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Dropped, Sold and Traded Cards in Bloomingdale Last Weekend

9/24/2012

Sunday, September 23, 2012, Bloomingdale, IL -- While the show began today at 9 a.m., it really began for me a week ago when I returned home from the Embassy Suites show and started pricing and sorting cards in preparation for the Bloomingdale show. Earlier in the week, I priced and sorted 1966 Philadelphia football cards and ended up with a near set of cards. I also went through mounds of 1978 Topps football to help Corky complete a set. I dug out some 1938 Our National Game Tabs, a 1948 Leaf boxing Kid Chocolate, a 1949 Bowman Pee Wee Reese and a 1951 Topps Red Backs Yogi Berra for Larry. I started pricing some 1964 Topps coins for a couple of guys. I added some cards to my 50-cent bins, reloaded my Cubs/Sox bin, then started to reload my 1967 Topps baseball binder. I didn't get very far with the 1967s and left those at home. I put some work on a 1978 baseball set then dug out a box of 1977 through 1983 Topps to have something a little different on my table.

With my car loaded to the hilt, I arrived at the Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale around 8:15 a.m. I find this is one of the toughest venues to load in. The sidewalk by the door is uneven. The doors have a lot of pull to them and it is hard to keep them open. The bottom of the door frame is a half-inch or so off the ground which always impedes my cart and causes my bins to fall. I've seen many-a-dealer lose a box of cards to this treacherous door frame. Today was my turn. A row of bins and my '77-'83 box went air-born as I passed over the bumpy door frame. The fallen bins actually softened the drop of the box but couldn't stop all the cards from falling out, leaving a mound of cards on the rocky walkway.

That was fun to pick up.

I won't be bringing that box out again any time soon. I don't know when I'll have the time to put those cards back in order.

Ugh!

But as they say in France, shit happens. I really didn't have any room on my table for the box anyway. Speaking of shit, I was slow as shit setting up today. I didn't finish setting up until 10:44 a.m. It was hard to set up because the crowd arrived early. Most everybody was an early-bird today because of the football games. This is the way things go during football season. No matter what show I'm at, the crowd comes very early and leaves by noon. Today, went according to schedule.

While I was setting up, a customer pulled out some amazing stuff for me to see. We're talking museum quality stuff. He had pinback buttons from the 1940s through the 1960s. I'm assuming these buttons were originally purchased at the ballpark. I've never seen those things before. He had a couple of Babe Ruth pins, along with some pins depicting Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Roger Maris. There was a Joe Black Negro League button along with Brooklyn Dodgers' buttons of Jackie Robinson and a Roy Campanella. Each button had either a ribbon attached or a metal mini baseball bat or glove. These things are cool! He also had a Cubs-player doll from the 1930s. I've seen similar looking dolls from that era but never a baseball one. But the coup de grace was a group of high grade T206, all PSA 7s or 8s. I thought the 7s were undergraded. There was a Hal Chase and a Frank Chance in the group. Just awesome stuff. A big thank you goes out to the owner of these fine items for sharing this grand collection!

When I was through drooling over those stellar T206s, a regular started things off for me by purchasing a variety of cards from my dime box, 50-cent box and dollar box. Another regular pulled some cards out of my dollar box, 50-cent box and some 1954 Bowmans. Larry and I made our usual cash and trade deal. I also made a trade with Chuck, who made his first visit to the Bloomingdale show. Thanks for coming out Chuck!! A regular bought most of the cards in my 25-cent album. He pulled 24 pages out of the book. Another regular pulled out some 1962 Post and some cards from my 50-cent box. Willie rounded out my day by picking up some 1966 Philadelphia football.

On the buying front, I saw some stuff I wanted on a couple of dealer tables, but I had to hold off because my sales weren't where they needed to be. Though, I did come home with some new cards from my trades with Larry and Chuck. There was also a deal I turned down. A card shop owner offered me an unopened box of 1979-80 Topps basketball. I've never dealt much with unopened wax. I Googled the box and saw that they go for about $160 a box. The guy wanted $150. I won't pay $150 to make a big $10. So I offered $110 with the hopes I'd make $50 on the box. The guy wouldn't take it. He thought I'd want the box to open up. I think the box is more valuable unopened. Cards from '79-'80 have very little value and there isn't much of a demand for that year. So I don't think I'd make more than fifty bucks if I opened all those packs which would have resulted in a loss of $100.

With the Bears playing the Rams at noon, the room emptied out quick. I was out the door fast. I also didn't drop any cards on the way out over that nasty door frame. I stopped at Portillo's on the way home and had a hot dog and a bowl of chili. I was amazed that Portillo's didn't have a TV in there so I could watch the game.

