[Exhibitman]

Nice stories, all!

I have been attending card shows since the 1976 ASCCA show at the Roosevelt Hotel in NYC, so I've been to too many and many stories. My favorites:

On the celebrity front, the one that sticks out was a Hollywood Park show I attended where Raiders and Rams were the highlight guests. I happened to be in the hallway when the Raiders came in: Kenny Stabler, Jack Tatum and a few others. Just got to say hello to them but it was like rock stars; those guys had swagger. I went to the bathroom and who ended up next to me? Snake. I don't recall the small talk but he was cool about talking to a fan in the can. I think Stabler was cool about everything.

Sorta show related: I was at the Cleveland National a few years ago and staying at the Sheraton (?). I always ask for the second floor because it has stairs down to the lobby and I don't like waiting for elevators. I step out of my room one morning to go to the show and run, literally, into Jim Brown. Like running into a brick wall. I looked up and said "excuse me", saw who it was, and said "Hey, you're Jim Brown...but I bet you knew that already." He laughed. I asked if he was there for the Hickerson HOF induction and the show and he was so we chatted about that for a second before I let him go on his way. That was actually the second time we had a card show conversation. Years ago when he was a free guest at a show in L.A. I got his autograph on an early card, which wasn't typical at the time [many collectors still treated card signings as card defacing]. He asked why I was having an expensive card signed and I told him because he was the greatest RB who ever played and I wanted a card signed by the GOAT. He seemed genuinely complimented by it and thanked me.

Memory that wasn't: One of the trips to Cleveland I booked a seat in first class because it was only $300 more each way than coach. I wanted to sit in row 1 to stretch my legs but I hate window seats and the aisle was taken, so I opted for the second row. During the flight the man in row 1 aisle stood up and I thought how lucky I was not to be in the window seat next to his because he was even bigger than me. Then I realized it was Dave Winfield. So I missed having a flight conversation with Dave Winfield.

He likes boxing too: I was at one of the Chicago National shows and ended up at a fellow boxing collector's table where he was sitting with his table partner and an older gentleman talking Sugar Ray Robinson and other great fighters of the 1940s-1950s. I sat down and we had a nice discussion for a while before the stranger got up and said he had to go. I then noticed two things: he was tall and had a championship ring. Boston Celtics HOFer Sam Jones.

Alltime best card show memory: the first card show that we [me, Jason and Anthony] promoted a few years ago in SoCal. We had no idea whether the idea would work but the support was great and everyone had a good time. Lost a bundle on the event but it was a blast. Maybe we'll do it again some time when work and home pressures wind down some.