Card Show Recap

I hit a fairly big card show on Sunday for the first time in quite a while. Partly planned, partly on a whim. If you had asked me a month ago, I was definitely going. If you asked last weekend, probably not. But come Sunday morning I decided I would check it out.

This shows happens 2-3 times a year and probably has about 100 tables, give or take. I don't know how you guys do it, but I am a fairly frugal shopper. I like to make my way through the maze, see what's everybody's got, and then decide what to buy.


The first pass through I noticed something I never really paid attention to before joining the blogosphere. I didn't take a picture but dime boxes are real and they are spectacular! And it seemed that most of the tables selling singles had them.


From one dealer, I picked almost 500 cards for $30. And he threw in a box to hold them. But it wasn't just a random 500 or so cards. I got to hand pick them! Lots of different brands ranging from the early 80's to last year. Here are some "steals" I came away with for myself for less than a dime each.

1990 Swell Don Kessinger

1985 Topps Shawon Dunston Rookie

A trio of mint condition Lee Smith rookies? Check! Check! Check!

A couple of non-Cubs I'll be hanging onto (unless somebody really wants them) because I couldn't pass them up for a dime:

1987 Topps Mark McGwire

1993 Topps Gold Randy Johnson

A little more than half of them were Cubs cards but I also picked up some neat cards to fill some trade packages I have going out.

Marcus has some Padres cards coming his way:

Cliff has some Astros and Phillies.

I could have spent a lot more time (and money) going through those dime boxes but after 20 minutes or so, I was suffering from "card-collector's neck" and needed to move along. Going to a weekend long card show on a Sunday is a double edged sword. Everything is kind of picked over but you can get some deals on stuff left behind. 

I picked up 16 Cubs ice cream helmets for my ever increasing signed collection. These were originally a buck and marked down to $.50. Since I bought them all, they were just $5.

This complete set of 1990 Senior League cards was just $2. Lots of good old-timers in it. First time through the set, I noticed 2 different Fergie Jenkins cards, Bill Madlock and Bobby Bonds among some other former Cubs.

Not sure if I overpaid for this at $3 but I thought it was worth it. It's an unopened 4-pack of cards from Baseball Talk. I guess these cards played sounds or something when used in conjunction the player. I somehow missed these growing up so I have no idea. Glad Ryne Sandberg was showing on top.

My older son came along with me and talked me into buying team issued sets for 3 of the Carolina League teams we'll be seeing later this summer plus the Top Prospects set. Hopefully some of these guys will still be around to get autographs from.

Guess I have to go organize my 300+ new Cubs cards now...

ATCRCS - Don Kessinger

I can't really explain it but Don Kessinger is one of my favorite Cubs despite him finishing his playing career before I was born. Here's a better shot of the front that you've already seen in the header:

This was one of my first that I had made and looking back on the player cutout makes me cringe a little. When I started making the cards I had absolutely no Photoshop experience and taught myself using Google searches and Youtube tutorials. I should have cleaned up the edges a little bit more and maybe I'll eventually go back to fix it up but I'll leave it for now to show how far I've come.

With credentials like Kessinger's, writing the blurbs on the back are a whole lot easier than guys that just had a cup of coffee with the team. Sometimes I have to really dig deep into some box scores and pull out a game-winning hit or run. Luckily, Kessinger won some major awards and it only took a minor search to discover he also holds a record.