As I'm writing this, it's Monday night and the Packers-Seahawks game just ended. The Packers were absolutely robbed. The ref's call on that last play of the game was the worst call I've ever seen in an NFL game. I think the NFL needs to suspend the season until they can work out a deal with the real refs. This is a joke. I watched that Ravens-Patriots game last night and there were a ton of bad calls. The NFL is now a joke. Something needs to be done!! Actually, maybe more people will come out to the Orland show next weekend because it really isn't worth watching the NFL right now.

I'm working on 1967 Topps baseball for the Orland show. I may get some '70-'71 Topps hockey done as well. I'll also have a stack of star cards new for my display cases. I'm looking forward to Orland on Sunday and hopefully we get a real nice turn out. Like I said, there's not reason to watch the NFL with this crappy officiating -- so come out to the show!!

Pictured above and below are the amazing pieces of memorabilia a collector brought into the Bloomingdale show.

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Baseball Is Really All About You and Your Dad

9/18/2012

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Sunday, September 16, 2012, Schaumburg, IL -- Fun show today. In attendance was the man who drove me all over Chicagoland in the late 1970s in support of my budding vintage sports card addiction. These days, my dad usually spends his weekends out in New Buffalo, Michigan. Today was a rare day where he was in town and came out to the show. I honestly can't remember the last time he and I were at a show together. It probably was in the 1980s.

When I was a kid, he'd take me to a card shop or a card show, which was always great. Unfortunately, he'd never take me home afterwards. He'd take me to his office in Downtown Chicago. He‘d work and I'd have to sit around for hours. By the time I got home, I was already sick of looking at my new cards. Today, he hung around the show for a few hours. I figured he went home afterwards, but now that I think about it, I'm wondering if he went into work. At age 75, he still works 40-plus hours a week and doesn't mind going in on a Sunday afternoon.

My pops has been working in Downtown Chicago since 1962. Before then, he was a vendor at both Comiskey Park and Wrigley Field for five or six years. He worked the 1959 World Series at Comiskey Park. His first job was in 1953 at a now defunct department store in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood, where he grew up. He also spent Sundays during the 1950s with a stand selling junk from my great-grandfather's hardware store at the famous Maxwell Street Market on Chicago's West Side.

The Maxwell Street Market was founded in the late 1800s by Russian-Jewish immigrants and was America's first open-air market. It was essentially the first flea market in the USA. It’s also the place where the Chicago-style hot dog was perfected. Most importantly, in my book, Maxwell Street was the place where the electric blues was created. Blues greats like Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon got their start on Maxwell Street. Before these guys started showing up with guitars on Maxwell Street, blues music was largely acoustic. Muddy and Willie were playing songs and trying to earn some tips on Maxwell Street when they figured out that they could draw a crowd if the music was amplified. Thus, the electric blues was born. These guys were a tremendous influence on blues and rock music the world over. I think it is safe to say that there would be no Jimi Hendrix or Eric Clapton if there wasn't a Maxwell Street. I've always been fascinated by this little street in Chicago. The Maxwell Street Market still exists but it is barely a shell of its former self. Former Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley moved the market and turned the area over to the University of Illinois at Chicago, who took a bulldozer to this amazing piece of American history.

When I was five years old (1971), my dad took me to buy my first baseball mit at Morrie Mages Sportings Goods Store at Ohio and LaSalle streets in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. Morrie Mages got his start selling sporting goods on Maxwell Street and his store was the first sporting goods store in the country. The original Morrie Mages is now a Sportsmart.

My dad first learned the art of negotiation on Maxwell Street. He has honed those skills these past 50 years as a lawyer and a judge in Chicago. I forgot to warn the dealers at the show that he was coming and expect to get hammered. Luckily, the guys took him in stride and enjoyed his tales. As an attorney, he represented quite a few professional athletes like Joe DiMaggio and Ernie Banks and has some great stories. Today at the show, my dad picked up a bunch of autographs from Willie along with some stuff from Bill. Thanks guys for working with him and giving him a nice deal! We had dinner that night and he had already started placing some of the autographs in frames.

Prior to my dad showing up, I, of course, partook in the breakfast buffet at the Embassy Suites. This time, I had the chef whip me up some eggs, over-easy. The chef will make you an omelet or eggs any way you like it. I also took five or six sausages, some bacon, some fruit, a Danish, and a couple of cups of coffee. I think I got my 12 bucks worth. Even though this is only my second time at the Embassy Suites, it is now my favorite venue for a show, thanks to the breakfast buffet.

