Sunday, November 10, 2019, Gonzaga Hall, Milwaukee

Interstate 94 between Kenosha and Milwaukee is in perpetual construction hell. It seems like there are deadly crashes on I94 on a daily basis because of the hazardous conditions created by this construction. The construction lanes are too small and there is no shoulder, just concrete wall. Mac trucks stray from their lanes and you have to deal with nut jobs tailgating and speeding.

So my commute from Illinois to card shows in Milwaukee has been terrifying. I've resorted to taking back roads home because the afternoon drive is far more frightening than the morning drive.

I observed on my drive to Gonzaga on November 10 that the Ryan Road Exit is closed. Ryan is the Exit for my card show at the Salvation Army in Oak Creek, WI. The next open exit is Drexel, a few miles north.

I arrived at Gonzaga Hall around 8:05 a.m., thankfully in one piece. I decided to just bring out display cases this time around. I had my show at the Sal a week earlier and figured everyone in Milwaukee just saw my binders. I currently have 11 display cases. I
usually only bring out three to five cases. This is the first show that I have brought out all 11 cases. I wasn't sure if I had enough cards to fill all the cases but learned I could probably fill up two or three more cases.

The display cases took up most of my table space. I had a small amount of space where I was able to place my dime box and some publications. Quite a few folks asked for the binders. I will bring them out next month. Chuck from Fond Du Lac is working on building a 1958 Topps baseball set. He just about cleaned out all of my stars from the display case. At the start of the show he needed about 40 cards. When he stopped back at my table by the end of the show he needed just 7 cards.

Bill cleaned out most of my oddball cards and my 1958 Topps Mickey Mantle. A new customer purchased some T206s. Another new customer purchased several Ernie Banks cards. Terry picked up my 1964 Topps Mickey Mantle and 1969 Topps Nolan Ryan. He also returned several cards purchased in September.

Then there was a guy who I always considered a mope. I have seen him for years at all of the Milwaukee shows and he has never purchased anything from me. Today, however, I removed his mope status because he purchased several Willie Mays cards.

George purchased one of my publications with Eddie Mathews on the cover. My dime box got quite a work out. Larry found some cards. A few new customers pulled some cards. Then there was a guy who sat at the box for three hours, yes THREE hours. He pulled 150 cards.

I had many other sales and ended up having a very good day. Prior to the show I was worried that my sales would be poor because I did not bring any binders. Now I am thinking that I may have to scrap the binders and just bring out display case stuff because sales were up.

On the buying front, I took home quite a haul. I picked up a large pile of 1958 Topps commons and some 1959 Commons and stars including Duke Snider, Ernie Banks and Harmon Killebrew. I purchased some 1976-77 Topps hockey along with some 1951 Bowman football. The Bowmans are in bad shape but there are some big names in there. I also picked up a grouping of 1961 and 1962 Topps football. Then some random star cards like a 1966 Topps Fergie Jenkins rookie, a 1962 Topps Willie Mays, a 1973 Topps Hank Aaron, a 1966 Topps Yaz, and a 1957 Topps Tony Kubek rookie.

All in all it was a very good day. There was a real nice crowd. Keith said over 200 people. I am not quite sure what to bring out to the next Gonzaga show. Should I do display cases again or binders or both? I guess I have a month to figure it out.

In the meantime, I am setting up in Orland Park on Sunday, November 17, 2019. I am going to bring out a mix of binders and display cases. I should have my 1976 Topps baseball binder updated by then. I also realized I have an additional 1976 Topps baseball complete set, if anyone is interested.

It should be a fun time in Orland on Sunday. See you there!

Saturday, November 2, 2019, Salvation Army Community Center, Oak Creek, WI

Busy, busy. I was very busy leading up to the show. Many, many calls, texts and emails. I try to get back to everybody but the closer it gets to the show, the harder it is for me… especially the night before the show. As I stated last month, there is no need to call to confirm the show. I told one dealer at the show, this show is happening come hell or high water. I will be there. If I have health issues, you'll all get to meet my wife, she'll be there for me. I can understand if you are calling to confirm if there is a blizzard or a tornado or an alien invasion, but as a general rule, this show is always on.

So I worked all day Friday at my real job. Once home, I ate dinner then napped for a little while because I was dead tired from Halloween the night before and didn’t get much sleep that night. After napping, I went to Lowe’s to purchase a table. I’m donating a table to the Sal every month. Back at home I worked on turning a Cheese Balls container into a fundraiser container. I am trying to raise funds for the purchase of jerseys for the Salvation Army’s Youth Soccer League. I big THANK YOU to everyone who donated at the show!!!

Back to Friday night. I sent out my pre-show email. Priced some cards. Loaded my car and went to sleep. I know I missed some voicemails, emails and texts. Sorry! I just can’t respond the night before the show. Please contact me earlier in the week!!

I always get a little nervous the night before the show. I try my best to get the word out each month but I always wonder if anyone is going to show up. I had a really nice response from dealers for the November show with 31 in all and we had 60 tables. I knew I’d at least have 31 people in the room.
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Wow, I must be doing something right because we had a BIG crowd and people stayed well into the afternoon. I probably dropped about $300 that day on wax because attendance was so great and I wanted to make sure everyone received two free packs of cards. I haven’t received any reports of autograph pulls but quite a few folks pulled jersey cards.

Speaking of the free packs, this is something I do out of the kindness of my heart. I start to wonder whether I should keep it up when I have to deal with folks that take more than two. There was a father with his two sons, the kids were 11 or 12 years old. They probably took 10 packs each. They came back a few times. I explained it is just two per customer. The father said he had twins sleeping in the car with his wife and wanted packs for them. I said okay. Then the three went on a free for all and just starting grabbing packs and stuffing them into their pockets. While their paws were all over the boxes, I told them I spend a lot of money on the packs and there needs to be enough left for everyone not just them. They did not seem to care. I think I may have to start banning people that take advantage of my good nature. My wife suggested I take their photo and create a wall of shame. I just might do that! It sucks when a few bad apples ruin a good thing.

Other than these guys, the show was excellent. I don’t have any way to measure the crowd but I think we may have had a few hundred people. All the dealers seemed pretty happy. There was great stuff in the room! I had three wax dealers of which I was steadily purchasing boxes for my giveaway. There were quite a few modern dealers selling singles. A large number of vintage dealers as well. Tim Fritz had some 1914-15 Cracker Jacks in his display case, which you don’t see that often.

