Saturday, September 23, 2023, Lansing Mall, Lansing, MI

OMG! What was up with the traffic Friday? Ugh!

My daughter and I left the house for Lansing at 1:37 p.m. on Friday, September 22, 2023, and hit traffic immediately on the Edens Expressway, north of Chicago. I knew there would be traffic once we approached the Kennedy Expressway in Chicago proper because road construction currently has two lanes shut down heading southeast from the north end of the city to Downtown. I did not expect so much traffic on the Edens. 

We actually had a relatively easy time of it on the Kennedy because the express lanes were moving. Though, once we were Downtown and off the express lanes and onto the Dan Ryan Expressway, things tightened up immensely. The Dan Ryan was pretty much a parking lot.

We crawled to the Chicago Skyway. I was unaware that there was construction on the Skyway. As a result, it took us ONE HOUR from the ramp on the Dan Ryan to get onto the Skyway. Oh, that sucked!

It essentially took us three hours to travel from the northern suburbs of Chicago to Portage, Indiana -- a drive that is normally about one hour. At that point, we were starving and stopped off at the Texas Corral Restuarant in Michigan City, Indiana. The excellent service and good food at the Texas Corral were sorely needed. I had a steak and ribs combo while the daughter had a ribs and shrimp combo.

It was so hard to get back into the car after dinner but we had hotel reservations in Lansing, so we soldiered on. It took us about two more hours to get to Lansing, traffic was much easier on I94 through Michigan. 

We lost an hour due to the time change and arrived at our hotel around 9:30 p.m., Michigan time. We checked in then went to pick up the boy at his dorm on the campus of Michigan State University.

Man, at 10 p.m. the campus was hopping. Kids everywhere. We picked up the boy, who looked like he grew some more. How much more can this kid grow? He is probably the tallest Gordon in history.

Anyway, we hit the Burger King next to the hotel and called it a night.

I fell asleep shortly after consuming my Whopper but woke up in the middle of the night and could not fall back asleep. I was able to pry myself out of bed around 8 a.m. We were out of the hotel and on our way to the Lansing Mall around 9:15 a.m.

I found the promoter Dennis, who directed me to my tables which were located across the room from the tables I had when I was last at this show in July. I had a corner spot, which I do not particularly like. Good thing I had binders and not the display cases which don't work in a corner spot. I had to do some figuring to get the binders and my cheapy boxes to work.

On one end, I was next to a Pokémon dealer who had a shelf on the end of his table. I wanted to place the boxes next to the shelf but I was worried customers would think the boxes belonged to the Pokémon dealer, so I opted to place them on the other end which was on the aisle.

I had two shoe boxes, one with $1 cards the other with discounted cards from $2 to $15 a piece. Then I had two galley boxes of 50-cent cards. Having that open end into the aisle kind of threw me off. So I placed one shoe box and one galley box facing one way then other boxes facing the other way. I figured I could rearrange the boxes if this set up did not work -- I figured wrong.

As soon as I placed the boxes out, I heard someone shout from across the room: "Vintage Cards Cheap" -- which was the sign I placed on the box of discounted cards. Shortly after I heard the shout, two older heavy-set guys were at the boxes. I hadn't even put out any binders yet. One of the guys asked for a chair and sat down for the next hour. The other guy asked if I had any Mickey Mantle cards. I did not, I just brought out commons after bringing out stars in July.

I remember that guy from the July show. Like this show, he was at my tables before the show opened and before I had set anything up. I eventually showed him my Mantles at the July show and he did not buy any of them. I remember that he came to my tables three or four times in July and ended up purchasing some 1966 Topps baseball high numbers.

Just like July, he came to my tables three or four times. When I was finally able to get all my binders out, he was focused on my binder of 1964 Topps baseball coins. Eventually, he asked for a price on all of them. He said he would think about it. Well I guess he thought not to buy them.

