Sunday, January 13, 2013, Serb Hall, Milwaukee, WI -- We had an ice storm the night before the show in Northern Illinois. My car was caked with ice. I had to scrape the windows in the morning. Though, the streets were not too bad. That changed once I got onto the highway heading north and closer to Milwaukee as the roadway became more slippery. The worst was when I exited the highway at 60th Street in Milwaukee and my car slid past the stop light at the top of the off-ramp. Luckily, I was the only car around. The roadways in Milwaukee were a mess. Heavy slush on 60th Street with quite a few pot holes. It was an ugly ride to Serb Hall. Once at the hall, the sidewalk in front of the building was poorly shoveled and salted. It was treacherous loading in and out. Luckily, I didn't slip.
Once inside, it felt more like a morgue than a card show. I'm generally in a great mood when I enter a card show because I thoroughly enjoy them. However, the Packers lost to the 49ers in the NFL playoffs the night before the show and everyone was in mourning -- everyone except for me, of course, because I'm a Bears fan. I did not see much of the game because I was feverishly pricing cards and reloading my 1974 Topps baseball binder. I caught SportsCenter afterwards and was surprised to learn how handily the 49ers beat the Packers and of the amazing game by Colin Kaepernick. I have to admit that I didn't understand why Jim Harbaugh didn't send Kaepernick back to the bench once Alex Smith became healthy but I'm a believer now, this kid is awesome.
What an awesome season for the NFL with Kaepernick and rookie QBs Andrew Luck, RG III, and Russell Wilson. Even though the Bears were disappointing, I'm excited about the NFL. I don't believe that the NFL has ever had so many great quarterbacks playing together at one time. Thankfully, I'm more than just a Bears fan. I love football and can watch most any game featuring any teams. So this season and beyond, I'm almost assured I'll get to see a great quarterback in any game I watch.
As a result, I bought quite a few packs of 2012 football cards. I didn't buy ANY last year. Generally, I don't have much of an interest in modern cards but with all these great quarterbacks, especially the 2012 rookies, I'm buying some packs. I also want to hunt down some 2011 packs to try and get some Kaepernick rookies. I actually bought a Kaepernick rookie over the summer. It came in a group of vintage that I purchased at a show. I put the Kaepernick rookie up for auction on eBay last week for just 99 cents. I admit, the card looks a little strange amongst my listings of vintage cards but it is currently up to $13.26, ending tomorrow (January 22. I'm writing this overdue blog on Jan. 21).
Back at the Serb Hall show, we had a light turnout that I attribute to the Packers game the night before and the lousy weather. I think quite a few folks were hungover or too depressed to come out. There were also some dealer no shows -- which I think is really lame. In all the years I've been doing shows, I've only been a "no-show" twice. Once when I was T-boned by a woman who blew through a red light as I was driving to the show, totaling my car and injuring my back. The second time was when my daughter was born unexpectedly. We had thought we had at least two weeks before the birth. The day before the show, I brought my wife in for her regular check up and doctors found her blood pressure was sky high. Apparently, she had something called preeclampsia and the baby had to come out. So, instead of attending the card show, I spent the day with my beautiful new baby girl -- about the most amazing experience I've ever had.
Anyway, I think once a dealer commits to setting up at a show, that dealer has an obligation to show up unless there is a reasonable excuse. I know at least one dealer at the Serb Hall show did not have a reasonable excuse. He claimed to have car touble but when promoter PJ offered to come pick him up and bring him to the show, he still balked and stayed home. Lame!
So with the entire state of Wisconsin in mourning, lousy weather, treacherous roadways, low customer turnout, no-show dealers, I somehow had a decent show. Out of the blue, a new customer purchased a large group of 1975 Topps baseball, including commons and stars Nolan Ryan and Mike Schmidt. He also purchased my 1976 Topps Pete Rose. After this sale, I knew I was going to be okay. My buddy Mark picked up a pile of stuff, including some 1969 Citgo coins, 1967 Philadelphia football, assorted 1960's baseball, some 1955 Bowman baseball and some 1956 Topps football. Thanks Mark!!
Then Jeff took his usual large pile of stuff. Today he purchased 1954 Topps, 1973 Topps and 1974 Topps, all baseball. Thanks Jeff!! A new customer purchased a 1960 Topps Eddie Mathews. A regular customer purchased some 1974s. A new customer purchased a 1972 Topps Sonny Jurgenson. Mike, who I first met at the October Serb Hall show, was back today and purchased a large pile of 1970 and 1975 Topps baseball. Mike filled me in on what happened to the Mexican restaurant across the street. Upon arrival to the show, I noticed that the restaurant was gone and was disappointed because they have really good burritos. I was actually planning on eating there today. Mike said a pair of teenagers set the building on fire. They were seen on security cameras but have not been caught. Mike said it was big news in Milwaukee. Hopefully, the Mexican restaurant rebuilds and comes back.
On the buying front, I was extremely pleased with my purchase of a T206 Mordecai Brown. Several years ago, I came across a poem written in 1908 by New York writer William Lampton, a die-hard fan of the old New York Giants baseball team. Every time I see a Mordecai Brown card, I think of Lampton's poem:
Gloom gathers above us,
There's murk in the air,
There's no one to shove us
Along to get where
The crown of the victor
Will rest on this town,
For the Giants see nothing
But Mordecai Brown,
Mordecai, Moedecai
Three-fingered Brown.
Fans wail on the bleechers,
Fans weep in the stands,
Fans cry with the screechers,
For any way, every way,
Far up and down.
There's nothing that greets them
But Mordecai, Mordecai
Three-fingered Brown
Baseball is no longer
The game of a club
Which had it been stronger,
Might wallop the dub
That hails from the windy
And comes to this town
To razzle the Giants
With Mordecai Brown.
Mordecai, Mordecai,
Threee-Fingered Brown.
The murky clouds thicken,
The end cometh on
When nothing can quicken
The hope that is gone;
Manhatten is busted,
The pennant is down,
And the Giants are walloped
By Mordecai Brown.
Mordecai, Mordecai,
Three-fingered Brown.
Brown was the greatest Cubs' pitcher of all time and one of the greatest pitchers ever in the history of major league baseball. I would put only his contemporaries Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson ahead of him on the list of best pitchers of all time. About five years ago, I was researching the history of the Cubs original ball park, West Side Park, and came across all sorts of interesting stuff about Mordecai Brown. Most interesting is the website his descendant Scott Brown created -- www.mordecaibrown.com. Here Scott Brown created a virtual museum to his famous cousin. Brown also erected a statue in Mordecai's honor in his Indiana hometown. One of these days, I'm going to drive out there and check it out.
Well, I've kind of rambled today. I had a really nice show at Serb Hall and am looking forward to the February 10 Serb Hall show. I'm behind one blog. I owe you a Gonzaga blog. Next week is Orland Park (January 27). My Orland Park regulars have yet to see my reloaded '74 Topps baseball, 1970 Topps football and 1960 Fleer Greats of the Game. I started reloading my 1975 baseball today and got a good start already. Hopefully, I'll have it ready to go by Sunday. A big thank you to everybody at Serb Hall today. Pictured below are my pick-ups from today, including the T206 Brown. Have a great week everybody!
Once inside, it felt more like a morgue than a card show. I'm generally in a great mood when I enter a card show because I thoroughly enjoy them. However, the Packers lost to the 49ers in the NFL playoffs the night before the show and everyone was in mourning -- everyone except for me, of course, because I'm a Bears fan. I did not see much of the game because I was feverishly pricing cards and reloading my 1974 Topps baseball binder. I caught SportsCenter afterwards and was surprised to learn how handily the 49ers beat the Packers and of the amazing game by Colin Kaepernick. I have to admit that I didn't understand why Jim Harbaugh didn't send Kaepernick back to the bench once Alex Smith became healthy but I'm a believer now, this kid is awesome.
What an awesome season for the NFL with Kaepernick and rookie QBs Andrew Luck, RG III, and Russell Wilson. Even though the Bears were disappointing, I'm excited about the NFL. I don't believe that the NFL has ever had so many great quarterbacks playing together at one time. Thankfully, I'm more than just a Bears fan. I love football and can watch most any game featuring any teams. So this season and beyond, I'm almost assured I'll get to see a great quarterback in any game I watch.
As a result, I bought quite a few packs of 2012 football cards. I didn't buy ANY last year. Generally, I don't have much of an interest in modern cards but with all these great quarterbacks, especially the 2012 rookies, I'm buying some packs. I also want to hunt down some 2011 packs to try and get some Kaepernick rookies. I actually bought a Kaepernick rookie over the summer. It came in a group of vintage that I purchased at a show. I put the Kaepernick rookie up for auction on eBay last week for just 99 cents. I admit, the card looks a little strange amongst my listings of vintage cards but it is currently up to $13.26, ending tomorrow (January 22. I'm writing this overdue blog on Jan. 21).
