Classic Steve Bartman, O.J. Simpson publicity stunts brings back fond memories at National Sports Collectors Convention
The historical significance of the location for the Monmouth Trading Cards booth at the National Sports Collectors Convention was not lost on me—and never will be.
But Jake Zaretsky, who has worked for Monmouth for about nine months, was baffled by the smile his booth location brought to my face within the Whatnot Pavilion at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill.
Jake gets a pass; he is only 24 years old.
This story starts on Oct. 14, 2003 at Wrigley Field in Chicago—a 30-minute drive from the Rosemont venue. The Cubs were playing host to the Florida Marlins in the 2003 NLCS. It was Game 6 with Chicago leading 3–0 in the eighth inning and holding a 3-2 game lead in the best-of-seven series. I was at the game with my friend Chuck, sitting on the first-base side of the field.
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Chuck is a diehard Cubs fan; I am a diehard White Sox fan, but hey, this was a giant game in Chicago baseball history.
The fans were cheering: “SIX MORE OUTS,” and then “FIVE MORE OUTS.”
Then it happened.
Luis Castillo hit a fly ball into foul territory in left field. Cubs’ outfielder Moisés Alou attempted to make the catch near the wall, but Cubs fan Steve Bartman deflected it; the umpire judged the play not to be fan interference.
If Alou had caught the ball, it would have been the second out in the inning, and the Cubs would have been “FOUR MORE OUTS” away from winning their first National League pennant since 1945.
The Cubs’ defense collapsed and Chicago ultimately allowed eight runs in the inning and lost the game 8-3. They also lost Game 7 at Wrigley Field the following day and were eliminated by the Marlins.
Steve Bartman was the reason. Cubs fans around the world blamed everything—literally, everything—on Bartman.
He was the most-hated man on the North Side of Chicago.
Fast-forward five years to the summer of 2008. I was leading the public and media relations for the NSCC show and was at Gibson’s Steakhouse in Rosemont with the late Mike Berkus and John Broggi, discussing promotional plans for The National, which was scheduled for Chicago that July.
We wanted and needed something to push attendance.
I had an idea.
Sure, others may have thought it was the red wine talking, but I knew this idea would fly.
Let’s invite Steve Bartman to The National to sign one autograph—on a super-sized photo of the play from 2003.
Berkus loved the idea—and took it one step further. He wanted to offer Bartman some money to appear—a lot of money.
Show organizers and SportsBuy.com (formerly NAXCOM.com), a sports online sales and auction firm, announced that $25,000 was being offered to Bartman to appear on Thursday, July 31 at the annual sports collectibles convention.
The Bartman signing was scheduled for 1 p.m. in the TRISTAR Autograph Pavilion inside the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center.
“No one in sports memorabilia history has ever been paid $25,000 to sign one autograph—not Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, or any other athlete,” Mike Berkus, co-executive director of The National, said at the time.
“All Steve has to do is show up, prove he is in fact the real Steve Bartman, not some earphone-wearing imposter, and he’ll move to the top of the autograph value list,” added Wesley Hein, CEO of sportsbuy.com.
If Bartman signed the photo, it was going to be auctioned on SportsBuy.com with net proceeds being donated to a Chicago-based charity.
Zaretsky stood in the Monmouth booth at the 2025 National right where the stage was set up for the Bartman stunt, complete with a briefcase filled with $25,000.
Berkus, some may remember, slammed the briefcase closed at 1:01 p.m. The deal was off the table, but The National show promoters were thrilled with the pre-show publicity that the Bartman stunt drew.
Zaretsky, who, as predicted when I first approached him during this year’s NCSS, had no idea who Steve Bartman is, thus, had no idea of the significance of the Monmouth booth location at the 2025 NSCC.
“I think it’s really cool,” he said upon hearing the Bartman story, [especially since] I am a real big history nerd. To stand where that moment happened is really cool.”
Monmouth Trading Cards is a one-stop shop for hobbyists with eight retail locations in New Jersey. I returned to the Monmouth booth the next day and Zaretsky admitted he had done some internet research on Bartman.
“It’s a really crazy story. It’s coincidence,” he said of the 2008 stunt occurring at the same spot where the Monmouth booth was located for the 2025 National.
“I wish I knew, I would have printed pictures of Bartman. And if we end up in the same spot next year, you know damn sure I’m going to have some Bartman stuff hanging in my booth.”
Ironically, 60 steps from the Monmouth booth at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center is another spot that conjures another National memory that will live in infamy.
On Saturday of the 2005 NSCC, NFL legend and notorious murder suspect O.J. Simpson showed up unannounced and starting signing autographs—and there just happened to be an area already set up for him to sign.
Word spread across the show floor that the troubled Hall of Fame running back was in the building. He signed for a fee, with handlers collecting the money while show organizers appeared to scramble behind the scenes to remove him from the venue.
To this day, many 2005 show attendees are convinced that Simpson’s appearance was planned by a very small group, including National organizers at the time, and was not a surprise. No one will go on-record about Simpson’s 2005 National “appearance.”
After Simpson left the 2005 National, he went to a nearby hotel and continued signing for a fee.
Ed Kushner of Pennsylvania-based Big Ed’s Trading Cards sat at his booth for the 2025 National staring at a wall. Where Kushner sat was about 10 feet, at most, from where Simpson signed autographs 20 years earlier at The National.
Kushner had no idea of the significance of his booth location.
“It’s amazing the players who have been in this building. I would be looking right at O.J. [in 2005],” he said.