MY STASH FROM THE 2025 NATIONAL SPORTS CARD CONVENTION or KILLING 2 BIRDS AT 1 SHOW

 

         This is my entire stash of goodies that I bought last week at the NSCC in Rosemont Illinois. Some of the stuff I will go into more details on so prepare for a long read. As most of you been reading how my friend Greg wasn't able to attend & I was going to my 1st ever National without friends or family to share in the excitement I took off on July 30th at 4am EST arriving in Chicago at 1pm.  I first want to say thank you to you my readers still in waiting patiently as I came back home after spending 2½ days to see what all the goodies I came home with. As you can see in the picture above I have many splendid things. In my last post I talked about how I upset Bill Cartwright now we come to what I bought on the 31st & 1st Including a couple of things I thought I never would own let alone an item where I once had 3 of them now I just have 2 of them & if I locate the 3rd one Ill be happier.
          What I have that I had 3 of them is the 1982 Topps Traded Cal Ripken Jr. 1st solo card I first acquired in 2002 after making the 1982 Topps Traded Set I bought the traded set minus 3 cards Reggie Jackson's first Angels card,Ozzie Smith's first Cardinals card & of course Cal Ripken Jr. well that set cost me to build & some savy moves on my part to get the set for under $20 that included the 3 I was missing I got the 1st 129 cards for $3 on eBay then I found the Reggie for $2 then I found the Ozzie for $1 that meant I had the dubious task to get Cal well I mistyped his name as Cal Ripkin like the 1990 Fleer Error card lo & behold there it was with a couple Yellow print marks the seller claimed it was a 2001 Topps Traded Reprint minus the UV Coating & stamping well it was selling for $3 I grabbed it by placing a bid no higher than $20 then did the waiting game dance. After the time was up I got a notice saying I won the bid at $5 mailed off the payment cause I didn't & still don't have a PayPal account. Then waited soon I get a small package from Washington State not remembering where I sent the payment wondering whom did I trade with that's from there it wasn't until I opened it up saw Cal Staring at me I checked the card through out using my counterfeiting investigation tools that led me to see it was a legit 1982 Topps Traded card #98T I was excited to complete my regular set as well the traded set under $20.

Not a bad pick up the first official day eh!!!!

         The set was sleeved & placed in a binder only to perhaps lose it in a tote that my late older brother David had in his moving POD I am hoping that its in a tote still in my parents house under some steps that I am not unable to get through at the moment to check to see if it is if it is I will be excited that I own 3 of them. The other 2 came within a year of each other I bought the Traded set last summer while visiting my friend Greg cause I already bought the regular set for $35 earlier that year at an antique store that had some cards but great prices. Now the 3rd one I got was at the NSCC this last week from long time dealer from Carbondale,Illinois Mr. B.A. Murry who was set up for his 45th National Sports Card Convention, he hasn't missed a single National since they started & by no means is slowing down so if your near the Carbondale area & see Mr. Murry don't hesitate to talk to him he has some great things he sold me the latest one cause I wanted to have just this card some how in my PC Box(Stay Tuned I might do a story about what's in my PC Box alone if theres anyone interested in reading what cards do I have in it so let me know in the comments below if your interested in reading it).
           I then picked up some 1961 Fleer Singles that I needed for my 1961 set as well some of my 1964 Topps Giants including 2 SPs of Wayne Causey & Galen Cisco leaving me left to get in the SPs area Bob Friend,Willie Mays & Bill 'Moose' Skowron which aren't to hard to find leaving me along with 8 other players Aaron,Clemente,& Mantle are included in that 8 to finish that set up. I am not in a huge rush to finish the 1964 Giants like the 1961 Fleer's I am taking them when I can afford to get them.
              I then picked up a bunch of singles from all 4 of my sports lists from the quarter boxes a delightful hodgepodge of things making some of those lists smaller if I located something from them since well....not many people have been able to locate 25 or more from my lists & I was lucky to find at least that many in 2 days including a Tom Seaver card that I thought I never own.......No it wasn't the 1967 Topps card #581 I wish though so I could just be down to 1 for the set more on the 1967 Topps later.

Got ya thinking I came within 1 card of finishing my 1967 Topps set but got this card instead lol.

Not bad finishing off this promo set within 3 months of starting it.

