Roger Baehr was our rock. If you attended a card show in or around Milwaukee during the past several decades, you knew Roger would be there with a smile on his face and a great selection of unopened wax. I am so sad to report that our good friend, our rock, Roger Baehr died on Monday, November 28, 2022.

I met Roger about 20 years ago and since then, saw him two or three times a month, every month, at various card shows. I always stopped at his table to have a chat. He was so nice, so pleasant, such a kind soul. 

Roger was a huge supporter of my endeavors, having started with me when I first organized my show at the Clarion Hotel by Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee some eight years ago. He supported me when I fell flat on my face in June of 2015 when no one showed up to the show and I had just five dealers and 12 tables. Then he was there at the Salvation Army when I had my largest show to date last month with 115 dealers and 170 tables. Through my failures and successes, Roger, my rock, was there, always with words of encouragement. I just can't say how much I appreciated Roger Baehr. He will be missed dearly.

Roger, pictured to the right, at my second show ever as a promoter in October of 2014.

Pictured above is Roger and his sweet granddaughter at my April 2021 show at the Salvation Army.

Saturday, November 26, 2022, Civic Center, Orland Park, IL

I brought out all display cases this time. I placed out 10 cases; I could have added one more. It took quite a while to load up the cases. I think I finished up around 9:30 a.m. I was ready for customers.... but there were none for me.

As I have stated in the past, there is a rotation at this show for customers. They start out at Steve's table, then Jim, then Terry, then me. I had to wait my turn. 

Will and Joe arrived around 9:45 a.m. with egg McMuffins and coffee. I love these guys!! With no customers to speak of, I was able to dine on my McMuffins in peace. My first sale of the day occurred at 10:10 a.m. when a new customer purchased a 1957 Topps Frank Robinson Rookie.

It seemed like another hour went by before I had my second sale. I was worried in that waiting period. In all of my years of setting up in Orland, I have never had to wait so long for some sales. Being the Orland show, however, sales eventually came in, fast and often but I had to wait until 11 a.m. for the flurry of sales to arrive.

My guy working on the 1950 Bowman baseball set found a few cards. A new customer purchased a T206 common. Another customer purchased my 1951 Bowman Billy Pierce rookie. Will purchased my 1955 Topps Stan Hack and a pile of 1974's. Thanks Will! Another customer purchased some 1961's. Rick purchased a pile of cards.  Then Tommy made my day by purchasing my 1969 Topps White Name Variation Mickey Mantle and my 1968 Topps Nolan Ryan Rookie. Thanks Tommy! I know there were a few more sales in there that I forgot but I ended up having an excellent day! Woot!

On the buying front, I purchased a pile of stuff including a 1962 Topps Ernie Banks, a 1965 Topps Bob Gibson, and an empty wax box of 1966 Topps football among a host of other stuff.  Turned out to be a really great day on all fronts.

I gotta give my best wishes to promoter Rich who has missed his second show in a row. Feel better soon Rich! His team of lovely ladies ran the show perfectly in his absence. Such nice folks who take great care of me. They even gave me a bundt cake. Thank you!!!

Will, Joe and I went over to the sub shop after the show, as usual. We all did burgers. Then I was off to the hospital to visit my brother. Who was alert. One of his coaches came in and really perked him up. 

All in all, a great day!

Next Orland show is December 11. I am leaning towards bringing out display cases again because I am so far behind on my binder reloads.

In the meantime, I have a great show planned for this Saturday, December 3, 2022, at the Salvation Army Community Center, 8853 S. Howell, in Oak Creek, WI. Once again I will have 115 dealers and 170 tables. I have a bunch of new dealers lined up along with all the regulars. Also, former Brewers pitcher Don August will be signing autographs for free from 10:30 to 12:30. Oak Creek Dealers who follow this blog, please pay me for your tables first thing, as I will be crazy busy. You can also pay Lisa.

A big thank you to everyone who bought and sold me cards at the Orland show. Hope to see you all this Saturday in Oak Creek! 

I have a love-hate relationship with the Chicago Sports Spectacular. I was feeling a lot of love at the March and June shows but this past weekend's show was another story. First off, I have been setting up at this show for 25 years or so and have never had a problem booking a table. This past show was a problem.

Normally, I set up with my buddy Dave and he gets us two booths. Well, when Dave went to sign up for the November show, he was told he could only obtain one booth -- I was out. So I immediately sent in a contract and was informed that no booths were available and that I had to go on the waiting list.

I had my best Sports Spectacular show ever in March and a pretty good one in June so I was extremely disappointed. I really wanted to set up at the November show so I kept bugging Shannon, who is in charge. Last week, she told me she had a spot for me. I was elated... until I arrived Thursday afternoon and saw that my spot was in front of the dealer parking lot, behind a wall of framed jerseys, hidden from view. See below.

