Sunday, August 12, 2012, Milwaukee, WI -- Nothing like a great show to renew my vigor and appreciation for this fine hobby. I love the Gonzaga show. There are so many terrific people at this show and I had an absolutely terrific day.
I made it to the show in about an hour's time. During load-in, I told Mark Smith that I had a knockdown all-out fight with the Bald Guy yesterday in Orland. I had Mark going until I said that I poked the Bald Guy's eye out and he's now wearing a patch. Mark came by my table a few times with his hand over his eye and a big grin.
I was able to load in fairly quickly but set up went slow, as usual. I felt a little sluggish today. I don't know if it was the diabetes or what. I guessed my sugar was low and had a piece of cake to get some energy. Man, I love the Gonzaga cake and it definitely helped. I also ate a bratwurst for lunch. They haven't had brats at the show all year. I love the brats.
While I was setting up, Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Mat Gamel walked in. Mr. Gamel signed autographs today at the show for just $5 a piece.
I had quite a few guys at my table all day long. Though my first sale of the day was just two 1979 commons for 20 cents. I can't remember the last time someone came to my table and made just a 20-cent purchase. Things changed quickly, however. Tim bought a TON of cards. Thanks Tim! Tim is only about 800 cards away from completing all the vintage Topps sets. Today he filled his lists from 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961 and 1962 baseball along with 1964 Topps and Philadelphia football.
It was great to see long-time customer Mark today. I never know when Mark is going to make it to the show because he has to work most Sundays. Mark picked up a bunch of cards today including Kellogg's baseball sets from 1979, 1981, and 1983. Mark also purchased a large pile of 1964 Topps and Philadelphia football. Then there is Jeff, an absolute superstar of a customer, who purchased a large pile of 1962 and 1961 Topps baseball.
Another great customer is Jason, who picked up my 1941 Double Play Bob Feller and Phil Rizzuto. Another superstar, Gary, has been working on the 1957 Topps baseball set lately. Today, Gary bought my '57 Mantle-Berra dual card, a Berra base card and a Roy Campanella. At this point, I could have gone home and been happy. But the fun continued with a terrific array of customers purchasing all sorts of cards.
A regular customer picked up some 1953 Topps baseball. Another regular purchased some 1962 Topps. A regular customer pulled a bunch of cards from my 50-cent and $1 boxes. Another regular picked up some 1964 Philadelphia football cards. A new customer purchased some 1960 Topps baseball. I made a cash and trade deal with Ron, where I picked up close to 300 football cards from the early 1970s and Ron grabbed a pile of football cards from my binders.
A dealer came by and purchased some cards out of my 50-cent and $1 boxes. A regular customer purchased some 1972-73 Topps basketball and some 1970 Topps baseball. I got to see Andy from Florida for a second day in a row. This time Andy was accompanied by his son Ryan and I think I saw Andy's dad lurking around. Ryan is working on the 1973 and 1974 Topps sets. Andy is working on everything and he purchased a TON of cards. Thanks Andy! When are you moving back here!! Andy bought my 1958 Topps Duke Snider/Walter Alston dual card, 1956 Topps Gil McDougald, Hoyt Wilhelm, 1958 Topps George Kell, Hoyt Wilhelm, Frank Robinson, 1973 Topps Hank Aaron and a large pile of commons.
A regular purchased my 1965 Topps Boog Powell. An autograph hound purchased some 1967 Topps baseball. Paul rounded out my day by purchasing some 1965 Topps high numbers. While I was packing everything up, I found Paul's list on my table. A vintage set collector without his list is like a fastball pitcher with a dead arm. You just can't play. So I'm always concerned when someone leaves a list. But I saw that Paul had his address on a sheet of paper in the pile he left on my table, I was going to mail the lists to him but then I heard Mike from across the way say, "Take care, Paul." I caught a glimpse of Paul walking out the door. I then found my sluggish legs moving much too quickly and I caught up to Paul just as he opened his car door. Disaster averted.
On the buying front, a random guy had a 1962 Topps Babe Ruth special card depicting Ruth and Gehrig. I think the cards books at $50 or $60. The condition was pretty good and I was able to get it for $10. Another guy came by with a 1970-71 Topps Lou Alcindor and a 1959 Topps Whitey Ford. The cards were VG with some wear. So the guy says to me that someone offered him 25 bucks. Using several four-letter words, he let me know that he was not pleased with the offer. I told him that the retail price on the pair is between $40 and $75. My offer would have been only $20 but I kept my mouth shut. The only other guy to bring any cards to my table had some '80s and '90s stuff. I stop at 1979 and advised him to try another dealer... someone with cards from that era on his table.
Well, I wanted to buy some cards. I made a TON of sales today and had money burning a hole in my pocket. So I checked out George's table. George has been a dealer since the 1970s and is a member of the Wisconsin Sports Collectors Association's hall of fame. He always has some pre-war cards on his table. I bought them all today. I picked up some T206's, Polar Bear backs, some 1933, 1934 and 1936 Goudeys, some 1934-36 Diamond Stars, a Tip Top Bread card, and a post-War 1956 Topps button featuring Dick Donovan of the White Sox. Cool stuff. I also purchased some 1970s Topps baseball card wrappers from Dave, who was set up next to me.
Great, great day! Up next week is Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale. I should have some 1965 Topps football and my 1963 Topps baseball binders ready to go for the show. I'm also working on some lists for guys and should have those cards ready as well. I have an absolutely tremendous inventory right now and will be working feverishly nights after work to get this stuff priced and out on my tables. My Bloomingdale shows have been really good as of late and I'm hoping for another nice show next weekend. A special thanks to everyone who bought cards from me today in Milwaukee. I appreciate you!!
