Reflections on 30 years of the Philly Show
 

Since 1981, I have continuously done the Philly Show. And, this past weekend at Valley Forge, I have set up at my last show there.

It all started for me when I did the famous Willow Grove show in March and September of 1981. I have an endless amount of stories
I can share with everyone on this forum of my tremendous experiences at the George Washington Convention Center in Willow Grove,
Pennsylvania from 1981 to December of 1992.

Bob Schmierer (promoter) re-located the Philly Show to the Ft. Washington Expo Center, in March of 1993. This was a significant im-
provement over the Willow Grove facility. After 14 years, the Expo Center closed down, and the Philly show relocated to Reading, PA
for 5 shows Dec. 2007 - Sept. 2008.

March 2009, Hunt Auctons took over the Philly show. Relocated it to the Valley Forge Convention Center, where it's been for 6 shows.

It's been a great run for me these past 30 years, wheeling & dealing Sportscards at this show. But, most important of all are the great
people I have met at this show....that have become life-long friendships.


I'll leave you with one of my stories......

Circa 1986....four of us were in my room at the Motor Lodge, prior to the show on Friday afternoon. Bill Mastro was shopping around a
"sharp" (the operative adjective) T206 Wagner. If I recall, Bill wanted $25,000 for it. We all took a close look at it then told Bill "too ex-
pensive". That same card is now the PSA 8 (so-called) Gretzky Wagner.

Anyhow, I thought it would be more interesting to have you guys chime in with your past Philly Show stories. I am sure you have many.

Incidently, the Valley Forge show this weekend went very well for me.....several "walk-ins". I sold quite an eclectic bunch of cards (in-
cluding approx. 100 - T206's). Furthermore, quite a few Net54 guys were at my booth, including some that I have not seen in a while.
Also, Mike Peich and I engaged in a very interesting trade/cash deal.


TED Z

Ted--It's always sad when an institution like yourself stops setting up at a show. Why the decision to stop?

Philly memories
 

I first attended and set up at this legendary show in 1981 with my friend and veteran hobbyist Bob Thing. I loved the Friday night auctions and I always won a ton of items to bring back to my store in Framingham, Mass.
Bob and Ted were great hosts for this event. I even liked staying at the run-down George Washington Motor Lodge! the best dealers in the country were set up offering great material everytime. What a great time it was to be a hobbyist in those early Willow Grove days.
The day a guy was trying to peddle all those fake Pete Rose Rookies sticks out in my mind because he wanted to trade a bunch of them to me for a 1933 Goudey Lajoie card I had on consignment.
I remember the deal made by MVP plastic sheets of Ohio to sell massive amounts of sheets to my pal Bob.
Some of the best memories I have in the hobby center around the Willow Grove shows.
In my opinion it was the people that made this show so much fun. Everyone from the organizers, dealers to the collectors helped put this event on the map. It was an amazing show in so many ways.
I went to the other locations, but for me, the magic was gone.
I miss those days and in particular those shows.

Ted- you haven't told us why you are no longer setting up. If you had a good show, with several walk-ins, I would think that would be the incentive to keep doing it.

Reflections on 30 years of the Philly Show
 

Barry and Jay

1st....the Valley Forge show has become an autograph extravaganza. This show really does not need any BB card dealers.

Why I did better this weekend ? There were considerably less vintage card dealers, therefore less competition. There are
more Auction Houses set-up than vintage card dealers.
Also, for unexplainable reasons, quite a few Net54 members showed up; and, I gave them some nice deals.

2nd....the cost of an 8-foot table booth is twice the cost of the shows when Bob Schmierer ran the Philly show.


I will continue to set-up at the National's (East of the Mississippi) with Mark Macrae.

And, I will continue to set-up at the Cooperstown Show every Summer during HOF weekend.


Best regards guys

TED Z

Wow - I'm sorry to see that you're done with the show. You've been its biggest booster on this forum and I, for one, have always enjoyed talking to you when I go.
I agree that the show bears little resemblance to the Willow Grove or Ft. Washington years, when it was worth the annual EPSCC membership fee to get in an hour early on Friday and not have to stand in the long lines that snaked out the doors.
The show will likely stumble on with fewer vintage dealers each show - but, I suspect, without many of us on this forum watching it atrophy.

So you will be in Chicago next year for the National? If so, great!