There were three new dealers with some really neat memorabilia. Tom Lalasz had some great old autographed photos, Ed Sadowsky had all sorts of old Braves stuff, and Andrew Weaver blew my mind with his display that included autographs of Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson, and Cy Young.

Needless to say, this was an awesome show. My sales were up from October and I made some really nice purchases including some 1953 Bowman football, about 150 1968 Topps baseball, and a 1964 Topps Tony LaRussa rookie and a ’64 Yaz.

As usual, I also stuffed my face at the concession stand. I downed a Polish sausage and a Brat.

All in all, this was a great show. I can’t say how pleased I am at the turn out. A lot of hard work and money goes into this show each month. It is all worth it when so many people come out. Thank you everybody!!

The next one should be great as well. Packer Hall-of-Famer Dave Robinson will be signing autographs at the December 7th show. Autographs cost $25 each and include Hall of Fame 2013 inscription. Each additional inscription is $15. A JSA Authentication is $8. Photos will be available for purchase. A $69 VIP Package includes a custom throwback jersey, autograph, inscription, and JSA authentication. Mail order prices are the same.
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In the meantime, the Gonzaga show is next weekend on Sunday, November 10. Sorry, I missed the last Gonzaga show. I took the family on a little trip to Galena for the three-day weekend. I will be at Gonzaga this Sunday and am leaning toward just bringing out display cases. If anyone wants to see a particular binder, let me know and I’ll bring it out.
Have a great week, see you at Gonzaga!

Sunday, October 27, 2019, Orland Park Civic Center

It has been about three weeks since I set up at a show, an unusual amount of time in-between shows for me. The gap came after I missed the Gonzaga show for a little three-day weekend with the family then the Orland show was held later in the month than usual. 

I almost missed the October Orland show because I was having a tough week controlling my diabetes. I'm glad I made it to the show, and, wow, there was a great inventory of vintage cards in the room!! I think this may have been the most vintage dealers at Orland in years along with the best quality.

There were the usual vintage guys like me, Jim from Indiana, Jim from Michigan, Terry, Rich, Steve, and new this month Kevin Farrell and Tony Schaefer who both created a wow factor in the room. This was the first time I met Kevin, who is a fan of this blog. Thanks for reading Kevin! Well, I'm a fan of Kevin because he had one of the best pre-war displays I have ever seen at the Orland show. I really wanted to pick up some T cards from Kevin but I had already blown my allotted funds buy the time I saw Kevin's table. Then there is Tony Schaefer who has one of the best inventories around and always gives the show some much needed credibility when he sets up.

As regular readers of the blog know, I try to come up with a game plan for each show. My plan for the October Orland show was four display cases and most of my baseball and football binders. It has been three months since I brought out any display cases at the Orland show. For the cases, I planned to place a limited amount of vintage cards, all four sports. I am currently working on upgrading my display case material in preparation for the three-day Moeller show in Cincinnati over Thanksgiving weekend. As a result, I held some stuff back but still thought I had a decent selection. I brought out a bunch of Exhibits and sold my Satchel Paige and Joe DiMaggio. Also, new, I brought out some vintage lots that I have been slowly working on. I brought out the lots with a certain customer in mind, who, as it happened, did not purchase any of the lots. In fact, I did not sell one of them. Today's lesson, don't bring lots to the Orland show. I had been on a roll at the Orland show but I guess I was due for a bad day.

I'm always reticent to change things up when I'm on a roll but I reasoned that I could not continue to roll with the same material and needed some new stuff. So, I brought out the dime box, something I have not carted out to Orland since the summer. I added new cards and observed first thing that two fought over the box which perplexes me. Those are dime cards in there, nothing special. They may be vintage but they are creased, torn, scratched, off-center, worn and ugly. Why fight over these cards?

These same two guys seem to go at it each and every time I bring the box out. They also only purchase cards from the dime box. If I don't bring it out, I don't get any sales from these guys. Once these guys finished, the rest of the dime box divers throughout the day were nice and polite. I'm probably not going to bring the dime box out in November. Instead, I think it is time for the quarter box to make an appearance. I'm pretty sure the same two early birds will fight over the quarter box. It is really a silly spectacle.

I had a lot of new stuff in the binders, including 1952 Bowman baseball, 1975 Topps Minis, and 1962 Topps football. I had reloaded my 1966 Topps baseball binder but forgot it at home. I forget something at home each and every show. It is par for the course.

I had a really pleasant day. I saw a couple of guys I had not seen in a while like Joe and Dave, who have been off traveling. Chris purchased some cards. Will found a nice pile of 1967s. A regular customer pulled a bunch of 1970 Topps baseball while another regular pulled a bunch of 1971. A dad and his two teenage sons bought a bunch of stuff.

Joel purchased my Billy Goodman Exhibit. Rick purchased a 1969-70 Wilt Chamberlain and a 1958 Topps Sonny Jurgensen rookie. A regular customer purchased some 1953 Bowman baseball. While another regular purchased some 1953 Topps baseball. A bunch of other guys purchased cards out of the binders. Overall, sales were down, so it is back to the drawing board for a new plan for the November show.

On the buying front, I picked up quite a few cards. I purchased about 200 off grade cards from 1955 and 1956. I also picked up a Lou Brock rookie, Jim Palmer rookie, and a Terry Bradshaw rookie. I picked up a 1968 Topps Gordie Howe and a 1971-72 Topps Ken Dryden rookie. I purchased a nice grouping of 1970's basketball cards including a group that seems to be part of a board game, which I need to research to learn a little more about them. I also picked up a handful of cards from the 1950s and 1960s.

Do you remember the blog where I requested that folks stop bringing me cards from the 1970's. Well, about five or six different guys came up to me, and each said with a smirk, I've got a box of 1978s for you. Haha!

I thought the show was well attended, but as usual during football season, it died down fairly early. I was able to get a chili dog from the concession stand. Afterwards, me, Will, Joe, Tony and Nate went over to the sub shop. I had a really good beef sandwich. I had been craving a beef sandwich and that one did the job.