Back to the cheapy boxes, man, guys were on those things like flies to a horse's ass! I had two or three guys going through the boxes for the next two hours or so. One guy asked me for a price on the 50-cent boxes which were already discounted at three for a buck. I told him I don't discount my discount cards. He pleaded with me and pointed to a table down the row. He said he sells vintage card lots at that table and needed the cards for his lots. Not my problem. Did I say I don't discount my discount cards? He did end up pulling out a pile then his son came over and pulled out another pile. 

Seemed like I hit all my pet peeves this morning. I hate when guys start digging through my cards before I can finish setting up. I also hate when guys ask for a discount on the discount cards, which brings me to another customer. This guy spent a good half an hour or so going through all the cheapy boxes. He ended up pulling out one 50-cent card and asked if he could have it for a quarter. I wanted to slug him but kept it together and accepted the quarter for the card.

It was cheap-o-rama day in Lansing. I had another guy pull out two cards from my 1960 Topps baseball binder, adding up to $2, and he wanted to pay with a check. He was an older guy. I told him I accept PayPal. He did not know what PayPal was. I told him there was an ATM machine in the building. He said he did not have an ATM card. I normally do not accept checks from people I do not know because I have been given fake checks in the past. This guy was pathetic, so I took his check. If I lose $2, I lose $2.

Most of those that came to my tables were looking for Detroit Tigers cards. I do not have any Tigers cards separated; they were all in the books. Most guys did not want to go through the binders to look for Tigers. I am going to start building a Tigers binder, which appears to be a necessity at this show.

I observed that the crowd was much smaller than the July show and there were a lot less dealers. As a result, my sales were way down. I was disappointed. I had a really good show in July where many guys asked for cards from particular years, so I thought the binders would do well here, but that was not the case. About 80 percent of my sales came from the cheapy boxes, which were a last-minute addition. Glad I brought them!

Nobody looked at my recently reloaded 1970 Topps baseball binders. I did have one guy ask for 1959 Fleer, which I just had reloaded. He found a couple of cards. One guy went through my Exhibits binder and pulled out all of my Tigers. Not much else doing. I made my last sale of the day around 12:30 p.m. and sat there until 2:30 p.m. with just a handful of guys flipping through the binders or digging through the cheapy boxes.

The dealer with the vintage lots said his sales have been going downhill at this show. I saw Duke, who lives nearby but travels all over for shows. I saw him last weekend in Orland. Duke told me the crowd was down because of the United Auto Workers strike. One of the dealer's next to me, named Bernie, a real nice guy, said the crowd was down because of the Michigan State football game that was occurring at the same time as the show.

Whatever the reason, sales were way down from July. After my kids were done shopping in the mall, they sat at my tables so I could walk around. I saw a large number of vintage dealers with some really good stuff, albeit very high priced. Normally when a show has this many vintage dealers there are many vintage customers. I guess there were vintage customers today but they were the type that will only pay a quarter for a discounted 50-cent card or the type that will write you a check for two bucks.

Also, it might just have been an off day. With my son living nearby, I will definitely be back. I am not sure when. I know I can't make the October show because I am coming out the week prior to take the boy home for the weekend. I don't see a show listed for November or December. I may try some other nearby shows for those months.

I was so happy to see my son that I did not mind having a bad show. This was the first time I had been separated from the boy for so long. With my daughter there as well, we had a really nice weekend together. I spent Saturday night in Lansing as well and drove home Sunday afternoon. Traffic was much better on the way home, thankfully.

Next up is a new show in South Bend, Indiana. A real nice couple is running this show. They own a card shop in South Bend and put on a monthly show that is normally the same weekend as my Oak Creek show. They are putting on an additional show this Saturday, September 30, at the St. Joseph County Fairgrounds in South Bend. I am not sure what to expect at this show. They seem to largely sell Funko-pops which is a pretty good indication that there won't be much vintage at this show. Thus, my expectations are low. I am definitely not bringing out the binders. I think I'll bring out some cheapy boxes and some display cases.

My pops is going to be joining me for this show. Who knows what kind of junk he will be selling but he is always entertaining. I know a few of you guys have met him in the past. He is a real character from another time. Born in Chicago in 1937, he has lived an interesting life from setting up on Chicago's famous Maxwell Street, selling stuff from his grandfather's hardware store in the 1950's, from working as a beer vendor at both Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park from 1952 to 1962, including working the 1959 World Series.

