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Chilly Day in Green Bay, Wisconsin

10/22/2015

The weekend itinerary called for Green Bay on Saturday, October 17, 2015, and Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale, Illinois, on Sunday, October 18, 2015. I have never set up in Green Bay before and was looking forward to the show. I had only been to Green Bay once before -- 17 years ago on my one-year wedding anniversary. The wife and I decided we would celebrate our first year as newlyweds by taking a week trip around Lake Michigan. We drove from our house in Chicago around the lake to New Buffalo, Michigan, then worked our way north to Mackinac Island. We then drove west across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and camped at an old mining town on the very top of Lake Michigan. We then worked our way down through Wisconsin and stopped off at Green Bay. We walked around Lambeau and continued south to Chicago. It was a great trip but we did not spend a whole lot of time in Green Bay.

I woke at 4 a.m. on the morning of the show and was out of the house by 5 a.m. Three hours later, I arrived in Green Bay. The show was slated for the Green Bay Distillery on McCarthy Way. Unfortunately, McCarthy Way did not register on my GPS. I remembered promoter Mike Johnson saying the show was across from Lambeau so I drove around the stadium looking for McCarthey Way. I could not find it.

I resorted to asking Siri on my iPhone. The Green Bay Distillery popped up but on a different street. I popped the address into the GPS and was promptly taken to an industrial area well south of Lambeau. I tried Siri again and navigated my way toward the Green Bay Distillery by the map Siri provided. The Distillery showed up on the map as a red flag. My car showed up as a blue dot and I could see the dot moving and eventually pass McCarthy Way. I doubled back, found the street and the distillery. Oh my.

I arrived at 8:30 a.m., the show did not open till 10 a.m, so I was there in plenty of time. The Green Bay Distillery is located about a block east of Lambeau and across from the Don Hudson Center, the Packers' practice facility. See photo above. It was freezing cold out, about 28 degrees. There were snow flurries. Yet, the first dealer I saw was wearing a tank top, shorts and sandles. I had on a hat and winter coat and I was still cold.

Cold weather aside, the Green Bay Distillery is huge. Staff was setting up for a wedding in the main ballroom. The card show was loaded in the game room area. There was also a sizeable bar and seating area. The room was filled with large flat screen TVs. I put out four display cases and some baseball and football binders. Folks started to trickle in around 10. Mike put some classified ads in the local papers which brought out my first customer who was working on 1957 Topps football.

My next customer was a Detroit Tigers and Lions fan. We did some cash and trade deals. Dealer Bill Nest made my day. He is building sets for a customer and found quite a few cards at my table. Thanks Bill! I spent most of the day watching the Wisconsin/Purdue and Northwestern/Iowa college football games. I enjoyed a bowl of chili and some coffee. The bar offered free shots whenever Wisconsin scored a touchdown. Bill grabbed a free shot. I would have partook but I had a three-hour drive home to consider. Below is a picture of the show.

Former Packer tight end Marv Fleming was hanging out at the bar. He came by and checked out our little card show. I did not know who he was when he was standing at my table looking at my display cases. I figured he was a former athlete. He looks in pretty good shape for a guy who played for Lombardi in the 1960s. Mike knew who he was right away and started to talk to him. Pretty cool.

I had time to check out the other dealers who had quite a few Packers and Badgers items. One dealer had coins, knives and arrow heads. There were some wax guys as well. Mike always has excellent stuff. He had a nice 1961 Topps baseball complete set for sale. I wish I had the funds to pull the trigger on that one. He will probably have it this Sunday at my show at the Clarion. He also had a box of pristine 1962 Topps Football cards with about six Jim Brown cards and three Ernie Davis cards. Drool.

I left around 3 p.m. and made it home around 6 p.m. I passed out pretty early and was up at 6 a.m. on Sunday October 18, 2015. I was moving kind of slow and was a little late to the Bloomingdale show, pictured below. I brought out all my binders but did not put out any display cases. All the binders alone take up three 8-foot tables. I had a steady stream of guys purchasing cards most of the day. The guy from last month picked up more '65s. A new customer said he was working on a high-grade '65 set and found some cards. Randy picked up some stuff. Derek purchased a 1969 Topps Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays. Thanks Derek. Several other customers made some nice purchases and my day was done.

