Friday, July 28, 2023, Donald E. Stephens Center, Rosemont, IL

While the excitement builds in the weeks prior to the National, by Day 3, it is all routine. Wake up, drink coffee, get down to Rosemont.

After suffering through the hot-as-hell walkway the past two days, I decided to just walk the street into the convention center. It is a shorter walk and less stifling in the morning. I was the first to arrive at the booth. 

My morning booth routine begins with removal of the tarps covering my display cases. Then I unlock the cases and fill all the holes where I sold cards the previous day. I try to get this done before the masses enter the building.

Once again, I watched a monstrous crowd come down the nearby escalators for a couple of hours. Friday, like the past two days, was jam-packed with people. Sales continued fast and furious with Wednesday’s slow sales a distant memory.

My sales outpaced Thursday. My buys were non-existent. 

I felt much better Friday morning than I did on Thursday. I did not take any insulin this morning so I did not have to worry about going hypoglycemic. Dave brought me a sandwich.

Now I would like to talk about briefcases and backpacks. This stuff is out of control. I saw more insanely large backpacks than ever before. The problem with briefcases and backpacks in a massive crowd is that those carrying these weapons are completely devoid of any common sense and compassion. They will peg you with their briefcases and backpacks with blinding abandon. It was nearly impossible to walk the show without getting hit with either a briefcase, backpack or both.

Friday, I was at the edge of my booth helping a customer when a guy with both a briefcase and a backpack muscled through the crowd to get at my neighbor’s table. First he hit me in the knee with his briefcase. As I doubled over in pain, he turned around and nailed me in the chest with his backpack. It was a pop, pop, then dizzy dance where I almost hit the ground. The guy did not apologize. None of them ever apologize.

As a result, if it was up to me, both briefcases and backpacks would be banned at the National. Guys are totally irresponsible with these things and will hit you with impunity. This needs to end. No more backpacks and briefcases at the National!

I soldiered on with my numb knee and my bruised chest. It helped that sales were excellent. I hardly sold any T206s on Wednesday and Thursday, but Friday was a different story. I sold a bunch of them along with all sorts of other stuff. Seemed like a lot of folks were asking for 1972 Topps baseball and football high numbers but I did not bring any of the baseball along, big mistake.

I had a little incident while selling T206s. At one point, I had a crowd around my T206 display case. While I was pulling cards out of the case and handing them to customers, some knucklehead came behind my tables and stood next to me. I figured he wanted to get a look at the T206 display case that was covered with people on the other side, so I allowed him to stay behind the table. When he started telling all my customers that he had T206’s in his backpack that were for sale, I chased him out of the booth. I paid $1,300 for the right to sell cards at the booth. Go get your own booth! The guy is lucky he walked away with his teeth. I was ready to knock him out!

I do not mind folks walking up to my booth and offering to sell me cards, but when they start pulling customers away from my display cases in an attempt to sell their own cards, that is where I draw the line. Only I have the right to sell cards at my booth, no one else. Dave did not think it was a big deal but the guy was not pulling Dave’s customers away from his display cases, he was pulling my customers out of the booth and away from my display cases. I will fight to the death with anyone who attempts to pull customers out of my booth to sell them cards. Again, go get your own booth! This one is mine!!

Thankfully, the customers at my T206 display case ignored the guy and purchased cards from me. I can’t believe what a dooshbag that guy was. I was in a foul mood after that. Yet, continued good sales changed my mood. Though, I got tired in the afternoon, too tired to walk around. This may be the first National where I did not walk around and explore. I was pretty much tied to the booth the whole time.

Once again, I saw all sorts of friendly faces on Friday. Big Paul came by early on but I was much too busy to chat. Sorry Paul. Great to see you! Scott S. came by and purchased my 1950 Bowman Ted Williams. Thanks Scott! I saw Donny and Anthony. Love those guys!  Tom D. came by early with some modern Ernie Banks autograph cards to sell. I just don't do modern. I saw many, many others. Sorry, my memory is foggy. Thanks for stopping by!!!

After the show, PJ and I again ventured to the square behind the parking garage. This time we decided to hit the Park Tavern. The hostess told us the wait would be about 40 minutes. We saw an open table and sat down. After a while, a waitress kicked us out of the table and we moved to another empty table. 

The waitress eventually served us at the second table. She was sassy! I had an ice cold Lagunitas IPA which hit the spot. PJ had a Heineken. To eat, I had a cup of chili and some hot wings. PJ went with the roasted chicken again. My food was awesome. 

Like Thursday, the parking lot was empty after dinner and I had an easy exit and drive home. Day three in the books.

Before I get to my Day 4 blog, I want to let you know that I am taking the next weekend off — August 12 & 13. I’ll be at the Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, Michigan, on Saturday, celebrating my main man Mr. Cigar’s 50th Birthday. Happy Birthday Mr. Cigar!

I’ll next be set up on August 20 in Orland Park. I am probably bringing display cases to that one, as I am way behind on reloading the binders as usual. I am slowly but surely working on reloading my 1970 Topps baseball binder. I hope to have it done by the September 2 Oak Creek show. If anyone wants to see any binders in Orland, let me know beforehand.

A huge thank you to everyone that came by my booth Friday at the National. There sure was a lot of you and I appreciate it!

I was pretty excited Friday when Robert Plant, pictured below right, arrived at the booth. Who woulda thunk that he was working on the 1960 Fleer baseball set.

Thursday, July 27, 2023, Donald A. Stephens Center, Rosemont, IL

I had wanted to wake up at 6 a.m. on Thursday but I had a real tough time falling asleep, so I slept until 7 a.m. which did not leave enough time to shower and go out for a good breakfast. Scott and Jim were anxious to get to the show. They like to walk the floor and dig through cheapy boxes before the show officially opens to customers.

So we hit a nearby McDonald's. I injected some insulin and dined on an Egg McMuffin and hashbrowns. Whenever I inject insulin, I have to calculate my carb intake to make sure I ingest enough carbs so the insulin does not overwhelm my body and cause hypoglycemia, which is a risk every time I inject insulin.

I thought the carbs in the muffins and the hashbrowns would be sufficient. I thought wrong. The long walk from the parking lot to the convention center in extreme heat caused a major sugar drop. 

Have you guys read the Harry Potter books or seen the movies? Well the best way to describe what it is like to go hypoglycemic is an analogy to the Harry Potter Dementors -- those ghost-like figures that guard Azerbaijan Prison and suck the life out of all who dare to come near them.

Whenever I go hypo, it feels like there is a dementor hovering over me and sucking the life out of me. It is absolutely horrible.

An hour into the show when HUGE crowds flowed into the room and I was at my busiest, the dementors got me. I started to fade. Eyesight went hazy. Strength gone. Ability to function limited.

I tried to help the hoards at my tables the best I could. I was selling cards left and right, unlike Wednesday when the hoards just wanted to lowball, this morning they were spending cash! While I was helping customers, I was trying to figure out how I could get some sugar. Oh, I forgot to mention that death is nearby whenever hypoglycemia hits. It is a serious situation and I lose my ability to think straight. 

There were some kids last year in Atlantic City that walked the show with a wagon full of candy and water for sale. I saw them Wednesday here in Rosemont and hoped they would arrive now! I needed candy. I needed sugar... the kids never walked by.

Well, I should never really bitch about Dave, as I did in yesterday's blog, because he has seen me go hypo before and has helped me out in the past. He really is an excellent guy who always makes me a sandwich. When I had a break from customers, I struggled to ask Dave for a sandwich. He knew right away what was going on and tossed me a sandwich. Dave saved my ass! That sandwich stopped the dementors and I started to recover. Whew! Serious situation averted!!

I was able to wolf down that sandwich, regain my eyesight and some strength and get back to helping customers. I was still weakened and when another break in the crowd occurred, I went off to the taco stand and got some tacos. Tortillas have a ton of carbs.

That hypoglycemic episode kicked my ass and I had to really labor through the show. I haven't a clue as to what I sold but I know that I sold a TON. I was back on track, as I knew I would. The National has never let me down.

Like Wednesday, I know I ran into a whole bunch of people I know. Sorry, if I was a little spacey but I was really struggling on Thursday. I think Thursday was the day I sold cards to pals Bill Nest and Steve Wilson. Thanks guys! It was great to see my main man Scotty P., along with Rich K., Tim W., Shong, Beau, who promotes the Madison show. Beau was walking around with his million card Cubs sign. I love that guy. What a character and he is always smiling. I know I saw a bunch more people, but hypoglycemia also effects my memory. I really don't know what happened Thursday. I am just thankful I am still here and breathing. It is so great to be me!

I was crazy tired when the show ended at 6 p.m. Dave went home early to beat the crowds to the parking garage. Scott and Jim went back home to Wisconsin. PJ was staying at a hotel nearby and wanted to grab a bite to eat. As lousy as I was feeling, I needed some food and more carbs.

