Thursday-Sunday, April 18-21, 2024, Strongsville Sports Collectors Convention, Strongsville, OH
BLOG TWO
After set up on Thursday, Tony and I found a tavern called The Rail. I thought Dave and I ate there once but I am not totally sure. Anyway, The Rail is a really nice place with an excellent beer menu along with pub food options like burgers and chicken sandwiches. I started off with a local brew Fat Head Head Hunter IPA, which is a thick golden beer with a full flavor. It is an excellent beer. I remember having one last year in Strongsville.
To eat, I went with the "Blue Bessie," a burger with sauteed mushrooms, spinach, blue cheese, and horseradish sauce. Oh my! What a fantastic burger. A bit messy, but delicious.
We were up bright and early Friday for the first day of the show. We stopped off for breakfast in the hotel restaurant where the food was just as bad as I remember. I pretty much ate a few sausages and some fruit every morning for breakfast.
We were at our booth around 8 and 9 a.m. and open for business. The show did not open to VIPs until noon. All the dealers around me seemed to be making sales right away. I took a walk around and drooled at the other dealer tables. Amazing stuff here as usual.
While most every dealer in Strongsville is amazing, it seems like the biggest and best dealer is Ash, who hails from Dallas, I believe. This is the second year I have seen Ash at the Strongsville show. Seems like the majority of cards in his cases are priced between $25,000 and $80,000 -- it is something to behold. Ash used to come to the Oak Creek show to buy. I never realized he lived all the way out in Dallas.
I also love to check out Tim Payne's cases, he too, has an amazing inventory. I was blown away be the depth of Tim's inventory. I never realized the amount of cards he brings out from all four sports. I also wanted to check out JD's tables but there was a crowd there the entire weekend. I also really like William Chappelle's stuff. He has a ton of raw vintage at reasonable prices. My boothmate Tony had some fire as well with some Ruths and Gehrigs.
One of the best parts of the Strongsville show is the social aspect. I always enjoy meeting up and chatting with folks from all over the country. Quite a few guys from the Chicago area drove out to Strongsville this year. I saw Mike Slinkman first thing Friday morning. He was on a hunt for Joe Dimaggio. He ended up purchasing three of them! I saw Perry, who also drove out from the Chicago area. I learned that Perry had set up with Tony at the National last year. I was so busy at the National and did not get a chance to walk around. I also met a few guys who are fans of this blog. Thanks guys!
So, I have been setting up in the Cleveland area for a long time. I used to regularly set up in nearby Canton. I remember one show being set up next to Dave from Akron. We talked the whole show and I have seen him at every single northern Ohio show I have every done since! Saw him this morning!!
I also saw Mike, another Cleveland area guy who I met back at my first time in Strongsville. Mike showed me a photo of a guy who he said ripped him off at one of the local shows. I snapped a photo and placed a copy below.
I pretty much spent the morning chatting with folks and wandering around the show. Once the doors opened to the VIPs, sales started to come in. A young guy purchased my 1955 Topps Hank Aaron and my 1956 Topps Willie Mays. Sales were steady the rest of the day. I don't remember everything that sold. I do remember selling my Mickey Mantle Exhibit, an Ernie Banks autographed photo, and a 1966 Topps Yaz. Sales ended up being pretty good on Friday.
The show went until 7 p.m. on Friday. I was tired but hungry. Tony and I decided to dine at the hotel bar. I have eaten there every year and really enjoy their Buffalo wings. When we got there, the bar was filled with folks from the show. Mike got there early and reserved a table for us.
I saw Andy from Orlando, eating pizza with his folks, who I met for the first time. I now see where Andy got his smile and friendly demeanor. So nice to meet everybody!
I was hungry. I did not eat much at the show because the food at the snack bar was horrible. Around lunch time, I ordered a hot dog and took one bite and almost wretched it out. Ugh!
Unfortunately, back at the hotel bar there was just one bartender. In years past, there had been a bartender and waiters/waitresses. Just the bartender this year and she was overwhelmed. It took seemingly forever to place an order.