The weekend kind of flew by. Not a whole lot of purchases to report or anything out of the ordinary. I have been working this week on my 1969 binder. I should have it out on Saturday in Fort Wayne. My show at the Clarion is set for Sunday. We will have another nice group of dealers. I will bring out oa TON of stuff once again. Hope you can make my show on Sunday!

Thanks for the texts and emails expressing condolences for the Cubs. It was fun while it lasted. They obviously need some pitching. Hopefully, Theo can get the Cubs some fresh arms. The future looks good for the Cubs... I don't know about any of the other Chicago sports teams. It is going to be a long winter! Oh yeah, come out to my show on Sunday at the Clarion, 5311 S. Howell, in Milwaukee!!!

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Hoo Doo Voo Doo in Wrigleyville

10/16/2015

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Have you ever set your alarm clock for 6 p.m. when you meant to set it for 6 a.m.? If so, welcome to my world! I almost did not make it to the Elgin, Illinois, show on Saturday, October 11, 2015. Luckily my son woke me up at 7 a.m. or I would have slept all day.

I made it out to Elgin by the start of the show but I did not have time to place my display cases in my car and some other stuff I had wanted to bring out. So my tables consisted of binders which makes set up quick and easy. I had customers as soon as I placed the binders out and was busy all day long. Pretty much all of my customers came out after learning I'd be in Elgin from reading this blog -- how cool is that?!!!

Andy from Orlando was in town to help his dad close up their Wisconsin cottage for the winter. Andy is working on a ton of sets. We ended up trading. I got a nice group of 1958 Topps baseball. He may have purchased some items as well but my memory is evading me. I also made a cash and trade deal with Bill. I purchased a pile of cards from another regular customer who ended up giving me back my money with the purchase of quite a few 1959 Topps baseball. Then old friend Pat stopped by to sell me cards and I ended up taking home quite a haul between these four guys. I can't remember everything I got, most of it has already been packed away in the card bunker. Let's see, I know I got some 1972-73 OPC hockey, some Post Cereal, a box of publications, some 1969 Topps football, a binder filled with '63 & '66 Topps baseball, '70-'71 Topps basketball, some non-sports cards including Zorro and Planet of the Apes. There was quite a lot of stuff in total. I was really happy with the unexpected purchases. I also had a good day on the sales front, thanks to Randy and the other guys who purchased cards. Luckily, being late didn't affect my show at all. Maybe I need to arrive late to all the Elgin shows... though that may give promoter Corky a heart-attack. Sorry Corky! I'll be on time next month!!

Later that night, I properly set my alarm for 5 a.m. I like to get out to the Gonzaga show early during football season to make sure my table is set up by the opening bell at 9 a.m. because both customers and dealers tend to leave early, especially when the Packers are playing. I had lots of new stuff this weekend like a reloaded 1968 Topps baseball binder, 1962 Topps and Fleer football, along with a nice pile of new stuff for my display cases.

Andy made the trip to Gonzaga but he had to leave early because he and his dad were driving back to Florida. We made some more trades and I picked up some good stuff like a 1955 Topps Hank Aaron and a 1933 Goudey Mark Koenig. Thanks Andy! I knew Mark would like my '62 football and he pulled quite a few of them. Thanks Mark! It was great to see Bruce and his grandsons. I'm guessing the kids are between ages 10 and 13. I think it is so cool when they ask to see my T206s and Goudeys. They made quite a few purchases. Thanks guys! Another pre-War regular who I haven't seen in a while picked up some T206s and my 1933 Orbit Gum Dizzy Dean pin.

Jack purchased a bunch of cards from my '68 binder to get signed. I have a bunch of regulars at this show working on the 1959 Topps set. That binder got a work out. Thanks guys! I sold a bunch of publications, though, I was surprised my Sport Magazines with Warren Spahn, Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor on the covers did not sell. Quite a few guys pulled cards from my binders and I ended up having a nice day.

As they say, easy come, easy go. I spent most of my earnings on more cards. Another dealer sold me a box of vintage from the 1950s through 1970s. He also had a nice stack of 1961 Golden Press. Like Saturday in Elgin, I took home a nice haul. More stock for the card bunker.