Well, November is going to be a crazy card show month for me after a relatively easy October. I've got my Salvation Army show next week, Nov. 2. Then Gonzaga on November 10. I'm back at Orland on November 17. I will NOT be at the Sun-Times show. Instead, I'm setting up at Moeller, as previously stated. The Sun-Times show is a lot of work with very little reward for me. I had been attending as a customer, working on my '66 set but I think I've hit up all the regular dealers there and don't have a need to go. I plan on sitting in my card bunker that weekend pricing cards for Moeller.

I've got lots of new dealers lined up for my show next weekend at the Sal, 8853 S. Howell, in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. I picked up a box of 2015 Donruss Baseball from Steve Zinn in Orland which I plan to give away at the Sal. Steve is threatening to set up at the Sal, I hope he does. 

A big THANK YOU to everyone who bought cards from me today at the Orland show. I hope to see you and more next week at the Sal!! Have a great week everybody!!

Saturday, October 5, 2019, Salvation Army Community Center, Oak Creek

So you want to start your own card show? Let me tell ya, it is a TON of work. Folks regularly ask me to start another show at this venue or that venue or in this town or that town. My answer is always "no". Promoting my show at the Sal is more than enough for me.

I do something for the show most every day whether it be fielding calls and emails from dealers and customers or placing the show on all sorts of event calendars to obtaining packs of cards to give away to purchasing tables to donate to the Salvation Army. There is something that needs to be done constantly.

Work was non-stop in the weeks leading up to the October 5th show. I had a higher number than usual dealer cancelations. I also had a high number of dealers calling for tables. I had all sorts of customers calling to confirm the show. As I stated before, I NEVER cancel the show. I think some folks have me mixed up with other promoters who regularly cancel their shows. It stinks that those promoters give us all a bad name. Again, I will NEVER cancel my show. The next show on November 2nd is happening come hell or high water!

I went the extra mile promoting the October 5th show and spent more money than usual on advertising. It is nice to see my efforts pay off come show time when, once again, we had an excellent crowd for the October show. From about 9 a.m. to noon there was a steady flow of customers. My iPhone isn't working properly, so I couldn't take any photos. I meant to bring along my iPad to use as a camera but forgot it when I left home at the crack of dawn.

It was pitch black out when I got on the road around 6 a.m. There were a lot of trucks which sucks on those thin construction lanes on I94. The Ryan Road Exit is especially scary because there is no turn lane during construction, the exit just pops up and you can miss it unless you slow way down. I made sure there were no trucks on my tail when I slowed down for the exit.

My main man Mark was already at the Sal and the doors were open when I got there around 6:45 a.m. Roger was there already and loading in. Like clockwork, Larry wasn't far behind.

I tried to chart out the dealers the day prior but the tables were set up a bit differently from last month and the early gang had their own ideas as to where they should set up. So, I hustled to reconfigure my dealer layout and then placed name plates on the tables. By 8 a.m. I had completed the new layout, many dealers had arrived and I began my own set up. It is really tough to layout the tables then deal with my own set up. You still want to run your own show?

Then there are the "no-shows", dealers who reserve space but do not show up. I had more no-shows than usual. I may have to start collecting table fee up front to limit the no-shows. At least one dealer thought the show was on Sunday, not Saturday. My show is ALWAYS on Saturday! I don't know what the other excuses were. Those guys missed out because we had a big crowd. 

My wax pack giveaway has been a big hit since I began the promotion a few years ago back at the Four Points Sheraton. I try to provide a variety of packs, all sports, from junk years to the newest issues in 2019. I find that I am always purchasing wax for the giveaways. I bought a bunch of wax at the September Sal show then picked up some more in between shows from folks who contacted me with some for sale and from Steve Zinn who sets up at Orland.

As I mentioned last month, a little girl pulled a Mike Trout auto from a pack of 2019 Topps Big League. At the October 5th show, a little boy pulled a Cody Bellinger autographed rookie out of a 2017 Topps Heritage pack. I saw on eBay that the card is selling for $300 to $400. The boy's father was ecstatic and wanted to purchase a case. I directed him to dealer Roger Baehr, the dealer whom I purchased my box from.

I purchased more wax from Roger and dealer  Tom Daniels for the November show. I am sure I will purchase even more wax before the November show. Follow my Facebook page for updates. There are always some guys that want to buy the wax from me. I don't sell this stuff, I buy it just to give it away. Make sure you attend the November 2nd show for your free packs! I hope we keep the great pulls coming!!

Dealer count was down from the 31 we had in September to 26 for the October show. Nevertheless, there was great stuff in the room. I picked up a 1934-36 Diamond Star Kiki Cuyler from Jerry and a 1966 Topps Willie Mays from Gary. It was great to have BILL STOCKS back at the show after a long layoff. I bought some stuff from Bill, as well.

An older gentleman was a bit distraught when no dealers were interested in purchasing his binder of 1990 Score football. I explained to him, as I do at every show, that those cards were printed in the billions and everyone has them, so nobody wants to buy them. They are worthless. As usual, he did not believe me and pointed out the Tom Landry card in the set. I explained that if he had a 1952 Bowman Large Tom Landry, then he would have a valuable Tom Landry card. The 1990 Score Tom Landry was overproduced thus it has NO value. I advised that he give the cards away because he will have a hard time selling them.

He explained that he purchased them in 1990 and held onto them believing that they would increase in value. I explained that he was not alone, tens of thousands of folks just like him, bought the cards and locked them away only to find out that they are worth less in 2019 than they were in 1990. It is a sad state of affairs but I meet people like this gentleman most every week and am always the bearer of bad news. I, too, have large quantities of 1990 Score football in my possession. Anybody want them?

I'm sure Nick C's dad Scott had some 1990 Score football back in the day. He told me he used to have a sports card comic book shop in Chicago in the early 1990s. As he described it to me, I vaguely remembered it.

On the selling front, Jerome found the Darrel Porter he needed to complete his 1975 set. John purchased a large stack of football and hockey cards. A regular found all sorts of cards for his sets. Larry purchased my 1962 Topps Don Drysdale All Star. Many other guys purchased cards as well. I didn't sell nearly as many cards out of my display cases this show as I did in September. I might just bring all binders for the November show.

On the food front, I ate a sloppy Joe and a brat from the concession stand. We had the Sal's Ladies' Auxiliary running the concession stand at the October show. Thank you ladies! Please, please, visit our concession stand. All the workers are volunteers and all of the proceeds to straight to the Salvation Army.

