Going to card shows in the 1970s

[Chris-Counts]

I went to my first card show in Anaheim, CA in 1973. The first table I stepped up to had a shoebox full of t206s in ex-mt and better. None were even in plastic sleeves — in fact, I'm pretty sure they hadn't been invented. The T206s were $1 for commons and $3 for HOfers. I was 12 at the time. I picked up a Chase, a Three-Fingered Brown and a Lajoie. Everboy else I met at the show seemed entirely focused on 1950s cards, with Mantle being the object of everybody's obsession. The 1950s hot dogs cards seemed were highly sought after. Few collectors seemed interested in pre-war cards.

In '75 or '76, I went to a show in Pontiac, MI. Just like I did at the Anaheim show a couple years earlier, I spent all my money at the first table, which included a shoebox filled with 1953 Bowman stars that looked like they had just been pulled from packs. At one point, I held up a thick stack of Mantles and admired how sharp all their corners were. I bought one for $11.

About this time I started attending the Southern California card club shows in Orange county, first at the Walton School in Garden Grove, and later at the Fountain Valley Recreation Center. I recall many of the regulars, including the president, Clay Hill, Steve Brunner, Gavin Riley, Tony Galovich, Mike Berkus, Wes Schleiger and others. What a glorious time that was!