In line with us was Eric from Atlanta, who Tony knew from the National. Eric started to flip out over the wait and tried to convince us to leave and go to a nearby brewpub. We were too tired to go anywhere else and decided to wait it out. Eric took off in a huff.
Tony agreed to place my order, so I went over and sat with Mike, who was knee deep in conversation with other vintage sports card collectors. Perry was there too. He went over to the gas station next to the hotel and brought back a large bag filled with cans of Coors Light. Thanks Perry! We weren't getting drinks from the bar anytime soon. Eventually Tim Payne joined us. Eric returned and said he was unable to get an Uber to go to the brewpub.
Mike had some interesting stories about some apartments he owns in Chicago.
Eventually, our food order arrived. I received my wings but no blue cheese. I can't eat Buffalo wings without dipping sauce! I think I waited another hour for the blue cheese. By the time I received it, I was no longer hungry. I think this may be the last time I eat in the hotel bar.
I really enjoyed hanging out with this group. Mike said there was a trade night in a back room at the hotel and he took off to check it out. The rest of us soon followed. I recognized many in the room from the show. I sat down at a table inbetween two guys from Missouri and had an enjoyable conversation. One guy showed me some panels of cards from the 1970's. He said they were from Dynamite Magazine. Well, if you are my age, you probably had a subscription to Dynamite, like I did in the 1970's. I have a bunch of those panels as well!
However, the panels that the Missouri guy had were minty, while mine were creased, especially from the part of the panel that was stapled to the binding of the magazine. The guy told me he had a buddy that worked at the printing press in St. Louis where the cards and the magazine was printed and the buddy gave him a whole pile that was never stapled into the magazine. They were cool!
The room was crowded with a jovial group, drinking, showing off cards and making videos. Turns out that this was not a trade night at all but a gathering of vintage sports card Youtubers. There were 50 or so Youtubers. In the past, I have only seen a handful of Youtubers at the Strongsville show. This year they came out en masse and partied together all weekend. What a great group of guys! I had so much fun with them and enjoyed watching their videos after the show.
I never knew there were so many vintage sports card Youtubers. My new favorite is Orlando from Collectors Dream. Here is his video from the get together. I'm in there waiving to the camera.
Strongsville YouTuber get together - Sharing cards and fun times
We were back at the show bright and early Saturday morning. Nice crowd, though sales were much slower. I had a lot of lookers but not as many pulled the trigger as they did on Friday.
Though, I still had a lot of fun. I saw more people that I knew like Chris from Cincinnati, who was looking for Dave. Again, I really enjoyed hanging out with my neighbor Jerry Katz.
So back at the Sports Spectacular in March, Tim Payne and I planned on having dinner together here in Strongsville. Last year, we went to a place called Timber Lodge in the nearby town of Medina. We loved that place and decided to return. Tony stayed back at the hotel while me, Mike and Eric took an Uber to Timber Lodge where we met up with Tim and his helper Dave.
We had an incredibly enjoyable evening. Tim's buddy Dave is an interesting guy. He is an accountant by trade who owns a comedy club in Iowa. Dave is also quite funny.
Last year, I had prime rib at Timber Lodge which was delicious. This year I went with the New York Strip, which was also delicious. A week later I am still thinking about that steak!
We also celebrated Mike's birthday. Happy birthday Mike! He would not let us sing Happy Birthday, which would have been epic!
After dinner, Eric was unable to obtain an Uber for the return trip to the hotel in Strongsville. The waitress informed us that Medina is in the middle of nowhere and obtaining an Uber there is very difficult.
So we piled into the back of Tim's van, which was without the seats so he could bring all his gear to Strongsville. Mike, Eric and I slid around back there but arrived safely back to the Best Western. Thank Tim! It would have been an awfully long walk back to the hotel!!
Sunday was also a slow sales day. I walked the show a bunch and picked up autograph postcards of Burleigh Grimes and Al Lopez for my collection. There were not a whole lot of walk ups to my table during the show, as there were in years past. Nothing good was offered.