Ted- I certainly understand, and as I often say, nothing lasts forvever. The shows have changed drastically over the years, and I think for many a lot of the fun is gone.

I'm still trying to get past the $25,000 Gretzky Wagner. Makes me feel a little better about selling a Gretzky rookie for $10 before the price took off.

I went to the show for the first time ever this year. As stated in another thread, I though 90% of the dealers wouldn't give me the time of day. And I would say most of the cards can be purchased cheaper on ebay. But it was a fun time and would go back again if I were in the area.

Joe

Ted, it was a pleasure to meet you a few weeks ago at my store. I tried to get to the Philly show, but I am moving into my new home this Friday and, well, I'm sure you can understand that the immediate weekend prior to a move is very hectic.

I'm sure our paths will cross again!

Your friend,

Paul

Paul
 

I was looking forward to seeing you and your 3 children.

I drop in to see you some day in Flemington.


Best regards,

TED Z

Bill Hedin
 

Responding to your......
"I first attended and set up at this legendary show in 1981 with my friend and veteran hobbyist Bob Thing."


Bill

That's when I met Bob, at my first Willow Grove show. Bob and I hit it right off the bat, since I lived in Maine
for 4 years (and go up there every summer), so we had a lot to talk about.

I see Bob every summer at the show in Cooperstown on HOF weekend. A really great guy and a great guy to
talk Baseball with.

Thanks for reminiscing about those early Willow Grove days.

Best Wishes,

TED Z

Why It's My Log-In Name/Story
 

Grew up being driven down to the WillowGrove show from Brooklyn by my parents when I was about 12-13 in 1977/78. They would usually walk around with me for a bit then give me 20 bucks and they'd go off antiquing.

I distinctly remember buying 1934 Goudey Luke Appling for three dollars and fifty cents and being pretty darn happy. I also still have the Bob Gibson rookie that cost me two quarters and the 62 koufax that was $3.00.

I was just a kid but my memories were of seeing all this amazing old stuff at what seemed like table after table. MY eyes would bug out of my head. I remember staring at an Allen & Ginter Cap Anson for like 5 minutes straight until the dealer offered to let me hold it. It was in a plastic sheet that was cut down to size.

Bought a lot of cards, went to the show about 10 times. So special to me I made it my name on our forum.

Ted I didn't know I was buying from you at the national until I met up with some fellow Net54ers and they told me. Thanks for a fair price on a couple common t206's. Hope to see you east of the mississippi sometime.

peter

ahhhh, the memories
 

Thanks for sharing the memories, guys.

Willow Grove
 

My grandparents live in Willow Grove, so it is a safe bet to say that I didn't miss a show at the GW Motor Lodge. One of my earliest memories going to that show with my dad and seeing the Fire Marshall standing outside the front door ( that had a plywood ramp over the step ) with his "counter" letting him know how many people he has let in so far. The aisles were so narrow that you couldn't squeeze by some of them. The lighting was so poor at some tables, I remember taking cards to Levi Bleem's table to see condition because he had every light this side of the Mississippi on. That being said, the material that you saw at that particular show was unbelieveable....every show I saw a Wagner, N173 Cabinets...you name it, it was there. It's funny, when I take my son to the "new" Willow Grove show ( Valley Forge ) I have dealers that say to me and my father, that they remember me, when I was his age at the George Washington Motor Lodge.

The show was really something else when it was at the George Washington Motor Lodge. The amount of deals that were done in the rooms prior to the show was really something else.

Weather seemed to always be an issue of some sort. I remember during one show when it was raining several dealers having to have small trash cans on top of their showcases to catch the water that was leaking through the roof.

Hi, Ted,

I am so sorry to learn that you have attended your last Valley Forge show. For the relatively short time I've been going to shows (ten years), I've always enjoyed making deals with you. In fact, two of my three most memorable purchases/trades involve you.

#1 was February, 2003 when I was just starting my T3 set and I bought 26 cards from you (averaging VG) for the princely sum of $950. You were incredibly generous because you knew how serious I was about the set. That purchase, which included three HOFers, got me to the goal line of completing the set, including variations.

#2 was this past Saturday when I traded you a Cy portrait (Sovereign back), a card I originally bought from you, for another Cy portrait and a few other cards. What made the trade so special was the fact that my Cy was the final card you needed to complete your Sovereign 206 subset.