Back at the Serb Hall show, we had a light turnout that I attribute to the Packers game the night before and the lousy weather. I think quite a few folks were hungover or too depressed to come out. There were also some dealer no shows -- which I think is really lame. In all the years I've been doing shows, I've only been a "no-show" twice. Once when I was T-boned by a woman who blew through a red light as I was driving to the show, totaling my car and injuring my back. The second time was when my daughter was born unexpectedly. We had thought we had at least two weeks before the birth. The day before the show, I brought my wife in for her regular check up and doctors found her blood pressure was sky high. Apparently, she had something called preeclampsia and the baby had to come out. So, instead of attending the card show, I spent the day with my beautiful new baby girl -- about the most amazing experience I've ever had.
Anyway, I think once a dealer commits to setting up at a show, that dealer has an obligation to show up unless there is a reasonable excuse. I know at least one dealer at the Serb Hall show did not have a reasonable excuse. He claimed to have car touble but when promoter PJ offered to come pick him up and bring him to the show, he still balked and stayed home. Lame!
So with the entire state of Wisconsin in mourning, lousy weather, treacherous roadways, low customer turnout, no-show dealers, I somehow had a decent show. Out of the blue, a new customer purchased a large group of 1975 Topps baseball, including commons and stars Nolan Ryan and Mike Schmidt. He also purchased my 1976 Topps Pete Rose. After this sale, I knew I was going to be okay. My buddy Mark picked up a pile of stuff, including some 1969 Citgo coins, 1967 Philadelphia football, assorted 1960's baseball, some 1955 Bowman baseball and some 1956 Topps football. Thanks Mark!!
Then Jeff took his usual large pile of stuff. Today he purchased 1954 Topps, 1973 Topps and 1974 Topps, all baseball. Thanks Jeff!! A new customer purchased a 1960 Topps Eddie Mathews. A regular customer purchased some 1974s. A new customer purchased a 1972 Topps Sonny Jurgenson. Mike, who I first met at the October Serb Hall show, was back today and purchased a large pile of 1970 and 1975 Topps baseball. Mike filled me in on what happened to the Mexican restaurant across the street. Upon arrival to the show, I noticed that the restaurant was gone and was disappointed because they have really good burritos. I was actually planning on eating there today. Mike said a pair of teenagers set the building on fire. They were seen on security cameras but have not been caught. Mike said it was big news in Milwaukee. Hopefully, the Mexican restaurant rebuilds and comes back.
On the buying front, I was extremely pleased with my purchase of a T206 Mordecai Brown. Several years ago, I came across a poem written in 1908 by New York writer William Lampton, a die-hard fan of the old New York Giants baseball team. Every time I see a Mordecai Brown card, I think of Lampton's poem:
Gloom gathers above us,
There's murk in the air,
There's no one to shove us
Along to get where
The crown of the victor
Will rest on this town,
For the Giants see nothing
But Mordecai Brown,
Mordecai, Moedecai
Three-fingered Brown.
Fans wail on the bleechers,
Fans weep in the stands,
Fans cry with the screechers,
For any way, every way,
Far up and down.
There's nothing that greets them
But Mordecai, Mordecai
Three-fingered Brown
Baseball is no longer
The game of a club
Which had it been stronger,
Might wallop the dub
That hails from the windy
And comes to this town
To razzle the Giants
With Mordecai Brown.
Mordecai, Mordecai,
Threee-Fingered Brown.
The murky clouds thicken,
The end cometh on
When nothing can quicken
The hope that is gone;
Manhatten is busted,
The pennant is down,
And the Giants are walloped
By Mordecai Brown.
Mordecai, Mordecai,
Three-fingered Brown.
Brown was the greatest Cubs' pitcher of all time and one of the greatest pitchers ever in the history of major league baseball. I would put only his contemporaries Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson ahead of him on the list of best pitchers of all time. About five years ago, I was researching the history of the Cubs original ball park, West Side Park, and came across all sorts of interesting stuff about Mordecai Brown. Most interesting is the website his descendant Scott Brown created -- www.mordecaibrown.com. Here Scott Brown created a virtual museum to his famous cousin. Brown also erected a statue in Mordecai's honor in his Indiana hometown. One of these days, I'm going to drive out there and check it out.
Well, I've kind of rambled today. I had a really nice show at Serb Hall and am looking forward to the February 10 Serb Hall show. I'm behind one blog. I owe you a Gonzaga blog. Next week is Orland Park (January 27). My Orland Park regulars have yet to see my reloaded '74 Topps baseball, 1970 Topps football and 1960 Fleer Greats of the Game. I started reloading my 1975 baseball today and got a good start already. Hopefully, I'll have it ready to go by Sunday. A big thank you to everybody at Serb Hall today. Pictured below are my pick-ups from today, including the T206 Brown. Have a great week everybody!
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