That PJ is a clever fellow. While I followed the masses each day into the forbidden depths of the parking garage across from the convention center, PJ figured out a way to obtain rock star parking for every day of the show. He pointed out that if your vehicle is of a certain height, you can park in a designated area on the ground floor of the parking garage, right in the front of the lot! So PJ placed this huge luggage container on the top of his SUV and increased the height of his vehicle to the point where the Rosemont Parking Garage folks laid out the red carpet and invited him to park in the froooont roowww. Ingenius!

PJ suggested we dine in the little square behind the parking garage that has eight to 10 restaurants. I loved the idea. Prior to the show, Dennis had told me that he eats in the square most nights after the show to allow the masses to vacate the parking garage before he gets to his vehicle. I was all too happy to allow the masses to vacate the garage and to have an easy exit after dinner.

PJ had eaten at the Park Tavern on Wednesday night and suggested we go there. Upon entry we learned there was a wait for up to 45 minutes. The square was crowded because a stage was set up in the middle for bands to play and food and drink booths lined the square as well.

However, it was way too hot to eat at one of the food booths. I needed air conditioning in the worst way.

I remember at one of the Nationals prior to the pandemic, I went with Craig and Jack over to an Irish pub in the square that was very good. I observed that the building that had housed the Irish pub, was now a seafood restaurant. I suggested we try that place.

Man, I really enjoyed the walk across the square to the seafood place because of the large number of pretty ladies milling about. After spending all day with heavy, sweaty middle-aged men, it sure was nice to see all the pretty ladies.

Speaking of pretty ladies, our waitress at the seafood restaurant was drop-dead gorgeous. PJ and I had a nice meal. I went with the salmon that was drenched in this tasty cream sauce. PJ went with a roasted chicken. We also drank a few beers.

Conversation was excellent. PJ has a certain knowledge about oddball, rare card issues from the 1950's through the 2000's that is unmatched. I learn something at every National from PJ, who was in a great mood because his sales that past two days had been tremendous.

It is common knowledge that cards from the 1980's were overproduced and worthless. But PJ has found all sorts of rare issues and specializes in them. Buyers at the National are all about the rare issues, no matter what decade. PJ was well stocked with this stuff and selling a ton of it. Kudos to PJ!

The best part of having the National in Rosemont is that I live just a half hour drive away. After dinner with PJ, I was the only one in the convention center parking lot and it was so easy to exit and get home.

Not long after leaving the seafood restaurant, I was home, in my bed and snoring. Day two of the National, a distant memory.

Hey! Let's talk hypoglycemia, the National, rare card issues or anything at all on Saturday, August 5, 2023, at the Salvation Army Community Center, 8853 S. Howell, in Oak Creek, WI. I already decided that I am not taking any insulin Saturday until I get home after the show! See you in Oak Creek!

​More National blogs on the way!! But first I will share a couple of photos from Thusrday below.

This was pretty much the scene, pictured above, in front of my display cases all day on Thursday. I was very busy.

Pictured above is PJ in his signature tank top helping customers to his rare issues.

Sorry I did not take more photos. I normally like to walk around the National and take a bunch of photos but I was having all sorts of physical issues and could not move around much Wednesday and Thursday.

Wednesday, July 26, 2023, Donald A Stephens Center, Rosemont, IL

The National is unlike any other show in the country. The best card dealers are there. All the auction houses are there. Dozens of card-related companies are there. Those that attend are there to spend money. My sales are ALWAYS good, no matter what is going on in the hobby or the economy or the world. I freakin’ love the National!!

For me, preparation for the National begins the day after the previous National ends. I buy, price and hoard cards all year long, specifically for the National. For my set up back in the day, I would bring out both binders and display cases but after one of my binders was stolen at the 2010 National, I now just bring out display cases. 

The last two Nationals were my best ever. I did not know what to expect for the 2023 National. The monthly shows I have attended in 2023 have not been nearly as strong as those from 2022. I had some concerns going into this year’s National. I was also worried about our booth's location in a room new to the 2023 National. With the new room, this appeared to be the largest National ever.

I had built up some nice inventory prior to this year's National. I had more graded T206’s than I ever had before. I also recently picked up a near set of 1950 Bowman baseball and 1955 Topps baseball. I had been working on beefing up my basketball and hockey stars as well. I felt like I had an impressive inventory for this year’s National. 

With my health ailing, I took the weekend prior to the National off from setting up at shows. I felt I needed to rest up for the grueling week ahead. I worked my day job Monday and Tuesday then woke up Wednesday morning, took my meds, then had to sit on the pot for a while. Sometimes my meds don’t allow me to leave the house.

​So I got a late start. It was hotter than Hermes that morning as I loaded up my car. I made it to Rosemont around 10:15 a.m. I was supposed to meet Dave at 9:45 a.m. I would have called Dave to let him know I was running late but he is the last human on the planet without a cell phone.

First order of business was obtaining my dealer badge — which is always a problem. Last year in Atlantic City, I had received a packet from the promoters stating that badges would be available in the lobby. I advised Dave to park at the loading dock and I would go to the lobby and get the badges. Dave declined my advice and parked below the venue in the parking garage and we seemingly walked all day to find the lobby and the booth where the badges were supposed to be located. At the booth we were informed that the badges were at the loading dock. So we walked another few miles back to Dave’s car and drove to the loading dock where we found a line of cars waiting to get into a tiny space to unload. I advised Dave to double park and I would jump out and get the badges. Once Dave double parked, a security guard began screaming at us to move the car back to the end of the line of cars.

We did what we were told then had to wait our turn to get into the tiny loading dock to obtain our badges and load in. Who designs a freakin’ convention center with just one tiny loading dock? Dave and I wasted most of that first day of the show in Atlantic City trying to obtain our dealer badges and loading in.

Thankfully, the Stephens Center has a good dozen loading docks. Say what you will about that place but it is the easiest of all the large venues for load in and load out. So, I parked by a loading dock on the north side of the building like I have done for years at the National in Rosemont. Same problem each year, though. The security guard sitting at the loading dock will not let me enter without my dealer badge. So I had to walk all the way around to the front in searing heat to obtain my dealer badge. That was tough because I wasn’t feeling well due to my meds, diabetes and the heavy heat. It has been a mild summer in the Chicago area up until the National. Figures.

After obtaining the badges, I walked the huge lobby looking for Dave. No Dave. So I went back to the north loading dock for the first of two loads.

With that first load, I walked a good 15 or 20 minutes before I found the booth in the new section over by the TriStar Autograph Pavilion. The booth was quite a hike from the north loading dock. I would have to figure out a better way to load out when the show ended.

Anyway, Dave and Jim Colias were waiting for me at the booth. Dave was pissed that I was so late. I was pissed because I felt like shit, didn’t like the hassle of obtaining the badges, was sweating buckets from pushing my cart all over the building in search of the booth, had wanted to call Dave but he does not have a cell phone, then spent valuable energy looking for him all over the lobby.

Dave and I almost came to blows. I was ready to knock him out. We had issues the whole time in Atlantic City last year and I was not going to put up with his shit this year at all. Jim looked at me while I was shouting at Dave and took off. I was angry. Though, we both eventually calmed down and got along fine for the rest of the week.

I had two booths this year and split them with Dave, Scott Z. and PJ. Over the years, Dave, PJ and I have rotated being the one in charge of obtaining the booth. I was in charge this year. Being in charge is a real hassle because I had just gotten into it with Dave over his badge then needed to meet Scott and PJ separately to give them their dealer badges. I just finished my second and final load in when PJ texted. 

I observed that our booth was located near the front of the building by the circle drive. I advised PJ to double park and load in from the circle drive. We met in the circle drive where he was smoking a cigarette and I gave him his badge. As I was about to head out to move my car, Scott called. I advised that he, too, double park in the circle drive and load in from there. I met Scott and his dad Jim out there and gave them their badges then went to move my car.

The walk from the parking lot to the convention center seems like miles. I had a really tough time with it, largely due to the heat. When I made it back to the booth, I was hurting and had to sit for a spell before I was able to start setting up. The first day of the National is always a ball buster and this year seemed especially difficult. Making things worse was the lack of air conditioning in the building. WTF?

I was sweating bad and struggled to set up. In the middle of set up, I had to stop and go out to meet Mike S., who, prior to the show, had asked that I obtain a dealer badge for him. I went out to the lobby and met Mike, who was very appreciative. I was hurting. I was ready to pass out by the time I finished setting up. No rest for the weary because there were already folks looking at my stuff, even though VIP early entrance was scheduled for much later that afternoon. I started to sell cards and did not stop selling cards until 5 p.m. on Sunday. The National is a grueling marathon. Mike brought me a bottle of water which about saved me from passing out.

