving out to Cooperstown, NY, for the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. There's a card show that runs at the VFW Post in town during the ceremonies and there are some good dealers there that I'd like to see. I'm going to play that one by ear and see if I'm up for that drive next weekend. Either way, I'm looking forward to Canton. I'm planning on loading up on some football cards for that show. There are some serious football card collectors in that town. It's pretty cool to see.  As Will said today, I'm truly a vintage sports card addict. I can't deny it, I love this stuff! 
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New Venue Means Another Great Show!!!!

7/8/2012

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Sunday, July 8, 2012, Schaumburg, IL -- Today the show was at the Embassy Suites, a new venue for promoter Fred Copp.  The Embassy Suites is swanky! I think they were going for a Bourbon Street, New Orleans, design to the place and they succeeded. This hotel is beautiful with a large atrium, French-styled balconies, and an array of tropical plants.  The room where the show was held, was a nice, typical hotel meeting room.  I can vouch for the air conditioning.  Jeff Peterson was the only one who wasn't cold.

My favorite part of doing shows in hotels is the breakfast buffet.  The buffet at the Embassy Suites did not disappoint. For $12.15 I loaded up on scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, watermelon and coffee. They also had an omelette station, cereal, danishes, muffins, bagels, toast, and hash browns.

Back at the show, I was pleasantly surprised by the customer turn out.  We had a steady flow of people in the room all day. I continued my string of great Fred Copp shows -- three months in a row!. I'm starting to think I'm going to have to skip Serb Hall and replace it with another Fred Copp show. These shows are becoming too good to miss.

My sales started early with a dealer purchasing a 1959 Topps Chicago White Sox card. A younger customer purchased a nice pile of 1974 and 1975 Topps baseball commons. A new customer made my day by purchasing a large pile of 1956 Topps commons and some stars including Campanella, Kaline, Score rookie, McDougald and Berra.  Another new customer purchased a pile of 1976 Topps baseball commons.  Chuck bought a nice pile of 1963 Topps baseball commons along with some 1960 Fleer football. A big thank you goes to Fred for letting Chuck know that I'd be at the show.

A new customer purchased my 1973 Topps Nolan Ryan, my 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson rookie (which I actually pulled out of a pack back in 1980 and have held onto it these past 32 years), a 1978 Topps Eddie Murray rookie, and a 1969 Topps Roberto Clemente.  A new autograph hound purchased some 1950s and 1960s commons to send out for signatures.  Kyle purchased a 25-cent pack.  Kyle's dad picked up some 1969 Topps commons.  Willie capped off the day with a large pile of 1959s, 1960s commons and my 1962 Topps Fran Tarkenton rookie.

Also of note, I traded a few 1941 Double Plays and a 1938 Our National Game pin to Larry in exchange for an assortment of cards. I also purchased a large pile of 1974s, 1954s, some autos, some 1964 Topps football, some 1962 Topps baseball, and a small box of cards with some 1970s basketball, hockey and a smattering of 1960s football.

Overall, a terrific day. I bought and sold quite a few cards.  I always enjoy the banter among the dealers at the Fred Copp shows. It's always entertaining. Next week is a double bill weekend with Orland Park and Gonzaga. I plan on working on 1961 Topps baseball and I will have quite a few cards to replenish my display cases. Life is good! Time to go sort some cards...
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Rocking and Rolling in St. Louis

7/3/2012

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Sunday, July 1, 2012, St. Louis, MO -- I think I figured something out this weekend. I chose to set up in St. Louis, five hours from home, rather than setting up at the Sun-Times show, just a half hour from home. The result was one of my best shows ever! I also skipped the Sun-Times show back in March, instead, opting for a show in Canton, OH. The Canton show was my second best show of the year, behind this past Sunday in St. Louis. The lesson here is to get out of town when the Sun-Times show is in town. 

While I'm pleased that I finally figured out how to make money when the Sun-Times show is in town, I'm also a bit saddened by the demise, in my opinion, of the Sun-Times show. The Sun-Times show was once terrific for me but my sales have disappeared over the past several years. I used to have many regular customers who flew in for the show from places like Las Vegas or Los Angeles.  These people have disappeared. It also seems like most people attend the show to get items signed by the autograph guests at extreme prices... leaving few funds left over for cards. The guys that just collect cards and not autographs don't go to this show any more.  Figure in the excessive table fee, parking fee, and over-priced convention center food, and the Sun-Times show has become the worst show around.  Mounted Memories, the promoters of the Sun-Times show, need to wake up before it is too late and their show fails completely. I'm not going anymore and I know many others who opt out as well.

On the other hand, one of the best shows around is the monthly show put on by the St. Louis Sports Collectors Association at the Two Hearts Banquet Hall, on the southwest Side of St. Louis.  This was my fourth time down for this show and I was able to convince my wife and kids to come along. I took Friday off from work and we drove down to a hotel near the show and spent the evening in the swimming pool at the hotel. Like Chicago, St. Louis is experiencing a heat wave and it was HOT all weekend.  Saturday was 105 degrees and we nixed our plans to go to the zoo in favor of the air conditioned science museum in beautiful Forest Park. This area of town is unlike any I've seen in the world. It is a tremendously large park with a golf course, trails, hills, fountains, sculptures, mansions, and museums.  The science museum had all sorts of hands-on things for kids to do and my troupe thoroughly enjoyed themselves. After the museum, we went back to the hotel for more swimming. On Sunday, the family dropped me off at the show and they went down the street to a children's museum called the Magic House. The troupe reported that the Magic House blows away the Chicago Children's Museum and the suburban Kohl's Children's Museum.