As a result, I had a lousy show. Hardly anyone was able to find me. I do appreciate Shannon for finding me a spot, or actually making a spot for me but it was an impossible place to sell a card.

I understand that they are moving the show downstairs to a larger space in March and will have room for 100 more tables. My friend PJ wants to set up with me, Dave and Kevin like we did in the summer. Unfortunately, after this past weekend's debacle, I have lost my enthusiasm for this show. I sent in my contract for March a couple of months ago in an effort to secure a spot for that show. Now, I just don't care. I am going to wait and see where they place me in the room before I fully commit.

Anyway, it would have been a total disaster except that some really good friends somehow found me and bought some cards. I gotta thank Willie, Steve, Mike, Harry, and Bob. You guys rock. Thank you so much!!!

Update on my brother Jon... he had some real rough patches but is awake and conscious. I really appreciate all the kind thoughts from everybody. Jon is my baby brother so it is really hard to see him this way. 

As Thanksgiving approaches, I am thankful for sooo many things. I am thankful that my brother is still here. I am also thankful for all the good friends I have met at the card shows and who follow this blog. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate you! 

Next up is the Orland Park show on November 26. I plan on bringing display cases to that one.

Update on the December 3 Oak Creek show... Former Brewers pitcher Don August had so much fun at the show last year that he is coming back on December 3 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and signing autographs for FREE!

Also, Johnny Adams, Jerry Nelson and a couple other great vintage dealers from Minneapolis will be setting up at the December 3 Oak Creek show. Along with all of our regular vintage dealers, we are going to have an amazing inventory of vintage cards at the December 3 show. 

Once again, I have sold out all 170 tables -- crazy! I could sell more!! I hate that I still have a waiting list. My apologies to the guys who want to set up. I just don't have any more space. So we will be busting at the seams once again!

I am going to move the entrance to the December 3rd show from the front door to the gym. Parking once again will be impossible, so please park at the Target parking lot across the street from the Salvation Army. Dealers -- if you could come find me first thing and pay your table fee, I would appreciate it!

​Have a great Turkey Day everybody!!  

No blog this week. I did not attend the Rockford show as planned because my brother Jon is gravely ill. Not sure if I am going to attend the Sports Spectacular this week. My brother Jon is the boys track and cross-country coach at Chicago's Marist High School. That's him holding the plaque in the photo above. For the past 20 years he has taught Chicago kids how to believe in themselves and how to be champions. He is a prince among men. Please have Jon in your prayers.

Saturday, November 5, 2022, Salvation Army, Oak Creek, WI

No rest for the weary. After a quick two day trip to Nashville, I was back at work Monday and had a really busy week. I was stuck in a hearing pretty much all day Friday and got a late start to Oak Creek Friday night.

With 115 dealers and 170 tables scheduled for Saturday, I needed to head up on Friday to set things up. There was no way I would have time to get it done in the morning. I made it to the Salvation Army around 8 p.m. Man, was I tired! But duty calls!

The volunteers at the Sal layout the tables for me, usually on Thursday, but they are never done correctly so I gotta spend some time rearranging them. Then I have to place dealer name tags on all of the tables. I start in the gym then move to Fellowship Hall which knocks out about all 80 tables that the Sal has in their possession. I always have to carry some tables to the stage in the Game Room and then four for the front hallway. I place chairs with name tags on them in the remaining 90 dealers spaces in the Game Room, Hallway and the Chapel. Those dealers bring their own tables. It takes quite a while to set this all up.

Slowly but surely, I figured out where all the dealers were going to go. New this month was the Chapel. I guesstimated that I could fit 40 tables in there. I started placing down chairs around 10:30 p.m. The cleaning crew arrived and were very inquisitive. 

As I was laying out the Chapel, I realized that I guesstimated wrong. I continued to layout chairs until 11:15 p.m. and conked out. I planned to come back in the morning and try and squeeze some dealer spaces in all of the other rooms.

I got home around 12:15 a.m. and hit the sack. I was up at 5:15 a.m. Showered, dragged Lisa out of bed, loaded the car and was back on the road to Oak Creek. We arrived in Oak Creek around 6:45 a.m. New dealer Carl Hechel was already there. I informed him that he was way too early and I still needed to arrange things inside the building. I tell every dealer that set up begins at 8 a.m. Seems to always go in one ear and out the other.

My main man Mark was there and let us in. One of Mark's volunteers was there as well and he let another Carl, Carl Johnson and his grandson Damon in. They wanted to help. Together we placed chairs throughout the building, created a new row in Fellowship Hall and seemed to have a spot for all of the dealers.