I waited for a lull at the booth then went out in search of caffein. I found a taco stand nearby and purchased three tacos and a Diet Pepsi. Oh, that was what the doctor ordered. I felt much better with some food in my belly and Pepsi flowing in. Customers continued to visit the booth. To a man, they all sat there on their phones looking up comps. I made a few sales.

The air conditioning kicked in when the VIPers were let into the building. Apparently, the VIP crowd was herded upstairs above our booth then let in down some escalators along the wall, near the booth. Within minutes, it was a mob scene. Earlier, I had worried that the location of the booth would hurt sales but was pleasantly surprised to see mass crowds come down those escalators all week long. We were buried in a sea of people just about every day.

When the hoards arrived, out came the phones then out came the whiney complaints claiming my pricing was above comps. Let’s talk about comps. For the uninitiated, “comps” means the latest online sale. This whole “comp” thing is a recent addition to the hobby. I am not sure when this started but it was created by the modern guys at least four or five years ago and has now sunk into the vintage market.  

The problem, as I see it, is that there are so many variables involved in pricing and selling a vintage card that no matter what the “comp” appears to be, it is never quite accurate. For one, there is always a huge range in recent sold prices. Then when looking for a “comp” of a raw vintage card, those whiners never consider the difference in condition to their “comp.” If a “comp” is lower than my pricing, it is usually because the card is in much lower grade. The whiners never show you the higher “comp,” it is always the lowest. Do they honestly think I do not look at the “comps” as well. I am fully aware of the range in pricing for every card, so their whiney “comp” arguments never hold water with me because I have seen the comps that are higher than my pricing. I always price my cards in the middle, not too low and not too high. I know my pricing is reasonable. 

Seems like I spent the whole day on Wednesday declining low-ball offers on my cards based on supposed comps. I would rather keep the cards than give them away to these knuckleheads. They don’t get any points for shoving their phones in my face and showing me the lowest sale they could find in an attempt to sway me to give my stuff away for peanuts. Not going to happen. 

Then there were a lot of folks offering cards to sell. To a man, they were priced way over comps or what I could possibly resell the cards for. I declined every card offered. One guy pulled out a stack of 1950’s and 1960’s star cards. There were some big names in there like Mantle, Mays, Jackie Robinson, Ted Williams and the like. However, all of the cards were either miscut or terribly off-center. I analyzed the guy’s 1967 Topps Mickey Mantle that was terribly miscut. Seemed to me that the card was trimmed. When I mentioned it, the guy became really defensive and started throwing a whole bunch of BS at me. I have seen it all before. I thanked the guy for showing me his cards and suggested he shop them around. He seemed offended that I would not purchase his trimmed cards. Sorry buddy.

After the VIPers were let in, around 3 p.m., the rest of the day flew by. That 8 p.m. closing time hit me over the head like a hammer. I was not ready for it. I was busy with the comp folks. Busy chatting with all the friendly faces that appeared at my booth. I saw tons of folks I knew from all over the country — which is the best part of the National. I love it when someone randomly approaches my booth and mentions that they are a fan of this blog. Thanks guys!

The coolest experience of the day was meeting Dylan Kosh, who told me his father is Adam Kosh, one of my best friend’s from childhood. Adam grew up in the house almost just behind mine in beautiful Northbrook, Illinois. I met him when I was four years old at the Wildwood Nursery School. By age six, Adam and a kid named John Rice, and I played whiffle ball every day on John’s front lawn. We also spent a lot of time playing basketball on Adam’s driveway. As we aged, we would shag fly balls in the street in front of my house. When we reached the age of 8, all three of us collected baseball cards and would walk down to the neighborhood pharmacy together to purchase cards, then walk back to either one of our houses, open the packs and trade. By age 10, we played on the same little league team. At age 12, we attended card shows together. Those were glorious days. Some of the best I ever had. I really miss the 1970's. 

I still live near Adam and see him occasionally. John lives out in Vegas and I have not seen him in years. I had never met Dylan before today and was so pleased to meet him. Adam also has two daughters, one of whom is married. Dylan was accompanied by his brother in-law. Nice kid too. 

I was in a much better mood at the end of the day Wednesday than I was to start the day. But, man, was I tired! Did I say that the first day of the National is a killer!

Let’s see if I can remember all the great folks I saw on Wednesday. I saw Jeff T., who said he was set up with Dell. There was Andy from Orlando. I saw Mike Johnson while I was loading in. He looked like he was struggling with the heat as well. I saw quite a few folks I know from the Orland show like Derek and some others. I met Record Store Steve’s son. I had seen him at the Orland show but never actually met him.

I saw this one guy I met years ago at the Fred Copp shows. He was regular with his wife. Of course, I can’t remember his name. I saw Mike from Cleveland. Quite a few guys recognized me from the Strongsville show. I saw my pals John and Mike, who promote the Rockford and Janesville shows. 

I observed that all the OBC guys seemed to have updated their gear. Some of those older hats and shirts were starting to get ratty. The new hats look nice. I saw a large number of Wisconsin people like Al, Jack, Jim, big Nelson and many, many others. Lowball Lonnie from Indiana was there and actually purchased a card. Of course, he tried to lowball me on it but I would not budge and he eventually paid my price.

There was a huge contingency of folks from the St. Louis area. Seemed like everyone was looking for Red Schoendienst and Enos Slaughter cards. Quite a few folks asked if I had any Kellogg’s cards. Seemed like the number one request was for National Chicle football cards from the 1930’s. Of course there was the obligatory requests for Cobb and Ruth. There was also a large contingency of Cleveland collectors looking for Jim Brown.

I met folks from all over the country from places like L.A., Houston, Colorado Springs, Arkansas, Oklahoma, many people from Minnesota (I sold all my Harmon Killebrews), Iowa, Louisiana, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Nashville, Michigan, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh (I sold all of my Roberto Clementes), Florida, and Georgia. The National is truly a “National” event.

After the show on Wednesday, Jim Z. offered to buy me dinner. I chose my go-to late-night place, the Omega Diner in nearby Niles. We had a nice meal at the Omega. I went with a patty melt. Scott had chicken parmesan. Jim had fish and chips. The Omega is always solid.

After dinner, we went back to my place. The wife had put some bedding and pillows on some couches for Scott and Jim, who were spending the night. They wanted to go down into the card bunker but I was too embarrassed to take them down there. It is just a mess. I need to stop buying cards. You can’t even walk around the bunker these days.

I popped my bedtime meds and hit the sack around 11 p.m. I had a hard time falling asleep. I was too wired from the first day of the show. It was a rough night.

Anyway, the first day of the National was a wrap. Sales were slow, despite a really large crowd. Dave seemed to do okay. It looked like Scott was busy. PJ said he had his best day at the National ever. I am not sure why my sales were so lousy. I'm not sure what I could do differently to spur sales. Dave said the first day of the National is always his best. Scott said the first and last days are always his worst. I do not have a pattern. It is different each year. I was really surprised that my sales were poor but not discouraged.

I owe you a bunch more blogs on the National. Before I provide more blogs, I just want to remind you that the Oak Creek show is coming up this Saturday, August 5, 2023, at the Salvation Army Community Center, 8853 S. Howell, Oak Creek, WI. I have sold out all 180 tables and am adding new dealers to my waiting list. This should be a great show! Shawn is back with his unopened wax from the 1970’s. Big Tommy Larson is setting up with all his Ruths, Gehrigs, Cobbs and Mantles. Come on out!!

Pictured below are some scenes around the booth before the mass hoards were allowed into the building. It was the quiet before the storm.

Pictured above is Scott's portion of the booth in the foreground and PJ's portion of the booth in the background. Across from PJ was an artist selling his work. He had a very pretty lady working the booth all week, which we much appreciated.

Pictured above is Fiterman Sports Group which was on the other side of my portion of the booth. I spent much of the week mulling over how to pronounce "Fiterman." Was it Fight Er Man or Fitt Er Man? Does anyone know?

Pictured above are four of my display cases. I was able to place out a total of 10 display cases after only having room for seven in Atlantic City last year. It helped that none of our neighbors pinched our space this year. Also, PJ gave me some solid advice on how to set up my portion of the booth for maximum use of the space.

Sunday, July 16, 2023, Civic Center, Orland Park, IL

Woke up in Michigan at 6 a.m. By 7 a.m. I had stopped for gas and paid $3.59 a gallon, a little cheaper than Woodman's in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, my regular spot. I arrived at the Civic Center at 8:15 a.m. I was surprised at the traffic the whole way on this Sunday morning. Why so much traffic?

I loaded in the same stuff I brought out yesterday to the Michigan City show. Though, I have more space in Orland, so I brought in more binders I had stored in the car. Sparse crowd early on which seems to be the trend in Orland. The crowd picked up significantly as the day went on.

I observed that Terry moved down to Jim's tables, as Jim is no longer setting up. Though he did attend and it was nice to see him. Set up next to me was Tommy Larson, who pretty much has the best cards out of anyone in Illinois. Tommy does not set up regularly but if you happen to catch him, you must stop to check out his stuff -- it is just awesome!