Along those lines, the Sal is looking for a business to sponsor their scoreboard. Contact me if you are interested. I also volunteered to help raise funds to purchase jerseys for the Sal's youth soccer league. I am going to place a collection box at the November show. Please show your support for the Sal! I can't say enough about these folks. My show has really taken off since we moved to the Sal. They are such a great partner!! I am going to try and support them in the same manner they support us!!

Back to the October show... the day went by quick. There was a rain storm coming, so a lot of guys were out the door by 1 p.m. I think I was on the road home by 2:30 p.m. I took the back roads, opting to avoid that construction hell on I94.

Next show is November 2. The final show of the year is December 7 and we have booked Packer Hall-of-Famer Dave Robinson to sign autographs. I don't have details yet but will pass them on as soon as I get them!

A huge thank you to everyone who attended the show! I may put a lot of work into this show but it is oh, so, worth it when we get such a large crowd of friendly faces. Hope to see you all at the November 2nd show!

In the meantime, I will not be at the October Gonzaga show but will attend the November one. The next show where I am setting up is the Orland show on October 27, 2019.

​Happy collecting everybody!

Sunday, September 22, 2019, Orland Park Civic Center, Orland Park, IL

You would think that after years of setting up at card shows, I would have settled into a routine by now. No such luck. I have found that there is nothing routine about setting up at a card show. Each show is unique.

Take, for example, the August Orland show where I had a harrowing drive to the show in the morning. I arrived at the Civic Center in the midst of a torrential downpour. I decided to forego bringing in any display cases because I have nothing to protect them with from the rain. By binders are in plastic bins and safe from rain. So I just brought in some binders and had a monster show, even though I was soaked to the gills the entire day.

Before the September show, I had planned to just bring display cases and no binders. Well, the weather app on my phone was showing rain all weekend. Still feeling traumatized by the crazy storms from last month, I decided to bring just binders again and was smart enough to bring my raincoat this time.

I really wanted to bring out the display cases. I have a growing inventory of star cards and a nice selection of pre-War cards. As I was telling this to Will, he basically told me not to worry about it because with my binders, I'm a set-builders dream. Thanks Will, you gave me a new appreciation for the binders. I had been pondering on ways to get out of the binder business lately because it is a pain in the rear end. I did not realize that there are a lot of guys that actually appreciate my efforts with those binders. I just have to figure out how to reload them faster, which is a problem I have been battling for the last 20 years! Oh well, c'est la vie.

Once again, I had a really nice show. I am starting to think that I should not bother with my showcases for the Orland show ever again. As for the binders, I was thankful that my main wipe-out artist did not attend the show. Quite a few guys found quite a few cards.

A regular customer kicked things off with a nice group of 1973 Topps baseball. Another regular bought some early Bowman baseball. Bill began work on a 1969 Topps set by pulling a nice pile from my binder. A nice lady, clad in White Sox gear, found some 1977 Topps baseball. She said she is getting close to completing the set.

It was nice to see Joel after a two-month absence. Joel found some 1975s for his Cubs and Sox sets. Rick purchased some 1961 Golden Press and a bunch of Post cereal cards from the early 1960's. Are there any Post cereal or Jello experts out there? I was contacted by a collector from California who informed me that 1962 Jello cards were only issued in Illinois and Wisconsin. I have some knowledge about 1961 Jellos thanks to my old friend Chuck Thomas but the '62's escape me. I am not sure what they look like. If anybody has any '62 Jellos for sale, please let me know and I'll pass on the info to the California collector.

Back to my sales, Paul P. purchased some 1968 and 1969 Topps baseball while Paul F. purchased a small group of which I can't seem to remember. Will and Joe brought me some much needed coffee. Will also purchased a nice stack of 1967 Topps baseball and 1974-75 Topps hockey.

I may have obtained a great new customer. A young guy, maybe high school age, and his mother purchased a large pile of 1969-70 Topps basketball last month. This month, they purchased my 1970 Topps football set. Another new customer purchased piles of 1955 and 1956 Topps baseball. Between these new customers, my day was made.

A big thank you to Brian for sending over a collector of 1953 Topps baseball, who purchased a real nice grouping. A Baltimore Orioles fan purchased my Boog Powell and Jackie Brandt autographs along with a 1976 Orioles media guide. In 1980, True Value Hardware put out a little booklet with biographies of sports stars. I grabbed a pile from my local True Value back then. Every once in a while, I put some out and had one out at the Orland show which sold.

My old buddy Larry from Plainfield brought me a pile of cards. There was some old hockey in there which I absolutely love. I've said it many times before and I'll say it again, hockey cards from pre-1968 are very difficult to find. I buy any hockey that shows up from pre-1968. I actually had a customer at this show stop by who was building the 1964-65 Topps set, of which I have none -- they are so difficult to find! Larry found some 1961 Topps football cards and we made a cash and trade deal.

It was a good thing that my sales were excellent at this show because I quickly turned around and spent the money. I bought a large grouping of 1965 Topps baseball high numbers. I bought two binders of cards featuring 1961, 1962 and 1963 Topps baseball cards. Then a guy showed up with a stack of old football cards. The key cards in the stack were a 1964 Philadelphia Jim Brown and a 1968 Topps Joe Namath. Unfortunately, after I purchased the cards, I observed a crease on the Brown which I didn't see when I was first looking over the cards. With that crease, I probably overpaid for the cards. Oh, well, it happens. Overall, I was pretty happy with my purchases.

I know quite a few people read this blog because nobody brought me any cards from the 1970's. Thank you! Bring me that old stuff!!!

Then there was a little excitement at the show, which is usually mellow. I observed a dealer from Michigan across the room shouting at what appeared to be a customer. They were going at it for a while. I thought it might come to blows but eventually the customer left. I don't have all the details and everything I know is second hand but this is what folks are saying: apparently the Michigan dealer bought two binders of cards from a guy with some mental disabilities. The customer who was shouting at the dealer may have been the disabled guy's dad. He reportedly accused the dealer of taking advantage of the disabled guy and underpaying him for the cards. I was told the dealer refused to return the binders so the dad or relative took the binders off of the dealer's table and fled.

I saw Rich, the show's promoter over there apparently trying to make peace before the dad fled with the binders. The police were called and they interviewed  the dealer. In the 20 years of doing this show, I have never seen the police enter the room. The event made for an interesting day.

So, I am not totally sure if the dealer actually took advantage of the disabled guy. I am going to wait to pass judgment until I obtain more facts. Though, I am left wondering why didn't he just ask the dad for his money back and return the binders?

I offer refunds and take back my cards when customers want to make a return. Though, I think some folks take advantage of my return policy, I won't name names. But, if I was in the position of that dealer, I certainly would not engage in a shouting match and would have returned the binders upon receipt of my money. So, I have a lot of questions. Did the dealer offer to return the binders in exchange for the purchase price? Did he refuse to return the binders? I am not really sure what happened. It looked kind of ugly. The dad was a big guy and had a foot on the dealer. We were talking at my table as to who would win if it came to blows. We were all in agreement that the dad would have crushed the dealer. 

I suspect I will learn more about this affair as time goes on. Though, it made for a little excitement on the day.

I have the next weekend off, no shows. I will return with my show at the Salvation Army Community Center, 8853 S. Howell, in Oak Creek, WI, on Saturday, October 5, 2019. I have commitments from 26 dealers and expect more to sign up in the next few weeks. This should be another great show. I purchased some wax at the Orland show to giveaway at my show. I hope to see you there!!

September 15, 2019, Gonzaga Hall, Milwaukee/West Allis, WI

So I first started selling cards in the late 1970's at a flea market at the long defunct Twin Drive-In Movie Theater in Wheeling, Illinois. My routine to prepare for shows is much the same today as it was back then when I was getting ready for the flea market. Before every show, I purchase a boatload of cards so I can have new inventory on my tables. I learned long ago that in order to have consistent sales, I must have new items on my tables.

While my sales are consistent, I may have overbought and am currently overbuying. I now have too many cards from the 1970's. I don't need any more. It will take me years to sell the ones in my possession, especially from 1976 to 1979, where I must have 10,000-plus cards from each year.

I had a couple guys offer me cards from the 1970's at this past Gonzaga show. I instinctively turned them down. I am suffocating under the weight of my 1970's inventory. One seller offered me four or five binders filled with 1978 and 1979 Topps baseball. I probably have 20,000 cards from 1979 Topps currently in my possession and at least 10,000 1978's if not more. 

I know if I purchase any more '78's or '79's, they will just sit and take up space. I am finally at the point where I just have to say no. It did not matter that the seller at Gonzaga offered me the cards at a very good price. I just have too many of them and can not take on any more. The seller seemed flabbergasted when I refused the deal. Maybe I need to show the photo above whenever anyone offers up cards from those years. Please, please, don't bring me any cards from the 1970's.

At the end of the show, a guy came in with a binder of about 350 baseball cards from 1968 to 1972. I probably have 4,000 1968's, I must have 5,000 1969's, probably 7,000 1970's and another 7,000 1971's and 10,000 or so 1972's. Unlike '78's and '79's, I will still buy these years but only if they are dirt cheap and the groupings have stars and high numbers. This particular seller was awfully high on his price, his group had minor stars, not many, and NO high numbers. 

He wanted $300 for the binder. You could probably go through the binders on my tables and pull cards and replicate this guy's binder and I would charge you around $90, not $300. There were '68 and '71 Carews in this guy's binder so I offered $100 which I thought was generous. He didn't seem to think I was for real and I got the feeling that he believes I will eventually offer him more money for the binder. Sorry, I won't. I don't need the cards. I have them. 

Cards from the 1970's are not rare, they are not scarce, they are not hard to find. In fact, cards from the 1970's are plentiful. I am sitting on a mountain of them and just do not want any more. Please, please, do not bring me cards from the 1970's.

Needless to say, I did not purchase a whole lot of cards at the Gonzaga show which was really disappointing because I have been consistently purchasing great groups of cards from the 1960's and older at a regular clip at the Gonzaga show. I was really disappointed that better stuff did not show up at my tables.

On the selling front, my sales were pretty good considering the Packers-Vikings game began at noon. I arrived at the show a little earlier than usual with the game in mind. I observed that other dealers had the same idea and were there much earlier than normal.

I was busy as soon as I started setting up and did not have a chance to take any notes. Some sales I do remember is one customer purchased a large number of 1974 Topps baseball. Jason purchased some Goudeys. Dean purchased a pile of stuff. Gary somehow found some more 1955 Bowmans at my table. I desperately need to reload the Bowmans. I actually need to reload all of the binders. A few guys complained that the binders were empty.

It is a real battle for me to keep those binders loaded. I was actually in a really good place right before the National but since then, the binders have been depleted. Another issue I find that limits my ability to load more binders is that when I am working on the 1970's binders, where I have so many cards and so many to load into the binders, the job takes a painfully long time. I am currently on my third week of working on my 1975 Topps baseball binder. I work on it most every night and some on the weekends. It is just a very time-consuming process. Please, please, don't bring me any more cards from the 1970's and have some patience with the reloading of the binders. I eventually reload each binder but it takes some time. Complaining does not help me, I can't get them done any quicker.

As I stated in a previous blog, I try not to bring all of my binders out to each show so I can save them a little bit. I probably won't bring out any binders to the Orland show this Sunday, Sept. 22. I think I am just going to bring out display cases. My binders get hit especially hard at the Orland show. Thankfully, I am not setting up at any shows during the last weekend of the month. My binders need the break!

Like an old-time disc jockey, I do take special requests. Let me know if there is a certain binder you would like to see at the Orland show and I'll bring it out. I currently have a really nice inventory of cards for my display cases and should have some neat stuff at the Orland show. See you then, but please, please, don't bring me any cards from the 1970's!!

Sunday, August 18, 2019, Civic Center, Orland Park, IL

There is a lot of planning that goes into each show. I have too much stuff and can’t take it all to each show. So, I’m always trying to figure out what to bring to each show.

At the July Orland show, I did not sell much out of my display cases and initially thought I would not bring any display cases to the August show, just binders. Then I received a text from one of my “wipe-out artists,” which is someone who buys much the cards in my binders, pretty much wiping them out. It is nice to have a big sale from a wipe-out artist but they leave my binders empty which is a problem when I have a show the next week. I have a hard enough time keeping the binders loaded and the wipe-out artists set me back that much further.