                 No I found the 1993 Action-Packed Tom Seaver Promo set I started it 3 months ago when I stumbled on it by accident at my local shop for $.50 I thought I had all 5 cards from the set instead it was missing card #TS1 well....in the quarter box I found it I thought I wouldn't find it right away due that like the 1967 would be on my lists for year & years to come unless someone got it for me from COMC or Sportslots or eBay none of the less I am glad to complete that set.

           I also picked up from a dealer from California 5 Odd-Ball Team sets I sorta have a binder filled with team sets like this (Yes Mr. Night Owl your former set that you got of the Keebler Arizona DiamondBacks is included in this binder that you mailed out to me) 4 of the 5 sets were of the Toronto Blue Jays sorry folks 3 out of the 4 were claimed by fellow blogger Mike Matson cause he asked me to try to find himself some nice Blue Jays or Expos Odd-Ball stuff if I came across it I told him one of the sets is for me he was content on having me get at least one. The other Odd-Ball Team set was a 1986 Kansas City Royals National Photo set to honor the 1985 World Champion Royals only reason I picked this up was cause I didn't have anything other than the 1981 Topps Coca~Cola Royals that I have in my 1981 Topps Binder along with the other 11 Teams (Yes I counted the Yankees set even though they had only 3 Test cards made for I count them as well).
           Later on during the show I came across a table that had the 1993 Stadium Club Jack Murphy Set along with some of my `70/`71 Topps Hockey needs paid only for the set cause he saw that I only picked up 3 singles so he threw them in as freebies I am not complaining more from that table later.  I picked up the jersey it says National on the back is the #45 to talk about the convention turning 45 even though it was the 44th due to the pandemic in 2020 causing it one year off but I didn't want to mention it to the person making National merchandise cause I look forward to wearing the latest polo or sweatshirt or Jersey be for my school pictures next fall. I later moved on to find the table where I saw they had some cheap Michael Jordans at $3 considering that we were in Chicago Bulls country $3 is cheap even though sometimes getting these Jordans are $5 or more. Then as I wandered over to another table what caught my eye was they had a box labeled TCMA singles & other late 1970s Odd-Ball sets inside & I was shocked they had some of the 1978 Jack Wallin Grand Slam Set singles(I first talked about this on my January 18th 2025 post) I found 7 out of the 8 I still need leaving me with card #193 Billy Rogell as the Card Gods do to me the last card is a former Tigers player how nice is that 🙄.

                                                            

                             This is a picture of my day 1 stash more on another card so keep reading.

               Now Day 2 I hit the quarter boxes again & picked up a couple more singles from the other side that I was working on from day 1 to see what I could find & I am glad I moved to other side cause I found a couple late `90s & early 2000s I needed in basketball as well some of my 2021 Panini Playoff Football needs.
          After spending 45 mins of going through 8 2 rows boxes of stuff I moved on to what I like to call 2 different ways to please a customer at a show from 2 different dealers. The first is proper way to deal with as you can see in the picture of the 9 card cards & I know Mr. Owl will be jealous of these little precious gems leaving me with 39 left to finish on my 1975 O Pee Chee Set the dealer was outside of North Carolina making the 2nd dealer at a National that I ran into that lived no where near Canada(The first was 2 years ago running into a dealer from Iowa that had some 1975s) & have these precious jewels for me to get he got them in a collection he bought outside of Ashville, North Carolina again I am not picky on condition for my 1975 set just as long its not too bad. The Mantle/Willis card only cost me $5 oh yeah I am not going to pass on that cost anytime neither would Mr. Owl but if he should read this let me know in the comments below. Now the last 4 cards came from the dealer whom we call "Ya touch it you bought it rule" giving me not enough breathing room to inspect the cards to see the condition on the cards but then again these are 1979s they were the only ones I needed now I am just down to 1 Card #102 Dave Lemanczyk in completing that set again the Card Gods give me a Blue Jays player who was a former Tigers player the total cost for the 4 `79's were $3. 

39 on 1975 & 1 1979 so closer still.