There was a lot of talk between four or five other dealers regarding Jeff, one of our regular customers. He has been AWOL the past two months. While we all miss his purchases, he just happens to be one of the nicest guys around and we are all a little concerned. I think he has missed only a handful of shows in the past 10 years. Jeff, if you follow this blog, please send me a note letting me know that you are okay. I seem to remember that he mentioned he may have to start working weekends which I'm hopeful is the case.

After the show, I began working on eBay. I spend a ton of time on eBay. I usually have more than 500 items up for both auction and buy it now (BIN). Last week was one of my best weeks ever on eBay. I sold a ton of stuff. The only problem is packaging everything and getting it to the post office. I did not get all my packages out until Tuesday, thanks to the Columbus Day holiday. Now that everything from the weekend is finally out, I'm hustling to package everything I have sold thus far this week. It is a never ending cycle of posting and packaging. Though, I don't really mind that part. What gets my gore is the constant messages from customers, especially, the low-ball offers on my auctions.

While I am happy to accept offers at card shows, I don't accept offers on eBay. I set my auctions at the minimum price I need to make a small profit. So I can't take lower offers or I would lose my shirt. With most offers I respond with a "no thanks." But some guys don't take "no" for an answer. These guys drive me nuts.

To avoid the constant stream of offers, I started placing text in my auctions requesting that buyers do not send me offers. Guess what, buyers are still sending me offers. Between my real job, prepping for card shows, posting and packaging, I don't have time to deal with these guys. I'm getting really frustrated. I wish there was a way to block buyers from sending offers. Okay, end of eBay rant.

As I reported last week, I landed a ticket to the Cubs-Cardinals playoff game Monday night (Game 3 of the series). After a crazy-busy weekend between eBay and card shows, I was up at the crack of dawn for a meeting on the far southeast side of Chicago. Once home, I fell asleep for a few hours then attempted to drive to Wrigley Field around 3 p.m. for the 5:07 game. I hopped on the 294 and took the extension to the Edens which was an absolute parking lot. I decided to exit at Lake Avenue and hopped on a Metra train in Wilmette. I got off at Ravenswood and Lawrence, which is the closest stop to Wrigley and walked all the way there. I think a walked at least a few miles. Anyway, I missed the first inning.

Once in my seat, my first observation was the apparent lack of Cardinals fans. I have been going to Cubs games my whole life -- 48 years. I have been to more than my share of Cubs-Cardinals games and there are always a TON of Cardinals fans in the stands. There were hardly any on Monday. Weird! I wonder if they could not get tickets or maybe they just weren't interested this year. Anyway, Cubs fans were pumped up. It was nice to see fans so into the game. Generally, when I go to a Cubs game, the people sitting around me are more concerned about their next beer than the next batter -- not on this day, everyone was locked in.

It was pretty cool to see Leo and Bob, who were randomly sitting in front of me. I used to work with these guys at the Illinois Secretary of State's Office. Two great guys who I really enjoyed working with. Bob's office is a shrine to the Cubs. Leo is a coin collector. We had many conversations about eBay back in the day.

I could not help reflecting on the last time I attended a Cubs playoff game, it was on Tuesday, October 2, 1984 -- the Cubs first post-season game since 1945. Rick Sutcliffe had an amazing Cy Young season. On that glorious day in 1984, he shut out the Padres and hit a homer along with Cey, Denier and Mathews, who had two. It still is the greatest Cub game I have ever attended. I thought the Cubs were going to win it all back then. As fate would have it, they fell apart in San Diego, as we all know.

So, while I am excited for the Cubs post-season this year, I won't feel that same elation as I did after Game 1 in 1984 unless and until the Cubs make it to the World Series. Regardless, I saw a hell of a game on Monday where the Cubs hit 6 homers. Which leads me to believe, as a superstitious fan, that I am a good luck charm for the Cubs. They hit 11 homers in the two playoff games I have attended. What additional evidence is needed? Do the Rickets read this blog? If so, they need to send over more playoff tickets if they want the Cubs to have any chance of going to the World Series. My mojo trumps the goat. Send tickets!!