#3 is Ron Barrett who pointed me in the right direction when I started collecting 206s, and gave me some generous discounts on cards in order to help me get started. I would always bring Ron and Sheila freshly baked cookies prepared by my wife, Dianne.

So, I'll miss you, Ted, and will look forward to seeing you each year at the National.

Cheers, Mike

Kevin S.
 

I think one of the first deals I made with you was selling you a bunch of Buchner Gold Coin (N284) cards.
I don't recall how many cards there were, but there were quite a number of them.

Those were the days !

Regards,

TED Z

Mike P.
 

Gee, I remember that T3 deal as if it we did it just yesterday. That was at Ft Washington and I think it was the first time we met.

I have always tried to give a first-time customer a good deal.

Best regards,

TED Z

Reflections on 30 years of the Philly Show
 

Hey guys, my daughter Zoe recently sent me this photo that she took of me in the Summer of 1981.
Here is what I looked like when I first started "wheeling & dealing" at the Willow Grove show in 1981.

Check-out my Golden Glove award (to the right of my left shoulder).


<img src="http://photos.imageevent.com/tedzan77/images/tedzsummer1981.jpg" alt="[linked image]">


TED Z

Ted,

I'm sorry to hear that. I really enjoyed seeing & conversing with you on the Friday evenings at the Ft. Washington Expo Center.

I have been going to this show on a regular basis since the mid 1990's and have even attended a few shows back when it was in the old motor lodge in the 1980's. Many times, I used to stay overnight from Friday thru Saturday. But, over the the last 5 or 6 years, I drove up & back on the Friday only. I haven't been to the new location as of yet.

Outside of the National, this had been known as the very best show around. The fact that it moved initially to Reading before its new location probably didn't help keep it strong. It is clear that the show promoter has decided that the autograph signings are more important, so therefore a lot of the national vintage dealers have stopped setting up because a lot of collectors of vintage cards are not attending. If they truly want it like the old days, they would have to put much less emphasis on the autograph signings to try to get the vintage dealers back.

Alan

valley forge
 

great stories and great reminiscings.
ted,my friend, you always have the capability to distill the best of the past for us when
you put on your reflective,philosophical cap.
bill h., ole friend, your reflections hold that same depth.
many thanks to you both.
ted,i must add that your hair in the picture puts ole shag shaugnessy to shame. The t206 shag---not the later pic of him where he looks like a coach.
i didn't realize you had a bit of the ole hippie in you, ted---or perhaps,part of that coal black hair is a shadow!!!
warmest regards,
barry

Barry A......
 

From one "night owl" to another....your observations are correct on both accounts.
In the above photo, the darkness to the right of my head is a shadow, not a shag.

But, in this 1976 photo with my younger daughter Zoe, I am sporting a "shag".


<img src="http://i603.photobucket.com/albums/tt113/zanted86/zoeanndaddyted1976.jpg" alt="[linked image]">


Barry....me-thinks you are a very astute professor.

Best regards ole buddy,

T-Rex TED

I know this is beating
 

To some of you a "dead horse" but Hunt Auctions is part of the Upper Deck trading card company and UD has a lot of experience with modern players but not as much (actually very little) with the type of dealers we'd like to see set up at Willow Grove, Ft Washington, Reading, Valley Forge, etc.

Thus, the show will cotinue to evolve and my guess is that it will end up looking like the Chicago Sun Times show when all is said and done

Rich

I must say -i feel lucky to have been a part of that with you Ted

I do have many stories also-a large portion of my collection have come form that show. I bought 2 american Beauty Gandils in ex condition from Tony and his wife for $125. Also my Lajoie bat with Pied factory 42 came from him.

I also remember buying a stack (probably 20 cards)of rare backs all ex from Ted Z. at 50 bucks each and still have them.
here is just one of them


Attachment 28776Attachment 28777

one more card-the Philly show was loaded with fantastic cards at fantastic prices

thanks Ted

Attachment 28778Attachment 28779

Hey Jim R......
 

I remember those two cards. I think I sold them to you in one of our early encounters at the Ft Washington show.

That Matty Mac graded out pretty nice.

The BROAD LEAF 350 McGinley was one of my first BL 350's, that I acquired back in the 1980's.

Thanks for the kind words.