               Then we come to the last 4 items I bought while at the National I happened to find a nice elderly couple booth that were discussing on how crazy the hobby has gotten with everyone that is into graded stuff with all the wheelie suitcases running up & down the Aisles when I noticed that they had a sale of all the 3 regions of the `81/`82 Topps Basketball set for sale in their showcase they had it for $75 for all 3 or $30 for individually well I said ya only live once & considering my oldest basketball set is the `88/`89 Fleer set w/Stickers & I had always wanted to make the `81/`82 set but I wanted to wait until I completed something to make room so we talked more on they way things have changed since their first National was the same year I attended mine & then that I shouldn't pass up their offer so I went for it now I just need to find the basic set the first 66 cards which I don't mind finding.

It would be harder to find complete sets of these compaired to finding the first 66 cards but we'll see.

Now we come to the point of my post that I want to thank my friend Greg for helping me pull the trigger on this card. It was about 1 hour before the first day was over & I saw a table that had some nice 1967s knowing I just needed 3 cards to complete my mom's/My set that I mentioned in the past how we made the set from cards she found in a trash can back in 1985 1 is a variation of Ed Spiezio where his name is rubbed out & 2 High Numbers that of #581 Tom Seaver RC & #600 Brooks Robinson while looking through the commons to find Ed hoping it snuck in their but without anyone noticing unfortunately I wasn't that lucky. I did see a Raw Seaver RC but I didn't have $1400 for it then I saw it #600 asking for $225 I quickly shot a message asking Greg if the dealer was willing to take payment over the phone or PayPal could he help me out & Ill send him payment when I got back to work long as I paid him back before December 31st he said he do it cause I wanted to get since it was a New Years Card Resolution I said I like to find one under $300.00 so I asked the dealer if he could take a payment via credit card over the phone he said only PayPal I quickly messaged Greg he's taking PayPal so after swapping texts back n forth from me & Greg the dealer told me where he could send the payment to & eventually the sale was complete I am now down 2 for my 1967 set to be complete so Thanks again Greg. As I type this post up on the 5th I had my mom visit me so she could pose for a picture of her placing Brooks in with the others from the 1967 set.  

                                                             
                                            I finally got that Brooks so I am now down to 2 from my set.

         

It's only fitting I have my mom put Brooks in the binder.

Talk about a nice National haul after a long day at the show & driving back again by myself I finally took a hot shower a small snack of gummy bears slowly went to bed but had to check one more thing on the TCDB that caught my eye I happened to check to see how the dealers voted to say where the 2028 National Sports Card Convention was going to be located at so I could see if I am attending 4 years in a row to Chicago or what when I read the greatest news. For the first time since 1981 the National is going to be in *drum rolling sound*..............DETROIT, MICHIGAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My own backyard I am so excited about it so I don't need to get a hotel room nor need to travel more than just 1 hour away now if excuse me I need to start putting all the rest of my stuff away until then I am reminded what Rogers Hornsby once said about signing autographs for little kids "Any Ballplayer who doesn't sign autographs for little kids ain't an American, He's a Communist."

CARTWRIGHT......CARTWRIGHT..... PART II

          

          

      I need to first apologize for not posting during my time at the NSCC this last week I had a lot on my mind but as well I had a blast in which I'll discuss with all that I picked up in up coming posts so stay tuned for the report on my time at the NSCC. If your an avid reader of my blog I was debating on getting Bill Cartwright's or Al Oliver's autograph well....I went with Bill's as you can see he wasn't amused by someone calling his name like our good friend Mr. Wong. He kept looking around who was doing it only when I got closer I stopped.

I couldn't help but amuse myself when I did it.

Stay tuned like I mentioned to all the goodies I picked up until then I am reminded of what Rogers Hornsby once said about signing autographs for little kids "Any Ballplayer who doesn't sign for little kids ain'r an American, he's a Communist."

LAST DAY UNTIL VACATION

 

      Well....I am on my last day before I leave for The National Sports Card Convention in Rosemont Illinois. I'm excited to go but I am wishing I had a backup friend joining my adventure since more eyes to help me in finding stuff even if I am at 1 part of the show & they are somewhere else but it is what it is & I can't change that. In the past when I have gone with my friend Greg from The Collective Mind blog I am not sure if he sees as well or its just me in how observant I am when I go through stuff at a table. What I mean is that yes there's at least I've seen them but the tables that most dealers that spent over a bundle of money for the table that they charge a lot for just miserably common that I would need to get closer to completing my set & aren't willing to budge on a price for that card. It could be the only card I need & they're the only person who has it. Case in point last year I was at the Chantilly show outside the D.C. area & this guy had a common of the card that's featured on the top of this post. 