My pal Paul was there early. We had talked on Friday and I knew he was coming. Then Will and Joe showed up and it was like old times. Paul, Will, Joe and I have been hanging out together at the Orland show for a good 25 years. Paul doesn't always come out these days, so I appreciate the times he does attend.

Will brought me a sausage McMuffin and some coffee. The kind lady that operates the concession stand brought me some diet sodas. Man, all was right in the world Sunday at the Orland Park Card Show!

A nice crowd of the usual suspects soon arrived and pulled out their lists and started paging through the binders. A couple of guys, whose names escape me, purchased some cards. Andy bought some cards. Mike purchased cards and also gave me some money to have lunch with my son when I take him out to Michigan State University. Thanks Mike! Turns out Mike is a Michigan State Alumni. How cool is that!  My wife and I are bringing my son out to Michigan State next month. 

Oh, it is going to be tough to see him go. He is such a good kid. I am so lucky. He just learned that he is sharing a dorm room with three other guys. He showed me photos of the dorm room online. It looks really nice. Each guy has a bunk bed with a desk under it. They also have a bathroom, closet, dresser and a separate room with a couch, TV, minifridge and microwave. Looks like a nice set up for a group of 18 year-olds. I told my son he better keep that bathroom clean. I know from experience how those college bathrooms can get nasty in a hurry.

Back at the Orland show, I was busy all day long, unlike yesterday in Michigan City where I just sat around and priced cards all day. Now, if I could only remember who else purchased cards. Let's see... Chris was the first to crack open my newly reloaded 1964 Topps baseball binder. Chris is another Orland regular who I have known for a good 25 years. He always has something interesting for me. Today, he told me about the "Immaculate Grid," which is an online game from baseball reference. So with Immaculate Grid, each morning there is a new grid with 9 open spaces. You have to guess which players played on multiple teams throughout the history of MLB. I just popped it up on my screen and today it starts with a player that played for both the Yankees and the Phillies. Didn't Oscar Gamble play on both those teams? I'll type his name in the grid. Woot! I was right. Then it shows you how many people chose your guy. Just 2% chose Gamble. Pretty cool!

​That one couple that has been working on the 1977 Topps baseball set started on the 1978 Topps set and purchased a few cards today. Will started working on the 1971-72 Topps basketball set and pulled a pile. Thanks Will! A new customer purchased a 1987 Topps wax box along with a dozen or so unopened packs from the 1980's. I had a few young guys come by throughout the day and purchase some of my packs.

The one guy who has been buying 1972 Topps baseball from me for the past several years, pulled some more today. There is one guy who keeps asking for 1969 Topps baseball. I sold the whole binder a while ago. I really need to start on a new one. He did find some other cards to purchase. A new customer purchased some Exhibit cards. I have not seen Minnanette in a while. She was today's big winner and purchased piles of stuff. Thanks Minnanette!

I know a bunch more folks purchased cards but I can't seem to remember. I appreciate you all. Thank you!

On the buying front, I was not really looking to buy because I want to have some cash in my pockets at the National in a couple of weeks. A few things came by but were priced too high. My old friend Joe brought me three large boxes of cards from the early 1990's. While I don't normally like cards from this era, I took these ones because the price was right -- FREE! Thanks Joe!

It was nice to see Mike Johnson at the end of the day. Mike lives up north in Wisconsin but was in Aurora, Illinois, this weekend fixing up his uncle's condo and decided to come out to the show. Thanks for hanging out Mike!

Once again, I had a really nice day at the Orland Park card show. I just love this show. Great folks operate the show. The other dealers are awesome and all the customers are terrific. 

Thank  you everybody for just a wonderful day!

It was nice to cap things off with Will and Joe at the sub shop after the show. I went with the shrimp this time. Will did a meatball sandwich and Joe went with a cheesy beef. Props to the sub shop which is always solid.

Next Orland Park show is slated for August 20, 2023. I will be there! 

In the meantime, it is my favorite time of the year -- NATTY TIME!  I will be in booths 2716 and 2617. I am pricing cards like crazy for the show. I'm bringing out display cases. Hope to have room for seven to 10 of them. I won't really know until I set up. Show goes from July 26 through July 30 at the Stephens Center in Rosemont, Illinois. Hope to see you there.

Also, the next Oak Creek show is slated from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Salvation Army Community Center, 8853 S. Howell, in beautiful Oak Creek, Wisconsin. I have currently sold 178 tables and expect to sell out shortly at 180 tables. I am not sure if any of my newer dealers read this blog but if you do, could you please confirm for the August 5 show? I have a lot of dealer interest. Should be a good one.

Happy collecting my fellow card addicts!

Saturday, July 15, 2023, FOP Lodge, Michigan City, Indiana

I worked all day Friday then loaded up the car and drove out to Michigan to spend the night at my folks' house near New Buffalo. Horrible drive. Traffic was heavy.

Shortly after arrival, my dad drove my mom and I out to Portofino Grill in LaPorte, Indiana. The Portofino Grill is on a golf course and has both inside and outside seating. Dad said that he brings his cat sometimes and sits outside with the cat and eats at Portofino's. 

I was glad we did not bring the cat and ate inside because it was too hot and humid to be outside. The inside is nice. Fancy dining area with an adjacent bar with the White Sox game on TV. My kind of menu with steaks and chops. I went with the prime rib, pictured above, house cut, which was 16 ounces. They had a 21-ounce cut but I did not think I could finish it. Dad went with a New York strip. Mom went with the salmon.

My prime rib was delicious. Cooked medium rare, the way I like it. I got a side of grilled asparagus and ate every last drop of the whole meal. Dad finished off his steak and boiled potatoes. He had ordered a baked potato but our waitress was flighty and she brought him boiled potatoes instead. Dad likes to give waitstaff hell, much to my chagrin. I was thankful he was relatively kind to the young woman serving us. Mom did not like her salmon. It looked good to me but she was adamant that it was horrible. I hope she forgets about it because I'd like to come back to the Portofino Grill and try a steak next time.

Once back at the house, I had a tough time falling asleep that night because the air conditioning does not work at my parent's house. It was soooo hot in there! My dad is the worst at maintaining a home. Growing up, he never fixed anything. My kids would probably say the same thing about me, even though my A/C works perfectly while dad really needs to get his fixed. I got an A/C guy, I wonder if he'd come out to New Buffalo?

Anyway, I set my alarm on my phone for 6 a.m. which was a little complicated because we were right on the border of the Central and Eastern time zones in New Buffalo. I observed that my phone will fluctuate between both times zones when I'm there. So I was not entirely sure if I was going to wake up inside the Central or Eastern time zone. Turns out it was Central while the show operator used Eastern. I thought I might be running late but not too bad.

Dad was setting up with me and he likes to arrive early so he was a little annoyed. Turned out we were crazy early. Inside the hall when we arrived it looked like a couple dealers had set up the night before then there were just two or three other guys setting up. The rest of the tables were empty.

While loading in, I met promoter Mike Moldenhauer, who was real attentive. He stopped by our tables a few times to see how we were doing during the show. Then, around noon, Mike purchased McDonald's cheeseburgers for all the dealers. I like Mike Moldenhauer!

I had two tables while dad had one. I put out all of my baseball binders and the wax I had brought out last weekend to the flea market. With this being my first time at the FOP show, I did not really know what to bring out. Dad had two display cases and all sorts memorabilia. He's a garage sale/flea market nut and goes most weekends. He was selling the sports stuff he picked up at the sales.

The rest of the vendors arrived a good hour after we did. I knew several of them. Two of the vendors had set up in Oak Creek while one guy I knew from Orland. The rest I had never seen before.

I was impressed with the inventory in the room. Lots of vintage cards which is what I like! I figured with so much vintage, we would have a nice turn out of vintage collectors. No such luck. Show opened at 9 a.m. I don't think I had my first sale until 11 a.m. I ended up with just three sales. Dad had two sales. We still made plenty to cover the cost of the tables which were crazy cheap at just $20 each.

I spent most of the day pricing the remaining cards to fill my 1964 Topps baseball binder. So it was productive, even though my sales were poor. 

Regardless, I did enjoy myself because it was a freakin' card show. If you can't have fun at a card show then there is something wrong with you! My pal Mike drove in from the Chicago suburbs. Thanks Mike! I saw Bob Lucas and a couple of customers I recognized from Bob's Lake Station show. One of which was the famous Lowball Lonnie. Turns out Lowball Lonnie's real name is Joe and he knows my dad. The other Lake Station guy was Flaky Frank. Neither Lowball Lonnie nor Flaky Frank purchased any cards from dad or I. When I told dad how I dubbed Joe as Lowball Lonnie, he had a good laugh.