To combat said wipe-out artist, I contemplated not bringing out any binders and just display cases. I went back and forth all week prior to the show trying to figure out what to bring. The night before the show, I decided I would bring out four display cases and most of my baseball binders. This particular wipe-out artists, likes to wipe out my football and hockey binders and I figured I would protect those ones this time around.

I woke up a little later than usual on Sunday morning and hustled to load my car. I was on the road around 7:15 a.m. The rain hit around O’Hare and I had to slow down to about 40MPH because visibility was terrible. It was some scary driving. It was raining so hard I could not see the road and could barely see the cars in front of me. When a truck shot gallons upon gallons of water onto my windshield I decided it would be best to get off the highway and take the regular roads.

I hopped off at Cermak and drove east, figuring I would hit LaGrange Road. I found Wolf Road and drove it south until it ended in some random neighborhood. I had to backtrack. I then found Route 171 which I thought turned into LaGrange. It was actually Archer Avenue and took me way west to Lockport where I figured out I needed to be much further east. In the Lockport the rain came back hard and I parked until it lightened up.

While I sat parked, I figured I would use the GPS on my phone to lead me to Orland Park. No such luck. My phone would not work! It was locked and would not do anything. I couldn't even shut it off. I then started to think that maybe I should just go home but realized I was in Lockport, Illinois, for the first time in my life and had no idea how to get home. I ventured on.

I took the next road east and drove through farm after farm. I had no idea that Lockport was farmland. Stuck in farmland, I lost my sense of direction and wasn’t sure if I was heading east or west. I saw that addresses on the farms were getting smaller so I figured I was heading east.
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I eventually found Orland Park through the back door and made it to the show around 9 a.m. This was my longest ride ever to Orland. As luck would have it, it was raining cats and dogs when I pulled into the Civic Center parking lot. I decided I would just bring in my bins of binders and leave the showcases in the car. It was raining too hard to pull the showcases out.

I exited the vehicle, pulled out five bins then my cart and received a thorough soaking. By the time I made into the Civic Center, water had pooled on top of my bins. I dumped some of the water out. I was a dripping wet mass of liquid as I traversed the Civic Center. At my tables, I grabbed a garbage can and dumped what seemed like gallons of water into it from the tops of the bins. I left quite a bit of water on the floor, my tables and chairs. I’m thankful nobody slipped in the water.

I was the last dealer to arrive. It looked like everyone made it into the show before the rain…. but me. I then spread the binders out onto the tables. I had a lot of empty space since I did not bring in the showcases.

After set up, I sat there sopping wet. It seemed like the air conditioning was cranked and I was wet then freezing cold. My clothes were sopping. I pulled out a wad of cash that was soaked. I pulled out my wallet, it was soaked. My shoes and socks were soaked. I was freezing.

Surprisingly, there were a lot of dealers and a good number of customers. Sales started off slow and I did not expect them to get any better because the rain continued. Then Will and Joe arrived with a hot cup of coffee. Man, I was thankful. I really needed that coffee. As I warmed up from the coffee, sales started to jump and kept jumping for hours. I ended up having a monster day. There was not one, but several wipe-out artists. My binders got hit hard but I went home with a pocket full of wet cash.

Paul lent me a hoody which saved me from shivering all day. Thanks Paul! It was nice and sunny by the time I was on the road home and found my way without getting lost. The only bummer was that many of my baseball binders are now empty.
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Next up is my show at the Salvation Army in Oak Creek, WI, on Sept. 7. I have no idea what to bring out for this show. The baseball binders from 1964 on back are about empty. I may just bring out my football binders and some showcases. I have a couple weeks to figure this one out. I sure hope it doesn’t rain on Sept. 7!!
 
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As many of you know, I used to set up at a card show or two every single weekend. These past several years, I've reduced my show appearances to three a month: (1) The Salvation Army Community Center in Oak Creek, WI; (2) Gonzaga Hall in West Allis, WI; and (3) the Civic Center in Orland Park, IL. There are times when I miss traveling the Midwest and spending the night in a flea-bag motel and setting up in places like St. Louis, Indianapolis, Canton, Dayton, Mason City, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh, but most times I enjoy the off days and sleeping in my own bed. So my card show reports are now limited to my main three shows with an out of town show thrown in here and there for good measure.

For this blog, I am going to try and catch up on my three regular shows, since work, family, and prepping for the National have limited my blogging time as of late.

ORLAND PARK CIVIC CENTER

The Orland Park shows have been consistent. Each show seems to have real nice attendance. I am so appreciative that the show now has food. I think in my last Orland blog I complained about some of the customers. My complaint was that it seemed like most customers were there to buy my stuff for resale which is really frustrating. I am not a wholesaler. I don't move cards in bulk. I cater to vintage set builders. These are my people. Thankfully, I have seen a lot more set builders in Orland as of late. I had an absolutely monster Orland show in June, it was kind of like the old days.

The last Orland show, which occurred just a few days before the National in July, was a big surprise based on the number of dealers and the very large attendance. I didn't bring out my good stuff because I was saving it for the National. So, sales were naturally down and I think some guys were upset with me. The thing is, I was heavily invested in the National with both time and money and I needed to make sure I had decent sales at the National, so I didn't want to unload all my stuff just a few days before in Orland. I will have all the good stuff out this Sunday, August 18, 2019, in Orland. Come see me!!

SALVATION ARMY COMMUNITY CENTER

The May and June shows were excellent. I had a huge dealer turn out for the May show with dealers from Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana. My sales were excellent and, of course, I bought a ton of stuff.

The June show may have been the coolest show I have ever done as a promoter. Three former Packers -- Calvin Jones,  Diryal Briggs, and Gary Brown -- attended and signed autographs. The players could not have been nicer and I really enjoyed talking with them. Calvin Jones hung out at my table for a while and it was so fun to talk to him. He sent me a Thank You card afterwards. What a great guy!

David Lionheart, who was at the show with Gary Brown, stopped by my table as well. He was excited when I gave him two free packs of cards. He told me that he created a charity called Play For Your Freedom, of which Gary Brown is a participant. Their charity is a fundraiser for Veterans and David, Gary and a host of other former college and pro football players travel the country and play exhibition flag football games and hold fitness events to raise funds for Veterans. To learn more, go to www.playforyourfreedom.org. 