       Mark Bryant no relation to Kobe is not the hottest player in the league nor is he Michael Jordan it's just a common player unless you're from Portland or Houston area & I am sure no one is looking for card #26 from the `96/`97 Topps basketball set unless you are trying to make it or replace it. Again I don't know why the dealer has a sticker on the penny sleeve $2 it's not chrome,it's not a parallel version,it's not numbered like xxx/xxx, it's not signed by Mark, it should be $.05 to $.25 not $2.00 The dealer claims I need to make my table back. You got better stuff that can easily do that like that signed Alan Iverson Refractor for $75 so don't give the B.S. about how ya need to get your table cost to break even for the show just cause ya don't want to deal with coinage in your pockets. For the record I didn't get the card but I let the dealer know that he could have a sale & had taken my $.25 for the card instead of the $2 

         As I was finishing up with my work last night I saw that my phone was blowing up with word about the passing of Cubs Legend Ryne Sandberg. To me Ryno's induction to Cooperstown was kind of sad seeing how Lou Whitaker was overlooked sure Sandberg won a MVP award but Lou won a World Series Title in 1984 as well Rookie of the Year in 1978 over Hall of Famer Paul Molitor hopefully Lou will be inducted sometime soon. But with Ryno's passing it will place a black cloud over the National stay tuned when I will see if the Grim Reapers raise the prices on his cards as well Memorabilia from signed balls or stuff. RIP RYNO you'll be missed.

                          Strange thing there's a 3rd former MVP featured on this card as well. Can you figure who it is. Funny thing both the Cobra & Sandberg are true Hall of Famers even though Parker's road was more longer than Sandberg's. 

           Well I best get this post on the way cause I have alot to do between now & before I leave on Wednesday. So I leave ya with words from Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby talking about autographs for little kids "Any Ballplayer who doesn't sign autographs for little kids ain't an American, He's a Communist."

WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR!!!!!

 

         Back when the Dodgers were playing in Brooklyn this was the battle cry heard by many of Dodger fans until 1955 when the Dodgers finally won their only World Championship before heading to the west coast. This is a post that I hadn't planned to post cause I was waiting to hear from my friend Greg of The Collective Mind Blog. Unfortunately he informed me that he won't be making the trip to see me this year & he'll let me know what will happen next year if we do anything cause after all the National Sports Card Convention location will be in Chicago the next 2 years after this one at least that's what the future location site has mentioned.
          Regardless with Greg not being able to attend I am still planning on attending the event for the 2 ½ Days if I don't have any problems with my ticket entry to the show stay tuned to see what happens. I am also planning to post what all I encounter at the show as well what all I pick up at the show cause I need this after having to deal with the passing of my little brother Ethan back in January & I know he would like me to still go & having a great time. 
         I know that I am still planning to have a great time & really hope I can find some great stuff that I need & I can go all out tourettes with my emotions should I find some things I have waited for a long time to complete like my 1967 Topps Set or finding a cheap Topps Wayne Gretzky RC. I also hope I can luck out in meeting some great new friends that might read this & spot me at the show & talk non-stop about our collections. So with that I leave ya with a To Be Continued at the moment & remind you what rogers Hornsby once said about signing autographs for kids "Any Ballplayer who doesn't sign autographs for little kids ain't an American, He's a Communist."

DELAY OF GAME ON THE COLLECTIVE MIND

 

