For this blog, I'm going to summarize what's been going on lately....
Real nice show on Sunday, October 27, 2013, at the Orland Park Civic Center. My best Orland show since August. It looked like the whole room was filled with dealer tables. We had more customers than I've seen in a long while. I think the Bears having a bye week helped a lot.
I was hoping to have my 1968 Topps binder ready for the show but I just couldn't get it done. There are nearly 600 cards in that set and my binder was just about empty. I just couldn't sort and price all those cards in time for the show. I finished the binder about four days after the Orland show. Oh well, better late than never.
I expected a lousy Orland show because I didn't have that binder done and we've been having crappy shows at Orland for a while. I was pleasantly surprised.
Rick was at my table like clockwork, as soon as the gates opened. Today, he was accompanied by Dave F. It's always great to see Rick and Dave. Each guy seemed to find a decent amount of old football cards along with some '63 Fleer baseball and some '62 Post baseball. Thanks guys!
It was pretty much a mob scene at my tables all day. I can't remember what I sold or who was there -- it's that early onset of alzheimers. I do remember that Chris was there early and found some 1959 Topps football and some 1974-75 Topps hockey. I unfortunately forgot (seems to be a theme) to bring the '71 Topps Clemente for Chris to complete his '71 set. I've since pulled the card from the archives located in the west wing of the Fat Daddy warehouse and will have the card ready to go next time. A bunch of other regulars found cards for their sets. There were my several valued customers that are all named Larry. A big thank you to the Larrys for all your purchases! I made a nice trade with one of the Larrys where I received a '61 Topps Mays and Kaline, along with a '63 Topps Bart Starr and Willie Wood. I also made a nice trade with Paul for some 1970s hockey. Quite a few guys bought cards on this day and I appreciate each and every purchase.
I made some nice pick ups including some 1954 Bowman football. I went to the sub sandwich place after the show with Will and Joe -- a perfect way to cap a great day!
The next week on Sunday, November 3, 2013, I brought my wares to the Best Western Plus in Schaumburg, IL. The usual suspects were set up: Beanie Don, Ted, The Woj, me, Willie and Fred. While not the biggest show in the world, we had some great stuff. Bob picked up a pile of my 1933 Goudeys and made my day. Chuck T. made the long drive to Algonquin Road and bought a bunch of stuff from Don and I. Chuck spent a few hours at the show, we had a great time talking cards. Earlier in the morning, shortly after I finished setting up, I went to the front desk to purchase breakfast for Chuck and I. The hotel computers were down so the clerk gave me two free breakfast tickets. Chuck and I feasted at the hotel breakfast buffet. All in all, a great day. I sold a bunch of cards then picked up a few stars from the 60s and a near set of 1970 Topps.
After the Schaumburg show, I hustled all week to reload my 1969 binder for the Gonzaga show. I also had some 1960 Topps football reloaded. The Gonzaga show started an hour ealier, 8 a.m., on Sunday, November 10, 2013. I woke at 5 a.m. and was on the road by 6 a.m. That was tough! I was pessimistic about there being any customers at the show at 8 a.m. I was pleasantly surprised. There were quite a few people in the room early and a nice crowd all morning. The cake was back at the concession stand. Scott Z. picked me up a piece of chocolate cake. Thanks Scott!
I was real busy and sold a ton of cards including a 1978 Topps football set. Quite a few guys bought cards today. I sold the rest of my T206s. The 1968 and 1969 binders got a good work out. A big thank you goes out to Jim, Mark, Jason, Jeff, and everyone else who bought cards. Thanks guys! On the buying front, I picked up a binder of 1969 Topps commons.
The place cleared out around noon for the Packers game, so I started to pack up. After I cleared a case or two, the legendary Gizmo came by and purchased a ton of cards. Gizmo made a good day, my best day of the year. I left Gonzaga with a pile of cash in my pocket and big plans to buy more cards.
The week after Gonzaga was a lot of fun. I bought a TON of cards! I acquired so much new stuff from T206s, Goudeys, to 1950s and 1960s cards galore!! I'll be pricing these puppies out over the next few months.
Shortly after the Gonzaga show, I started work on my 1970 Topps binder but was not able to get it done before the Indian Lakes Resort show on Sunday, November 17, 2013. Weather reports prior to the show were filled with scary accounts of tornado and wind damage out west from a storm heading our way. I considered skipping the show.
But weather is so unpredictable and it seems like the weather report is never accurate. So against my better judgment, I drove out to Bloomingdale. The parking lot was filled with cars and bicyclists -- some really, really dumb bicyclists who didn't think they had to pay any attention to cars driving in the parking lot. I almost hit several cyclists flying out between parked cars without a care in the world. These numbnuts were gathered for a race on the golf course. They all were wearing racing gear and had numbers pinned to their backs. There must have been hundreds of cyclists. So much for severe weather warnings.
While the cyclists gathered on the golf course, I loaded my gear into the hotel. The wind was pretty bad while I was loading in. I decided to keep my display cases in the car because I've lost a few to wind in the past. It sure was a lot easier loading in and out with just my binders. Set up was also completed in record time. Our crowd was a little smarter than the cyclists because not too many people came out. As the morning progressed, the windows darkened to the point where they were pitch black. Then we had some biblical rain. I am glad I wasn't set up next to a window because I would have moved away. There was hail, then a tremendous amount of rain. It was scary out there.
I actually had a couple of good sales. A new customer, who stated he was just getting back into collecting, picked up a nice pile of White Sox from my 1958 and 1959 binders. A few other guys bought some cards. I picked up some low grade '74s and some supplies because Fred has the best prices around on supplies. I also bought a few packs of football, basketball and hockey cards from Fred. I rarely buy new packs of cards these days. It was fun opening those up. I pulled an autograph card of some rookie on the Phoenix Suns that I never heard of. That card will find its way to eBay eventually.
I packed up around noon. The brunt of the storm had passed but I still had to load my car in the rain. There were also quite a few cyclists still outside. Those guys are nuts! I'm surprised nobody got killed in that ugly storm. They were covered with mud. They must have raced during the storm.
I got home fairly quickly. My wife said she and the kids were hiding in the basement before I got home because they thought a tornado was coming. As I sat in my living room watching football on TV, I heard the wind howl, looked out my glass patio door in time to see my neighbor's tree snap in half and fall into my yard. That tree was the brunt of the storm damage at my house. My heart goes out to those poor folks who lost their homes to tornadoes in central Illinois. Weather seems to be getting crazier and scarier these days. I may have to take these weather reports a little more seriously next time. I was real lucky last winter and didn't miss any shows due to weather. I've got a feeling that this winter will be a little different.
Well the week after the crazy wind-tornado weekend, I was set up at the Sun-Times show. I'll pen that blog another day. It is currently the night before Thanksgiving and I'm watching the Saturday Night Live Thanksgiving Special wlth my kids. My wife and I went out and purchased a premade Thanksgiving meal earlier tonight. We're not much for cooking at my house. We picked up a lot of food and I'm looking forward to feasting the next few days. I'm setting up at Orland on Saturday, November 30, 2013. I'm working on my 1971 Topps binder. I'm also going to price a bunch of cards for my display cases. I also finished up some Exhibits. I haven't had a book of Exhibits out in a long while. I've got some neat stuff including some 1948 Hall of Fame Exhibits. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at the show on Saturday. In the meantime, HAPPY TURKEY DAY!! GOBBLE, GOBBLE!!
Pictured below are a few of my recent pick-ups.