He entered into politics in the early 1960's, working for John F. Kennedy in 1962. For the next 50 or 60 years he worked on all sorts of political campaigns in Chicago, Cook County and the State of Illinois, and was campaign manager for many big time Chicago politicians. 

He worked as a lawyer in Chicago from 1962 to 1996 representing all sorts of folks including Ernie Banks and Joe Dimaggio. He was a judge from 1996 up until last December when he retired. At age 86, he still as sharp as ever and will regale you with all sorts of stories. Come see us at the South Bend show on Saturday! 

Next Oak Creek show is coming up fast on October 7th. Once again, I am behind on returning calls, emails, texts and messages. I hope to catch up soon. I should have 115 to 120 dealers, with the most vintage dealers in the country. You need to check out the Oak Creek show!

Thanks for following along, see you soon!

Sunday, September 17, 2023, Civic Center, Orland Park, IL

What an ugly morning! Rain, rain, rain! I got soaked loading up my car in the morning. I packed some paper towels and a tarp for load into the Civic Center as I expected nothing but rain.

Yep, there was nothing but rain during my drive down to Orland which turned out to be one of my worst ever as a jack-knifed semi blocked three out of the four lanes on the I294, just south of O’Hare. It was a parking lot as cars tried to maneuver from the outer lanes into the single lane. My normal 45-minute drive ballooned to an hour and a half. 

I usually try to make it to the Civic Center around 8 a.m. but on this morning I did not arrive until 8:45 a.m. and it was pouring rain. Luckily, I was able to snag the large green cart so I could bring everything in on one trip. As I was finishing loading up the cart in the rain, Rick stopped me and informed me that he had brought his four display cases that I agreed to purchase last month. He asked that I pull up next to his car but I had the cart almost loaded and everything was getting soaked with rain. I told him I needed to get this stuff inside. We agreed to come back out later for the display cases.

As a veteran dealer, I learned long ago to keep my cards in water-proof tubs. The tops of the tubs were covered in water when I arrived inside. I also brought in three display cases that I covered in a tarp. There was still quite a bit of water on the cases, which I wiped off with paper towels. It pays to be prepared!

Next item on the agenda was to set up as quickly as possible as customers were already filtering into he room. I was able to set up in record time! I had all the binders out and all three display cases loaded with cards by 9:15 a.m. This may have been my fastest set up ever!

For some reason, I thought I had more room for more binders. Turns out I had no space for my hockey binders and most of my basketball binders. I think I’ll bring just two display cases next month so I can get out all of the basketball and hockey binders.

Last month I brought just display cases, no binders, and was able to place out all of my higher end baseball along with football through 1962. So today, I put out higher end football from 1963 on along with all of my higher end basketball and hockey.

My pals Will and Joe arrived shortly after I finished setting up. As usual, they brought me an Egg McMuffin and a cup of coffee. Thanks guys! I was able to get that McMuffin down without too many interruptions. I needed that fuel!

Nice crowd! After breakfast, I was busy the rest of the morning. The guy who purchased my entire 1969 Topps baseball binder a few months ago wanted a price on my entire 1964 Topps baseball binder. I have known this guy long enough to where I now have an idea of his spending limit. I knew the ‘64 binder would be priced too high for him. The price came out to $966. He said he will come with a list next time.

My main man Mike was there and pulled some cards out of my newly reloaded 1970 Topps baseball binder. Thanks Mike! A bunch of other regulars pulled some cards. Rick pulled some 1972-73 Topps basketball. I paid him for the display cases and we went outside and made the exchange. Thankfully, the rain had died down.

Once back at my tables, a regular pulled a pile of 1977 Topps baseball. A couple really dickered with me over some hockey cards. I have some really nice cards from the 1970’s right now and have them priced appropriately. The centering is slightly off on my 1970-71 Topps Bobby Hull but the rest of the card is sharp! I am not discounting it, sorry. They did purchase my 1970-71 Topps Stan Mikita and my 1971-72 Topps Tony Esposito. It is so easy to sell old Blackhawks in the Chicago area. I do not need to discount them.