Then I met this older couple. The husband grew up in LaPorte while the wife was from California. They have a place nearby but spend most of their time living in California. The wife told me her husband is 80 years old. My dad is 86, so these contemporaries enjoyed talking with each other. After a while, the husband came over and showed me some of his childhood cards. He told me the name of the LaPorte pharmacy where he purchased cards from 1952 to 1956. While the building still stands, it is no longer occupied by a pharmacy.

Anyway, he showed me a beautiful 1954 Topps Jackie Robinson, a 1953 Topps Yogi Berra and a 1952 Topps Richie Ashburn. He wondered if he should get them graded. I advised that he indeed should get those cards graded. He had some money there. 

Interestingly, he said only one store in LaPorte carried Bowman baseball cards in the 1950's. He said many stores carried the Topps cards. However, by the fall, none of the stores in LaPorte carried the last series, so he was never able to purchase the high numbers as a kid.

Many stories were told on this day, most by my dad, who is quite the storyteller. Mike sat down and chatted with him for a while. He regaled many others with tales about his pal Ernie Banks. Dad and Ernie were close friends and hung out together often. They went out to dinner regularly and also went on vacation together. 

Unfortunately, dad never took me along when he hung out with Ernie. Only time I got to see him was when I had to go to Ernie's condo on the Lakefront in Chicago to drop off some paperwork, as my dad was also his lawyer.

One time in the early 1980's, Ernie wanted to play me in racquetball. He and dad played regularly but dad was poor competition, so Ernie wanted to give me a try. Unfortunately, Ernie wanted to play at 6 a.m. As you know, I am not an early riser, and was worse as a teenager in the early 1980's. I wanted to play racquetball with Ernie but could never wake up early enough! I can kick myself now. I was a dumb kid!

Anyway, for lunch, I had a chicken taco from the concession stand. Dad had a hot dog. Neither of us partook in the free Mickey D's cheeseburgers. I can't eat cheese and dad was filled up from the hot dog. Though, I still appreciate the gesture! 

Overall, I really like this show. Everybody was really pleasant. The promoter Mike is a great guy. I thought attendance was decent. I might give it another try down the road. I don't think dad will set up with me but maybe he'd come and hang out.

After the show, we went over to Timothy's in New Buffalo. Timothy's is a regular stop for my folks. We eat there most every time I come out to see them. It is an excellent restaurant. It is a little pricey but the food is worth it. I had fish and chips. Dad had halibut in a cream sauce while mom had shrimp scampi. My fish and chips were excellent. The fish was fresh and tender. Dad seemed to like his halibut and mom liked her shrimp. 

I may not have sold many cards in Michigan City but I had a nice couple of days with my folks. So, I definitely, gotta do this again. 

It was a double bill weekend with Orland on Sunday. Orland blog coming soon.

I don't have any shows coming up this weekend, July 22 and 23. There really aren't any shows to do nearby. I'd have to drive at least two hours away if I wanted to set up anywhere this weekend. So, with the National coming up, next weekend, I think it is best that I rest up. I recognize that I just can't go like I used to, even though I really want to! I'll just stay home and prep for the National this weekend.

Speaking of the National, I am sharing booths 3716 and 3617 with my pals Dave McDonald, Paul "PJ" Balistreri and Scott Ziegert. As you know, I freaking love the National. There is nothing quite like it!

Then the weekend after the National, I better find some energy because the Oak Creek show is August 5. Dealer spaces are filling up fast. I should have 180 tables sold out for that show. Woot!

Hey! My blog did not get one comment in Michigan City. Do I have any blog followers in that area?

​Anyway, see you at the National!!!

Below are some photos from the Michigan City show.

Pictured below is my dad telling his tales about Ernie Banks.

Pictured below is an old photo of my dad with Ernie Banks. That is my mom smiling in the background.

Sunday, July 9, 2023, Wilmot Flea Market, Wilmot, WI

I attempted to set up at Wilmot earlier in the spring but each day was drowned out by rain. Finally, a dry day where I had nothing to do!

It has been a couple of years since I was last set up at Wilmot. I tried to make it last year, but again, rain ruined my plans. I have been setting up at this flea market sporadically for years. 

I have a long history of setting up at flea markets. My dad used to load up the family station again in 1978, when I was 12, and set me up at the Twin Drive-In Flea Market in Wheeling, Illinois. Those were glorious days when there were more than a dozen vendors selling sports cards along with dozens upon dozens of customers looking for cards. I made a killing as a 12-year-old! As a result, I have always had a love and a passion for flea markets.

The Wilmot Flea Market is the closest thing I have found to the old Twin Flea Market. JR and Chris K. were also set up in Wilmot on Sunday, so there were at least three of us selling cards. I must have run into 10 or so guys I knew from card shows like Scotty P., Keith K., Andy, Donny, Bill, Kevin (nice to meet your wife!), Malcolm, and one guy I met years ago at the Fred Copp shows but I've forgotten his name.

The beauty of the flea market is I can sell much more than cards. I brought out some old kids clothes, toys, books, stuffed animals, some of my wife's old jewelry and other assorted junk.

Scotty P. was the big winner and purchased several boxes of old wax. Thanks Scotty! I brought out a lot of wax because I sold out last time I was set up. No such luck today. My best seller was my kids' stuffed animals. I had dozens of them to start the day and went home with just three or four. They were selling so well that the vendor next to me ran over to ask what was going on. I told him I had no idea. I was only selling them for $1 each because I wanted to get rid of them. I know I paid a lot more than $1 for them, so maybe my cheap price drew people in.

While I do love the flea market, it is a looong day starting Saturday when I was busy pricing stuff and loading the car. I was up at 4 a.m. on Sunday. I almost stayed in bed. It sure was tough to get going!

I made it to Wilmot in about 40 minutes, arriving around 5:40 a.m. There was a small line of vendors ahead of me. I was hoping to get a spot up front or way in the back. I like to be in an area where there are bunches of vendors. The Wilmot layout is weird and many vendors are located off the beaten path. I did not get the front or the back, they gave me the middle, which wasn't so bad. I was close to the concessions and the bathrooms.

The price of space has gone up since my last visit when it was just $25. It costs $35 now. Still a bargain when I consider I was able to put out 9 or 10 tables of stuff.

So I had an old guy that drove a 1950's hotrod set up on my left, a young couple on my right (I loved the dude's mullet), and an old, old guy across from me. On the other side of hotrod guy was a loud guy. There are always loud vendors at the flea market. I do expect it but I still find them annoying. This one loud guy was especially annoying. I could hear every word he said all day long. His voice projected, overtaking my serenity, then rattled around in my head.

I could not help but learn that he worked a catering gig the night before and recovered some cupcakes that were going to be thrown out. He offered everyone who walked by a cupcake. There was something not right about the guy and I would never accept a cupcake or anything from him.

Unfortunately, a steady stream a kids showed up at my tables with cupcakes in hand and had the need to touch my stuff with frosting-laden fingers. In addition, this flea market has as full bar and people came by all day long with beers and cocktails and set them down on my tables. Years ago, I had a guy spill a can of pop on my binders in Orland so I hate when folks place their drinks on my tables. On top of it, most of these folks were snockered. I have to admit that I did consider getting a bloody Mary but I knew it would just dehydrate me in this heat, so I held off.

Anyway, it seemed like hotrod guy did not sell much. Loud guy certainly did not sell much, as I could hear him bitching about it all day long. Mullet guy sold some stuff. Old, old guy did very well.

When old, old guy started to pack up, I followed suit while Mullet, hotrod and loud guy kept trying to sell. I heard loud guy (how could I not?) turn down an offer on something. When the buyer made it down by me, loud guy started talking trash about him. Customer told him to $#@% Off! Loud guy came running and got into his grill. I thought these two idiots were going to throw punches. I started to debate with myself about breaking it up or not. After a heated exchange, the customer walked away and loud guy went back to his tables and got even louder. Ugh!

I could not pack up fast enough. I had had enough of loud guy, though, despite him it was a relatively pleasant day. The weather was perfect. Scotty got me some water. Andy got me some coffee. Keith watched my stuff a few times so I could take bathroom breaks. Thanks guys! So despite loud guy, I did have fun. The weather was absolutely beautiful which may have kept some people away. I thought the crowd was a little thin.

I am pondering heading back to Wilmot in two weeks when I have another free Sunday. Though, I don't think I could deal with loud guy again. I might seek out a different flea market, one that may be a little more peaceful!

I am back at card shows next weekend - a double bill. I am trucking out to Michigan City, Indiana, on Saturday, July 15, and setting up for the first time at the FOP Lodge show. I reserved an extra table for my 86 year-old dad who has all sorts of sports-related junk. It should be fun to hang out with my dad. 

Then on Sunday, July 16, I am back at the Orland show after missing the June show. I am looking forward to Orland and hanging out with my pals Will and Joe. I plan on bringing binders to both shows. I am furiously working on my 1964 Topps baseball binder and hope to have it reloaded by Saturday.

