Sosa, ‘Mr. October’ entertain big crowd on Day 4 of National Sports Collectors Convention

CLEVELAND—Longtime collector Danny Black is attending his sixth National Sports Collectors Convention, so he’s used to navigating long lines and a crowded show floor.

Despite more heavy traffic getting to the I-X Center and long lines inside, he was having a great time at the 44^th National.

“It’s like going to Disney World, you know you are going to wait in line, but there’s a ride at the end,” Black said.

Day 4 of The National featured another huge crowd, possibly the biggest of the five-day show on a beautiful Saturday in Ohio.

Also See: Big crowd highlights Day 3 of The National 

And sales were brisk, with collectors shopping and buying and dealers raking in the dough.

“It’s Saturday, the lines are long, and it’s crazy in here,” said Ryan Fiterman, owner of Fiterman Sports of League City, Texas.

Fiterman believes the five-day show, the first in Cleveland since 2018, might have attracted another record crowd. Last year’s show in Chicago drew more than 100,000 hobbyists, setting an event record. Several dealers and hobby insiders believe the first three days of the Cleveland show out-paced last year’s record crowd. The show floor was packed again Saturday.

“The crowds have been unbelievable,” Fiterman said. “We are excited to be a part of it. It hasn’t been in Cleveland in a few years and it’s a pretty good city. We are excited to finish out the weekend strong and even more excited for Chicago in the coming years.”

Fiterman, who sells cards and sports memorabilia, said sales have been strong this week.

“Sales the past two days have been pretty unbelievable,” he said. “We’ve been buying as well, and we’ve been able to buy some really high-end pieces at relatively good prices and made some fun trades, so it’s been an all-around very successful National for us.”

Also See: Security tight at The National 

Black, a hobby consultant who has worked with the Baltimore Orioles and the Babe Ruth Museum, said the crowds are among the largest he’s seen, with a lot of first-time attendees.

“I think it’s one of the larger ones I have seen in a while as far as the amount of people in this space, and the energy is outstanding,” he said. “The prices compared to what I thought are a little bit higher on the floor, but I think that just shows the strength of the hobby right now. It’s an exciting time to be a collector.”

For buyers and sellers, issues like long lines and slow cell service are worth the rewards.

“I have no complaints,” said Fiterman, who credits the new JBJ Corporation management group. “Anywhere you do something with 100,000-plus people, there are going to be issues that are out of people’s control. You can complain about it or understand that things happen, and this group is executing and working through problems extremely quickly.

“For a first show, I think behind the scenes they are doing an outstanding job, but to the public, they can’t tell anything is going on. I am proud of the new group. I think they are doing phenomenal and I’m excited to see what they have for this show and the hobby.”

The show floor on Saturday was also packed with kids, a growing trend as more and more young collectors flock to the hobby.

Blake Grice, a collector and hobby ambassador from Colorado, runs his own YouTube channel and social media platforms called The BLAKEdown. He hung out in the TRISTAR Autograph Pavilion Friday and Saturday, doing live interviews with such legends as Reggie Jackson.

His second National, he said, has been “very crazy.”

“I think the show is really great,” he said. “There are a lot of different people to meet and I’m having a good time.”

The autograph pavilion was packed on Saturday, enjoying what looked like it’s biggest crowd of the week. It was fueled by such big names as Jackson, Dan Marino, Barry Sanders, Sammy Sosa, Mariano Rivera, David Ortiz, Pedro Martinez, Jim Rice, Rickey Henderson and two-sport star Bo Jackson.

Sosa, who doesn’t do many autograph shows, was a big draw and seemed to be having a good time, flashing his big, bright smile for fans and even putting a home-run grip on a few bats.

Martinez and Ortiz, the former Red Sox teammates, were signing at the same time, while Ramirez was all over the pavilion, even posing for photos with NFL legend Ray Lewis.

And no one had more fun than Jackson, who signed for the second straight day and interacted with fans and fellow Hall of Famers. He chatted for a while with Marino before giving him a big hug.

Longtime A’s fan Chip Allgrove and his daughter Doni got a Jackson photo and an A’s jersey signed by “Mr. October” and were waiting for former A’s Rickey Henderson and Dave Stewart.

Baseball Hall of Famer and Yankee legend Derek Jeter was not at The National on Saturday, but he still had a big presence.

Jeter is a founding partner of Arena Club, a marketplace and grading company that entered the hobby a couple of years ago. Jeter helped start the company with longtime collector Brian Lee.

In the last two years, the company has evolved into a one-stop-shop offering card-grading, a marketplace and new digital cards called Slab Packs. Jeter even has his own showroom where you can view and buy his cards. 

“You can buy them from him and you can track that it came from Derek Jeter too,” said Jesse Glass, Arena Club COO/CFO. “People love it. There are autographs in his showroom and they sell out.”

Jeter currently has a few cards in his Showroom, including a nice collection of Reggie Jackson and Dave Winfield cards. 

Jeter collected cards as a kid but lost them in a flood. He partnered with Lee as a way to get back into the hobby. 

Arena Club was busy Saturday morning, and Jeter is a big reason why.

“People love Derek,” Glass said. “Some of our big customers have had a chance to meet him and he has signed a lot of SP autos [Jeter rookie cards] that we have put in our Slab Packs. People absolutely love getting those.

“A Derek Jeter-signed SP auto in an Arena Club slab is just a beautiful and special product that our collectors love.”

Two years ago, young collector Kayla Norsworthy was disappointed that there were no women athletes scheduled to sign autographs at The National, and said so in a column she penned for Hobby News Daily.

The National and TRISTAR took notice, inking LSU college basketball star Angel Reese to sign at the 2023 show in Chicago.

Women's basketball legend Cheryl Miller headlined Saturday's schedule, while Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain and other members of the U.S. Women’s Soccer team are scheduled to sign on Sunday.

“We have to reach a new audience and we have to bring new women in,” Norsworthy said at the show Saturday. “I think it’s important that we do that at every National to keep growing. It’s important to reach a young female audience.”