A father and son team were the big winners today. They pulled a nice pile of 1955 Bowman baseball. Another regular pulled a nice pile of 1973 Topps baseball. Will started on the 1976 Topps baseball set today and pulled a nice pile. Thank Will!

I saw a lot of the Orland regulars like Chris T., Milan, Eddie, tow-truck Chris, and Mike S., among others. Always great to see those guys. It was also nice chatting with dealers Tom M. and Phil. Across the way from me in Orland, there are some great guys set up like Carl, Casey and Tom. It is almost always an enjoyable day in Orland where there are so many great people!

On the buying front, another great day! I purchased a near set of 1968 Topps baseball, then two near sets of 1975 Topps baseball. I normally like to purchase cards from my buddy Walt but ran out of funds. Also, my pal Jeff P. likes to scope out potential deals for me, but again, I ran out of funds. I appreciate the tips Jeff! Once again, I went home with more cards than I came with plus four additional display cases. 

I was concerned I would not be able to fit everything into my car but somehow got it all in there. It sure sucked unloading the car once I got home. Ugh!

After the show, Will, Joe and I went to the sub shop. I went with a “Depth Charge” sub sandwich this time which consists of ham, road beef, turkey, tomatoes and onions. It was quite good.

We watched a little bit of the Bear-Bucs game in the sub shop. Like last week, the Bears kept it close in the first half then fell apart in the second half. Looked like the Bears offensive line stunk it up again — sorry Paul, that line sucks! Though, during the show, Mike S. seemed to agree with Paul and said he did not think the line was that bad. We all agree that Justin Fields is not the guy. I would like to see the Bears trade him for some draft picks.

As usual, the show cleared out around noon. I think I was out of the Civic Center by 1:30 p.m. My neighbor Tommy Larson said that if Tony is packing up, it is time to go! Yes, it was time to go as there was hardly anybody in the room by 1 p.m. During football season, all shows clear out early so everyone can go watch some football. 

I was on my way home from the sub shop unusually early. Traffic home was not too bad. Though, I am so over all the construction on the 294. Ugh! I got home in time to fall asleep watching the afternoon NFL games.

Overall, sales were down from last month, but not too bad. I think I had doubled my Woodstock sales from the previous day by 10 a.m. I love the Orland show and appreciate Rich, Karen and the crew. Thanks guys for putting on another excellent show!

Next Orland show is slated for October 15. I hope Mother Nature dials up a dry day for the 15th!

In the meantime, I am trucking out to Lansing, Michigan, for the Lansing Mall show on September 23rd. I was set up at this show earlier in the summer and had an excellent show. I am looking forward to it and to seeing my son, who is out that way now at Michigan State. My daughter is coming with me because she misses the boy as well. I am looking forward to a really nice weekend with my kids. 

The next Oak Creek show is on October 7 and I am getting a lot of interest. Please be patient with me, I am behind on answering emails and hope to catch up soon!

A huge thank you to everyone in Orland who bought and sold me cards. I had a really enjoyable day! There is nothing like a card show!! Life is good!!

Saturday, September 16, 2023, Woodstock North High School, Woodstock, IL

As you know, I am a card show junky. I try to set up at a card show every weekend. I’ve got a pretty big range of where I’ll go — Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. Every so often I venture out even further.

On Saturday, September 16, 2023, there were five different shows in my range which has me wondering… are there too many card shows? Can there ever be too many card shows? There is certainly not enough card shows focusing on vintage. None of the five shows on Saturday have much of a showing for vintage. I will always choose to set up at the show with the most vintage dealers because that always translates into the show with the most vintage customers.

Since none of the five shows Saturday have much vintage, I chose to set up in Woodstock, Illinois, because it is the closest to home. The other shows Saturday were Green Bay and Oconomowoc in Wisconsin, Bridgeview in Illinois, and Michigan City in Indiana. I have set up at all of these shows in the past and will set up at them again in the future. Did I say I was a card show junky?