Overall, sales were down from last year but not nearly as poor as they were back in the day when I first started setting up at this show. Quite a few OBC guys at this show as usual. I sold a few cards to them. One OBC guy asked about a card I had in my display case last year, which I sold long ago.
I was disappointed that my whale from last year did not purchase any cards. He glanced at my stuff a few times but did not ask to see anything.
Slow sales aside, I had an incredibly good time. Tony is a great boothmate and roommate. We made plans to do it again next year. I had an easy drive home, pulled up into my driveway around 9 p.m. Sunday night. I then spent the next few days watching all the Youtube videos from the show. Those Youtubers were a lot of fun and they purchased some amazing cards!
Can't wait until next year!!
In the meantime, I am setting up Sunday, April 28, 2024, at the Willowbrook Burr-Ridge Sports Center, 7850 S. Quincy St., Willowbrook, IL. This will be my first time setting up at this show. I plan to bring out binders, including my newly reloaded 1955 Bowman baseball. I am working on 1979-80 Topps hockey but am not sure if I will have it done in time.
Next Oak Creek show is coming up fast on May 4. As usual, I am way behind on responding to all my messages. Tables are sold out.
A huge thank you to Leland's for running such a great show in Strongsville. Also a big thank you to everyone who purchased cards and stopped by to chat. See all you Strongsville guys at the National in July! I hope to see all my local guys in Willowbrook on Sunday!!!
Now for some photos from the Strongsville show....
BLOG TWO
After set up on Thursday, Tony and I found a tavern called The Rail. I thought Dave and I ate there once but I am not totally sure. Anyway, The Rail is a really nice place with an excellent beer menu along with pub food options like burgers and chicken sandwiches. I started off with a local brew Fat Head Head Hunter IPA, which is a thick golden beer with a full flavor. It is an excellent beer. I remember having one last year in Strongsville.
To eat, I went with the "Blue Bessie," a burger with sauteed mushrooms, spinach, blue cheese, and horseradish sauce. Oh my! What a fantastic burger. A bit messy, but delicious.
We were up bright and early Friday for the first day of the show. We stopped off for breakfast in the hotel restaurant where the food was just as bad as I remember. I pretty much ate a few sausages and some fruit every morning for breakfast.
We were at our booth around 8 and 9 a.m. and open for business. The show did not open to VIPs until noon. All the dealers around me seemed to be making sales right away. I took a walk around and drooled at the other dealer tables. Amazing stuff here as usual.
While most every dealer in Strongsville is amazing, it seems like the biggest and best dealer is Ash, who hails from Dallas, I believe. This is the second year I have seen Ash at the Strongsville show. Seems like the majority of cards in his cases are priced between $25,000 and $80,000 -- it is something to behold. Ash used to come to the Oak Creek show to buy. I never realized he lived all the way out in Dallas.
I also love to check out Tim Payne's cases, he too, has an amazing inventory. I was blown away be the depth of Tim's inventory. I never realized the amount of cards he brings out from all four sports. I also wanted to check out JD's tables but there was a crowd there the entire weekend. I also really like William Chappelle's stuff. He has a ton of raw vintage at reasonable prices. My boothmate Tony had some fire as well with some Ruths and Gehrigs.
One of the best parts of the Strongsville show is the social aspect. I always enjoy meeting up and chatting with folks from all over the country. Quite a few guys from the Chicago area drove out to Strongsville this year. I saw Mike Slinkman first thing Friday morning. He was on a hunt for Joe Dimaggio. He ended up purchasing three of them! I saw Perry, who also drove out from the Chicago area. I learned that Perry had set up with Tony at the National last year. I was so busy at the National and did not get a chance to walk around. I also met a few guys who are fans of this blog. Thanks guys!
So, I have been setting up in the Cleveland area for a long time. I used to regularly set up in nearby Canton. I remember one show being set up next to Dave from Akron. We talked the whole show and I have seen him at every single northern Ohio show I have every done since! Saw him this morning!!