The next Oak Creek show is coming up on August 5. My phone has been ringing off the hook. I hope to start returning all the messages soon. Please be patient with me!

Have a great week everybody!

July 1, 2023, Salvation Army Community Center, Oak Creek, WI

An incredible amount of work went into this one starting with a ton of paperwork thanks to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. I still have not finished up the paperwork from the June show. I hope to have it done this week then it is on to the paperwork for the July show. Ugh!

Seems like I spent every minute of every day since the June show talking with dealers and potential dealers. A lot of my regular dealers had other plans for the holiday weekend. Then I had a nice number of new dealers that wanted to set up. Then there is the ongoing problem of dealers cancelling either the day before, or on the day of the show, or just not showing up. To those dealers, I say: YOU SUCK! I don't want you setting up at my show if you are going to pull this shite.

Then I spent a ton of time in June promoting the July show. I thought attendance would suffer due to the holiday weekend and other competing shows. Well, my hard work paid off because we had 600 people through the door, the same number as June. I was so relieved and happy. A huge thank you to everyone who attended the show. You guys rule!

As usual, Lisa and I drove up Friday night. There is a sweet young lady who sets up the show for us, I forget her name. She did a much better job this month. It is a confusing set up. Lisa and I come in after she sets it up to fix things to my liking and to place out more than 100 dealer name plates and a dealer newsletter. It took us about three and half hours, which was quicker than any previous month.

Our pal Bronko showed up to help. Thanks Bronko! He was also able to set up his tables as well. I am thinking of allowing guys who bring their own tables to come in Friday night to set them up if they want. Load in is such a cluster@#$% that we need to have some people set up early to ease things on Saturday morning. The Salvation Army has blocked off the front of the building, which hampers load in. So maybe we can ease this up by a Friday night load in.

I was set up in the Chapel this month. With a bunch of last-minute cancellations, I gave myself a large space. I was able to put out all of my binders. Business was brisk early on. One of my favorites, who I have known since the Gonzaga Hall days, Dean, purchased a nice pile of 1953 Topps baseball. Thanks Dean!

For the second month in a row, I got to see another Gonzaga regular Jeff. Thanks for coming Jeff and purchasing a pile of cards! There are so many regulars that I enjoy seeing like Mark, Bruce, Bob, Robert, Eddie, Dennis, Eric, Larry, Mike, Jack, Craig and Doreen, George and Kristy, Steve, John, Anthony D., Joe, and many others. Thanks for coming out!!

Lisa has decided that she will be the one to collect table fee from the dealers so I can stay at the tables and sell cards. That woman is worth her weight in gold! I enjoy the show so much more when I get to stay at the tables, chat, and sell cards.

Another benefit of staying at the tables is it increases my buys. I bought a TON of stuff at this show! It was awesome! A long-time customer brought me two large bags of cards along with some baseball books from the 1960's. One of my T206 guys was there and I picked up a few more. Then I purchased a 1962 Topps Jim Brown from Larry. Thank you everybody! It was a nice haul!!

Everybody was talking about new dealer Shawn who had unopened wax from the 1970's. Did you see his tables? It was pretty cool!

I had a chance to chat with dealer Tom Daniels, which is always fun. Tom and his wife Anita are known across the country, having set up at every single National. Tom told me he attended his first card show in 1974. By 1975, he was placing ads and buying collections. He was also one of the first members of the Wisconsin Sports Collectors Association (WSCA) -- a group that is still active today and promotes the bi-monthly show at the Roma Lodge in Racine. Next Roma Lodge show is Sunday, August 20, 2023.

Recently, I purchased a WSCA show program from 1977 on eBay. The program is cool! There are a bunch of hobby-related articles in there but many of them fail to state who wrote them. I am pretty sure Tom wrote one of them because the article mentions his travels with his wife Anita. I asked Tom about it but he could not remember. I need to bring the program to the August 5th Oak Creek show and show it to him, maybe he will remember upon seeing the article.

Anyway, I about drooled all over myself when Tom told me about the deals he had in the 1970's. He told me he purchased a collection of 1952 Topps that included a Mickey Mantle for 10-cents a card! Yes, he purchased a '52 Mantle for just 10 cents!! He told me he sold the Mantle in the late '70's for $250. Oh my!

He has endless stories. He told me that in the mid-1970's, he picked up 15 sets of 1953 Topps baseball for about $150. Can you imagine? I need to find some time to sit down with Tom and get all of this stuff documented!!

I am sorry to report that I am losing two regular dealers who I really, really like -- Maria and Josh. Maria is moving to Colorado. She has been selling Pokémon at the show for years. Good luck in Colorado Maria! Then my pal Josh is cutting back his show schedule. Josh, his wife Kelly and son Conner have been regular fixtures at the show for a long time. Josh also sells Pokémon. I am going to miss you guys!

Unfortunately, there has been a revolving door of dealers since I started the show almost 10 years ago. I hate to lose the long-time dealers but it is cool to see new dealers and their inventories like the amazing stuff on Shawn's tables.

Regardless of the revolving dealer door, attendance has been excellent! The support for this show is just outstanding. I appreciate you all!

Next Oak Creek show is August 5. This is going to be another difficult one for me to manage with tons of dealers returning after sitting out July and a whole new large roster of new dealers. Expect a packed house of dealers for the August show! Hopefully, I can figure out how to fit everyone in!!

I don't have a show scheduled to set up at until Orland on July 16. I may add a show before hand or may pop up at a flea market.

As you know, the National is coming to Rosemont, Illinois, at the end of the month and I'll be set up with the usual suspects in Dave, PJ and Scott. I am working on pricing cards for the National. 

Oddly, each year as the National approaches, I tend to have nightmares about the show. Last year, I had these reoccurring dreams where my booth was located in an odd spot and no one purchased any cards. Lately, I have been having this really weird dream where I set up at the National on Wednesday then forget about the show on Thursday and Friday, go hang out with friends, then go back on Saturday. Weird! What does this mean?

Anyway, I am looking forward to the National. It is always a great time!! No more nightmares, please!!

A quick shout out to my pal Mark, who runs things at the Salvation Army for us. His sweet wife Deb is having some health issues and we are sending good vibes her way!! Also, many thanks to the volunteers who collect admission fee, who work the concession stand and those who take down the tables and chairs and clean up after us at the end of the day. You guys are the best! Most of all, THANK YOU for attending the Oak Creek show!!! 

See you soon!

Below are photos Lisa and I took at the July 1 Salvation Army show. Enjoy!

Below are some pictures of the unopened vintage wax on Shawn's table. Shawn will be at the August 5th show. Come on out!

Saturday, June 24, 2023, Lansing Mall, Lansing, MI

I was able to convince my son to travel to Lansing with me by promising a visit to East Lansing and the campus of Michigan State University where he will attend college this fall. I worked all day Friday, came home, ate dinner, loaded up the car and hit the road for Lansing around 7 p.m.

We lucked out because traffic was not bad at all, unlike last week when drove out this way to visit my dad for Father's Day and traffic was brutal. We thought about spending the night with my folks but their house in New Buffalo, Michigan, is still a good two hours away from Lansing. We made it to New Buffalo in an hour and a half and decided to keep driving to Lansing.

We stopped for Taco Bell around 10 p.m. then drove another hour until we hit Charlotte, Michigan, which is nearby Lansing. We spent the night at an America's Best Inn which was a little pricey for the quality. Though, we had an easy drive to the mall in the morning.

When I drove into the mall parking lot, I spotted dealers loading in and followed them inside. I went over to Avery's Shoebox Cards, an amazing card shop located in the mall. The shop is huge and has everything, both sports and non-sports, memorabilia and more. The owner Dennis is the promoter of this show. I asked the kind lady behind the counter to direct me to Dennis, and she happily complied.

It was nice to meet Dennis, who told me his all-time favorite baseball player is Christy Mathewson. Dennis directed me to my tables and when he saw my pre-War cards, he asked if I had a Matty. Unfortunately, I have never had a Matty but would love one! Dennis said he really wants a 1915 Cracker Jack Matty but apparently they are selling for around $30K. I have seen T205 low grade Matty's go for around $1,000.00. Hopefully, I can pick one of those up some time.

Anyway, load in was easy but set up was a little aggravating. I was pleased that I had two eight-foot tables that could fit the eight display cases I brought along. I initially was going to bring out binders but chose to do display cases because they are much lighter than the bins of binders. I had some minor surgery on the Wednesday prior to the show and my doctor advised me to avoid heavy lifting for the next week.

Anyway, when I finished loading up my very first case and had seven more still to load, customers started coming around and asking to see cards in the lone case. I had to shoo them away. Let me set up!

