Just back from Boston and feeling drained …

I just flew in from Boston and, boy, are my arms tired. Haw, haw. But it’s true. We decided to take a table at Rich Altman’s show at the Shriner’s Auditorium in Wilmington, Mass., and upon our return (myself and sports division publisher Tom Bartsch) from Boston the flight was late so we missed our connecting flight from Milwaukee to Appleton, Wis. That meant we didn’t get in until 3 a.m. or so, so if this entry is more convoluted than normal, that’s my excuse.

Bill Russell, Sam Jones, Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull headlined the autograph lineup, but the combination of 80-plus degree weather and perhaps the scheduling of a second major show over the same weekend probably kept the attendance below what might have been anticipated.

Me, I wouldn’t let spectacular sunshine and balmy breezes keep me from a card show, but I guess I can imagine how others might have different priorities. Several other former Celtics, Jo Jo White, Satch Sanders and Nate Archibald, were signing at the competing show in south Boston (Wilmington is in the north suburbs), as part of a group that included 2010 Hall of Famers Andre Dawson and Whitey Herzog, plus Pete Rose, Curt Schilling, Derek Sanderson and others. Between the two locations, that’s an awful lot of HOF firepower.

As older hobbyists remember, these kinds of scheduling conflicts come up from time to time, though the politics is never precisely identical, of course, but when it used to happen in the old days there used to be a bit more wiggle room, but not so in 2010. Even a major metropolitan area like Boston probably can’t handle two such shows on the same weekend; later in the week I’ll try to get a wrap-up from the show in Quincy, plus I’ll take you around the show floor a bit at Altman’s show and include some of the photographs that we took over the weekend.

In the meantime, I need a nap.