I also saw Mike, another Cleveland area guy who I met back at my first time in Strongsville. Mike showed me a photo of a guy who he said ripped him off at one of the local shows. I snapped a photo and placed a copy below.
I pretty much spent the morning chatting with folks and wandering around the show. Once the doors opened to the VIPs, sales started to come in. A young guy purchased my 1955 Topps Hank Aaron and my 1956 Topps Willie Mays. Sales were steady the rest of the day. I don't remember everything that sold. I do remember selling my Mickey Mantle Exhibit, an Ernie Banks autographed photo, and a 1966 Topps Yaz. Sales ended up being pretty good on Friday.
The show went until 7 p.m. on Friday. I was tired but hungry. Tony and I decided to dine at the hotel bar. I have eaten there every year and really enjoy their Buffalo wings. When we got there, the bar was filled with folks from the show. Mike got there early and reserved a table for us.
I saw Andy from Orlando, eating pizza with his folks, who I met for the first time. I now see where Andy got his smile and friendly demeanor. So nice to meet everybody!
I was hungry. I did not eat much at the show because the food at the snack bar was horrible. Around lunch time, I ordered a hot dog and took one bite and almost wretched it out. Ugh!
Unfortunately, back at the hotel bar there was just one bartender. In years past, there had been a bartender and waiters/waitresses. Just the bartender this year and she was overwhelmed. It took seemingly forever to place an order.
In line with us was Eric from Atlanta, who Tony knew from the National. Eric started to flip out over the wait and tried to convince us to leave and go to a nearby brewpub. We were too tired to go anywhere else and decided to wait it out. Eric took off in a huff.
Tony agreed to place my order, so I went over and sat with Mike, who was knee deep in conversation with other vintage sports card collectors. Perry was there too. He went over to the gas station next to the hotel and brought back a large bag filled with cans of Coors Light. Thanks Perry! We weren't getting drinks from the bar anytime soon. Eventually Tim Payne joined us. Eric returned and said he was unable to get an Uber to go to the brewpub.
Mike had some interesting stories about some apartments he owns in Chicago.
Eventually, our food order arrived. I received my wings but no blue cheese. I can't eat Buffalo wings without dipping sauce! I think I waited another hour for the blue cheese. By the time I received it, I was no longer hungry. I think this may be the last time I eat in the hotel bar.
I really enjoyed hanging out with this group. Mike said there was a trade night in a back room at the hotel and he took off to check it out. The rest of us soon followed. I recognized many in the room from the show. I sat down at a table inbetween two guys from Missouri and had an enjoyable conversation. One guy showed me some panels of cards from the 1970's. He said they were from Dynamite Magazine. Well, if you are my age, you probably had a subscription to Dynamite, like I did in the 1970's. I have a bunch of those panels as well!
However, the panels that the Missouri guy had were minty, while mine were creased, especially from the part of the panel that was stapled to the binding of the magazine. The guy told me he had a buddy that worked at the printing press in St. Louis where the cards and the magazine was printed and the buddy gave him a whole pile that was never stapled into the magazine. They were cool!
The room was crowded with a jovial group, drinking, showing off cards and making videos. Turns out that this was not a trade night at all but a gathering of vintage sports card Youtubers. There were 50 or so Youtubers. In the past, I have only seen a handful of Youtubers at the Strongsville show. This year they came out en masse and partied together all weekend. What a great group of guys! I had so much fun with them and enjoyed watching their videos after the show.
I never knew there were so many vintage sports card Youtubers. My new favorite is Orlando from Collectors Dream. Here is his video from the get together. I'm in there waiving to the camera.
Strongsville YouTuber get together - Sharing cards and fun times
We were back at the show bright and early Saturday morning. Nice crowd, though sales were much slower. I had a lot of lookers but not as many pulled the trigger as they did on Friday.
Though, I still had a lot of fun. I saw more people that I knew like Chris from Cincinnati, who was looking for Dave. Again, I really enjoyed hanging out with my neighbor Jerry Katz.