The show does not officially open until 10 a.m. I started loading my cases around 9 a.m. and people came by one after another to see cards while I was filling the cases. This just drives me nuts because if I start showing cards, I will never finish loading all the cases. I need folks to stay away until I finish loading the cases. I prefer customers to come to my table when the show opens, not prior when I am setting up. This drives me absolutely crazy!

Also, I am not a morning person and just don't have my shite together in the a.m. So, I prefer to set up at my leisure but when people are in my face first thing, I feel pressure to set up as quickly as possible, which I did on this morning.

So I was slammed in the weeds early on with all these people that stopped by my tables two or three times prior to me setting up. To a man, none of them purchased any cards! WTF!! I think they just wanted to aggravate me and waste my time. I received a few low-ball offers. No thanks.

After the initial early-bird, a-hole, crowd left, the real customers stopped by and sales were brisk. I spent a lot of time with one collector who went through all eight display cases and pulled out a small pile of cards. He wanted a discount, of course, but was not outrageous, so we came to an agreement. Both parties happy.

I am always happy when I sell cards from the 1970's because they are so easy to obtain and my profit margin is the largest on that era. One customer took my 1968, 1978 and 1979 Pete Rose cards and did not ask for much of a discount. Woot!

Another customer purchased my 1960 Topps Frank Robinson and Eddie Mathews. I had a bunch of guys purchase Tigers. I was super happy when a customer purchased several Richie Ashburn and Robin Roberts cards. As I have stated in previous blogs, I have the hardest time selling Ashburn and Roberts. Any sale of those guys is a huge bonus. Woot!

My tables were located near the main entrance which was much appreciated but the lighting was absolutely terrible. Also, whoever is in charge of the air conditioning must have woke up late because the first hour or so was extremely hot and stuffy. With the diabetes, I do not do well in heat. I was starting to fade.

The boy watched the tables while I went out on a search for food. I figured some sustenance might help give me an energy boost. I got a good view of the show and the mall while looking for food. The Lansing Mall is like most any mall these days, mostly empty of stores. I observed a few oddball shops worth mentioning, like the "Daily Dealz" discount store -- what a freaky place! It looked like they were selling stuff they garbage picked or stole some Amazon boxes off people's porches. No joke! Items were sitting out on display still in the Amazon box with the label peeled off. Hmmmm.

There was another shop that sold souped up golf carts. Yes, you read that right, souped up golf carts. They were cool. I wish I had more time to explore that store a little longer.

The card show seemed to cover most of the mall. My area had the most dealers but there were dealers along the whole walk to the food court. I observed that the dealers by the food court had much better lighting.

The food court only had two restaurants -- a Mexican restaurant and a pizza place. I try to avoid pizza due to my lactose issues, so I went with the Mexican. I am a huge fan of Mexican food. I ordered a steak taco dinner for me and chicken enchiladas for the boy. My tacos were Mexican street style and delicious! The boy did not seem to like the chicken enchiladas. They looked good to me but he was disappointed that they were not covered in mole' sauce.

Sales continued when I returned to the tables with the food. I sold a 1955 Bowman Pee Wee Reese. I was surprised at the number of Cubs and White Sox fans I met in Lansing. I had figured that everyone was a Tigers fan. I sold a bunch of Billy Williams and Ron Santo cards. A few guys looked at my Nellie Fox cards but did not pull the trigger.

The crowd at my tables died down and I was able to eat my tacos in relative peace. I fell into a food coma after ingesting those tacos along with some rice and refried beans. I almost went under the tables to snooze a few times. I then found a pop machine and downed some diet Mountain Dew with much-needed caffein to stay awake.

Sales slowed up in the afternoon where I had a lot of lookers but few buyers. Nice crowd for most of the day. One of my afternoon customers was a regular at the Rosemont shows who I met years ago. He purchased a nice stack of 1957 Topps baseball. Of course, I have forgetton his name but it was really nice to see a familiar face. I also ran into one of the guys I regularly see in Orland who trucks in from this part of Michigan. He stopped to say hello.

Then I saw the Cardboard Brothers, Andrew and Jesse, who I know from my Oak Creek show. They saw my post on my Fat Daddy's Facebook Page and booked the Lansing Mall show as well. While I had a four-hour drive, theirs was five, coming from Wisconsin! They drove in Friday night as well. The Cardboard Brothers sell Pokémon and are two of the nicest guys you will ever meet. It was great to see them!

On the buying front, nothing, nada, nope, not going to do it, sorry. The only cards arriving at my tables for sale were seemingly endless Wander Franco cards brought by kids. One kid had a 1990 Topps Griffey Jr. that he thought was vintage. I tried to explain to him that I consider the '90 Griffey a new card and it is outside my purview. All I did was confuse him. Sorry kid!

There were a number of vintage dealers at the show. Most of their pricing was reasonable but not quite low enough where I could purchase a card then sell it for a profit -- which is generally the only method of purchase for me.

I do not know what time the show officially closed. I started to see a few dealers pack up around 2 p.m. and I followed suit as well as I had not had a sale in a while. We were out the door around 2:30 p.m. Most dealers were still set up but the crowd had thinned greatly. 

Overall, sales were okay, better than the previous three shows I had attended combined. So no complaints there. My only complaint is the heat! The mall started to heat up again in the afternoon and man, it was also hot outside! It was a relief to finish loading the car and crank the A/C. 

We decided to explore Lansing. The mall is on a street called Saginaw. I figured if I continued east on Saginaw I would hit East Lansing and the campus of Michigan State University. 

The area of Saginaw by the mall is filled with strip malls and big-box stores. There were also a lot of restaurants. As we continued east, the terrain became more urban, somewhat ghetto with houses boarded up and the only shops seemed to be liquor stores.

Soon we were back into strip mall land and the town of East Lansing. I saw a sign stating Downtown East Lansing to the right, I took a right and before I knew it, I was driving through the leafy campus of Michigan State University. What a beautiful campus! I love this place!

We parked in a parking garage on the north end of the campus and set out to find the Student Union where we planned to purchase some MSU swag. The union happened to be located right next to the parking garage. Easy peasy! I bought the boy a Spartan shirt while purchasing a Spartan baseball cap for myself. The gift shop in the union is really expensive. Next time, I need to find an off-campus shop for my swag.

We then tried to find the art museum but after walking around for a while in 90-degree heat, we decided to return to the parking garage and crank the A/C in the car. We drove around the campus for a while in the comfort of the air-conditioned car. This is a huge campus. They boy is going to have quite a lot of walking from the dorm to his classes this fall. Hope he is ready!

We did eventually find the art museum but it was closed, so we decided to find a place to get some dinner. We drove back toward the mall and onto Saginaw and found a Chinese buffet which both the boy and I enjoy. As much as I love my wife, we were thankful she was not with us because she does not share our love for the Chinese buffet. This was a good one. I could only put down three plates. Normally, I do five or six plates but I think the heat kind of killed my ability to suck down my normal number of plates.

We were on the highway heading home around 5 p.m. Traffic pretty much sucked the whole way. We thought about stopping to see my folks when we finally hit New Buffalo but agreed we were both too tired to stop and wanted to get home. We made it home around 9 p.m.

Looking back, I really enjoyed the show. The drive there was easy but the drive home seemed long and arduous. The next show at the Lansing Mall is on July 22 but I do not think I am ready for the four-hour drive again just yet. I will definitely set up at this show again, I just need to recover from the drive before I book another.

Next up for me is the mighty Oak Creek show coming up on July 1. I have a large number of new dealers scheduled to set up at the July 1 show. I can't wait to see what they bring out. Hope to see you July 1 at the Salvation Army Community Center, 8853 S. Howell, in beautiful Oak Creek, Wisconsin!

Pictured below is a shot from the darkness that was my tables at the Lansing Mall show.

Pictured below is the newest Michigan State Spartan! Look at the hair on that boy! I don't think he is going to go bald like his old man. Lucky kid!

Saturday, June 17, 2023, Cornerstone Pub, Oconomowoc, WI

This was my first time setting up at the Oconomowoc show, sponsored by Lake Country Cards. Unique to this show is its late start time of 1 p.m. which allowed me to take a leisurely morning. My wife cooked up eggs, bacon and some coffee. I chilled at home until about 10:30 a.m. then hit the road for Oconomowoc. It took about an hour and twenty minutes to get there from my house in northern Illinois.

This was my first time in Oconomowoc. I have passed by Oconomowoc while driving on I94 but never stopped before -- big mistake! What a beautiful town!

Oconomowoc sits on a large lake and is filled with old Victorian buildings and a great old-timey Downtown. I definitely took notes because I am coming back to wander around. I saw quite a few restaurants I want to try.

The Cornerstone Pub is huge with three floors. There is a great shaded side patio along the alley that was filled with customers the minute I arrived and when I departed.

The card show is on the second floor. There was an elevator to take my stuff up and down. The second floor has two rooms and a hallway full of dealers. Lorena, who operates Lake County Cards with her husband Tim, treated me so well! She gave me Tim's usual spot next to the main staircase where most people arrived. This was an excellent location and included two six-footers and a four-footer. I had more than enough space! 