I opened the doors to the mass of dealers at 7:30 a.m. Problems arose quickly. Apparently, I forgot to make space for four or five dealers. Some of them I thought were not coming. It took a while but I was able to find spots for everyone. Then there were the 8 or 9 dealers I told previously that they would be in the Chapel but I had to move them out because I did not have enough space. So, I spent most of the morning directing new dealers to their spots or finding spots for dealers I forgot to give space to. It was tiring.

I picked a spot for myself in Fellowship Hall, across from PJ. Like most of my dealers, I bring my own tables. I loaded my tables and bins of cards into Fellowship Hall and slowly set up the binders.

I think I finished setting up around 9:30 a.m. and the show was well underway. Lisa and I were in desperate need of coffee. She went to the concession stand and volunteered to brew a pot of coffee. After we drank our coffee, she went back and procured us each a Sloppy Joe sandwich. Real good batch today with generous helpings.

After I finished my sloppy, I walked the show to see if I had any no shows -- at least four guys did not bother to show. One texted me early in the morning and stated "something came up." What? Is this the Brady Bunch?

Guys that book the show and either cancel at the last minute or don't bother to show up just suck balls! I turned countless dealers away prior to the show. I could have filled those spots with other dealers. I think we still ended up with 170 tables because there was that group that showed up and I either forgot to include them or they weren't even registered. So it worked out but I am still pissed off at the no-shows. Those guys will not be setting up again.

I pretty much spent the rest of the day collecting table fee from all the dealers while Lisa watched my tables. Generally, the dealers in the gym have been with me the longest. Some the entire 8 years. I really appreciate those guys! 

Some are not happy with the growth of the show and feel they are losing sales to the other dealers. I disagree. If you have quality merchandise and reasonable prices it does not matter who else is set up in the building. Another thing I have observed over the decades of setting up at shows is that more dealers bring in more customers. I learned long ago that customers don't want to just see me, they want a variety. If I had the same 40 or 50 dealers every month, the show would have died long ago. It is these new dealers that bring excitement to the show and they bring their friends and family who purchase cards from the veteran dealers. It all works out in the end.

One thing I have noticed over the past several months is that the crowd in the gym is down. The gym used to be wall to wall people. Some dealers have asked that I rotate entrance to the show from the front to the side doors into the gym. I find that a reasonable request and next month the entrance to the show will be those side gym doors. I don't know if I want to rotate the entrance every month but I think I will do it occasionally. I think we have a better flow overall throughout the building when the entrance is at the front.

We had a real nice crowd at this one. Around 600 people total, which is the most we have had in months. Some dealers reported excellent sales, some lousy. Dealers have to realize that they are just not going to kill it every time. All you can do is make sure you have new product out from last show, make sure that product is desirable, and that it is priced reasonably.

I have one older dealer that is my king complainer. He bitches every show. This one was no exception. He has great stuff but it is soooo overpriced. I saw customers at his tables all day long. I do not know what he was bitching about but he was extra nasty this month. He clearly does not like the increase in dealers. 

Here is the thing -- I don't need him. Like I said earlier, even with 115 dealers, I was still turning guys away and I continue to have a waiting list. Don't set up! I don't need you or your aggravation!! I am not the only show around, just the biggest and the best. Go set up at the others and see if your sales improve.

My sales were okay. Lisa was learning by trial by fire. She did a great job! Thank you everyone for being so kind to the Lisa. I really need her help and hope she continues to assist me.

Thankfully, there are quite a few folks who appreciate me and the hard work I put into this show. I got lots of compliments Saturday. One dad booked space for his young son and a friend. They had a great time and he thanked me for "making my son's dream come true." Aw shucks.

The bottom line is that this is a hobby and it is a fun hobby. If you are not having fun, you should not be setting up or attending the show. Try and have some fun, for Pete's sake!

I was pleased that no thefts were reported this month. A young guy was busted last month in Loves Park, Illinois, stealing at a show. We think he was the main culprit that stole from us back in September. This was the second show where I had my undercover police officer working. We showed him photos of the kid and his dad that were busted in Loves Park. He kept an eye out for them. With the size of the show now, I am going to have the undercover police officer at every show.

The officer is a big expense on my part but I think it is worth it for the peace of mind. Speaking of expenses, my rental fee more than doubled this month with the expansion into the Chapel and the increase in hours of the show. So I bumped up table fee by five bucks and everyone seemed fine with it. I am still one of the cheapest shows around when it comes to table fee. I hope to keep the fee down for dealers. 

Man, was I exhausted at the end of the day but felt good. Things went smoothly with the new room. There really weren't any major issues to report. Seems like it was a great day for all involved.

We are going to fire it back up on December 3. Some dealers have dropped out so I should have a bunch of new ones. Also, the smart ones will have a bunch of new inventory out on their tables December 3rd. A huge thank you to all of the dealers, all 115 of them! You guys rock! Also, a huge thank you to everyone who attended the show. I saw lots of new faces on Saturday. I appreciate you!! I gave out three boxes of cards at the show and plan on giving out more next month!!

In the meantime, I get to go back to being a dealer, which is so much more pleasant than being the promoter. I am setting up Saturday, November 12, at the Rock Church in Rockford. Come on out! Let's talk about the crazy Oak Creek show, or cards, sports, food! See you Saturday!

​Below are some photos from Saturday's show in Oak Creek.

Saturday, October 29, 2022, Nashville Fairgrounds, Nashville, TN

I slept horribly Friday night as I generally have a tough time sleeping anywhere but my own bed. I knew I was in for a long day. I struggled to get ready and out the door. I arrived at the show around 8 a.m. and immediately hit the cafeteria for some coffee. I was in there every half hour all day long for some caffein.

Set up Saturday was a little more difficult than I anticipated. Yesterday, I had stacked my display cases. As I struggled to unstack them and rearrange them, of course, folks hovered over me. Some were practically on top of my cases so I could not unstack them. Come on now! You can see that I am trying to get ready, give me some space!

Speaking of space, there was a couple selling wax behind me and they took up way more than their fair share of the space. They even pinched more space on Saturday than Friday. I moved their shite back, so I had enough space to walk behind my display cases and keep a couple of chairs. They did not say anything. I was ready to go off if they did. If I set up at this show again, I am going to request that I am not behind them. Plus, while they were setting up on Friday, they bickered and bickered. It was really unpleasant. Less bickering on Saturday but I did not appreciate all the space they pinched.

After set up, I went over to the cafeteria for some bacon, sausage and more coffee. While I was munching on my breakfast, Johnny arrived and we exchanged pleasantries. Johnny told me I have too much inventory.

So I was expecting a big day Saturday after an excellent day on Friday. Unfortunately, that big day never came and I was bored, bored, bored. I did have some sales but the dollar amounts were noticeably lower than Friday.

I observed that the bulk of the crowd seemed to be in the other room and it took a while for them to get to the back room where I was located.

First sale of the day was to an older collector wearing a University of Tennessee shirt. He purchased my 1978 Topps Tony Dorsett Rookie and my 1966 Philadelphia Bob Hayes rookie. My next customer stopped by a couple of times before he purchased my 1972 Topps Nolan Ryan. I think with so many vintage dealers that a lot of customers scoped all of us out and noted pricing before making a purchase. A lot of customers at the National do this as well.

The guy who beat me up yesterday on my Bradshaw and Green rookies came back and again wanted a discount on my discount cards. Ugh! An older collector purchased my 1965 Topps RBI Leaders with Mantle. That was about it for the morning. If my booth was not located across from the cafeteria, I would have been depressed.

The entre for today was herb encrusted chicken. I got sides of carrots and corn. At first the nice lady gave me a very small piece of chicken. She then went in the back kitchen to talk to the chef who came out and gave me a second piece of chicken. He explained that the price of chicken has gone up and he spent a small fortune stocking up for today. I thanked him and went back to my booth and dined on two of the tastiest pieces of chicken I have ever encountered.

After lunch, my first customer was wearing a T-Shirt stating: You're Killing Me Smalls. He purchased my 1951 Bowman Carl Erskine rookie. Smalls told me that his father's name is Erskine Carl. Yes, you read that correctly -- Erskine Carl. So Smalls now collects Carl Erskine cards as a tribute to his father. He also purchased my 1962 Topps Eddie Mathews, I am pretty sure he has a cousin named Mathews Eddie.

The crowd in the back room picked up but they were mostly window shoppers. I started to get deja vu. This show felt like the last time I set up at the Moeller show in Cincinnati where I had a great Friday and terrible Saturday and Sunday. Though, Moeller was easier to deal with because I knew more people there and had pleasant conversations all three days. In Nashville, unlike Moeller, I hardly knew anybody and just sat there and stared at the ceiling for hours and hours. I was so bored!

I locked my cases and set out to explore the show. Most of the empty tables from Friday were filled Saturday. A huge variety of stuff. Dealer-wise, this was an excellent show and rivals any I have ever attended. Customer-wise, not so much.

I found one booth in the main room that was confusing. The dealer had some really nice vintage. However, the centerpiece of his display was an obvious fake 1934 Goudey Luke Appling. I held my tongue because in the past dealers have gotten real angry when I inform them they are selling fake cards. I did not understand why this guy was selling an obvious fake as real. 

I then ran into the nice young guy, whose name I always forget, and who sets up regularly with Nelson Rodriguez. He showed me Nelson's table that was being watched by Nelson's wife. Nelson was off shopping. I never did see him. We talked in Oak Creek a week later and he said he had a horrible show in Nashville. I can understand. If I did not have such a good day on Friday, I would be in trouble.