So back at the Sports Spectacular in March, Tim Payne and I planned on having dinner together here in Strongsville. Last year, we went to a place called Timber Lodge in the nearby town of Medina. We loved that place and decided to return. Tony stayed back at the hotel while me, Mike and Eric took an Uber to Timber Lodge where we met up with Tim and his helper Dave.
We had an incredibly enjoyable evening. Tim's buddy Dave is an interesting guy. He is an accountant by trade who owns a comedy club in Iowa. Dave is also quite funny.
Last year, I had prime rib at Timber Lodge which was delicious. This year I went with the New York Strip, which was also delicious. A week later I am still thinking about that steak!
We also celebrated Mike's birthday. Happy birthday Mike! He would not let us sing Happy Birthday, which would have been epic!
After dinner, Eric was unable to obtain an Uber for the return trip to the hotel in Strongsville. The waitress informed us that Medina is in the middle of nowhere and obtaining an Uber there is very difficult.
So we piled into the back of Tim's van, which was without the seats so he could bring all his gear to Strongsville. Mike, Eric and I slid around back there but arrived safely back to the Best Western. Thank Tim! It would have been an awfully long walk back to the hotel!!
Sunday was also a slow sales day. I walked the show a bunch and picked up autograph postcards of Burleigh Grimes and Al Lopez for my collection. There were not a whole lot of walk ups to my table during the show, as there were in years past. Nothing good was offered.
Overall, sales were down from last year but not nearly as poor as they were back in the day when I first started setting up at this show. Quite a few OBC guys at this show as usual. I sold a few cards to them. One OBC guy asked about a card I had in my display case last year, which I sold long ago.
I was disappointed that my whale from last year did not purchase any cards. He glanced at my stuff a few times but did not ask to see anything.
Slow sales aside, I had an incredibly good time. Tony is a great boothmate and roommate. We made plans to do it again next year. I had an easy drive home, pulled up into my driveway around 9 p.m. Sunday night. I then spent the next few days watching all the Youtube videos from the show. Those Youtubers were a lot of fun and they purchased some amazing cards!
Can't wait until next year!!
In the meantime, I am setting up Sunday, April 28, 2024, at the Willowbrook Burr-Ridge Sports Center, 7850 S. Quincy St., Willowbrook, IL. This will be my first time setting up at this show. I plan to bring out binders, including my newly reloaded 1955 Bowman baseball. I am working on 1979-80 Topps hockey but am not sure if I will have it done in time.
Next Oak Creek show is coming up fast on May 4. As usual, I am way behind on responding to all my messages. Tables are sold out.
A huge thank you to Leland's for running such a great show in Strongsville. Also a big thank you to everyone who purchased cards and stopped by to chat. See all you Strongsville guys at the National in July! I hope to see all my local guys in Willowbrook on Sunday!!!
Now for some photos from the Strongsville show....
Pictured above is the guy who allegedly ripped off Mike at one of the local Cleveland shows. Keep an eye out for this guy!
Pictured above here are some of the more inexpensive cards on Ash's table.
Pictured above here is my boothmate Tony Schaefer wearing the blue shirt. Sitting next to Tony is Brad from Phoenix.
The most interesting walk up of the show are pictured below. The owner said he picked up these original pencil drawings from a friend. The drawings were made in the 1940's. He wanted to know a value. I honestly had no idea. I advised he submit them to one of the auction houses. It is hard to place a value on some unique Americana like that.
I am not sure what is up with this Cleveland Browns super fan, pictured above, but the Youtubers got a big kick out of him.
Pictured above here is my favorite card of the show that I found on Tony's table. He had some piles priced at 50-cents each, including this beauty. I am starting to think that I need to start a collection of cards with these types of drawings on them. I used to do that to some of my doubles when I was a kid in 1975.
Pictured above left is my neighbor Jerry Katz.
Pictured above here are the newest additions to my autograph collection. There were quite a few vintage autographed items for sale at the show.
Pictured above here is Tony G. and Tony S. enjoying a delicious breakfast at the Best Western Strongsville. See you in Strongsville in 2025!!
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