Pictured above is former Green Bay Packer Gary Brown, who was showing off his 1996 Super Bowl ring at the June 1, 2019, Salvation Army Sports Card Show in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.

The June 1 show was held in the gym at the Salvation Army and was a perfect setting for a show and autograph signing. The folks at the Sal told me they will put us back in the gym whenever it is available. I'm not sure yet where we will be for the Sept. 7th show. I'll let you know as soon as I find out.

So I took a little break this summer and did not hold shows at the Sal in July and August. I know the break disappointed some folks. July is just the best month for me to take my family on vacation. As you all know, I am a lawyer in the real world and the courts are slow around the 4th of July. This year I took the week off of work and shows and took the family to the Wisconsin Dells. We stayed at the H0-Chunk Casino in Baraboo and had a blast -- except for when the kids put me in the stockade at the Pirates Cove Adventure Golf.

I have been going to the Dells regularly since the mid-1970's. I am amazed at how it has changed over the years but has always been a consistently fun place. Needless to say, I will not be holding a July show at the Sal next year and hope to be traveling somewhere fun with the wife and kids again. Now for August, that is a different matter. I could not hold an August show this year because it would have ran up against the National, where I was a vendor, more on that later. Next year, however, the National will be in Atlantic City which is about impossible for me to attend. So I will hold an August show at the Sal in 2020.

Okay, so I, like most everybody else, have been having Salvation Army Card Show withdrawals. I am happy to say that we will be back at the Sal on September 7 and then the first Saturday of every month through December. I need to get to work and hammer out my Sal show calendar for 2020. I will probably skip January again. Are you guys okay with that? Let me know.

GONZAGA HALL

The spring shows at Gonzaga were pretty good then attendance fell off over the summer. While my sales at Gonzaga may have slowed this summer my purchases have increased ten-fold. Oh man, I bought a TON of stuff at Gonzaga this summer -- a sampling of my summer purchases are pictured below.

THE NATIONAL SPORTS COLLECTORS CONVENTION

The National was held July 31 through August 4, 2019, at the Donald Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. Once again, I joined forces with Dave, Scott, Jim, Danielle and PJ, who was able to snare the same location we enjoyed in 2017.

Wednesday, July 31, was a really long day. I had planned to arrive at the show around 10 a.m. but overslept and did not get there till 1 p.m. The Stephens Center is always a nightmare for set-up and exit. This year did not disappoint. I parked at the North End of the convention center where I usually load in, only to be denied by several convention center employees. I did not yet have my vendor badge and the security would not let me load in. I was able to reach PJ on his cell phone and he directed me to a garage in the southeast corner of the building. I was able to drive into the garage and walk into the show without being accosted by security. The only bummer was that the garage was located much farther from my booth than the north-side entrance. 

It took three trips to load in. Once completed, I moved my car to the $15 parking lot across the street. I was exhausted by the time I got back to the booth. The show opened officially at 4 p.m., which gave me about two hours to set up before opening. I had to hustle. First off, Me, PJ and Scott had to figure out how to lay out the booth which was hampered by a bunch of crap our neighbors, PWCC, left in our space. We were able to get PWCC to move their stuff a little bit and set up began. I had a ton of space! I brought 9 card tables and was able to set up seven of them along with a couple of tables I think belonged to PWCC. I know PWCC is the subject of much ire in the card collecting community but they were actually a very good neighbor and gave us most of their tables because they were not using them.

I had purchased two new showcases for the show and laid them out along with five others. I then proceeded to layout my binders and tie them down, which is an excruciating process. I completed my set up shortly before 4 p.m. and was dead to the world. I may be getting too old for this. Thankfully, Dave had a sandwich for me. I was too tired to walk around the show and check it out. I figured I had four more days to see it. I just kind of sat there exhausted for the next several hours.

A steady flow of customers came to our booth. Dave, as always, was very busy. My sales were slow, unlike past Nationals where sales were strong on the first day. All in all, I was just happy to be done with load in and set up. 

Dave and I argued a bit over the controversy surrounded our neighbor PWCC. Dave has been a big supporter of PWCC these past several years and he took offense to the accusations that PWCC may have had knowledge that they were selling fraudulent high-grade cards in their eBay auctions. I have been regularly posting about this scandal on my Facebook Page. A great deal of evidence has been presented on www.blowoutforums.com. There has also been a great deal of debate on www.net54baseball.com.

The FBI is involved and I think sooner rather than later we will know the results of the FBI investigation. I personally think that some folks are going to jail a la Mastro. I also think there needs to be some government regulation of the third-party grading companies because collectors are getting screwed over and PSA, especially, just does not care. They just want your money. 

Anyway, I sort of expected some sort of riot at PWCC because they are at the epicenter of this scandal. Instead, I heard crickets at their booth all week long. So, no riot but I think collectors spoke loudly by generally avoiding the PWCC booth. 

PWCC aside, the first day of the National is a day to renew old acquaintances. I may not have sold much, but I was busy gabbing away. After the show, Scott, Jim, Danielle and I headed over to my place. They were spending the night. It was about 9 p.m. and I found that the City Barbecue in nearby Vernon Hills was open till 10 p.m. We had a much needed dinner. We were all pretty tired and went to sleep soon after dinner.

I was up early Thursday. I had to be in court and planned to get to the show as soon as I could. Scott, Jim and Danielle agreed to watch my stuff. I finally made it to the show around noon. Jim was a superstar and sold a ton of cards for me! Thursday was going to me a much better sales day than Wednesday.

With money in my pocket, I began to buy cards. Dave brought me a bunch of '57 Topps baseball. I also bought a box of Red Sox from the 1950's through 1960's from Junior. A couple of dealers tried to sell me stuff but they were asking retail prices. I never understand when dealers offer me cards at retail. I only buy cards to resell them for a profit. I can't make a profit if guys try to sell me cards for the same price or higher than I would sell them. I was perplexed.

Sales continued to stay strong as the afternoon went on. Guys were pulling piles of cards out of my binders. Then I saw Craig from Akron, one of my favorites. He is an autograph hound and may have the largest autograph collection out of anybody I know. I think Willie S. is a close second.

