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A record crowd, amazing memorabilia and a lively afterparty on Day 4 of the National Sports Collectors Convention
ROSEMONT, Ill. — The National Sports Collectors Convention had one of the greatest days in the history of the event on Saturday.
Show manager John Broggi texted SCD writer Greg Bates at 5 a.m. Saturday morning and said the 43rd annual show was on pace to set an event attendance record.
After another huge crowd on Saturday, Broggi texted again Saturday afternoon and confirmed that this was indeed the largest National crowd ever. And there were still two hours and one day remaining in the five-day show.
Despite an additional 100,000 square feet of space, the show floor was packed again Saturday with nearly every dealer and corporate area filled. Hobbyists and show attendees continued to marvel at the size of the crowd and the brisk business it brought.
“It’s been the biggest show I have ever done,” longtime dealer Les Wolff said. “With that third room, that massive room, I have seen a lot of different people and more people than I ever have.”
“The additional 100,000 square feet gives it an even bigger feel. It feels enormous, almost Grand Canyon size,” said Tim Virgilio, founder of Signatures For Soldiers, the official charity of The National. “The foot traffic has been amazing. From the time you show up until the time you leave, there is just a buzz that is very different.”
The show also continued one particularly encouraging trend — a younger crowd driven by a steady of influx of kids. Young collectors flocked to trade night, the breakers pavilion, Fanatics Live and the card company exhibits, all while restocking their shiny, protective card cases.
JAW-DROPPING DISPLAYS
I spent part of Saturday afternoon walking the show floor, looking for the most interesting and amazing cards and memorabilia I could find.
My first stop wasn’t far from the main entrance, where Memory Lane Inc. had one of the most intriguing pieces at the show.
Standing tall at the front of the Memory Lane booth was a giant mannequin bearing a gray game-used uniform worn by Baseball Hall of Famer and Yankees legend Lou Gehrig. Gehrig wore the uniform in 1934 during a barnstorming tour of Japan with Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx and other MLB stars.
The uniform and cap has been authenticated and photo-matched and is part of Memory Lane’s private collection.
Memory Lane’s Dan Wulkan estimates the uniform could be worth as much as $15 million, which would be a sports memorabilia record.
“The sky’s the limit, because stuff like this is one-off,” he said. “But I don’t think anyone will ever see that record because it’s not going to sell. It’s in our collection right now. If it was sold it would be sold privately.”
Wulkan says the uniform is the most unique piece of memorabilia he has ever seen.
“We’ve seen a lot of Babe Ruth jerseys, but something like Lou Gehrig is so obscure, it’s so tough to find,” he said. “But it came through the family and it’s very rare. I would say that’s the No. 1 piece that I have seen in my career in this hobby.”
MANTLE AND MORE MANTLE
Speaking of unique, rare and valuable memorabilia, no one left behind more amazing pieces than Mickey Mantle.
And no one has acquired and auctioned more amazing Mantle pieces than Heritage Auctions, which brokered the record sale of the $12.6 million 1952 Topps Mantle card at last year’s National.
Heritage has more incredible Mantle pieces this year, including a 1958 game-used Yankees jersey valued at $4 million.
Heritage also has another amazing 1952 Topps Mantle card. This one is graded SGC 9 and valued at $6 million. SGC also graded the 9.5 Mantle that set the record last year.
Collector Steven Lane owns one of the largest Mantle collections in the hobby, which is highlighted in his new book, “Mickey Mantle, A Life in Memorabilia.”
Lane has an exhibit at the Heritage booth that features three truly amazing pieces: a Type I photo signed by Mantle; his personal checkbook; and a high school newspaper signed by Mickey “Chuck” Mantle.
HOOPS HALL
While Heritage has become the go-to source for high-end Mantle memorabilia, Goldin Co. has been known of late for its amazing basketball collections.
Goldin has a basketball exhibit that spans the history of the NBA. It features a signed, game-used 1972-74 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Milwaukee Bucks home jersey; a game-worn Steph Curry jersey; and signed, game-used sneakers worn by Dr. J Julius Erving and Michael Jordan.
Goldin’s shiny, elaborate booth also highlights one of its proudest accomplishments this year. On a giant, television screen visible from several booths away, Goldin was replaying episodes of “King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch,” the Netflix documentary that was just renewed for a second season.
WONDERFUL WAX
Game-worn memorabilia and high-end trading cards are always great, but who doesn’t love to see some fabulous wax packs?
The Baseball Card Exchange always has some of the finest and most valuable wax packs and boxes in the hobby. This year was no exception.
On Friday, BCE sold a 1952 Topps Baseball wax pack for $90,000. On Saturday, it had a 1954 Topps Baseball pack on display, along with packs from the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s.
It also had Topps Football packs from 1959 and the ’60s, as well as vintage basketball and hockey packs.
HELMET DAY
Saturday was helmet day in the TRISTAR Autograph pavilion.
The autograph lineup was filled with NFL legends and Pro Football Hall of Famers, including: Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Dan Marino, Barry Sanders, Adrien Peterson, Champ Bailey, Ed Reed, Charles Woodson, Troy Polamalu, Ray Lewis and Chris Carter.
Most of them were signing cards, photos, jerseys and helmet after helmet. Hall of Fame helmets, team helmets, pro helmets, college helmets and helmets of every shape and size.
“They keep me busy,” said Dolphins Hall of Famer Larry Csonka. “They just keep appearing.”
Marino, Sanders, Polamalu and Csonka all signed at the same time, and they each signed helmet after helmet. There were so many helmets in the pavilion at one point that it looked like playoff games between the Bears-Lions and Steelers-Dolphins.
One of the friendliest and most outgoing signers of the day was local legend Doug Plank. The former Bears safety chatted with nearly autograph seeker, regaling fans with story after story.
Plank said he has made more money signing autographs and making public appearances than he ever did playing football. And his body appreciates it.
“I’ve had a lot of surgeries and I have a lot of titanium in me,” he said. “I’ve had both shoulders and both knees replaced, so I have no pain. This is great.”
Asked how many helmets he had signed, he said, “A lot, a lot. They just keep coming.”
While leaving the autograph pavilion, it suddenly dawned on me why the area was surrounded by memorabilia dealers selling, you guessed it, dozens and dozens of football helmets.
PARTY TIME
After four long, grueling days at The National, it was finally time to relax and celebrate another fun and productive show. We deserved it after walking more than 15 miles on the show floor in three days.
We found just the place at Shoeless Joe’s Ale House & Grille. A local institution, it is named after the legendary and infamous White Sox and Indians star of 1910-20.
Shoeless Joe’s mixes live games, local entertainment, a friendly staff and a bit of history.
On this night, a lot of history.
After looking around the restaurant, we quickly realized we were among the youngest people in the place. Saturday night, it seems, is senior night. It felt like Bingo night at the old folks home or Happy Hour at the Holiday Inn.
And they apparently came to the see the funky, soulful dance band Charles and Company, who were no spring chickens themselves. The elderly ensemble looked like they probably sold trading cards at the 1983 National.
They put on quite a show, though, delighting the crowd with Motown and dance tunes from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. They inspired their senior groupies to shake their booty, among other things, and it looked they sported more hip replacements than the TRISTAR Autograph Pavilion.
It was just what we needed after a frantic week.
After tipping our friendly and lovely waitress, Nicole, and posing for a selfie, we saluted the band and headed back to the hotel.
As we walked to our car, fireworks lit up the night sky over downtown Rosemont. We figured it was NSCC show manager John Broggi celebrating another successful and record-breaking National.
— Jeff Owens is the editor of SCD and sportscollectorsdigest.com. You can reach him at jowens@aimmedia.com or on Twitter at @jeffowens_jeff.
Jeff Owens is the editor of SCD.