I also ran into Jason Galleske, sports card dealer extraordinaire from Wisconsin. Jason travels more than any other dealer I know. It is always nice to run into Jason.

Back at my booth, I was bored, bored, bored! A guy checked out my 1954 Red Heart Warren Spahn in the morning. He came back late in the afternoon to make the purchase. A lot of the folks that stopped by my table asked me how the show was going. I honestly replied that Friday was great, Saturday has been slow. To a man, they all said it was slow for me because I was located in the back room. I did not want to argue but I disagreed. I never feel like location at a show has anything to do with my sales. Seemed to me that all of the vintage collectors came on Friday and there were very few at the show on Saturday. I talked to vintage dealers in both rooms and everyone was having a bad day on Saturday.

Though, I did watch Johnny sell a huge stack of "sets" from the 1970's. It was kind of funny to watch. The buyer initially spent a few hours at Johnny's tables pulling cards from his boxes. Apparently Johnny had two numbers on his top loaders. One on the front and one on the back. The number on the back was the actual price. The number on the front was meaningless. My guess is that Johnny was reusing these top loaders and did not bother to scratch out the old price. 

When the buyer finally checked with Johnny and learned that the front number was not the actual price, the buyer handed Johnny back a huge stack of cards that he had pulled. Johnny mumbled to himself as he put back all the cards.

So I had a lot of time on my hands. I contemplated the meaning of life but seemed to mostly spend my time having an inner discussion on whether I should go home or stay for Sunday. In the end, I decided Sunday would be a wash and I packed up and moved out.

The show officially closed at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Around 3 p.m. I started to empty my display cases. I emptied two at a time and brought the cases out to my car. When I got to the final two cases and was ready to empty them and get the heck out of Dodge, a guy wanted to look at every single card in both cases. Ugh!

I was tired and wanted to go back to the hotel and sleep! He did end up purchasing my 1934 Diamond Star Heinie Mansush. I was finally on the road back to the hotel around 5 p.m.

I dropped off my cards in the room and set out to find some food. I found a Chinese restaurant and purchased a dinner special of beef and broccoli, with fried rice and egg roll. Very tasty. This time I had no problem sleeping and passed out hard.

I slept until 9 a.m. Sunday and was out the door by 10 a.m. The hotel breakfast was a joke and I did not bother. I was surprised at the heavy traffic on I65. I almost got run over a few times by some jerk offs.

I had some trouble finding a place for breakfast. I pulled off the highway a few times and either could not find a breakfast spot or the restaurants were too crowded. I realized that my only choice was Waffle House but each one I found was crazy crowded. I eventually settled on Arby's. Man, I used to love Arby's but I now realize I cannot eat there anymore. I had the runs real bad after that sandwich and had to pull over a bunch of times. I think I left my soul at a rest stop in Kentucky.

Needless to say, the drive home sucked with an upset stomach and rain the whole way home. I finally made it home around 8 p.m.

Now that I have had time to think about it, I probably would have stayed for Sunday if I had set up with a friend. It just sucked sitting there all day Saturday by myself staring at the ceiling. I also would give this show another try. I am not sure what I could do to increase sales but I think I would like to make a vacation of it next time and take a few extra days to explore Tennessee.

Overall, it was kind of fun to do something different. This was my first time setting up in the south and I would like to do it again. Who wants to join me?

Now for a handful of photos. First one is of the main room on Saturday. Much more activity than the back room but I don't think sales were any better. Saturday was for window shoppers.

Next photo below is an in-action shot of my neighbor Johnny Adams.

Pictured below is the amazing herb encrusted chicken I dined on for lunch Saturday.

Between all of the states I drove through -- Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee -- Kentucky had the cheapest gas by far.

Well, that is it from Nashville. I owe you an Oak Creek blog, coming soon. In the meantime, I am setting up at the Rock Church in Rockford on Saturday, November 12. Come on out!

Fri-Sun, October 28-30, Nash-Ional, Nashville Fairgrounds, Nashville, TN

I first learned about the Nash-Ional over the summer when I saw a Facebook post stating the show would have 700 tables. My sales have been excellent the past few years at the larger shows, so I decided to sign up.

Then trouble started to brew when I had a court hearing scheduled for October 28, the first day of the Nash-Ional. I scrambled. Tried to find someone to cover my tables on October 28 with no luck. Ah, but luck would find me as the judge rescheduled the hearing.

Next issue was hotel. I have been to Nashville once before and I felt it to be a sketchy place. I did not want to book a hotel where my life could be in danger. I spent hours reading online reviews of hotels. I wanted to spend around $100 a night for hotel. Seemed like all the hotels in that price range had some flaws, either sketchy neighborhoods, bugs, mold, filth or bad service. I finally just gave up and randomly picked the America Inn in nearby Franklin, Tennessee.