Pictured up top is Ryan and his dad Andy. Below are some of my purchases from today.
I made it to the show in about an hour's time. During load-in, I told Mark Smith that I had a knockdown all-out fight with the Bald Guy yesterday in Orland. I had Mark going until I said that I poked the Bald Guy's eye out and he's now wearing a patch. Mark came by my table a few times with his hand over his eye and a big grin.
I was able to load in fairly quickly but set up went slow, as usual. I felt a little sluggish today. I don't know if it was the diabetes or what. I guessed my sugar was low and had a piece of cake to get some energy. Man, I love the Gonzaga cake and it definitely helped. I also ate a bratwurst for lunch. They haven't had brats at the show all year. I love the brats.
While I was setting up, Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Mat Gamel walked in. Mr. Gamel signed autographs today at the show for just $5 a piece.
I had quite a few guys at my table all day long. Though my first sale of the day was just two 1979 commons for 20 cents. I can't remember the last time someone came to my table and made just a 20-cent purchase. Things changed quickly, however. Tim bought a TON of cards. Thanks Tim! Tim is only about 800 cards away from completing all the vintage Topps sets. Today he filled his lists from 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961 and 1962 baseball along with 1964 Topps and Philadelphia football.
It was great to see long-time customer Mark today. I never know when Mark is going to make it to the show because he has to work most Sundays. Mark picked up a bunch of cards today including Kellogg's baseball sets from 1979, 1981, and 1983. Mark also purchased a large pile of 1964 Topps and Philadelphia football. Then there is Jeff, an absolute superstar of a customer, who purchased a large pile of 1962 and 1961 Topps baseball.
Another great customer is Jason, who picked up my 1941 Double Play Bob Feller and Phil Rizzuto. Another superstar, Gary, has been working on the 1957 Topps baseball set lately. Today, Gary bought my '57 Mantle-Berra dual card, a Berra base card and a Roy Campanella. At this point, I could have gone home and been happy. But the fun continued with a terrific array of customers purchasing all sorts of cards.
A regular customer picked up some 1953 Topps baseball. Another regular purchased some 1962 Topps. A regular customer pulled a bunch of cards from my 50-cent and $1 boxes. Another regular picked up some 1964 Philadelphia football cards. A new customer purchased some 1960 Topps baseball. I made a cash and trade deal with Ron, where I picked up close to 300 football cards from the early 1970s and Ron grabbed a pile of football cards from my binders.
A dealer came by and purchased some cards out of my 50-cent and $1 boxes. A regular customer purchased some 1972-73 Topps basketball and some 1970 Topps baseball. I got to see Andy from Florida for a second day in a row. This time Andy was accompanied by his son Ryan and I think I saw Andy's dad lurking around. Ryan is working on the 1973 and 1974 Topps sets. Andy is working on everything and he purchased a TON of cards. Thanks Andy! When are you moving back here!! Andy bought my 1958 Topps Duke Snider/Walter Alston dual card, 1956 Topps Gil McDougald, Hoyt Wilhelm, 1958 Topps George Kell, Hoyt Wilhelm, Frank Robinson, 1973 Topps Hank Aaron and a large pile of commons.
A regular purchased my 1965 Topps Boog Powell. An autograph hound purchased some 1967 Topps baseball. Paul rounded out my day by purchasing some 1965 Topps high numbers. While I was packing everything up, I found Paul's list on my table. A vintage set collector without his list is like a fastball pitcher with a dead arm. You just can't play. So I'm always concerned when someone leaves a list. But I saw that Paul had his address on a sheet of paper in the pile he left on my table, I was going to mail the lists to him but then I heard Mike from across the way say, "Take care, Paul." I caught a glimpse of Paul walking out the door. I then found my sluggish legs moving much too quickly and I caught up to Paul just as he opened his car door. Disaster averted.
On the buying front, a random guy had a 1962 Topps Babe Ruth special card depicting Ruth and Gehrig. I think the cards books at $50 or $60. The condition was pretty good and I was able to get it for $10. Another guy came by with a 1970-71 Topps Lou Alcindor and a 1959 Topps Whitey Ford. The cards were VG with some wear. So the guy says to me that someone offered him 25 bucks. Using several four-letter words, he let me know that he was not pleased with the offer. I told him that the retail price on the pair is between $40 and $75. My offer would have been only $20 but I kept my mouth shut. The only other guy to bring any cards to my table had some '80s and '90s stuff. I stop at 1979 and advised him to try another dealer... someone with cards from that era on his table.
Well, I wanted to buy some cards. I made a TON of sales today and had money burning a hole in my pocket. So I checked out George's table. George has been a dealer since the 1970s and is a member of the Wisconsin Sports Collectors Association's hall of fame. He always has some pre-war cards on his table. I bought them all today. I picked up some T206's, Polar Bear backs, some 1933, 1934 and 1936 Goudeys, some 1934-36 Diamond Stars, a Tip Top Bread card, and a post-War 1956 Topps button featuring Dick Donovan of the White Sox. Cool stuff. I also purchased some 1970s Topps baseball card wrappers from Dave, who was set up next to me.
Great, great day! Up next week is Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale. I should have some 1965 Topps football and my 1963 Topps baseball binders ready to go for the show. I'm also working on some lists for guys and should have those cards ready as well. I have an absolutely tremendous inventory right now and will be working feverishly nights after work to get this stuff priced and out on my tables. My Bloomingdale shows have been really good as of late and I'm hoping for another nice show next weekend. A special thanks to everyone who bought cards from me today in Milwaukee. I appreciate you!!
Pictured up top is Ryan and his dad Andy. Below are some of my purchases from today.
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