After the show on Thursday, I walked across the street with Craig and Jack from Milwaukee. We dined at the Five Roses Pub, located in the Rosemont entertainment district. Craig and I went with the Fish & Chips while Jack had a Chicken Pot Pie. The Five Roses' version of fish & chips consists of a large hunk of moist breaded fish, most likely cod. I found it delicious. Jack's chicken pot pie looked awesome, unlike the TV dinner chicken pot pies that I am used to.

Just outside the pub was a little festival with food and drink stands and a stage featuring a Pink Floyd cover band. I would have stayed and listened to the band if I wasn't so dead tired. I went home and passed out.

Friday, was much like Thursday. I had to go to court and represent clients on two cases. Again, I made it to Rosemont around noon. Sales were once again solid, beginning with the sale of my Pete Rose rookie. I walked a few rows of the show and marveled at all the memorabilia and pre-War cards. Though, I was pretty busy at my booth and could not spend much time away.

After the show, Dave, Paul and I went over to Johnnie's Beef in Elmwood Park, a short drive from Rosemont. I drove, having lived in the area for 10 years, I know my way around. If you are not familiar, an Italian Beef sandwich is a Chicago creation and staple. Guys like me, Dave and Paul, grew up on the stuff. The Italian Beef is also the subject of much discussion amongst locals. We are always debating on which place makes the best beef. For my money, it is Johnnie's in Elmwood Park. Johnnies is just a shack with no inside seating and a handful of picnic tables outside. It has been around since the 1940s and is much the same today as it was in 1947. We each went with the combo, which is a sandwich consisting both seasoned beef and Italian sausage piled high on a large Italian bun. I ordered my sandwich juicy, some places call it dipped or wet. I also like giardiniera (another Chicago creation featuring spicy marinated vegetables) and sweet peppers on my beef. 

With no place to sit, we stood at the counter facing North Avenue. I was still wearing my work clothes and was able to consume this delicious mound of goodness without dripping anything onto my clothes. Man, that was some good eatin'.

I had wanted to attend the Net54 banquet that night but we got back to Rosemont too late. So home I went, looking forward to spending a complete day at the National without stopping in court to handle a few cases prior.

Saturday, was great. I sold a lot of cards. I bought a few. I walked around the show. I talked with all sorts of folks. If there is a heaven, I hope it is just like the National, which is heaven for me.

Saturday after the show, Dave and I went over to the Rivers Casino and enjoyed the buffet which is absolutely delicious. I then played video poker for a few hours and won $158. Not bad.

We were actually very busy Sunday morning at the show. At past Nationals, Sundays have been dead. Tony S. bought a bunch of stuff from me. Thanks Tony! Then a collector from Phoenix bought a ton of stuff and I ended up having the best day of the five on Sunday. I was a little worried that I wouldn't reach my sales numbers from 2017 but ended up surpassing them.

Then loomed the dreaded load out. I don't think I had anyone at my table for the last two hours of the show. Another good friend named Paul hung around to help me, which was so much appreciated. I probably could have began packing at 3 p.m. but waited until after 4 p.m. By the time I finished packing up, Scott, Jim, PJ and Dave were long gone, leaving me with Paul and PWCC. I decided to load out through the north side. Thanks to Paul's assistance, I was able to get out in two trips. Most dealers were gone by the time I was ready to leave at 6 p.m. I got home at 7 p.m., another National had done come and gone.

​What a great week! I had so much fun. I sold quite a few Goudeys, a large number of 1972 Topps baseball, many, many Exhibits and at least one showcase full of cards. I also bought boxes and boxes of stuff. A sampling is pictured below.

Now many of my regular customers at my three regular shows do not attend the National. Every year I try to convince them to go. You don't have to buy anything to enjoy the National. The shear spectacle of the event is worth the trip alone. The amount of cards and memorabilia on display is mind-boggling. Then you get to hang out with tens of thousands of like-minded sports collectors. Man, it is so much fun. On Sunday, I was sad to see it end. It is a long wait until 2021 when the National returns to Rosemont. I hope to be there!!!

In the meantime, I look forward to seeing everyone in Orland on Sunday!!!

Sunday, April 14, 2019, Gonzaga Hall, West Allis, WI

It has been a busy time for me with the weekend in Strongsville, my show the following weekend, and Gonzaga the weekend after that... whew!

The April 14th Gonzaga show was phenomenal. My sales were excellent. Jason got things going with a purchase of a 1970 Topps Thurmon Munson Rookie. Then there is another regular customer who has the coolest Milwaukee Braves gear, he purchased some 1970's hockey and some Braves cards from the 1960's.

A new customer purchased some 1970's Topps baseball. Tim purchased a ton of stuff including my 1953 Topps Satchel Paige. A new customer picked up some 1950 Bowman baseball. Dean purchased some 1965 Topps baseball. George found some 1963s. Larry bought some 1954 Bowman football.

A regular customer purchased some 1954 Topps baseball. A new customer purchased some 1960 Topps baseball. A dealer, who is working on the 1970 Topps set, found a whole bunch in my binder. One of my autograph hounds purchased some 1964 Topps to send out for signatures.

A regular customer bought some 1959 Topps baseball, including an Early Wynn, and some 1980's football. I can't give away 1980's baseball but I seem to be able to sell 1980's football. And those of you reading this with a warehouse full of the stuff, I don't need any more, I have a warehouse as well!

A regular customer purchased some 1933 Goudeys. Robin purchased a 1968 Topps Al Kaline and Willie Mays. Andy was in town from Orlando and I don't think he was enjoying this cold Milwaukee morning. Though, he did purchase my T206 Hal Chase.

On the buying side, I took in quite a haul. I don't normally buy from the auction because it is difficult to man my tables and watch the auction at the same time. Though an auction for some old baseball gloves caught my attention and I ended up bidding and winning five gloves, including two Mantles. My glove collection is getting out of hand!

Someone showed up at my table with a 1969-70 Wilt Chamberlain, which I purchased. Then there is my regular guy who always brings me a box of vintage. Today he brought me a box filled with 1968 Topps baseball and a small bag of 1956 Topps pins. I probably paid a little more than I wanted to but I rarely see those pins and wanted them badly!

I also picked up a 1968 Topps Roger Maris from Scotty P. and a nice group of 1934-36 Diamond Stars from Jerry.

​Another amazing day at the Gonzaga show. I'm hopeful for more of the same at the Gonzaga show coming up on June 9. See you there!