Attendance seemed down in Woodstock. I don’t know if folks were visiting these other shows or what. I do think that the Woodstock show should have better attendance considering it is the only regular show in McHenry County, Illinois, which has some decent cities and well-to-do areas. 

As a show promoter myself, I know first hand that it is tough to get people through the door no matter where your show is located. I tried to help get the word out for the Woodstock show on Saturday but I think I only brought in a handful of people. I know promoter Curtis makes a solid effort promoting the show as well. I’m thinking that maybe we should all try and post about this show in some more neighborhood groups instead of just focusing on sports card sites. 

This show has such a great venue and such a great group of regular dealers, there has got to be a way to get more people to attend… or maybe there are just too many shows. Who knows? Any way, I do like this show and would like to see more people come on out.

I did have quite a few sales on Saturday, though, most of them were in the dollar or two range and did not add up to much. My sales were much better at the August Woodstock show which I think was only competing against two other shows instead of four. 

I observed that there were a bunch of new dealers on Saturday, including long-time friend Jeff Peterson, who was set up at Woodstock for the first time. He said he had a good day. It looked like a lot of the dealers had nice crowds at their tables. 

I had to leave early to take my daughter to work. I wonder if I stayed to the end, like I normally do, if my sales would have been better. 

On the buying front, I picked up a stack of 1974 Topps football. Another guy offered me sets from 1982 through 1994. I was not interested.

One of the best things about the Woodstock show is that there are always some great people and good conversations. I was set up next to Anthony and Donny. I always enjoy hanging out with those guys. My main man Phil, always seeks me out to talk a little guitar. My pal Willie made the trip out to Woodstock. It is always great to hang out with Willie. Young Nick always stops by my table with some legal questions.

I’ve got a regular customer at this show who lives in Cary, Illinois, that always has some good memories to share of growing up in New York and collecting cards. An older couple stopped by and cleaned me out of Ellis Burton cards from the 1960’s. The guy told me that Burton was his favorite player as a kid and he has a collection of hundreds of his cards.

Luckily for me, it is not all about making money. I enjoy when people share their history with me. Saturday was an enjoyable day. I really appreciate Curtis for putting on the show. I know it can be a headache with dealers reserving space then not bothering to show up. I think Curtis had a few of those on Saturday. I get them at every Oak Creek show.

The next Woodstock show is on October 21. I can’t make that one. The boy wants to come home from college for a visit, so, I’m heading out to East Lansing on October 20 and will be driving home on October 21. I am sorry to miss the show and recommend that everyone attend!

The October 21sr show is the last one in Woodstock for 2023. I plan on being back there for 2024 and will let you know when I have more info.

Anyway, Woodstock was the first show of a double-bill weekend. I was set up in Orland on Sunday. Orland blog coming soon.

Next week, I am heading out to Michigan to see the boy and set up at the Lansing Mall show. I am probably bringing binders. I should have my oddball binder ready to go for that one. My latest edition of the oddball binder has some 1959 Fleer, 1960 Leaf, 1961 Golden Press, 1963 Topps Peel Offs, 1964 Topps Rub Offs, and 1968 Topps Game along with some other goodies. I am hoping to have some 1969 Topps Deckle Edge and some 1962 Post baseball ready to go before I head out to Michigan on Friday.

The next Oak Creek show is coming up on October 7. I am getting a lot of interest in the show already and will have a bunch of new dealers along with all the old favorites. Hope you guys can come out to Oak Creek on the 7th. 

​Have a great week everybody!

Sunday, September 10, 2023, Kane County Fairgrounds, St. Charles, IL

As a rule, I rarely set up at a new show. I like the show to grow a following before I venture out. I made an exception to my rule and set up at the first show at the Kane County Fairgrounds. I broke the rule because I like promoters John and Mike. They currently operate the Janesville and Loves Park shows and always do an excellent job.

Though, I originally only booked one table because I was a little nervous about whether anyone would attend. Mike convinced me to take two and I am glad I did. This sure did not look like a first show as it was mobbed with customers and vendors. Kudos to John and Mike!