           Well.....I was planning on doing a post of my friend Greg's arrival last night however Greg's Health threw a Yellow Flag so Delay of Game on The Collective Mind Blogger $5 of buying me some of my needs when at the National still a good friend, he will be delaying his arrival to Michigan to visit me. I can only hope that he arrives either sometime later tonight or Sunday at the latest so we can have fun in Chicago.  Yesterday after I woke up to a text message saying he won't be coming right away have to see the doctor about some health issues I told him to keep me posted so I can still prepare for his visit later that night then no sooner I sent that text when I hear from another friend about the passing of Legendary Wrestler Hulk Hogan. 
              I remember as a kid watching the Hulkster run wild on TV watching every Saturday after the cartoons were over switching over watching Hulk doing his famous speech "Brotha` eat your Vegetables.....take your vitamins.... say your prayers cause whatcha going to do when the Hulkamania runs wild on you." I would watch wrestling up until Wrestlemania III when it made its appearance at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. Watching the Hulkmaniaics take on The 8th Wonder of the World aka Andre the Giant as the main event my friend in the 8th Grade Robert Clark was a lucky kid he got ringside seats for it & saw the match live in person I had to wait until after he came to school to have him tell us how each match came out before watching some of the highlights that Saturday then be on the waiting list at the local video store for to watch a copy of the match once it was released on VHS tape. After viewing it my older brother David told me & my little brother Ethan that wrestling was fake he proved his points by showing us how it was staged on the tape.  However it didnt stop my mom to get me this board game prior to the Wrestlemania match & my mother just told me we still have that game in the basement wondering if she should get rid of it. After I mentioned about the Hulksters passing she said well I guess we don't. 

Darn Right mom we ain't getting rid of this game yet. RIP Hulkster.

               Well by the time you read this I am hoping that Greg will pass along an update to me & I can wait for his arrival still so stay tuned for future posts. Until then I am off to sheet up some of my sets that I need to put in respective binders as well figure what sets I will be focused on once I hit the National floor. I leave you with my usual signature quote from Rogers Hornsby "Any ballplayer who doesn't sign autographs for little kids ain't an American, He's a Communist."

LESS THAN 6 DAYS AWAY

               

                  Well...I am just less than 6 days from joining the mob shown from this file picture from a past National Sports Card Convention in Rosemont (Chicago) Illinois. I am so excited cause while you read this post I will be currently slaving away at my job at Dollar General & waiting to see my good friend & my collecting brother & in the Blogging world from The Collective Mind Greg. I made a call to him on Tuesday after work to remind him of last minute items he needed to bring along with him so I can enjoy the goodies he has for me as well other stuff prior to the show & go over the game plan for the 30th & beyond only to have me tell me that he is arriving today the 24th of July not the 25th as what I expected I am not complaining at all just if he doesn't pick up one of the last minute items then Ill complain somewhat but I am excited nevertheless so I don't have not bother calling him after work to see him on Friday.  

              I did get some news my boss finally agreed to let me know about my vacation plans even though I had them set since January of this year. She first wanted me to come in work today,Saturday,Monday,Tuesday & then on the 31st come in.......My answer was FLOCKING NO!!!!!! I made my plans & have the support from some of my co-workers & customers as well even you my readers like Fuji & my Little Brother Jeremy & of course Mr Owl & Bo & Angels Tom threw in supporting me just to name a few don't worry Matt & Matt trouble with guys with the same name its hard to describe each separately ( 1 likes the Coffee & the other lives in Virgina)  & of course my new Canadian pal Mike hopefully you'll answer when we call you from the show. So she will allow me to take the 30th through the 6th of August off so I can enjoy myself without remorse even though it is what it is. 

               I want to say to all my blogger friends whom I traded with in the past as well those whom I sent packages to or commented on their respective blogs that I consider you as part of my card collecting family thanks & I mean it I hope I can run into some of you while at the show so if ya see me please lmk & I'll be sure you get the press you deserve in meeting someone like me. Stay tuned as Greg & I showcase or he'll show ya when he returns from his cross-country trip to his account on things he saw & leave it to our respective readers to decide which story made you feel like your there witnessing what we did at those things or got.  

            I am not sure what to expect on what I will finish off or start but know this I will do my best to post about it so for those of unable to attend you can feel like your there with Greg & I every step of the journey. Until then I am reminded of the great Rajah Hornsby once said about signing autographs "Any Ballplayer who doesn't sign autographs for little kids ain't an American, He's a Communist."

5 TO 9 DAYS

     

           In 5 days I will be expecting my company from my friend Greg from The Collective Mind blog for his every other year visit to Michigan for card shows & card shopping at the National Sports Card Convention which is in 9 days from now hence the title 5 to 9 days & I can't wait for his visit. I have some great new places that I hope we have time to visit but more than likely it will be just 1 new shop since I still haven't heard if my vacation time is acceptable I blame my store manager having me being bitter about it. I rarely don't understand why I have to do this when it was approved back in January as most of you know. My Co-workers said they understand my frustration & have mentioned that I deserve the time off. 

