[BobC]

Definitely going, only about 10-15 minutes from my house.

Aside from Covid, another reason for the lapse of the show was from the passing of Paul Fusco a few years back in January, 2019. The show, also known as the Ohio Sports Collectors Convention, had already been booked and set up for March, 2019, so went ahead as planned. Paul owned and operated Fusco Auctions for years, along with hosting and organizing the annual Strongsville show. Paul had actually resurrected and taken over the Strongsville show after the passing of Geoff Sindelar in 2010. The show began in 1978, so don't know if Sindelar was prt of the group that originally started and organized the show at the Strongsville Holiday Inn each Spring. But he was involved for quite a few years before Paul took over. Sindelar was a big-time collector of cards and memorabilia, and became somewhat famous locally as the "Professor" due to his extensive knowledge of sports collectibles and memorabilia. He was always calling local sports talk radio shows and discussing sports collectibles, which is where he earned the moniker as the "Professor", from knowing so much more than the people on the radio. Eventually, local radio stations hired Sindelar to host his own on-air radio shows, which he did for quite a few years.

I especially loved it when back when Sindelar was running the Strongsville show he would also host a cash only, live auction on Saturday evenings, after the show had ended for the day. The coolest part was they held the auction around the Holiday Inn's indoor pool. Talk about a crazy auction venue, can still remember the chlorine smell in the air. You never knew in advance what they'd be auctioning off either. Also, it looks like Best Wester has recently taken over, so it's no longer a Holiday Inn anymore.

Anyway, when Paul took over the show, he had Leland's as one of the sponsors, and had heard they would likely continue the show after him. It was certainly the biggest and best vintage show in Ohio every year, except when they held the National every so often at the IX Center. Just hope it can live up to its past shows, and continue on for years to come.