I worked a half day on Thursday, October 27, then hit the road to Nashville around 1:15 p.m. Traffic through Chicago and into Indiana was heavy and slow, as expected. The roads opened up once I made my way to I65.

I seemed to fly. Not a bad drive at all. My only problem was that I was craving Burger King and I wasted some time trying to find one. After hitting three separate exits, I finally found a Burger King that I could actually go inside (some were drive-thru only), use the washroom, and get my whopper. All was then right in the world.

After driving all day and most of the night, I stopped around 9:30 p.m. in Bowling Green, KY, and spent the night in a Super 8. This was an exceptionally nice Super 8. I was hopeful my room for Friday night in Franklin would be as nice as this one at the Super 8.

Excited for the show, I was up around 6 a.m. Friday, October 28. I stopped off at a Denny's for breakfast. I then had an easy drive to the Nashville Fairgrounds. I think I arrived around 9 a.m.

I drove around the fairgrounds for a while before I figured out where the load in was located for the show. I was required to pay for my tables before I was allowed to load in. The nice ladies working the front did not accept credit cards. I did not have $400 cash on me for the table fee. Luckily there was an ATM which let me take out the funds in increments of $200 and charged me twice.

I paid, got my badge and met the promoter Jeff Roberts, an awfully nice guy. Jeff escorted me to my tables which were located in the back room. The show consisted of two huge rooms. Jeff said he had 730 tables total and thanked me for setting up.

I immediately recognized my neighbor Johnny Adams, an old-time vintage dealer from Minneapolis. Johnny is at all of the big shows and has been for decades. He is recognizable by this large magnifying contraption he wears on his head that he uses to get a better view of cards. 

I giggled to myself when I saw that my neighbor was Johnny Adams as my good buddy Dave has had some run-ins with him. Johnny can be an impatient ornery guy and I had a front-row seat to some fireworks. Though, we got along famously.

Johnny was with a group of four guys from Minneapolis. One of the other guys was Jerry Nelson, who set up at my Milwaukee card show back when it was at the Clarion Hotel. I remember that Jerry had a great show at the Clarion and I was amazed that he never came back. Well, he booked my December show. He has since retired and has free time to travel to shows.

Johnny, Jerry, and the whole Minneapolis group next me are all vintage dealers. I felt at home. We were also some of the few guys in the room who did not speak with a southern drawl. It was fun to be immersed in southern culture. I even found myself speaking with a drawl and had to stop myself. Everyone I talked to had that twang.

And speaking of vintage -- there was a TON of vintage dealers at the show. I did not know most of them other than J.D. from Indiana, who is one of the best. Oh my, there were some great vintage cards in the room. I, along with everyone who passed by, drooled at Johnny's 1949 Bowman Satchel Paige.

Anyway, load in was kind of a pain because I had a really small cart, as a tire on my regular cart blew out at the last Madison show. I still need to get that fixed or get a new cart.

I had people at my table while I attempted to set up. I am not a fan of folks hovering over me while I set up. I wish there was a way to block off the view of my tables while I set up. I priced up a bunch of new inventory prior to the show and felt I had some good stuff. I had two six-foot tables and was able to fit six display cases. I brought a seventh smaller case, hoping I could squeeze it in but to no avail. I prepared for this scenario by bringing along my dollar boxes that fit nicely in the remaining space.

I am one of those guys who likes to use every bit of space on my tables. I hate having any open space.

After I completed set up, I saw a few guys I knew. One of the guys is from Phoenix and I have known him for years, but of course, I cannot remember his name. I do remember that he is an eBay seller, doesn't set up at shows, but travels to shows all over the country to pick up his inventory. I see him everywhere. Years ago, I sold him a 1952 Bowman Mickey Mantle at the Gonzaga show.

Then I saw Duke from Michigan. I have only known Duke for about a year and half. I met him at the 2021 National in Chicago where he bought a TON of stuff from me. Since then, I have been seeing him everywhere, just like the Phoenix guy. I learned that Duke sells vintage cards full time. He occasionally sells at shows but told me he has regular buyers and attends shows, purchases cards and brings the cards to his buyers.

Duke said I made a big mistake by not bringing out my binders to Nashville. He said Nashville has a good number of set builders and they would be all over my binders. I told Duke the binders are bare, so I brought my showcases which are brimming with inventory.

The show officially opened at noon on Friday. I had my first sale at 12:15 to a local collector who purchased some of my 1949 Bowman baseball high numbers and a pile of cards out of my $1 boxes.

I had a tough time keeping the dollar boxes clear. The young guys selling modern cards on my right kept placing stuff on my boxes as did their customers. Ugh!

My next sale was to this kind older couple who told me they stopped at the show on their way to visit their son in Murphysboro. I only know of Murphysboro through the Beckett Show Calendar as there are regular shows there. The couple purchased my 1953 Topps Bob Feller, along with some 1955s, 1956s and 1957s.

A guy wearing a Twins cap purchased a 1971 Topps Johnny Bench and some 1966 Topps baseball high numbers. His buddy purchased some 1956 Topps baseball.

My next customer was a guy with a terrible moustache. You know how some people just look wrong with a moustache. He was one of those people. He purchased my 1965 Philadelphia Jim Brown that I had just priced up before the show.

I observed that some of those in attendance were wearing masks. I can't blame them. Folks are still getting sick with COVID. One of these maskers purchased my 1971 Kelloggs Don Sutton. I have had that thing forever and was real happy to sell it.

I had a nice chunk of change in my pocket after just these first six customers. Woot!

Then I saw David Ramsey, another guy I see everywhere. David was set up in the other room and he had some really nice high-end graded vintage. Did I say there was some vintage at the show? There was a TON! Hella great selection!!

Next up, the cutest couple came by. The girlfriend was wearing a Harry Potter hat. The boyfriend purchased my 1967 Topps Carl Yastrzemski. We got to talking and I was amazed at this guy's collection. He collects those various turn back the clock cards and then tries to match it with the real card and places them side by side in a photo album. I thought it was the coolest thing.

After those first seven sales, I had some down time and felt attendance was not very good considering there were 730 tables at this show. I am not sure why there were not more folks in attendance. Nashville seems like a fairly large city with many suburbs. I also observed that there were quite a few empty tables. I wish I would of had an empty table next to me so I could have gotten out some more display cases. I brought a ton of stuff.

My next customer was a golden goose. He was wearing a University of Kentucky shirt and purchased piles and piles of cards. I can't remember everything, but I know he purchased quite a few 1955 Topps All American Football cards then just about all of my 1950 Bowman football. There were some big stars in there. I was cooking!

My next customer reminded me of Vanilla Ice. I have noticed that this look seems to be coming back. I remember the first go around in the 1980's. It did not work then and does not work now. Vanilla Ice purchased some 1970 Topps baseball high numbers.

When my belly started to rumble, I did not have to look far for food. As my tables were right across from the cafeteria. The other room had a pretzel stand. The cafeteria opened at the same time the show opened at 7 a.m. I grabbed some much-needed coffee early in the morning. 

The cafeteria menu consisted of burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, chips, candy, pie along with one serious entre and sides. Today's serious entre was roast beef and gravy. I chose for my sides steamed carrots and green beans. The folks working the cafeteria were so nice and my food was soooo good. Oh my! Around dinner time, I had a burger that was pretty good. The cafeteria gets an A+.

While munching on my roast beef back at my tables, I am pretty sure Stevie Nicks walked by. This is Nashville after all.

Earlier in the day, I had a young guy look at a bunch of stuff out of my display cases, mostly cards from the 1950's. He did not make a purchase then but did come back later in the day and buy my 1958 Topps all stars of Ernie Banks, Warren Spahn and Frank Robinson. Woot!

So the cards in my dollar boxes are generally worth $3 to $5 each and I discount them down to $1. An old man came by who wanted a discount and my discounted cards. I begrudgingly gave him a discount.

​My sales seemed to die after 3 p.m. The show went to 7 p.m., so I had a lot of down time. Johnny Adams told me he liked my haircut. I offered to give him the same one for free.

I lost some teeth from my next customer as he really beat me up on my 1971 Topps Terry Bradshaw and Joe Greene rookies. Then he wanted a discount on my discount cards. Ugh!

The late afternoon monotony was broken up with some fireworks at Johnny's table. Johnny spent most of the day walking the show buying cards. Everyone and their mother asked me about his '49 Bowman Paige. One particular guy, I have met before as he has been to my Oak Creek show. We chatted and I told him Johnny was out shopping and advised he come back later.

In addition to the Paige, Johnny had what looked like complete sets of 1957 and 1958 Topps baseball in plastic sheets in his display case. That one guy came back and asked about the '57's and '58's. I distinctly heard Johnny tell him that they were sets. The guy asked to look at them. He noticed that the cards in each set were organized by team and there were many empty spots in the binders.

"Is this a complete set?" he asked.

"It is a set," Johnny responded.

"But is it complete?" he asked.

"It is a set," Johnny responded.

I should have paid more attention. I looked away and things got real heated with Johnny being an absolute dick and the guy telling him off in response.

I honestly did not understand what was going on. I think Johnny did not believe that this guy was a serious buyer. He could have asked me because I have seen this guy spend big bucks in the past and I felt bad that Johnny treated him so poorly. I went up to him after the show and told him that I was sorry and I am not associated with Johnny. I don't treat people like that.