After stuffing my face and hanging out with my dad, I actually sold some cards. A regular pulled some stuff from my dime box and 50-cent box. Another regular purchased some 1975 and 1976 Topps football. Bob picked up some 1959s. Chuck pulled some 1962 Post. A regular pulled some 1962 Topps. A new customer pulled some 1958 White Sox cards. Another new customer was quite pleased that I had a 1960 Topps Sam Esposito. Kyle’s pop pulled some cards from my dollar box, along with some 1955s.

Larry B. and I did our usual trade and cash deal. Larry picked out some 1952 Topps today. I promised to bring Larry some 1938 Our National Game tabs, some Johnston Cookies, and some 1968 Topps posters next week. I also told Chuck I’d organize some 1964 Topps coins. I’m writing this stuff here in the hopes I’ll read this before Sunday and remember to bring these items out. At age 45, my hair is thinning, my belly is growing and my memory is going fast. At this rate, I don’t see how I’m going to make it to 75, like my dad. Willie rounded out my day, as he usually does, with a purchase of a nice stack of cards to send out for signatures. Today he picked up some 1965s.

On the buying front, I picked up some 1963 Fleers baseball. I also got a stack of Moose Skowrons from an autograph hound who had planned to send the cards out to Moose. Unfortunately, Moose died recently, so he brought me the cards. I noticed that Bill had some really cool pre-war cards and some cool post-war oddball stuff like Dixie Lids in his display case. Larry picked up Bill’s Warren Spahn Dixie Lid. Corky also has some Dixie Lids in his display case. I love the Dixie Lids. I’ve had a few of them over the years. I currently don’t have any – they’re great sellers for me when I do have them.

Next week, I’ve decided to set up in Bloomingdale, Illinois, at the Indian Lakes Resort. I’m working on 1966 Philadelphia football for the show. I know Bill’s going to be there. Between us, and several other dealers, we have a tremendous selection of vintage cards. Anyone, working on some sets should strongly consider heading out to the Bloomingdale show on Sunday. It should be a great show!! See you there!!!!

I forgot to take a photo of my dad at the show so I'm posting an old family photo, below, from 1980. We took this photo at an amusement park located somewhere in Oklahoma. I don't remember the name of the place. In this photo, left to right, is my maw, paw, me and my brother Jon, who is now taller than me and outweighs me by a good 50 pounds.

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First NFL Sunday of 2012 is a Winner at Gonzaga Hall in Milwaukee

9/9/2012

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Sunday, September 9, 2012, Gonzaga Hall, Milwaukee, WI -- This show started out much like yesterday's Orland show with lots of empty dealer tables and a light crowd early on. Though, unlike Orland, the empty dealer tables today were due to no-shows. I think that's a real scummy move on the dealers' part. If you schedule the show, you gotta show up. I know things come up and you have to cancel on occasion. But at least one of the dealers today cancelled because they didn't have a good show in Orland yesterday -- LAME!! In my book, illness or family emergency or something along those lines are the only valid reasons for not showing up. There were quite a few no-shows today. Those dealers missed out because the crowd picked up and there was a good amount of people in the room by 10 a.m. Though, as it always goes during football season, the place emptied around noon. I had a really nice day and was busy throughout. I LOVE THIS SHOW!!

A dealer who likes my 50-cent box came by while I was setting up and pulled out a pile of cards to start things off. Mark made his second show in a row, which is a rarity thanks to his tough work schedule. Mark picked up a large pile of cards today including some 1965 Topps football, 1966 Topps football, 1965 Philadelphia football, 1962 Topps football, some 1965 Topps baseball and those funky Parkhurst minor league cards I picked up yesterday. Thanks Mark!! A new customer purchased my 1950 Bowman Walt Schlinkman, an old-time Packer.

Another new customer purchased some 1963 Topps football. A father and son team purchased my 1934 Goudey Charlie Grimm. Jeff picked up his usual large pile. Today he bought some 1965 Topps baseball, 1965 Philadelphia football and my 1958 Topps Frank Robinson. Rolf picked up a trio of 1964 Topps Tom Brown cards. Jason purchased a nice pile of 1934 Goudeys and some 1964 Topps baseball. Jim found some 1954 Topps and 1953 Topps. I always like hearing about Jim's collection. He collects cards from 1951 to 1955 and he has multiple sets from each year. One of the hardest sets from those years are the 1953 Bowman Black and White baseball. There are only 64 cards in the set and they are just tough to find. Jim was telling me he has more than 200 of the black and whites. I think the most I've ever had is 20 or so.

My regular customer, who purchases Italian ballplayers, found quite a few in my 50-cent box and in my 1955 Topps binder. Dan picked up a nice pile of 1964 Topps baseball. A regular customer then picked up some 1965 Topps baseball. Gary picked up my 1959 Topps Mickey Mantle. A regular customer purchased a 1959 Topps Ike Delock. Another regular pulled a bunch of 1963 Topps baseball. An autograph hound found quite a few cards from the 1950s and 1960s to send out to get signed. Scott rounded out my day by purchasing a bunch of St. Louis Cardinals from the 1960s.

On the buying front, I didn't buy a thing. Nada. Nothing. A few guys came by with cards but I didn't even look because I was trying to raise funds for some debts I owe to some other guys for cards I recently purchased. Though I have to mention a nice lady who came in with photos of cards she inherited from her father. She had complete sets of 1933 and 1934 Goudeys, including doubles. I saw two '33 Gehrigs in her photos. I saw all four Ruths from the '33 set. She also has Play Balls from the 1930s and a large number of post-war cards. She told me she turned down an offer of $25,000 for the Goudeys. Right off the bat, she's way out of my price range. We talked for a while and I was happy to give her some advice on how to get the most money for her cards. I hope she keeps in touch because I'd like to know more of what she has and how much she eventually receives for them. Cool stuff!

Overall, an excellent day and a terrific weekend selling cards. Next week I'm at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Schaumburg on Sunday. I'm looking forward to that breakfast buffet at the Embassy Suites. I should have my 1966 Topps baseball binder reloaded by Sunday. If there is anything anybody is looking for, send me an email and I'll bring it out to the show. Thanks to everybody at Gonzaga for making my day great!!

Pictured up top is a display case belonging to Ken, the dealer who regularly sets up next to me at Gonzaga. Below are some more photos of Ken's set up and another neighbor George.

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Disaster Avoided Thanks To Some Of The Best Collectors Around

9/8/2012

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September 8, 2012, Orland Park, IL -- Most every weekend, I pack my car to the hilt with vintage baseball cards and make the lonely drive out to a baseball card show somewhere in the Midwest. I say lonely drive because my wife and kids almost NEVER want to come along. My kids think the shows are boring and my wife would rather visit the dentist than attend a card show. So there I am, up at the crack of dawn on the weekends when I should really still be fast asleep.

It's been 11 years years now since I fell into this routine of weekend card shows. Prior to 2001, I would set up occasionally. Though there was a period in the early 1990s when I was setting up most weekends. Since I attended my first card show in 1979, I've lost track of the total number of shows I've been to -- I'm guessing 800 or so shows in all. I can honestly say that each and every show is completely different. I can NEVER predict how a show will go. I've learned to NEVER go into a show with high expectations because it eases the pain when the show doesn't go so well. And it is painful when a show doesn't go well because I spend a TON of time prepping for each show. It is a good 5- to 6-hour job reloading one of my binders. I have to dig out all the cards which are scattered amongst a hundred or so boxes. I have to put the cards in numerical order, usually a thousand cards or so. Then I have to grade and price each card -- all before I load the card into the binder. I'm also multi-tasking while reloading the binder by taking excess cards and dropping them into either my dime box, quarter binder, 50-cent box or dollar box. It is quite an operation.

Today started out looking bad. Early on I wasn't sure if I'd make table fee. The room was almost completely empty when I arrived around 8 a.m. The tables slowly started to fill up with dealers but more than a few remained empty throughout the day.

Jim seemed to have a nice crowd early on but the rest of the room was filled with air. So I was thinking, holy crap, this is going to be a loooong day. A small number of guys visited my table early on. By 11 a.m. things started to pick up. I don't think there were a whole lot of people in the room but I started making sales, good sales. It started to feel like a Homer Simpson cartoon dream sequence where he opens a can of Duff Beer and rainbows and unicorns pop up overhead. I had a crowd and sales were coming left and right. Those sales make all that work prior to the show worth it. I also really appreciate everyone who takes the time and effort to dig through the endless binders of cards on my tables -- you guys made my day!! Thank you!!

A regular customer got things going early on with a purchase of a 1955 Topps Stan Hack. Another regular pulled a pile of 1961s. My guy who collects Mets, pulled a few from my 1965 binder, which I reloaded new for the show today. A long-time customer purchased my 1952 Bowman small George Halas. He's been asking me for 1964 Topps coins for a while now and I keep forgetting to bring them. I'll definitely have them for next show. Rick, another long-time customer, just got back into town from Phoenix. Unfortunately, it wasn't pleasure trip, Rick's sister passed on. My thoughts and prayers are with Rick and his family. Rick never fails to buy some cards from me. Today he picked up some 1965 and 1959 Topps baseball along with some 1965 Philadelphia football.

Another regular pulled out a nice pile of 1973-74 Topps basketball. Chris pulled a large stack of 1965 Philadelphia football along with some 1965 Topps baseball. A new customer purchased my 1934-36 Diamond Stars Kiki Cuyler and my 1933 Goudey Babe Herman. A regular customer purchased my 1954 Topps Ted Williams card #1. Topps put two Ted Williams cards in that 1954 set, the first and last cards in the set. Another regular customer purchased my 1970 Topps Tom Seaver. Joel picked up my 1953 Bowman Nellie Fox, 1960 Topps Early Wynn and 1965 Topps Hoyt Wilhelm.

Earl picked up some 1971 Topps commons and an Al Kaline along with a 1973 Topps Roberto Clemente. One of my regular autograph hounds picked up some 1963s. Chuck found some 1974s. A regular customer purchased my 1975 Topps Jim Rice rookie and my 1977 Topps Bruce Sutter rookie. Aaron found some 1965 Topps. I know there were some other purchases but when I got busy, I forgot to write them all down. Will rounded out my day with a nice purchase of some 1957s and 1964s. Will also went out around noon and picked me up a Whopper from Burger King, which was much appreciated.

I wasn't really looking to buy today because my inventory is pretty solid right now. So I turned a few guys down. Jim was persistent and found some 1968 Topps football that I needed along with some interesting oddball cards like 1950 Parkhurst minor league baseball cards. I've never seen these before. They look like 1948 Bowmans.

There is one guy who brought cards to my table today that I have to mention. He had some decent looking cards like a 1964 Topps Willie Mays, a 1965 Topps Ernie Banks, a 1956 Topps Nellie Fox, a 1958 Topps Nellie Fox and a few others. When I asked him for a price he wanted a hundred dollars for just the Mays and the Banks. Will was sitting at my table and watching. It wasn't long ago when Will was telling me he found a '64 Mays on eBay for just $15. The guy at my table wants $50 for his. I've also never seen that Banks priced over $25 and the guy wants $50 for that one. The thing Will enjoyed the most was when the guy told me the cards were rare. I kindly declined to purchase the cards and didn't ask for a price on the others.

I find it amazing how many guys, who don't know a thing about the hobby, regularly come into shows and attempt to sell cards for far more money than they're worth. I tried to tell the guy that I don't pay a lot of money for cards because I have to make a profit on each card when I resell them. He said he was going to bring the Banks card down to Wrigley Field and sell it there. Good luck, my friend. I have a feeling you'll be back at the show when you learn that you can't get anything close to $50 for the card ANYWHERE. Sometimes I think major news stories, like the one recently where a guy found some rare and valuable cards in his grandfather's attic, do more harm than good. These types of stories lead the uninformed to believe that ALL baseball cards are rare and valuable. The reality of the situation is very few baseball cards are rare and valuable. The cards this guy showed me today were certainly NOT rare and valuable. I'd only pay about $30 for the Mays and Banks in the hopes of making an extra $10 bucks or so once I sold them. So if I bought them at his price of $100, I'd be out $60. I wouldn't be in business very long if I followed this model. I see this sort of thing over and over. I think I just may put together a little pamphlet for these types of guys explaining the basics of buying and selling vintage baseball cards.

Anyway, I had a solid show today and a really good time. But my work is not done. Tomorrow, I'm up at the crack of dawn again and off to Gonzaga Hall in Milwaukee. It's no secret that I LOVE the Gonzaga show. I had an outstanding show last month at Gonzaga. I don't think I'll hit those numbers tomorrow but I'm hopeful I'll have the same type of show I had today in Orland. The Packers don't play until after 4 p.m. so hopefully we'll get a decent turn out. Though with it being the first Sunday of the NFL season, I'm sure quite a few guys will be watching football all day. I know I would if I wasn't doing the show. I LOVE football and am looking forward to the season. It was nice to see the Giants go down on Wednesday night. I've got to attend a birthday party tomorrow after the show so I'm not sure I'll be able to take in a game. Hopefully I can watch the late game tomorrow night. First things first, some sleep, then Gonzaga. Rock on!!

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Dropped, Sold and Traded Cards in Bloomingdale Last Weekend

Baseball Is Really All About You and Your Dad

First NFL Sunday of 2012 is a Winner at Gonzaga Hall in Milwaukee

Disaster Avoided Thanks To Some Of The Best Collectors Around

Tony Gordon

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