I am very familiar with the area having been to the fairgrounds many times along with the two court houses that border the fairgrounds. Though, somehow, I missed the entrance and drove by it in the morning, having to U-Turn and double back. I followed the card show signs until I arrived at the building housing the show. 

Easy load in. I was happy to see that my tables were located next to my pals Gary George and Dave McDonald. I brought out all of my baseball binders, half of my football binders and all of my basketball binders. I had just enough stuff to fill two 8-foot tables.

Beautiful venue. We had a nice crowd early on and it continued up until noon as folks started to head off to watch the opening Sunday of the NFL season. I am a Bears fan and thought they might have a shot at the Packers who were without future HOFer Aaron Rodgers for the first time in nearly 20 years. 

​Yet I was not drinking all the Kool aide the local media was spewing. I knew the Bears did not have an offensive line and much of a defense. I also don't like the fact that they did not resign running back David Montgomery. Other things working against the Bears are the lousy owners, the GM and the coach. The Bears will never be good again as long as a McCaskey is running the show. Wish they would sell the team.

Anyway, back to the card show. Gary grabbed me some much-needed coffee from the concession stand. Thanks Gary! They were supposed to have doughnuts. Gary and I kept checking but gave up after a while.

There was a lot of activity at my tables all morning. Unfortunately, I just did not have the cards people were looking for as I am desperately behind on reloading the binders. I recently reloaded the 1970 Topps to include two binders this time around. No one was interested in '70 Topps, they wanted '72's which is empty. Not sure when I'll get a chance to reload the '72's, I really need to find the time. 

As a result, sales were not every good which is totally my fault. The customers were there and I just did not have the goods. I should have brought out display cases but I have gotten a little bored with them as I have been doing display cases since July.

On the buying front, I picked up some mid-1970's hockey. Wish I had brought out my hockey binders as several folks asked for hockey. I also had a guy looking for a Doug Buffone but my 1970's era football binders are empty. For the first time ever, I had a request for Joe Decker. The only Joe Decker card that comes to mind is 1971 Topps, and, of course, that binder is empty. I missed out on a big 25-cent sale with that one.

Gary and I observed a couple of older guys who appeared to be offering some nice vintage sets for sale. They spent some time with a couple of dealers set up on the other side of Dave. I have seen these dealers before as customers but never have observed them set up until this show. They had really good stuff. My pal Jason Galleske purchased a 1951 Bowman Willie Mays rookie from them. 

So I saw the dealers take some photos of the older guys' collection but no transaction occurred. The older guys walked by my table while I was engulfed in a conversation with a customer about 1968 Topps. I wanted to chase them down but did not get the opportunity. They had some good stuff like 1951 Topps Blue Backs and early 1950's Bowman baseball sets. Opportunity missed! 

Oh well. I then went outside to get some tacos from the food truck. Tacos were excellent!

Overall, I was really pleased with the traffic at my tables and at the show in general. I can see this show turning into something awesome. I'll definitely be at the next one scheduled for December 16.

Load out was easy as was the drive home. I arrived home in time to catch the second quarter of the Bears-Packers game. I should have stayed away from home as it was a typical Bears-Packers game with the Bears being crushed. New Packers quarterback, same result. When are the McCaskey's going to sell the team!!

Oh well. I don't think I am going to watch the Bears get crushed by the Chiefs next weekend. I will watch the other games instead to get my football fix.

I have a double bill weekend coming up with the Woodstock show on Saturday and Orland on Sunday. I just finished loading up some 1952 Bowman baseball. I also have some 1951 Topps Magic football. I am working on reloading 1965 Topps baseball which will take a few weeks to finish up. 

I plan on bringing binders again this coming weekend. I'll probably pause the '65 reload in favor of some things I can fill up quickly. So I should have a bunch of new stuff ready to go by this weekend.

Next Oak Creek show is on Saturday, October 7, 2023. I am expecting another full house of dealers and 180 tables. Once again there will be 20 to 30 different vendors with vintage along with a ton of modern dealers and Pokémon, which is seemingly crazy popular.

A big thank you to John and Mike for putting on a great show in St. Charles. Also, thank you to everyone who stopped by my tables. Hope to see you all this weekend in Woodstock and Orland!