Regards,

TED Z

Yes Ted, I've pretty much given up on the Philly Show. If you're ever looking for another show to do, Ron B. and I have done the last two Robert Morris U. shows in Pittsburgh and found it to be real enjoyable. The focus is on vintage and it's not overrun with autographs. The last one had members of the 1960 Pirates and Yankees as autograph guests to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1960 series. It added to the vintage vibe.

I'm sure we'll cross paths somewhere. Regards, Ken

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6oHxq77_MI

yes Ft Washington in the late 90s when BL 350 was no different than cycle 350 and not much different than Piedmont 350.

that stack had bl 350,cycles,old mill,sovereign,epdg and hindu brown-some are still raw but the few I got graded were either 4 or 5-all at 50 each-you can't beat it.

I was gathering tough backs when no one cared about them. Dealers were just starting to put a primium on them. I think instead of 25 bucks for ex cards the different ads were 50 in ex.

There was so much to choose from you could never bring enough money. I remember coming to a show with 3k and left with may cards and no money. I think on my last transaction of the day I wrote you a check.

Memories of EPSCC
 

I too stopped doing the show this year after setting up since 1983. I trekked to Reading in hopes that the show would return closer to Philly but then Bob sold the show and Hunts took over and almost doubled the price of the tables. I did the first 2 at Valley Forge but I lost the enthusiasm to continue. With MAB bringing more and more guests, the show will end up like their shows in NY and NJ which have few dealers and become just another autograph show.

Things I remember from Willow Grove

- The first table I had was in one of the dead end aisles near the snack bar.

- Everyone waiting to see who would get the free table for the next show.

- The show auction

- The first time I set up, I stayed at the super modern "George Washington Motor Lodge" :) which was probably built when George was alive. I had a room on the second level and could hear the dealer in the room under mine snoring all night.

- There was a uniform collector named Jay I believe who would show me his flannel uniform collection which he had hanging in the coat room near Ernie Montella's tables.

-After the first show I asked Bob for a different table and he put me in the middle of a row between Ted Lanting and Dick Sikes and 707 Levi and Jim were behind me. Because there was no room behind the tables, the only way to get out was to crawl under your table.

-One show had a terrible rain storm and the dealers near the back door got soaked.

- The clean bathrooms:)

-The walk in material was amazing.

Things I will miss:

- My neighbors. I was between John Ross and Mike Gordon for the entire run in Ft Washington and Reading.

- Seeing the faces of familiar customers and just BSing with them even if they didn't buy something.

Hopefully, CSA's show next April in the Philly Expo Center will be start of a good show in the Philly area.

Bob- I used to sleep over one night at the George Washington Motor Lodge, and two memories I have about the accomodations are:

1) On one very rainy night the ceiling was leaking.

2) On another visit there were more than a few ants crawling in my room.

Ah, the memories...

memories
 

ted,
many thanks for the kind words, ted!!
i love being called astute!!

and that photo of the true Zanidakean hippie shag looks great.
i wonder if ole sloate ever had any hippie hair while riding around with
abbie hoffman.

jim r, i had wondered how you acquired all your fabulous cards---now i know why, at least in part!!! I was thinking maybe you were one of those rich fellows who owned much of the Emirates!!!!

warmest regards,

barry

Barry A......
 

I knew you would get a "hoot"....out of me calling you "astute".

I didn't know Barry S. in the '70s, but I've seen pictures of him, and he was a "cool dude" back then.

Ask Barry about me persuading him to set-up at the Willow Grove show in the mid-1980's ?
I'm sure he will chime in about his experience.


TED Z

Ted- I set up twice at Willow Grove and didn't really love it. Sales were slower in person than they were in my mail order business, and I was always antsy behind the table. I must have walked around the floor a hundred times a day. It wasn't for me. I preferred to go there and buy, and then when I felt I had done every deal I could, just head back home.

Philly Show
 

It was nice to finally meet you at this last show, Ted. My first Philly show was as a teen in the early 80's when my father sold his shoebox of 51 Bowman dupes. I think he had 3 Mantles and 2 Mays in that box. Paid for the family vacation, and got me hooked. Had some great memories at the GW. It's been a long time since I can remember a show where you could hardly move in the aisles.....

Best of luck.

Bob

I really appreciate hearing about the "old time" shows & the stories behind them, they're great. Share some more, please.

CSA show at Oaks, PA April 15 - 17, 2011
 

I am posting this information for Marco Rol, who will promote a card show at the GREATER PHILADELPHIA EXPO CENTER, Oaks, PA on April 15-16-17, 2011.