I placed out six display cases and all of my basketball binders. With still more space available, I placed out a bunch of Exhibit cards. In the display cases, I placed out all of my 1970's baseball stars along with all of my football, basketball and hockey cards. I also had a little room left over so I placed out a few piles of graded cards.

Well, this was an absolutely beautiful summer day, so attendance was low with so many other activities going on. I observed that across the street and along the lakefront there were some bands playing and a bunch of food trucks -- looked like fun!

So, sales were down. I am not sure if this show attracts many vintage collectors. Looked like I was the only all-vintage dealer. My pal Scott Z. has quite a nice vintage inventory and he was set up in the main room. Ann Z. and her son were set up in the back room with a case or so of vintage.

It took a while to register a sale. I was getting nervous. My first sale was to a new customer who purchased a 1988-89 Fleer Michael Jordan. I have a ton of Jordan cards at home that I need to price and get out. I was regularly opening basketball wax during the late 1980's and throughout the 1990's, inspired by the success of Jordan and my hometown Chicago Bulls. However, for years afterwards, this stuff would not sell but there is definitely a demand for it now.

My next customer was Noah, who sets up at my show in Oak Creek, and he purchased my 1955 Bowman Chuck Badnarik. Then a long-time customer, whose name I always forget, sat down and pulled out a pile of 1971-72 Topps basketball. He told me he lives nearby in the town of Pewaukee which he said is very similar to Oconomowoc. So now I need to come back and check out both Pewaukee and Oconomowoc. He also told me he played basketball at Marquette in the early 1970's. I learn some neat stuff when shows are slow and there is time to chat! This was also my best sale of the day which I really appreciated.

Long-time customer Barry U. made an appearance and purchased my 1974 Topps O.J. Simpson. Barry told me he has completed all of the vintage Topps baseball sets and most of the vintage football sets. He just started working on 1970's football. It is always great to see Barry, who usually has an entertaining story for me. Thanks Barry!

Then my last sale of the day was to a customer I have seen elsewhere and he purchased a handful of 1971-72 basketball commons. Just not much doing on this day. I was hoping more of my regular Wisconsin customers would have attended the show, but no such luck.

I had a few guys low-ball me on some cards -- I was not interested in giving my cards away. One guy offered $300 for my 1956 Topps Jackie Robinson PSA 4. I had it priced at $600. One sold on eBay on June 19, 2023, for $679. I think my price is fair. I politely declined the awfully low offer.

I thought it was cool how dealer Eric U. set up earlier in the day in Madison then made it to Oconomowoc around 1 p.m. and set up here as well. I have always thought that this would be a great option for this show.

Another cool thing about this show is that the pub has waitresses working the second floor. It was awesome! I ordered a diet Coke early on and the pretty waitress kept it refilled all afternoon. I also ordered a burger that arrived lightning fast and was delicious. The burger and four or five Cokes only cost $13. 

On the buying front, I picked up a small box of vintage cards from a guy I have known forever, but, of course, cannot remember his name. The best card in the box was a 1974-75 Topps Julius Irving.

Another guy stopped by with a box of 1952 Topps. I started to drool until he told me he brought them out for Tim. I directed him to Tim's table and told him I would be interested in them all if Tim did not want them. Apparently, Tim took them because the guy did not return. Bummer!

Speaking of Tim, I enjoyed chatting with him along with several others like Scotty P., who said the COVID boom is over and we are back to the old days. I could not agree more as three out of the four shows I have set up at during June have been very slow.

It was tough leaving Oconomowoc after the show. I really wanted to kick back, eat some BBQ from the food trucks and watch some bands as the sun dropped down over the lake. But duty calls and I had to head home to pick up my daughter who has been working in the mall by my house. With BBQ on my mind, the wife and I went over to City Barbecue near the mall and dined on smoked brisket until it was time to go pick up the girl.

On Sunday we trucked out to New Buffalo, Michigan, to spend Father's Day with my dad. We had more BBQ at one of my all-time favorite places -- Smokin' Woodies in Sawyer, Michigan. Woody used to have a couple of restaurants in Chicago. I've known him for a good 30 years or so and he is still as entertaining as ever!

Great weekend! Hope everyone had an excellent Father's Day!!

Next up for me is the show at the Lansing Mall, in Lansing, Michigan, on Saturday, June 24, 2023. I cannot remember the last time I was set up in Michigan. I used to truck out there regularly back in the day and set up in Holland, Grand Rapids and Jackson. This will be my first show in Lansing. It is a large show and I am hoping there will be some vintage collectors there, otherwise, it could be another long day. 

Don't forget that the Oak Creek show is coming up on July 1, 2023. It is a rare occasion when I have dealer space available. Send me an email at abrandongordon@hotmail.com to reserve your space now!

Have a great week everybody!

Sunday, June 11, 2023, Roma Lodge, Racine, WI

I am surprised at how many people do not realize that the Roma Lodge show is the old Gonzaga Hall show run by the Wisconsin Sports Collectors Association (WSCA) -- an amazing group of guys and gals.

Keith, the prez of the WSCA, posted in his monthly newsletter that a breakfast buffet would be available during the show. Woot! I love breakfast buffets and was looking forward to this one all week. It did not disappoint! For 20 bucks, I was able to get all I could eat scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, boiled potatoes, hash browns, toast, and some amazingly delicious fried chicken. I also received bottomless coffee. Later in the day they added more lunch items. Apparently the breakfast buffet is available every Sunday at the Roma Lodge. Woot!

Man, it was cold, rainy and windy on Sunday. I was not prepared because the previous day was sunny and hot. So load in and load out was unpleasant. I brought all of my binders except for my older football along with four display cases.

Sales were disappointing. I think we lost some customers to the shows occurring in Schaumburg and Orland Park, Illinois. I sold a handful of cards. Robert purchased some cards. Donny purchased some 1971-72 Topps basketball. Several other guys made some purchases and that was about it. I sold nothing out of my display cases. 

With not much doing, I found myself talking about this new requirement from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, which is demanding that all show promoters file a report with the agency. One guy even tried to grab me while I was setting up to go discuss it with some random guy I did not know. First of all, don't expect me to do much of anything prior to the show because I NEED TO SET UP! Secondly, I really don't know much about this new requirement. I started filling out the paperwork after my Oak Creek show but I have a lot more to go! I am not an expert and I do not fully understand it. I recommend you direct all of your questions to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, especially if you are not a dealer at my show or any other show!!

In Darien, the day before, I was discussing this thing with Mike from the Janesville show who advised that I view the video that accompanied the email from the Department of Revenue. Keith reviewed the video as well and told me it is an hour long. I need to find some time to watch this thing. In the meantime, all I can do is turn over all the forms that dealers provided me in Oak Creek and turn over a list of all my vendors, as is required under this law.

I would really like to see officials from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue hold a town hall meeting on this thing because everyone has questions. Some are freaking out about it. I recommend everyone chill out. We will figure it out eventually and move on.

While my sales were non-existent Sunday, the Roma Lodge show serves more as a place to buy. I have made excellent buys at the last several Roma shows I attended and this one was no exception. I went home with four more slabbed T206 commons. Woot!

Next Roma Lodge show is August 20. I can't attend that one as it conflicts with Orland again. I am rotating between Orland and Roma when they conflict. So I skipped the June Orland for Roma and will in turn skip the August Roma for Orland. I'll next be back for the October 22 show at Roma Lodge. I hope the breakfast buffet is still happening in October and I hope my T206 guys are there!

Anyway, I did have a nice day and enjoyed myself. I was set up behind Nelson, one of my favorites. Nelson thinks the Wisconsin Department of Revenue is coming down on us because one if its employees could not obtain a table at my show, Roma, Madison or Janesville. In the grand scheme of things, it does not make a whole lot of sense. There is not much money being made at these shows lately. I hardly made a thing all weekend and spent 10 times the amount I took in from sales. I think most of us spend more than we make because this is a hobby... not a business! I, for one, do it for fun and really enjoy it. It is a shame that the State of Wisconsin is trying to throw a wrench into a great social event and wonderful hobby.

They won't stop me! Next up for me is the Oconomowoc show on Saturday, June 17. This will be my first time setting up at this one. I plan on bringing out all of my baseball binders. I should have 1953 Topps reloaded by then. I also plan on bringing three display cases. Let me know if you want me to bring something special.

Next Oak Creek show is coming up fast on July 1. I still have some dealer spots available. Send me an email if you are interested in setting up in Oak Creek.

Thanks for following along!

Pictured below are some of the goodies I brought out Sunday to Roma Lodge. I am not bringing this stuff out again until the National. I plan on bulking it up for the National as well. I think next week I will bring out 1970's baseball along with football.

Sorry for the glare. I could not seem to get a good shot without the glare.