Below is another photo of the Kane County show along with a photo of Jason's newly purchased Willie Mays.

Saturday, September 2, 2023, Salvation Army Community Center, Oak Creek, WI

The September 2nd show marked the 9th anniversary of the show. I started the show with Mark Smith back in September of 2014. It has been a crazy ride! It has always been a ton of work and has never been easy to manage.

These days, the week before the show is utter chaos with new dealers wanting to set up, potential dealers wanting to discuss the show and regular dealers cancelling for whatever reason. This time around I had one nutter dealer claiming other dealers were stealing from him. I need more than circumstantial evidence before I kick a dealer out of the show as this guy wants me to do.

Also, this guy was so over the top that he is no longer welcome at the show. I don’t have any patience for anyone who is going to insult and harass me. Good riddance!

With or without nutters, setting up the show is a chore. I used to arrive early in the morning on the day of the show to set it up. Now that the show has grown to 180 tables, I have to come up on the night before.

I also invite any dealers to arrive Friday night and set up because Saturday morning set up has become a cluster#$@% with the Salvation Army closing the front parking lot in favor of a Weight Watchers group that has morning classes at the Sal in a second floor room. This is just a problem when there are more than 100 dealers descending on the building and attempting to load in their wares. So, any dealers, feel free to come Friday night and avoid the Saturday morning chaos. 

This month, Lisa and I arrived around 5:30 p.m. on Friday. We were kind of bummed out that the Chapel and Game Room were filled with chairs. It was a lot of work for us to remove all those chairs.

Several dealers showed up to set up. Then our friends George and Kristy came to help set up. Thanks guys! Their help made a tough night so much easier. For some reason, George and Kristy are so much faster at placing the name tags out on all 180 tables/chairs than we are. They claim it is their years working in the postal service that makes them adept at sorting and tagging. 

Scotty P. informed us of a Lions Club outdoor festival in a nearby park. I love festivals. Seems Lisa, George and Kristy don’t share my love of festivals and wanted to go to the nearby Watertown Brewing Company. No biggie because the Watertown is one of the best brewpubs around, in my opinion. I had a really great Rueben to eat and an excellent Oktoberfest beer.

Lisa and I did not make it over to our hotel until 11:30 p.m. We spent the night at the Econolodge this time around. Price was right but the bed was sooo uncomfortable. That is a one and done with that place. We were up at 6 a.m. to make it to the Sal by 7 a.m.

This was the first time in 9 years that no dealers were waiting for me when I arrived at the Sal. There were, however, a nice crowd of Weight Watchers people. I brought in my tables and display cases Friday night. Then brought in my cards on Saturday morning. I started to load up my display cases while the dealers trickled in.

As usual, I had several no-show dealers. I have been trying to get them all to prepay in an effort to curb the no shows but there were some dealers that prepaid and did not show up. Sorry, I am not refunding table fees. These dealers have a responsibility to show up!

Then I had some dealers show up, who did not reserve a space. Thankfully, I had some open spots to place these guys. I always get dealers showing up who do night reserve prior to the show, usually I can find a spot for them.

I was set up in the front hallway this month. As usual, I plug myself into a hole vacated by a dealer that cancelled at the last minute. I do enjoy rotating my spot each month. I am about due to set up in the gym and am hopeful I can find a spot for myself in there for the October 7 show.

One of the cool things about setting up in the front hallway is that I can see customers queuing up to get into the show. I thought that was so cool. Prior to the show, I was a little concerned with it being a holiday weekend that attendance would be down. In actuality, we ended up only being down about 60 people from last month with 640 people through the door.

If you know me, I am not really one to toot my own horn but I am so proud of the fact that I regularly get hundreds of people attending my show, no matter what. As you know, I set up as a dealer at tons of other shows and the attendance at all of them, other than the National, pales in comparison to my show in Oak Creek. I am so indebted to everyone that regularly attends my show. Thank you! I must be doing something right!!