           When I worked on Saturday I had checked to see if anything happened after I went in to request for the time off it was still pending as I type this post up.  I'm not trying to cause any issues about it but I'm just upset that others can get time off for their vacation & I pick up their slot & some of them are willing to pick up my slot if I can get my vacation off.  
               

          During my downtime of late I have been reworking on a set that I made a long time ago & haven't been able to complete plus I am not been able to find the binder that I had them in so I had to start from scratch in making this set what set am I talking about the one & only 1990 CMC Pre-Rookie Card Minor League Set. There's 880 cards in the set back in 1992 when I first started to make this set it was the largest set I took the honor in making (Later on I took on & achieved completion thanks to Greg getting me Micah Bowie the 2002 Upper Deck 40-Man set which has 1180 cards in the set.) I also later & still struggling in finding the autographs still of the players as well a few of the Post-Season cards of the 2008 Upper Deck Documentary Set.  You can find those listed on my lists if you like to help me out on them I would be so humbled to complete it. Anyways the player you see atop of the page has a significant history with me for you see Bruce Fields was a career batter in the Minors he had some stints with the Tigers after being drafted out of Lansing Everett High School in the 1978 Draft in the 7th Round the same draft that Kirk Gibson was the Tigers 1st Pick that summer & a lesser known Pitcher/ 3rd baseman from Harve-de-Grace, Maryland was taken in the 2nd round by his hometown Baltimore Orioles by the name of Calvin Ripken Jr.  Bruce attended the same High School as me & our paths would cross when he would come home to watch his Alma Mater play his second sport he loved to play which was basketball since he was a member of the 1977 Michigan Class 'A' High School Championship Basketball Team with some guy that would be a Benchwarmer for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980's Showtime Teams named Earvin Something of sorts. 

                              Bruce is the guy wearing #14 in that picture for some reason he was overshadowed by the guy in the middle holding the ball I don't think he will make it big his name was Earvin something.The High School wouldn't win another State title until 2004 somewhere in 1993 a crazy kid would graduate  never seeing a State title in a sport where he was a manager for 4 years from 1989-1993.

                  Bruce would make his MLB Debut on my Mother's 38th Birthday on September 3rd 1986 against the Seattle Mariners. His RC is in the 1987 Donruss Set as a Rated Rookie card #47 but its not Bruce in the picture that's Darnell Coles instead Bruce will sign the card for you but will mention that on the card so be warned if you want a tiny inscription on the card.  Later Bruce was traded to the Seattle Mariners for Stan Clarke(Never played a single game with the Tigers) in 1987 then played for the M's from 1988 to 1989 only to be released so a son of a Major League Player who was a Teenager could get more playing time by the name of George K. Griffey Jr. in Bruce's last game it came in 1989 Against his old Team The Detroit Tigers. 

                  If you wondered why Topps was late in jumping on the Griffey Jr. bandwagon while Donruss had him as a Rated Rookie,Fleer had his card as well Upper Deck Made him the #1 to lead off their set even though DeWayne Buice had the luxury of being a promo type #1 at the National Sports Card Convention in Anaheim that summer the reason is well.....Don't hate Bruce but he was featured in the regular set as card #556 & not Junior the reason Topps thought they would correct a wrong that Donruss made in 1987 by featuring Bruce's real face, Pushing Griffey to be featured in the Traded set so people would buy the Traded set over the other companies. Upper Deck would do the same as well #238 but then again they had Griffey in the base set already.
               Bruce like I said made a mark in the minors by being a great batting champion in some of the Minor League stops he had while trying to make it in the Majors. He later became a Minor League coach for some teams including the Tigers & managed the Toledo Mud Hens a couple years his son Daniel was a Prospect that never hung on with the Tigers appearing in 1 game back in 2015 with the big league club.  
Like I mentioned its 5 to 9 Days at the begining of my post I am typing this at 3am est I need to end this post so I can be ready for my long day at Dollar General my 9 to 5 job at the moment lol. Anyways I am reminded by the Great Rogers Hornsby who once mentioned about autographs "Any ballplayer who doesn't sign autographs for little kids ain't an American, He's a Communist."