Friday at the National: Heritage Scores Big

Finally, I have hit the floor at the National. OK, part of the floor, as I managed through traffic to get in the doors just as it opened. A nice crowd flowed in and the action started.

Stationed mostly at the SCD booth today - just down aisle from the entrance, I got to meet many readers and those familiar with SCD. Some said they enjoyed the new format, many reminisced about the larger page counts of SCD past and nearly everyone wished it was still weekly, although most understood the reasons behind it.

One reader stopped by with an interesting piece. It was a series of pennants, similar to BF2 Blankets, but different. He asked around and no one knew what they were, although Lelands said they might have sold something similar about 10 years ago.

There were 12 in all featuring names such as Evers, Speaker, Cobb, Alexander, Mathewson and Wagner.

As soon as I get back into the office, I'll load up the photos and share with you here.

I'm also on a mission here, doing some photo research for the St. Louis Dispatch. They are looking for a couple of Stan Musial cards for a future project. So while I'm here, I'm looking to "shoot" a 1950 R423 Musial card and a 1951 Berk Ross example.

Heritage Auctions conducted their live auction last night, and the 104 lots totaled $5 million. That's pretty impressive. The Joe Jackson "Black Betsy" bat brought $537,000. Cy Young's jersey ended at $657,000. Lou Gehrig's Tour of Japan jersey netted $507,000. Bobby Jones Green Jacket hit $310,000.

Legendary Auctions' live auction is taking place tonight.

I hope to hit the floor much more tomorrow, and see what's selling and on the lookout for unique items. For my own collection, I picked up a Robin Yount signed rookie card and a 1957 Milwaukee Braves scorecard against the Dodgers.

Pleasure to meet many of you today and hope to meet the rest of you attending in the next two days.