Hobby history: Pictures of the first National, 1980

[Rookiemonster]

This is truly awesome I wish I had a camera in the 90s when I was a kid at card shows.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Really cool stuff. I went to shows in the baltimore/washington d.c area at that time and used to go to a card store called 'house of cards'

[Jeff Alcorn]

That's me at 21 years old on the right in the first photo standing next to Gavin Riley. Frank Barning of Baseball Hobby News wanted a picture of any of his staff writers that were in attendance to pose together.

It was a great show- I got an E135 of Joe Jackson from John Spalding for $25.00 and a lot of 80 1967 Kabaya-Leaf Japanese baseball from Hall's Nostalgia for $24.00 amongst other cards.

[Jayworld]

Originally Posted by Jeff Alcorn

That's me at 21 years old on the right in the first photo standing next to Gavin Riley. Frank Barning of Baseball Hobby News wanted a picture of any of his staff writers that were in attendance to pose together.

It was a great show- I got an E135 of Joe Jackson from John Spalding for $25.00 and a lot of 80 1967 Kabaya-Leaf Japanese baseball from Hall's Nostalgia for $24.00 amongst other cards.

Wow, Jeff - $24 for a lot of 80 Kabaya-Leaf cards. That was a fantastic buy! Especially now when one considers that finding a non-graded K-L is tough on eBay....

[painthistorian]

This is an amazing and historic post..I just noticed that I signed the national convention brochure cover when I was 18 years old, I am now 55 and can actually read my script signature name back then, many hobby long timers on the cover of that newspaper, now I scribble and write like a doctor! I do still have my name tag and badge!
Great Show, Great Memories, Great Hobby!

[sterlingfox]

As the National will be in my hometown in 2018, I have between now and then to track down an "I BUY BASEBALL CARDS" cap.

Oh, and Larry, I still want that R311 Gehringer if it ever turns up

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by 1952boyntoncollector

Really cool stuff. I went to shows in the baltimore/washington d.c area at that time and used to go to a card store called 'house of cards'

Jake, you are remembering Bill Huggins' card shop, which is still in existence today in Silver Spring, MD. Of course, Bill is better known in the hobby these days for Huggins & Scott Auctions.

[brob28]

Great stuff David thank you for sharing. I attended the 2nd show in Plymouth the following year as a 13 yr old - please post what you have on that show as well.

[trdcrdkid]

Originally Posted by brob28

Great stuff David thank you for sharing. I attended the 2nd show in Plymouth the following year as a 13 yr old - please post what you have on that show as well.

I posted BHN's coverage of the 1981 National in Plymouth on the thread linked below, but it hasn't gotten as much attention as this thread:

http://net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=235356

[paulcarek]

The kid in the "I Buy Baseball Cards" hat looks like Ogilvie from The Bad News Bears. Could it be him?

[trdcrdkid]

Originally Posted by paulcarek

The kid in the "I Buy Baseball Cards" hat looks like Ogilvie from The Bad News Bears. Could it be him?

No, Ogilvie was played by Alfred Lutter III, and the caption identifies the kid in the hat as Drew Skarupa. A quick Google search reveals that he graduated from high school in 1984, majored in math at UCLA, and is now chief financial and operating officer of a company called ReadD. Here's his LinkedIn page, and his e-mail is drewskarupa@gmail.com.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewskarupa