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Crown Point Has Some Good Doughnuts

9/29/2015

I thought I reserved tables for a baseball card show, when I arrived at St. Matthias Church, in Crown Point, Indiana, on Saturday, September 26, 2015, I observed that I was at an any-and-all collectibles show. I was greeted by a huge display of Beanie Babies when I first walked in the room. See photo above. There were also vinyl record albums, comics, posters, coins, pocket knives, toys, and sports cards. I was a little concerned that sports card collectors would not attend this show.

This was Roger Parker's first show at St. Matthias. He has been promoting a card show in Highland, Indiana, at the Lincoln Center for years. I've set up at the Highland show a few times and sales were brisk so I thought I'd give this St. Matthias show a try. Well, not a whole lot of people attended the show. I can't really offer a whole lot of criticism because I know just how difficult it is to get customers into a room. I was impressed that all the dealer tables were filled up in the large room.

Luckily, a few of my northwest Indiana customers read this blog and attended the show. Long-time customer and friend Dave F. made my day with a large purchase. Thanks Dave!! Dave's purchase alone made the show worthwhile for me and I think I'll set up at St. Matthias again. A few other guys bought some stuff, including Willie. Thanks Willie! I also had a nice time catching up with Derek, who I last saw at the National. There were six or seven other sports card dealers and most had vintage. One particular gentleman, who was set up next to me at the Highland show last fall, had a tremendous display of vintage stars raw and graded. I picked up a Lake to Lake Del Crandall in a PSA 7. I'm going to toss that puppy up on eBay. The dealer next to me also had a nice display of vintage cards and autographs. I picked up a bunch of 1960 Leaf baseball and a 1956 Topps Harmon Killebrew from him. I also purchased a box of 1976 Topps baseball from Dave. Thanks Dave!

I was pleased to see that there was a concession stand. I went to town as usual when there is food in the room. I started out with a delicious chocolate custard doughnut then moved on to a hot dog and later to sloppy Joe. The doughnut and the hot dog were quite good. I was a little disappointed in the sloppy Joe -- it was Manwich -- I'm not a big fan. I also enjoyed several cups of coffee. Man, a concession stand just makes my day.

Early on, I thought it would be a quick day but I ended up being one of the last dealers in the room and did not get on the road home until 4 p.m. Thankfully, traffic was not bad and I made it home by 5:30 p.m. It took me only an hour to get to Crown Point in the morning.

I decided to sit out Sunday, September 27, 2015, and catch up on loading some binders. I began work on my 1968 Topps baseball binder which had been absolutely decimated. It will be nice to bring out a full binder of 1968s next weekend. I'm heading to Indy next Saturday, October 3, 2015, then over to St. Louis on Sunday, October 4, 2015. This will probably be my last stop in Indy and St. Louis for 2015, so I hope to see some nice crowds next weekend. If anyone is looking for anything special, drop me a line and I'll bring it out. Have a great week everybody!

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I'm Still Tired From Last Weekend!!!

9/25/2015

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The week is almost over and I am still recovering from last weekend. My show at the Clarion in Milwaukee was last Saturday. I really hustled in the weeks leading up to the show to promote the event. I spread the word on multiple websites, online forums and Facebook pages. The effort seemed to pay off because we had a much better crowd than last month. In the future, I would like to take another ad in the Journal but the price is just too high. If I ever get overrun with dealers, I'll spend the extra money on a Journal ad. Sadly, there are some dealers that won't set up unless I take a Journal ad. I would have to charge a higher table fee to cover the cost of a regular Journal ad. I'm not willing to bump up the table fee (I want to keep it affordable) and I'm not so sure we need these dealers anyway -- especially after this month's show!

I was up at 5 a.m. on September 19, 2015, to make sure I made it to the Clarion by 7 a.m. I brought out a TON of stuff and filled six tables. For me, the best part of running my own show is that I get so many tables. It sure is fun putting all that stuff out there and seeing items sell off each table. New for this show was my newly reloaded 1967 Topps baseball binder along with some 1961 Fleer Football. I also priced a bunch more publications and sprinkled in some oddball stuff. I had a pretty cool display.

We had an excellent group of dealers including Gary from Rockford, Illinois, Mike Johnson, Bill Nest, Scott & Jim Ziegert and PJ. Everybody had excellent displays and we had some awesome stuff in that room. I think the customers were pleased.

It was nice to see my old customer Jerome, who has been absent for a while. He said he has been busy refinishing some furniture. Jerome picked up a huge pile of cards from the mid-1960's. Thanks Jerome. My pal Jim made it out. Jim is working on the 1956 Topps baseball set -- which is a big step for him because for years he limited himself to Bowmans and Topps from 1952 to 1955. He has annihilated by 1956 binder. Thanks Jim!

Jason made it out to the show and picked up a bunch of 1967s. Thanks Jason! I had steady sales all day. There were a bunch of new customers along with some older ones mixed in. I did not take any notes and forget the other items I sold. Though I do remember that my best customer of the day was the one and only Gizmo. Thanks Rick!! This show ended up in one of my top five of the year, thanks to Gizmo.

I ended up giving Rick a bunch of his money back when he gave me a nice price on about 400 cards from 1952 to 1970. There were a couple of Mantles in there, quite a few Aarons and some Mays cards along with quite a few commons. Some of the cards are going up on eBay but the bulk will be priced and displayed at a future card show.

It was nice to see all of the dealers stick around until the end of the show. When the show is slow, some dealers like to take off. I can't blame them but it is always a better experience for all when all the dealers stay until the end of the show. Overall, we had a real good time. I learned to never discuss politics with Gizmo who has a hopped up passion for that stuff. Hopefully, I did not frighten him away.

It took forever to load out of the room because I brought in so much stuff. I think I was on the road home just after 3 p.m. I was in a hurry to get home for my 30-year high school reunion. My plan was to inhale some food and get a nap in. I ate a couple of burgers at Mickey D's, no Nite Owl! I was able to sleep for about an hour but I was still pretty tired when I left for my old buddy Tom's apartment around 7:15 p.m. Our other buddy Karl met us there around 7:40 p.m. Karl has been late for the past 34 years that I have known him. I met these guys back in 1981 during the first few weeks of my freshman year of high school. We have been close friends ever since.

It was a short drive from Tom's apartment in Deerfield, Illinois, to the Alley in Highwood, Illinois, the site of our reunion. I think there were close to 800 people in my graduating class. Most of them did not attend the reunion but enough did that the Alley was absolutely packed. I walked in and was stuck by the front door for the next several hours chatting it up with all the guys from my old neighborhood. At one point, we realized that our first little league team -- Glenbrook Insurance from 1977 -- was standing all together. I'm kicking myself for not getting a photo.

Slowly, I made it through the room and saw old friends from both junior high and high school. It was tremendous fun. Before I knew it, the clock read 2 a.m. I had almost been awake for 24 hours and was really, really tired. I made it home around 2:40 a.m. but could not fall asleep. I think I slept an hour or two before I had to wake up for the Schaumburg, Illinois, card show.

That may have been the hardest morning I ever had getting ready for a card show. I'm not quite sure how I made it to the Wyndham Garden hotel on Sunday, September 20, 2015, but I was there just before the show opened at 9 a.m. I set up my stuff in a haze. I chugged some coffee and grabbed some grub from the buffet.

I sold some 1959 Topps baseball to a new customer. I then sold a bunch of 1965 Topps baseball to a regular customer who just started working on the set. Another regular picked up some 1953 Topps baseball out of my display case. I may have sold some other stuff but frankly, I can't remember. I do remember struggling to stay awake. I started to pack up early because I needed a pillow badly. When I got home, I slept for several hours then went out to dinner for my wife's birthday.

As a result of that weekend, I have been lethargic all week long. I've had to work early in the morning most days and just have not had time to catch up on my sleep. Like they say, there is no rest for the weary.

I have been having a nice week of sales on eBay. I posted a 1970 Topps football complete set that I am selling for a consignor. See it HERE. I also noticed that my Yogi Berra cards are getting more action than usual. I know that he was 90 years old, but I am saddened by his death. What an amazing character he was. I wrote to him when I was a kid around 1979 and sent him a Hall of Fame postcard. He signed the card, pictured below, and sent me a 5 X 7 autographed photo. In 1982, my family trucked out from the Chicago area to Cleveland to attend the MLB All-Star game. We arrived a few days before the game and went to the hotel where all the players were staying. We spent the day before the game chasing autographs. I remember going up and down the elevators trying to find players. At one point, I found myself in an elevator with Yogi Berra, Warren Spahn, Ozzie Smith and Terry Kennedy. I had each of them sign an All-Star Game brochure. They could not have been nicer.

I noticed that some sports writers were calling Yogi the greatest Yankee of all-time. At first, I thought no way but then I considered his remarkable 14 World Series appearances and agree that an argument could be made that he was the greatest Yankee of all-time. The more I thought this over, I decided that I would figure out who I believe are the top 10 Yankees of All-Time. Here is what I came up with:

1. Babe Ruth
-- No question that he was both the greatest Yankee and the greatest player of all-time.

2. Lou Gehrig
-- When I was researching player statistics to formulate this list, I was amazed that some sports writers had picked Gehrig as the third greatest Yankee, placing Mantle at number 2. While, I agree that Mantle was one of the greatest to have ever played, Gehrig was still on another level. Gehrig batted over .350 six times! He hit over .370 three times! His batting statistics are absolutely remarkable. He hit a tremendous amount of homers and extra base hits and drove in a huge number of runs. Frankly, an argument can be made that Gehrig was the second greatest player of all time, not just Yankee.

3. Joe DiMaggio
-- DiMaggio had a few Gehrig-like years, especially 1939 when he hit .381 and hit 30 homers and drove in 126. I think there would be a much stronger discussion that DiMaggio's was the second greatest Yankee, ahead of Gehrig, had World War II not come along sparking DiMaggio to serve his country for three years instead of playing baseball. I also think DiMaggio retired too early. I think he still had some strong years left in him. Some say, he did not want to play with Mantle.

4. Mickey Mantle
-- What a terror! A switch hitter who hit towering home runs. Mantle hit more home runs than Gehrig and DiMaggio but he did not drive in nearly as many runs and his batting average was not quite as high. Though, to his credit, he walked much more than those guys. In 1956 and 1957, there was no better player in baseball when Mantle hit .353 and .365 respectively. It is well documented that Mantle liked to drink. I think if he stayed sober, he would have eclipsed DiMaggio has my number three.

5. Yogi Berra
-- I think Bill Dickey was a better hitter but Yogi was solid. He gets the number five spot over Dickey for playing in 14 World Series -- remarkable! In total, Yogi played in 75 World Series games. He had 259 World Series at bats and posted a respectable .274 average. He was the catcher for the lone World Series no hitter in 1956. His defensive skills were legendary. My favorite Yogi quote: "If you see a fork in the road, take it."

6. Bill Dickey
-- I reviewed other online lists of all-time greatest Yankees and found Dickey left out of the top ten on most of them. The other guys are just plain wrong. Dickey batted over .300 11 times. His .362 average in 1936 was unheard of for a catcher until the steroid era of the 1990s. Dickey also played in eight World Series for the Yankees and caught some of the all-time legends like Lefty Gomez, Red Ruffing and Waite Hoyt.

7. Earle Combs
-- Overlooked solid hitter from the Ruth-Gehrig era. This man has a life-time .325 average and hit above .340 four times. The stats that stands out for me are the three seasons with 30-plus doubles and 20 or more triples. I'd take this guy any day over all the modern Yankees like Jeter, Mattingly, Winfield, Posada, Bernie Williams and the others -- none of them hit like Earle Combs.

8. Jack Chesbro
-- The Yankees have had many great pitchers and many are enshrined in the Hall of Fame but Jack Chesbro was heads above the rest. The man pitched 48 complete games in 1904 and won 41 of them! 'Nuff said.

9. Whitey Ford
-- The Yankees had many big boppers in the 1950s and 1960s but much of their success should be credited to Whitey Ford. He won 236 games during his 16-year career as a Yankee and only lost 106. He pitched in 11 different World Series! He helped the Yankees take the crown six times.

10. Lefty Gomez
-- Lefty was the Whitey Ford of the Gehrig-DiMaggio eras. Lefty pitched in five different World Series and was a perfect 6-0.

I know the biggest gripe with my list is that I left out all the modern players. While I have great respect for the likes of Reggie Jackson, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, I feel these players played in a water-down era where there were too many teams, too many players. In my opinion, since 1975, the league has never had anywhere near the same talent it had prior. Could a Mariano Rivera shut down a Ty Cobb, a Jimmie Foxx, or a Ted Williams? I'm not so confident he could. Could a Reggie Jackson get a hit off a Grover Alexander, a Lefty Grove, or a Dizzy Dean? I think they would strike him out every time. This is just my opinion. I would like to know yours. Put your all-time top 10 Yankees in the comment section.

We can also discuss Yogi and the Yankees on Saturday when I set up at St. Matthias Church in Crown Point, Indiana. I'm working on reloading 1962 Topps football for this show. Hope to see you there. I can't thank enough all the folks that came out to my show at the Clarion. I really appreciate you guys! Hope you can make it to my next Clarion show on October 25th. Please note that the October show is on a Sunday. Take care!

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Gonzaga Show Does It Once Again - Up next: My Show!

9/15/2015

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What a difference a week makes! I had my easiest ride through Chicago in weeks!! I made it to New Buffalo, Michigan, in under two hours on Friday, September 11, 2015. I was up at 4:30 a.m. on Saturday the 12th for a two-hour ride to Grand Rapids, Michigan. I was thankful the Woodland Mall had a Starbucks.

I have attended quite a few mall shows in my day and the Woodland Mall is one of the nicest ones to house a card show. Promoter Lou Brown has a tremendous card shop in the mall. The shop has cards, fan gear, man-cave items, supplies and more. I thought the shop was pretty cool. It is one of the largest card shops I have ever visited. Understandably, the prices in the shop were high. Lou must have tremendous overhead but I observed a steady flow of customers coming in and out of that place all day long.

I was set up against the outside wall of Sears next to Mark Smith. I recognized a few of the other dealers. As far as Michigan shows go, this was probably the smallest show I have attended there to date. My guess is the hefty table fee (50 bucks for an 8-foot) keeps some dealers away. Also, attendance wasn't quite like the other Michigan shows. It was not bad but not nearly as good as the others. Mark said we had less customers than usual.

I had some sales, nothing spectacular. I sold a beauty of a 1962 Topps Hank Aaron to a customer. I sold some 1972 Topps baseball to another. A collector purchased a bunch of 1962 and 1963 Post Cereal. I sold all of my 1940 Play Balls to Ken, who I know from the Sun-Times show. A bunch more guys dinked around my binders and purchased cards. I only had one table, though I had room for a card table which I luckily brought along. I only put out two display cases and most of my baseball binders. I probably could have had more sales if I had the other binders. Though it is a tough call trying to balance expenses when doing a card show on the road. If I do this show again, I think I'll bring two card tables and my football binders. I think this may be it for me in Michigan for 2015. I'm sure I'll set up in Michigan next year but I do not have a show planned there for the rest of this year. I have yet to have a really good show in Michigan so I'm in no hurry to head back there. However, I have met some really tremendous people in Michigan over the past year and appreciate the new friendships.

No buys today. Mark, who is a regular dealer at the Woodland Mall show, had quite a few guys bring him stuff to peruse. I really did not have anyone bring me cards other than one guy who looked through all my 1953 Topps then wanted to sell me his. If he would have purchased a few cards from me I might have reciprocated but I have a large overhead when I am on the road and am less apt to buy or trade unless sales are pretty good. Mark showed me some of the potential deals that came his way. One was for a group of ugly 1953 Bowman Color baseball. There were some stars in there but almost all the cards either had writing or staining. I will purchase cards in that condition if the price is right. Both Mark and I felt the price was too high. Another guy brought Mark 10 Mickey Mantles and he wanted $1,000 for the group which is normally a pretty good deal. However, these cards were in absolutely horrible condition. There were creases on top of creases, paper loss, major corner and edge wear. I can't sell cards in that condition for much, even if they are Mickey Mantle. A better price for those cards would have been $250 to $300. Mark passed on the deal.

My favorite group that came to Mark were some Red Man's that had visible rat bites on them. Amazingly, Mark bought the cards then was able to flip most of them. I have seen some cards in my day with nibbles from vermin but these cards had huge bites taken out of them. I should have gotten a photo!

Speaking of eating, for lunch, Bill, the promoter of the Holland show, picked us up some Chinese food. I ordered some Orange Chicken and Sweet & Sour Chicken. When I got my food, it looked good, tasted okay, but I noticed that there was hardly any chicken inside the fried dough. If I would have purchased the food myself, I would have taken it back but I did not want to make any waves with Bill. I have experienced this phony sweet & sour chicken once before at a Chinese restaurant when I lived in a ghetto neighborhood in Chicago years ago. There was a Chinese restaurant on my block of battered apartment buildings and storefronts. It was take-out only. You walked in and ordered your meal through bullet-proof glass -- which tells you a little something about the neighborhood. I learned to never order the sweet & sour chicken at this place because you actually received sweet & sour fried dough -- no chicken. I was surprised a Chinese restaurant located in a nice mall pulled that ghetto crap. I now know to avoid the Chinese restaurant at the Woodland Mall.

Back to the business of selling vintage cards where sales were better than my last two Saturdays in Indianapolis but they still weren't up where I would like them to be. The best part of the show was just kicking back with Mark and having a good time. We had lots of laughs so that makes it a good show!

Most dealers stuck around until 3 p.m. I was on the road by 3:30 p.m. It took me about four hours to get home. I stopped a few times for food and gas. I filled up in Grand Rapids where gas was $2.28 a gallon. A few hours later, I stopped off in Michigan City, Indiana, where gas was just $2.09 a gallon. Back in the Chicago area, gas is around $2.65 a gallon.

I slept in on Sunday, September 13, 2015 -- I woke at 5 a.m. I wanted to get to Gonzaga early because I figured we would have an early crowd due to the noon Packers-Bears game. I was correct, there was a nice crowd early on. Pictured up top is the crowd around the live auction at Gonzaga Hall. I did observe some empty tables which is unusual for this show. I noticed Larry wasn't there and I know he has had some health issues -- I hope he is okay.

I was very busy early on. Most of the usual suspects were there like Mark, Jason, Jim, Jack, Rob, and a host of others. These guys purchased a ton of cards! THANK YOU!!! This was easily my best show since, well... my last Gonzaga show. I had an awesome day.

The folks that attend the Gonzaga show are some of the most knowledgeable collectors and sports fans. Last month, a few of us were talking about the day Warren Spahn and Juan Marichal each pitched nearly 16 innings of scoreless baseball against one another. This month, one of my customers brought in an account of the game and said it occurred on his 12th birthday on July 2, 1963, in Candlestick Park.

According to the article, Spahn shut out a line-up that featured Harvey Kuenn, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Felipe Alou, Orlando Cepeda and Ed Bailey for nearly 16 innings until Mays homered in the bottom of that 16th inning. On the other side, Marichal shut out the Braves for 16 innings with a line up that featured Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, and Del Crandall.

While pitching 16-innings of shut-out ball is an amazing feat, this particular event is even more amazing when you consider Spahn was 42 years old while Marichal was only 26. Spahn threw 201 pitches that night!

Speaking of amazing players from yesteryear, I was not planning on purchasing any cards but ended up buying some stuff when a gentleman approached my table with his childhood Ted Williams collection. He had some LIFE Magazines with the Splendid Splinter on the cover. He told me that they were listed for $50 on eBay. I have found that publications are difficult to sell on eBay and I am not confident that I could get anywhere near $50 for those magazines at a card show so I took a pass. I did purchase some beater 1962s, a well-loved 1954 Topps Ted Williams, a 1958 Topps All-Star Ted Williams and a handful of 1959 Fleer Ted Williams. My other purchase of the day was a nice grouping of 1964 Topps Giants that a purchased from a dealer who brought them over.

As is the norm during football season, most everybody cleared out the room by noon. I was on the road home by 1 p.m. I listened to the football game on the way home. I was surprised the Bears kept the game close. They have a really lousy team this year. I am not expecting much from them. I forgot how lousy the Packers are on defense. I don't think either the Packers or the Bears are going to be very good this season. However, with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, the Packers are at least in every game. The Bears, on the other hand, have Jay Cutler who will throw a pick when the game is on the line every time. These are dark times for Bears fans.

Next up is my show at the Clarion in Milwaukee on Saturday. Please, please, come out to my show. I could really use the support!! I started reloading 1967 Topps baseball and should have it done by Saturday. I still have some tables available if any dealers are interested in setting up. Hope to see you Saturday!!!! A big thank you to everyone at Gonzaga for another terrific show!!!

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Heavy Traffic On The Roads, Cheap Gas

9/10/2015

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Chicago area highways were all one large parking lot on the Friday of Labor Day weekend. I tried to weave my way around but ended up getting nowhere. It took me five hours to get to Indy. Once I made it to the La Quinta Inn on Saturday, September 5, 2015, I was happily greeted by the Speedway Gas Station sign next door announcing a $2.09 a gallon price -- woot! Gas was $2.75 a gallon when I left Chicago.

Load in was simple because I only brought out my binders this week after just bringing mostly display cases to Indy last week. My sales were much improved. I'll probably bring a combo of display cases and binders next month. I knew the binders would attract the Bob. It was nice being Bob-free at Fishers last week. Though, he wasn't too bad this time around. We were able to cut a deal on some Exhibits. He tried to low-ball but I stuck to my price.

There were more set-builders at the La Quinta show than at Fishers show which is odd because it is usually the other way around. My set-up is geared toward set builders so I was very pleased. The father and son team I met a while back at the Hoffman Estates, Illinois, show came out to see me and purchased their usual group of St. Louis Browns and Cardinals. Thanks guys!! My 50-cent box was a big hit. I wanted to bring some other cheapy boxes but I could not get them ready in time. Hopefully next month I'll have more cheapy boxes ready to go.

I wish I understood modern cards. It just seems that modern card dealers do a brisk business. I don't know if any of the modern card dealers are making any money but I watch these guys week after week buy and sell a ton of cards. Case in point: early on at the La Quinta show, Seth bought out the table next to me. Seth placed his newly purchased cards under his table. John then came over and bought all the cards on top of Seth's table, leaving mounds of cards under the table. Seth said he actually went home with more cards than he came with. It is kind of fun to watch these guys. Vintage is a whole different ball game. Sure there are guys like Gizmo who come around and buy guys out but most cards are sold in small quantities. You have to have great patience to be a vintage dealer.

No buys to report from this show. It seemed that the show cleared out around noon. I was on the road by 1 p.m. I knew it would be a nightmare heading home because I65 is all messed up. I tried to weave my way northwest, but like Friday, I ended up getting nowhere. Five hours later, I was home.

The brakes on my car have been shaky of late. By Saturday evening, they were feeling really funky so I decided to skip the flea market on Sunday. Sorry! I know guys showed up to see me. I gotta get my brakes fixed.

Up next is Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Saturday, September 12, 2015. I'm setting up at the Woodland Mall. I was last set up in Grand Rapids over the winter at a show held at a middle school gymnasium. As with all the Michigan shows, there was a nice turn out but sales were tough. Mark Smith is a regular dealer at the mall show and says it is pretty good. Mark is usually spot on. I only took one table because the fee was high. I think I am just going to bring out my binders and some cheapy boxes. I like Grand Rapids. It is a beautiful clean city. Grand Rapids also has the greatest doughnuts in the world and I am looking forward to chowing down on a few.

On Sunday, I'm at my favorite show -- Gonzaga Hall in Milwaukee. I will have my 1966 Topps baseball binder reloaded on ready to go by Sunday. I'm going to try and get some other stuff ready as well. I am looking forward to another excellent baseball card weekend. Come on out and see me!!