If you have any questions, contact Marco at CSASHOWS@AOL.COM or call at 540.456.6877. Updates can be found at www.csashows.com

"I'm getting very excited about the show, and word seems already to be spreading, judging from the dealers calling for booth information.

This Show will only have about a third the number of autograph guests as Chantilly, but a third more dealers. I'd like it to be more of a card show than the others CSA promotes. It won't be a Willow Grove; but then nothing ever will. However it will at least be a move in that direction, with more attention paid to the card dealers, both Vintage and shiny. So I certainly hope some of the net54 crowd will give it a try. I believe they'll agree it's a move in the right direction.

Also, though I haven't yet announced it on our website, Levi Bleam has consented to be our Host Dealer for the event, which means he'll be my liaison with the dealers I'm not as well acquainted with; he'll be responsible for relaying their suggestions and criticisms to me; basically I want him to be my guarantee that the Show at Oaks is what the Vintage dealers and collectors want. Levi, as you know, is not afraid to speak his mind. And I'm going to listen to him.

I would also like to extend an invitation to Ted Z to come out of retirement, especially if he would be so kind as to accept the offer of a free booth at Oaks.

Best regards, Marco Rol, CSASHOWS.com"

Willow Grove line-up from the early 80's
 

I was thinking of all the great dealers that set-up at the early Willow Grove shows and thought I'd list them:
Bob Thing and I were against the long wall near the door with Enor Plastics, Halls Nostalgia and a few other guys.
Lew lipset was on the back wall a year or two and that was the year I bought some Talk of the Diamonds from Kevin Strauss.
The middle rows featured levi Bleam, Dick Sikes and Charlie Sachelli, Phil Spector, Bob Ochs (traded a 51 B Mantle to him straight up for a 51 Mays which started over 15 years of trades), Steve Freedman, Bill Goodwin, Art Taferro, Don Lepore and Richard Gelman, Ted Z, Joe Duggan (the first guy to bring memorabilia in quantity), Bill Gradzewicz and Jeff Miller, Wayne Miller, Ron Oser, Bill Mastro had a table but was always walking around, Barry Sloate was there a few times, Vince Rossi, Terry Knouse, and many more!

Famous guys that walked around but I don't think set up were:
Loe Avon and Joe Pasternack (in 1988 they had over 100 cases of the new Score BB), Gene Ryder (a Boston Police Det that was a big buyer, Rob Lifson was usually there on Sundays, and many more.

Back then, I was known to bring Tobacco cards from the N's and T's plus whatever E's, D's, etc.., I could find. I had a tremendous following of T collectors. I remember a guy and his wife who both made a 206 set and I heard eventually both bought a Wagner! I sold a Mayo Russie variation to Rob Lifson one year.

My goal was to sell as much as possible and re-invest most of it in Boston cards from every year to take back to my store in Framingham, Mass.

I also remember the big dinners we went to on Saturday along with the slew of "Gentlemens Clubs" we frequented,lol, I was 20 and single so it was fun time for me!

Just a little story here to spark some interest in the dealers that made the show great!

Marc Lewis and Warren Karp were always there represented CPU, the early price boks! What a great time we always had!

I'd love to hear more stories of those days!

Regards,
Bill Hedin

PS: Other "National Circuit shows included: Strongesville and Sharonville Ohio, Plymouth, Michigan, St. Louis holidome, Chicagoland by Bruce and Bonita Payntor, White Plains by A. Gloria Rothstien, and who could forget those Montclaire, NJ shows! My first auto shows were in NYC. A small monthly show I think Dan Dishley ran in the city plus a dentist had Mays and Mantle at the Armenian Church on 1rst Ave, plus those Meadowlands Hilton Events and of course CPU's Willie, Mickey and the Duke at the Statler Hotel across from the Garden was a classic.

I had done a few Creation Comic Shows in NYC in that time too!

Bill Hedin
 

Great stories, thanks for sharing them with us. I will post a diagram later of the table layout at the old George Washington
Convetion Center, so that readers can get an appreciation of your description.

Pictured here is the BB card show program. Robin Roberts, Richie Ashburn, Jim Bunning, Bob Feller, and Lary Doby were the
only HOFer's that I recall signing back then There were many Phillies and stars that were also autograph guests. One guest
that I have to tell you about is Jimmy Piersall....I'll save this for a later post here.