Speaking of superstition, the Cubs post-season run is giving off all sorts of ju-ju-voo-doo. I mean they just beat their hated rival the Cardinals and now are facing the Mets, the team responsible for the most painful episode in Cubs history. I'm talking 1969 when the Cubs were up big in August than couldn't win the rest of the way and the Mets could not lose. There is no more beloved team in Cubdom than that '69 crew. I just think it is too scripted to have the Cubs beat the Cardinals than hopefully beat the Mets, redeem the franchise, and to get into the World Series. There is definitely some of that baseball hoo-doo-voo-doo going around these parts.

Another aside on the '69 team, after the game Monday, our car was hemmed in behind a big 'ole Lincoln in one of the alleys near Wrigley and we could not pull the car out from behind. We waited for a half hour or so before the owner of the LIncoln arrived. That owner turned out to be Randy Hundley, the catcher for the '69 Cubs. What a nice guy! He stopped and chatted with us for a while. I wanted to ask him to take a selfie with me but I was too chicken.

Okay, I seem to be rambling. Back to the matter at hand -- vintage sports cards. I have begun work on reloading my 1969 Topps baseball binder. I'm not too confident I'll get it done by Saturday's show in Green Bay. The real job is taking control this week; much to do there. I'm also setting up at the Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale, Il, on Sunday. Come see me this weekend!

Lastly, my next Clarion show is coming up on Sunday, October 25, 2015. That's right, show is on a Sunday this month. Larry from the Gonzaga show is going to make his first Clarion appearance as a dealer. Other dealers include Mike Johnson, Bill Nest, Scott & Jim Ziegert, and PJ. I'm hopeful we get a few more dealers to sign up before the show. I'm going up against the Packers, so I could use all hands on deck. Please mark your calendars and come out to my show!!

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I Spent Some Time In The Car This Past Weekend

10/9/2015

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I know I sound like a broken record but I had another long ride from the north 'burbs of Chicago to the Indiana border on Friday, October 2, 2015 -- two hours. I knew it would be long because I did not get on the road until 3 p.m. Though, once on I65, it was smooth sailing to Indy.

I booked a hotel through Priceline and learned that there are some real dumps on Priceline. The Shadeland Motel is nasty! First off, the building is crumbling. There is a banquet hall on one end of the building that looks like it is ready to tumble over. There was a hole in the door to my room where the metal peep-hole lense should be. I was worried that that someone could reach into my room through the hole with a coat hanger and unlatch to door. I was also worried my car would get broken into after observing sketchy folks milling about the hotel. Needless to say, I did not sleep well.

What little sleep I had was disturbed around 5 a.m. when some moron decided to vacuum the hallway. Which brought a few questions. Why vacuum at 5 a.m.? Why bother vacuuming a crusty, disgusting carpet in a crusty, disgusting motel?

It was nice to get out of that hotel in the morning of Saturday, October 3, 2015. I was a good half-hour away from the La Quinta show. I arrived a little early and sat down at the Mickey D's across the street for some hotcakes and sausage. With a full belly and some caffein, I was ready for the show. Load in went smoothly. There was a particularly good group of dealers at the show. I was relieved that the Bob was vacationing in Florida. I really enjoyed chatting with the dealers and customers.

It was nice to see Harlan, who has missed the last few shows. He purchased a nice pile of cards for his various sets, including a 1975 Topps Nolan Ryan. Another regular purchased my 1961 Golden Press Lou Gehrig. My 50-cent box got a nice workout on this day. Big Daddy Dave purchased some cards. He told me he was placing some sets in a local auction. A few other guys purchased some cards out of my binders. I did not get rich on this day but I had a real pleasant time.

On the buying front, I picked up a few things from Walt, including some 1974 Topps baseball.

I was disappointed in the gasoline prices in Indy which were around $2.39 a gallon. I paid only $2.09 last month. After filling up, I stopped off at BK and stuffed my face then headed on to St. Louis. There was a ton of road construction on I70 which made for a very long drive. I70 just may have risen to the top of my $%#@ list, ahead of I65.

I made it to Courtyard Marriott in Creve Coeur, Missouri, around 6 p.m. I shared a room with Tony Schaefer. Oh my, what an upgrade from the previous night in Indy. I pulled into the parking lot and called Tony, he was in the hot tub. There was no hot tub at the Shadeland Inn where I was afraid to step into the tub in the bathroom. As an aside, guys at the Indy show told me that Shadeland, which is a street in Indy where the motel was located, is often referred to as "Shadeyland."

