Strongsville Sports Collections Convention - April 14th-16th

[jimtodd]

Bob, if you’re talking about the Independence show, I was a bit perturbed when I saw he set it up on the same weekend as Strongsville. I don’t blame them for not working with him, especially since it was intentional, and the Strongsville show has been established for years. You would think he’s missing out on vintage buyers and sellers attending that would have if it was just a week or two apart. I for one won’t be able to make independence, although I would have gone if it was a different weekend. I’m sure there are others in the same boat.

Originally Posted by BobC

It is the same place/location, it is just that Holiday Inn sold and Best Western took it over.

What is too bad/sad is that years ago, they would on Saturday nights after the show closed hold a live, cash only, auction at the indoor pool. That was always fun to attend. And once in a while you could get a nice bargain as well. You never knew what they would have in advance, just had to show up and see.

Funny thing is, there is another fairly big card show (supposedly 300 tables) going on at the exact same time and on the exact same days as the Strongsville show, about 15-20 minutes away from where the Strongsville show is located. But it is a much more modern card oriented crowd and show. Was actually talking with this other shows promoter last month at a nearby quarterly show he had in a different location only about 3-4 miles from my house. I had to ask him, why the hell would he go ahead and ever think to have started this big of an annual show (I believe this is the first time he's doing such a 300 table show, in a 55,000 SF space), and run it at the exact same time and in direct competition to the Strongsville show. Interestingly enough. he said he actually planned it on purpose, and had even contacted the Strongsville show promoter/owner to see about doing some dual advertising, and working together, since his show would be much more focused on modern cards and not as a direct competitor to the Strongsville show's historically vintage/pre-war crowd. Apparently the Strongsville show people were not interested in sharing any of the spotlight. Meanwhile, this other promoter and his show will not only have dealers, but apparently there will be local and other media attending, and some supposedly broadcasting live from his show. I've even heard the commercials on the local sports oriented ESPN affiliated radio station in Cleveland, WKNR 850 AM, and apparently some of their on-air talent is going to be at this other show as well. This guy/promoter runs monthly shows one county over, about 35 miles from where I live, as well as these much bigger quarterly shows he just started about a year and a half ago, only about 3-4 miles from my house. And of course, he's also a dealer. Never really heard of this guy or his business and shows before this past Christmas, but he definitely is growing and has some plans.

And if you're wondering why I was even talking to this guy in the first place, remember me saying the show was only 3-4 miles from my house? It was also only $2 to get in, and he actually had a Babe Ruth Candy Co. card for sale in one of his display cases, in the middle of all these newer cards. It was raw, and the condition wasn't the greatest. But when he told me the story about how he supposedly bought it from a little old local lady just a couple days before, and how apparently she found it had fallen behind her refrigerator (and trust me, I'm not making this up) it was almost all I could do to not start laughing out loud. I immediately started thinking about all the Grandpa's attic claims and stories I'd heard of over the years, but in this case, I was actually holding and looking at the card. I didn't know enough about that specific rare and obscure card issue to ever tale a chance on what this guy was telling me. But he did mention probably sending it off to see about getting it graded and authenticated. I'll be curious to stop by this other show and see if he able to get it authenticated at least, but am not holding my breath. We talked just 3 weeks or so ago, so not sure who he was going to have look at and grade it, and if there's even been enough time for it to have already come back so he can have it at next weekend's show. We shall see. LOL So, anyone know anything about Babe Ruth Candy Co. cards?