The passing of Charlie Conlon

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Posted By: tim zwick

I am sorry to hear of the loss of two hobby legends and characters. I first met Charlie at one of the old Dearborn Michigan shows put on by Bob Wimmer (Thanksgiving weekend 1975 I believe) and am quite sure it was the only time I ever saw him with a table. His entire inventory that day was a laundry basket filled to the brim with 1975 Topps mini packs. I bought lots of packs with profits from my sales and many boxes from him in the years following. I believe that Charlie was in the grocery business in some manner and had a pipeline of the cases when they surfaced in Michigan. Like many have said, he was a fixture at virtually any show I ever set up or attended in the next 25 years. As for Tony, we first crossed paths in the early 1980's when he started stopping in my hardware store where I had a corner with sports cards and memorabilia. He actually purchased many of the same 1975 Topps Mini boxes that I had purchased earlier from Charlie. We became friends quickly, made many deals and shared lots of good times with each other over the next 20 years. Tony was probably the best buyer I ever met and knew baseball memorabilia inside and out. He was a great guy with a huge heart that I will truly miss. My condolences to both of their families. RIP