Don't forget my show on Saturday, September 19, 2015, at the Clarion, 5311 S. Howell, in Milwaukee. I could really use all hands on deck. Thanks!!

Pictured below are modern card collectors hovering at good guy Brian Mayne's table at the La Quinta Show this past weekend.

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Great To See Lots of Kids This Past Weekend

9/3/2015

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I had to work in the morning so I did not get on the road to Indianapolis until 3 p.m. on Friday, August 28, 2015. Two hours later, I was in Indiana. Once on I65 south, traffic was surprisingly light. Just before sunset, I pulled off the road about 90 miles outa Indy and bunked in a town that has more cows than people. It was pitch-black outside when I hit the road early Saturday morning. Surprisingly, traffic was much heavier at 6 a.m. than it was at 6 p.m. I made it to the Fishers American Legion Post just a little before 8 a.m.

I decided to put out mostly display cases to avoid the Bob and other low ballers who covet my binders. Turned out this was a bad idea because sales were few and far inbetween on this beautiful sunny morning. I noticed traffic was down from previous Fisher shows. I was set up across from Mark Smith and smacked inbetween nice-guy dealers Archie and Terry. Most of the usual dealers with a few new guys sprinkled in filled out the rest of the room.

There were some buys to be had in the room but I could not pull the trigger. I have an easier time buying when money is coming in. When sales are slow, I have a tough time buying, even though I know that's how you make money at a slow show by picking stuff up cheap. Well, this was my first dud at Fishers. I probably won't be back for a while but I do plan on setting up there again eventually.

Well, I know the drive home would be horrible because I observed on the way in that at least 50 miles of I65 was closed to all traffic. Someone said there was a bridge out. Mark told me to avoid the detour because it is tow to tow traffic. I weaved my way northwest through the backroads of Indiana. At one point, I wasn't even sure if I was on a road. It felt more like I was driving in the middle of a large corn field. Anyway, six hours later, I was home.

So Saturday was bad and I just had to shrug it off because I had another show set for Sunday. This one was at the Chicagoland Sports Cards shop in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. The owners Les and Marc have been running weekend card shows in their shop for about a year. I previously set up there in December and had a real nice show. The best thing about this show is that it is 15 minutes from home as opposed to my 6-hour drive from Indy the day before.

The guys were kind enough to give me two tables by the front door. I put out four display cases and filled the rest of the space with most of my baseball binders. There was a crowd in the store when I arrived and a good number of people came in and out all day long. I was really thankful and appreciative of the guys who made a special trip to see my like Mort, Chuck and Steve. Thanks guys! I met a father with his two sons at the Bloomingdale show last month and like that show, they made my day with a lot of purchases. Thanks guys! Overall, I did not do as well as December but I did not do nearly as poorly as yesterday in Fishers -- thankfully!!

The best part of the day was seeing a good dozen or so kids in the room having a great time, pictured above. They were buying, selling, and opening wax. It was like a flashback to the 1980's watching all these kids. These were just tremendous kids and a pleasure to be around. They did not know much about vintage cards and I tried to explain them some things here and there. They were most happy opening up packs of cards. They steadily bought boxes and went outside in front of the shop to open them. You could hear the excitement and the cheers when someone made a good pull -- it was just awesome! See video below. I plan on setting up again at Chicagoland Sports Cards in December.

In the meantime, I am a glutton for punishment and am heading back to Indianapolis for Seth Murray's show at the La Quinta in the Beach Grove area of Indianapolis on Saturday. So this time, I am not going to bring any display cases and plan to just put out binders and boxes of cards. Hopefully, I will fare better than I did at Fishers. On Sunday, I am planning to set up at the flea market in Wilmot, Wisconsin, which is always good. See you this weekend! Don't forget my show on September 19 at the Clarion in Milwaukee!!!!!

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Crown Point Has Some Good Doughnuts

I'm Still Tired From Last Weekend!!!

Gonzaga Show Does It Once Again - Up next: My Show!

Heavy Traffic On The Roads, Cheap Gas

Great To See Lots of Kids This Past Weekend

Tony Gordon

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