I got off to a rocky start while setting up. I left the keys to my display cases in my luggage, in the car with my wife and kids. I called and called the wife but she would not pick up her cell phone.  Apparently the kids shut off the ringer when they were playing games on her phone. After about the 13th call, the wife picked up and I pleaded with her to bring me my keys.  Twenty minutes or so later, she brought the keys and I was able to complete set up but the show had already begun. I few guys started going through my binders. Other guys wanted to look at cards shortly after I placed them in the display case. Then wham-o, MOB SCENE! I was slammed in the weeds. I struggled to get all the cards in my cases. I was down two cases because table fee at this show is kind of high and I only took two tables.  Customers started asking for cards I didn't put out like late 1960's baseball, all years in the 1970s, along with football and basketball. I was running ragged for two hours or so. Every inch of space in front of my tables were filled with customers.  Guys jammed into each other to get at my cheapy boxes. I started directing guys to come around the back by me to look at cards. Whoa!!

Around noon, things started to lighten up and I was able to hit the washroom. I had to go all morning. That was tough! I had customers at my tables until about 2:15 p.m. It was dicey getting bathroom breaks and a food break.  I tried to write down the cards I sold, but I was helping several people at once, most of the day, and I'm sure a few slipped by.  This is what I have:
a father and son team that has visited me at each show I've attended here in St. Louis started my day by purchasing some 1964 Topps Giants and some 1974 baseball commons. Then I had one of my best customers ever in Tim Horton, who just happens to be the running backs recruiting coordinator at the University of Arkansas.  I meant to ask him if he needed a 45 year-old, 5'6", 170 lbs., recruit who hasn't played any football since the early 1980s. I'm the greatest running back ever... in my own mind.  With my discretion in tact, I didn't mention any of this to Tim, who is an extremely nice guy.  He purchased a pile of 1956 Topps baseball along with my '56 Jackie Robinson and Yankees team card.  He came around again and bought my 1955 Topps Willie Mays and Ted Williams.  Thanks Tim!

Sales continued with a regular customer purchasing some 1969 Topps baseball commons.  Another regular purchased some 1967 Topps baseball commons along with a Willie McCovey.  A new customer picked up a pile of 1977-78 Topps basketball.  Another new customer bought some 1961 Fleer baseball.  A husband and wife team picked up some 1975 commons and cards out of my 50-cent box.  A new customer also hit the 50-cent box.  A regular customer purchased some 1957 Topps baseball commons and said to me: "You're the best in here, bud." I didn't get a chance to walk around the room but I don't think there was a whole lot of vintage around.  My buddy Tony, the "other Tony," skipped the show for a Jimmy Buffet concert.  I suspect other vintage dealers skipped the show for the Sun-Times show. I think I benefited greatly from these absences.

Another regular purchased some 1961 Fleer Great of the Game.  A new customer picked up some 1977 and 1978 Topps football.  Another new customer purchased some 1975s.  My 50-cent and dime boxes got a work out from another new customer.  A regular customer pulled a pile of 1965 Topps baseball.  A new customer purchased my 1934 Goudey Leo Durocher and Rip Collins along with some 1940 Play Ball and some 1955 Topps baseball.  A regular customer purchased some 1959 Topps commons along with my 1948 Bowman Bobby Thomson.  A regular customer, who brought his two daughters along, purchased my W560 Will Sherdel strip card.  One of his daughters picked out some cards from my 50-cent box.

A new customer purchased a pile out of my dime box.  Another new customer purchased my 1961 Topps Hank Aaron MVP along with some commons.  Ken decided he was going to start the 1953 Bowman and Topps baseball sets with me on this fine Sunday morning. He purchased a nice pile of cards. Thanks Ken!  A father and son team, who have visited me on each of my St. Louis appearances, purchased a 1938 Goudey Rudy York and a 1935 Goudey 4 in 1, depicting White Sox players. Another father and son team purchased some 1963 Topps baseball commons from my binder then some cards out of my dollar box.  A regular customer purchased a pile of 1962 Topps football.  The last customer of the day purchased some 1960 Topps baseball.

On the buying front, I finally had people show me some cards at this show. One guy came by with some 1971 Topps baseball but my inventory is pretty solid and I declined. Another guy had a pile of cards including a 1968 Topps Mickey Mantle, graded by a no-name grading company.  There was also a beat 1966 Mantle and some stars from the '60s and '70s.  He wanted $300. I offered $150, which I think was generous. I didn't really trust the card slabbed by some oddball company. A kid had a 1961 Post Roger Maris for 12 bucks but it was kind of beat and I passed. Another young guy had a beat up 1958 Topps Whitey Ford that I purchased for 10 bucks.  Another guy had a mint 1968 Sports Illustrated poster of Bob Gibson that I purchased.  That one isn't for resale. It's going up in my CardCave.

I told a bunch of people that I'd be back in September but I realized that the show is the same day as Gonzaga, so I can't make it back to St. Louis until October. I will definitely be back. I'd like to do October, November and December. I'll probably skip January and February. I'm not too hip to driving five hours in the dead of winter. Anyway, I had a GREAT weekend with my family, exploring St. Louis, seeing my old buddy Andy and all my new friends at the Two Hearts show.  Thanks everybody for such a terrific show!!

My next show is Sunday, July 8, 2012, at the Embassy Suites Hotel on Meacham Road in Schaumburg, IL. This is a new location for promoter Fred Copp. I've started to get a nice little following at Fred's shows and hope to see all my regulars on Sunday. I just finished reloading my 1972-73 Topps basketball binder and am working on 1960 Topps baseball.  If anyone needs anything special, drop me a line. Below are some photos of some sites in St. Louis, my kids, and the Two Hearts show.  The photo in the middle of the top line is my tables when the madness began. 
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    Tony Gordon

    Vintage Sports Cards Addict

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