And, get this guys....autograph costs for these ballplayers were either free or less than $5.



<img src="http://i603.photobucket.com/albums/tt113/zanted86/willowgrovesept1983.jpg" alt="[linked image]">



TED Z

Reflections on 30 years of the Philly Show
 

Here's a diagram of the layout at the Willow Grove Show. Note that there was not much space in the aisles between
the tables. And, there was even less space between the dealers behind the their tables. Remember the "bump" music
back then (e.g., Stevie Wonder's...."In the City"), well we were doing the "bump" quite often back then.

Here are some of the more known dealer locations at the show throughout the 1980's......

Dealer..................Table #

Tom Reid &
Don Flanagan..........1-3
Joe Dugan..............5
Frank &
Vivian Barning..........6-7
Barry Sloate...........14 (two shows)
Bob Thing &
Bill Hedin..............132-134
Ron Oser..............137-139
Bill Huggins...........143-144
Irv Lerner.............145-146
Lew Lipset............141
Tony Carrafiell.......142
Bill White..............127-128
Hall's Nostalgia.......122-124
Alan Rosen.............22
Wayne Miller...........27-28
John Broggi............36-37
Bill Henderson.........71-73
Rick Starks.............67-68
Bob Steinberg.........63
Phil Spector............61
Mark Lewis.............78-80
Dan Paley &
Ted Zanidakis.........38-39


<img src="http://i603.photobucket.com/albums/tt113/zanted86/willowgrovediagram.jpg" alt="[linked image]">

TED Z

Ted- I'm amazed that you have that information.

For the record I did one show by myself (I had a table directly across from that wonderful snack bar), and the second time I shared a table with Bruce Perry (hi Bruce if you're reading this) in a different location.

thank you, Ted!
 

Hi Ted,
Thank you for the diagram! It was so nice to see everyone on the list.
God, how I miss those days.
BTW, remember the years that they ran a summer show in Ocean City?
It was like a "vacation show", and I never set up there, did you?
Regards,
Bill

Reflections on 30 years of the Philly Show
 

Bill

I set-up at the Philly Seashore show until it ended in the Summer of '92. It was a fun show to do. The show was in The Music Pier auditorium.
And shall I say....it was a "breezy" atmosphere. Also, usually on that weekend was the Classic Car event on Ocean City's spacious boardwalk.
There was always large crowds attending both events.



........................Ocean City, NJ (1981-1992)............................................. ...............Ft. Washington, PA (1993-2007)

<img src="http://i603.photobucket.com/albums/tt113/zanted86/oceancityftwashington.jpg" alt="[linked image]">


Hey guys, let's keep these old Philly Show stories continuing.


Best wishes, Bill

TED Z

I first started going to the Willow Grove shows in the late 1980's. Lots of good memories.

This program was well before my time. Anybody attend this show?

Spring Garden College
 

Kevin,
I was 13 that year and did not attend. however, Ted Taylor told me Don Lepore was set up there and selling 1966 gem mint Topps sets for 65.00 or 2/100. I bought 2 sets from him via the mail!
I started at the Grove in 1981.

1975 Spring Garden Show
 

Kevin

As you know, Spring Garden was the very 1st Philly Show. Bob Schmerier and Ted Taylor created a neat 49-card set of 1948 Bowman-like cards
that were available at the following year's show. I'll show some of these cards in a future post.

The featured guest at this show (or the 1976 show) was hobby pioneer George Moll.....who was the major force behind all the Bowman Gum Co-
mpany sports & non-sports cards (Play Ball's, Bowman BaseBall & Football, and non-sports sets like the famous 1939 Horrors of War cards).

This show is a monumental tribute to this hobby's early beginnings.


TED Z

1976 The Trading News
 

This 1976 Trading News had a bit about the Phili Show so thought I would post it. It's about 3 yrs after I quit collecting (as a youngster). Pardon the scan size. I did the best I could. regards

I remember these shows well. The 1st card show I ever attended was the last one at Spring Garden College (9/77) before moving to Willow Grove. When I started setting up there, my friend Ted and I wound setup next to each other. The Willow Grove and Ft. Washington locations were good for me--15 minutes from home.

wow phat dealer list with the Barnings,Lipset,Lerner and Halls Nostalgia-thanks for sharing that list-in 81 I was 16 and only knew about Topps...:eek: