Sports Card Dealers
COUNTDOWN TO THE NATIONAL: Card shows help longtime dealer Larry Larson deal with recent health issues
Larry Larsen, who has been selling sports collectibles at shows since the late-1980s, likes the haggling, which is about as much of a show experience as comparing card conditions.
He was selling cards on March 4 at a show in Oak Creek, Wisc. when a customer asked for a combined price for four cards.
Larsen looked at each and immediately replied, “$50.” The customer countered, “Would you do $45?”
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Larsen accepted the offer.
“It’s a fun hobby and I still enjoy it. The haggling is the best part of it,” said Larsen, who lives in Hartford, Wisc. “I’ve seen a lot in the hobby over the years. Heck, the cards I used to throw in the dumpster, now they are being sold. Everything’s really changed.”
Especially the prices.
“The hobby boxes are getting out of hand [price-wise]. How can it be affordable for kids?” he said. “Box prices have dramatically gone up and the number of packs in each box has gone down.”
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Still, Larsen experiences great joy opening packs, particularly with his grandson.
“That’s like scratching off a lottery ticket when you get that one big hit,” he said.
Larsen, who will be set up at the 43rd annual National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago, sells cards from all sports and all eras once a month at card shows. Eventually he wants to do more shows in addition to his online sales.
But it’s been a rough decade-plus for Larsen, who in 2010 was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
“When you hear the word ‘cancer’ it scares the hell out of you,” said Larsen, who learned of his diagnosis during an annual exam. He went in for a physical at 8 a.m., then went to his construction job. At 1:30 p.m., his medical team called and said he needed to see a specialist at 6 p.m. that day.
“They caught it early enough that I didn’t have to get radiation or chemotherapy,” he said.
Larsen had surgery and was, for the most part, better about four months later.
In the years that followed, he had many other medical issues, including kidney failure, a heart attack in 2020 that forced him to stop setting up at shows for six months after he had a stint placed in his heart, and cataracts that forced him to have both eyes operated on.
Then, in September 2021, he was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and started chemotherapy the next month.
“The chemo kicks your butt,” said Larsen, who stepped away from the card show scene for 15 months to battle cancer.
He returned to selling at shows in December 2022.
“My first show back was exciting. It was great to be out in the public again,” said Larsen, who considers the hobby part of his therapy.
“Cards put me back around people, which is something I wanted,” Larsen said. “Cards keep my mind occupied, help me so I’m not just staring at the same four walls.
“It’s a hobby; it’s supposed to be fun, and it definitely is fun for me. It could be a helluva lot worse.”
Still, he endured seven blood transfusions and twice was diagnosed with Covid.
“This [hobby] keeps me happy, keeps me from being depressed. I enjoy it so much,” Larsen said. “The hobby keeps me occupied and active.”
His passion for cards and all collectibles is seen at shows. He smiles, never focuses on the funds and wants others to cherish the hobby, too.
Larsen had about five boxes at the March show near Milwaukee, each overflowing with stars, rookies and more. When kids came to his table, he immediately told them that they could take 10 cards from those boxes — for free.
“It’s a fun hobby. Kids are the future of the hobby, so you have to be nice to them,” he said. “I’m getting back in shape, feeling better, getting out there … but it takes time.”