Earlier, I was considering purchasing those sets. The condition was terrible but I would have made an offer if they were complete. Clearly, they were not complete, so that ended my interest.

I did find some cards to purchase. I bought a 1970 Topps Hank Aaron SGC 4 from a younger guy. Another guy stopped by and asked if I buy cards. I nodded. He pulled out two half full wax boxes of 1974 and 1975 Topps football. He said he inherited them from his father. I checked the recent sales on eBay and packs were going for $60 to $70. I declined to purchase them at $140. Though, they were freakin' cool and it hurt to pass them up because I really wanted them.

At the end of the show, I could not decide if I should take my cards with me or leave them locked in my cases. I forgot to bring my tarps. I did observe a large amount of security at the show and decided to take a chance and leave my stuff. I locked up all of my display cases. Pulled the tablecloth out from under them. Stacked the cases. Covered them in the tablecloths and chairs and went to check into my hotel. 

I had about a 20 minute ride to the hotel. I took note of the many hotels I passed up on the way to Franklin. I noticed that folks were driving like maniacs on the highway. I tried to stick with the slow lane without getting killed. 

The hotel was a dump. My room was carpeted with large patches missing. The walls were scraped up and the bathroom was moldy. Oh well. You get what you pay for. The room was cheap.

After I brought in my luggage, I set out to explore Franklin and find some food. Franklin is hilly and it is tough to get a good view of the road and the restaurants. I had to drive down a bunch of hills to see what was out there. 

I settled on Bar-B-Cutie which had a drive through window. The kind young lady working the window was indeed very cute. I got some smoked turkey with a side of baked beens, potato salad and hush puppies. All were very good.

Well, that was a wrap for Day One in Nashville. I don't have much in the way of photos because I was not able to walk around. I spent most of the time at my booth.

Sunday, October 23, 2022, Roma Lodge, Racine, WI

Good to be back! It was so nice to see Keith, one of my favorites. Unfortunately, Keith informed me that former Wisconsin Sports Collectors Association Vice President Bob Ruesch died. I did not know Bob was ill but I had been wondering where he was.

If you ever attended the Gonzaga show, you knew Bob, who ran the monthly Kids Auction. My son Kolby participated a few times. It was so fun. Bob was a master and held the kids enthralled and gave them a bunch of great stuff for free. Kolby still has a Ben Roethlisberger plaque on his bedroom wall that he "won" in the Kids Auction years ago. Bob was a true treasure. My sincerest condolences to all of Bob's family and friends.

The show started out on a somber note. Keith placed a really nice memorial to Bob on the side of the auction.

I think Bob would have been pleased to see the nice crowd that attended the show. Much better attendance than my last time setting up here. I brought out 12 display cases this time and had a TON of stuff out. Honestly, I waited too long to write this blog and have no memory of what I sold. I have just been too busy at work and traveling to keep up with the blogs lately. Sorry!

So if you purchased something from me at the Roma Lodge -- Thank you! I do remember that I was set up next to Dave Kania and behind Dennis Barrett and Nelson Rodriguez -- I love these guys!! I have known them for a long time and they are just a joy to be around.

Do you guys know John Gehring? He is another guy who I have known for years and absolutely love. John is a phenomenal artist and has been printing up calendars featuring his own art work for years. A previous year had famous cowboys that John sketched. Last year were famous comedians. I picked up my 2023 calendar from John at the show and was tickled to see that next year will be actresses. My wife jumped for joy when I informed her that I picked up John's 2023 calendar. She loves them too.

John is a busy man at the Roma Lodge show. In addition to visiting with everybody, selling calendars and offering interesting and entertaining stories, John worked the food counter and served me up my Italian meatball bomber that was absolutely delicious.

I think I purchased some cards as well at the Roma Lodge. Jim had his usual stack for me. 

I am a big fan of the Roma Lodge show. Next one is December 18 -- my birthday! I expect Stan to bring me a cake again!! Come on out to the Roma Lodge on December 18th and wish me a happy birthday!!

I still owe you a Nashville blog. Hope to get it done soon. Next up is the Oak Creek Mega Show on Saturday, November 5, 2022. As of this writing, I am up to 114 dealers and 169 tables. I have room for just one more table which I should have filled by the end of the day today. Then it is back to adding dealers to my waiting list. Ugh!

Also, FYI, I am cancelling my Pop-Up Shop for this Sunday and the one I had slated for December. I am just tired! I need a break. Plus, attendance was poor at the recent Pop-Up Shops and I have lost my motivation to do any more.

Anyway, I am looking forward to the Oak Creek Mega Show on Saturday. My wife Lisa is going to help me again. I'm heading up Friday to set things up. See you Saturday!