After kicking back in the room for a while, we met Tony's college buddy Chris at a nearby Tavern & Grill. I wish I could remember the name of the place because it was excellent. I tried a Shlafly's pumkin ale which I thought was a little too sweet. I next tried a dark beer that contained 17% alcohol. It was loaded with flavor. I wish I could remember the name. To eat, I had a tasty steak. I think of all the towns I visit for card shows, St. Louis and Milwaukee are the two best for both shows, food and drink.

After dinner, we stopped at a local bakery that was awesome! They had some chocolate eclairs that glistened under the soft light from above. With my diabetes, I can't eat sweets at night, so I decided to get something I could bring home and share with the family. I ended up purchasing four large frosted sugar cookies that were shaped like pigs. Tony bought some dinosaur cookies. It was tough, but I did not eat my cookie until Monday morning. Oh man, that thing was good! The wife and kids enjoyed theirs as well.

I had a much better night in St. Louis than Indy and was up early and ready to go. Another nice crowd in St. Louis. I was busy much of the day. Steve, who I met last time, purchased a bunch of hockey cards. Another customer about cleared out my 1974-75 Topps basketball cards. I sold a 1962 Topps Boog Powell rookie card to a customer I have seen at just about every show I have attended in St. Louis. Quite a few other guys pulled cards from various binders. My 50-cent box, once again had another good work out. I probably won't bring the box out again for a while. I need to spend some time and reload it.

I was disappointed that the hall no longer serves food. Thankfully, I was able to obtain a steady stream of coffee. I walked the room a few times and was struck by the variety of dealers. There were four or five vintage dealers with excellent stuff on their tables. A few wax dealers. Only a few modern dealers. The rest of the room was filled up with memorabilia dealers. Some guys had tables filled with bobble heads. Other guys had large selections of autographs. Then there were three or four guys that I can only describe as flea market type dealers. With high table fees at this show, I don't understand how the flea market dealers break even. Some of those guys did not have enough value on their tables to cover the cost of table fee. In a way, it was kind of a weird mix of dealers.

Regardless, this is still an excellent show. My sales were much better than Indy. I picked up a few things from Tony, who also purchased some cards from me. Thanks Tony!

On the way home, I stopped off at a Jack 'n the Box. It has been about 25 years since I had a burger at Jack 'n the Box. They left the Chicago area in the early 1980s. I was a regular at one in Tucson when I was in college in the late 1980s. I remember that I always got a sour-dough burger so I ordered one and was disappointed. The burger was not very good. On the upside, I found gas for $2.09 a gallon up the street. After I filled up, I saw another station where gas was $2.06. The ride home, while long, was pleasant. No issues to report.

Next up is Corky's show at the Holiday Inn in Elgin, Illinois, on Saturday, October 10, 2015. On Sunday, I'm back at Gonzaga in Milwaukee (Oct. 11). I never did finish that '68 binder last week. I just finished it off and will have it ready to go this weekend. I also plan on pricing some 1962 Fleer football along with some stuff for my display cases. If I have time, I will load up on some 1961 Golden Press. Well, I did a lot of driving last weekend. I'm thankful that I have relatively short drives this weekend.

I know there are quite a few White Sox, Cardinals and Brewers fans that read my blog and hate the Cubs which does not make sense to me. I would think these folks would take pity on the long-suffering Cubs fans such as myself (I actually like both the Cubs and White Sox). I enjoyed watching the Cubs win the the Wild Card Game this week against Pittsburgh. However, I thought they over-celebrated along with the fans down in Wrigleyville. I won't celebrate anything other than a World Series win. Honestly, I don't see the Cubs getting past the Cardinals because Jake Arrieta can't pitch every game. Though, I am looking forward to the series. Looks like I'm going to the game on Monday at Wrigley. Woot! Go Cubs!

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Chilly Day in Green Bay, Wisconsin

Hoo Doo Voo Doo in Wrigleyville

I Spent Some Time In The Car This Past Weekend

Tony Gordon

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