Once again, Johnny Adams flew in from Minnesota just to buy cards at the show. I saw some other big buyers in attendance as well. I saw Beau from the Madison show in attendance. He is one of my favorites. A couple of other show promoters were set up like Nicholas Parsons from Bridgeview, IL, show, Matt and Harry from the Green Bay show, and Lake Country Cards from the Oconomowoc show. Thanks for setting up!

Back at my tables, I placed out and filled eight display cases mostly with vintage baseball but a little football as well. Sales were awesome! My best show of the year! My pal Scott purchased my 1950 Bowman Yogi Berra — a cool card that I hated to see go. My main man Jeff purchased a bunch of 1953 Bowman football. Thanks Jeff. The strongest man in Brown Deer, WI, Kevin Wolfe about cleaned me out of 1965 Topps stars. Thanks Kevin!

A new customer purchased my 1933 Goudey Burleigh Grimes. I have a great customer from Madison, whose name escapes me, but he about cleared me out of 1960 Leaf baseball. 

Then I met Joe, who made my day. Joe is from the old neighborhood in Chicago, the neighborhood that my great-grandparents settled in when they arrived from the old country in the 1890’s. My great-grandparents opened up an electrical supply shop that stood on Chicago’s Division Street for around 100 years. My cousin shut it down when Home Depot opened up nearby and priced us out of business. Joe remembers the shop!
He said his family arrived in the neighborhood in the 1930’s.

Joe said he and his son took a train from Chicago to Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee then cabbed it to the show. Thanks for coming guys! Joe purchased a bunch of 1969 Topps, including my Ernie Banks. Joe said he coaches baseball at a private school in Chicago and is planning to hold a card show as a fundraiser for his team. I hope he schedules the show on one of my free days so I can set up! It has been a good 20 or 25 years since I set up at a show within the borders of Chicago — there just aren’t any there anymore.

​Anyway, after an excellent day of selling cards, I purchased some as well, including a 1962 Topps Lou Brock rookie and a 1962 Jello Carl Yastrzemski.

I tried something new this month and added a Trade Area on the stage in the Chapel. I saw folks taking advantage of the new area and will keep that as a regular feature for the show.

I went through a couple boxes of cards, giving away free packs to kids. We had a TON of kids which is so great to see! 

One issue on the day was that we did not have any concessions because the volunteers that regularly work it, had other plans for the holiday weekend. My pal John Nelson said he can run the concessions if I ever run into this situation in the future. Thanks John!

Lisa went across the street and grabbed us drinks and sandwiches at Panera. Thank you my bride! John said that Panera and Jimmy John’s were probably pretty happy we did not have concessions as they were mobbed from showgoers.

We had another issue with lack of air-conditioning in the gym. I walked around the building in an effort to find a thermostat but later learned there is none. Apparently, the A/C is controlled through an app and the guy who knows how to work the app, my main man Mark, was on vacation. I hated to bug Mark but we needed A/C as the temps outside were in the 90s. So Mark and young Justin were able to turn on the A/C in the gym. Thanks guys!

All in all, turned out to be a pretty great day! Most everyone seemed pretty happy. I really appreciate everyone, both customers and dealers for all of your support these past 9 years.

Next show is scheduled for October 7, 2023. There is a competing show scheduled in Schaumburg that day but the better dealers will be in Oak Creek! I don’t think there will be any vintage dealers at that Schaumburg show while we will have between 20 and 30 vintage dealers along with the best modern and Pokémon dealers around! Make sure you come see us in Oak Creek on October 7!!

In the meantime, I am setting up this Sunday, September 10, at the Kane County Fairgrounds in St. Charles, IL. I can’t recall there ever being a show in St. Charles. I know my pal Curtis sets up at the Kane County Fair Flea Market all summer long. The famous Corky was a regular dealer at the fair up until his passing (miss that guy!).

My good friends John and Mike, who promote the Loves Park and Janesville shows are the operators of this new show in St. Charles. These guys always do a solid job so I know this will be an excellent show. I am planning to bring out binders. I already had a request for basketball binders. I hope the rest of my crew of vintage set builders can make it to St. Charles this weekend! See you there!!

​Below are a few more photos from the September 2nd Oak Creek show.