Best Card Shows for PreWar?

[ClementeFanOh]

Hi billbays- not sure where you are located. The April show in Strongsville,
Ohio (immediately south of Cleveland) is a wonderful vintage show. It has
a retro feel to it, people elbow-to elbow and almost no modern stuff in sight.

Trent King

[dfletch00]

Originally Posted by ClementeFanOh

Hi billbays- not sure where you are located. The April show in Strongsville,
Ohio (immediately south of Cleveland) is a wonderful vintage show. It has
a retro feel to it, people elbow-to elbow and almost no modern stuff in sight.

Trent King

Agreed with Trent — STrongsville is really slanted to pre-war / vintage …. Would be nice to see them move it to a bigger venue … Been around a long time .. First show I ever went to … at age 10 — ya a long time ago

Go Tribe !

[jbsports33]

Philly and Boston are good compared to others, always a good number of vintage dealers - good luck if you are going soon! Boston in Nov- Don always has a great selection! and Philly in Dec

Jimmy

[Brownie33]

Originally Posted by jbsports33

Philly and Boston are good compared to others, always a good number of vintage dealers - good luck if you are going soon! Boston in Nov- Don always has a great selection! and Philly in Dec

Jimmy

There’s also a ~ Monthly Show in the Boston area (Dedham) that always has great vintage and pre-war representation. However, it can be hit or miss since these shows occur frequently and sometimes vendors skip certain shows so only worth going to if you’re in the area.

[Seven]

I've thoroughly enjoyed the Philly show in the past, and hope to get to the one in December this year.

[1954 topps]

I went to the Strongsville show this past April and the show was absolutely packed on Friday, so packed you had a hard time seeing what was on the tables. So packed that within an hour of the show everyone was sweating bullets and complaining. I literally had to leave the ballroom on occasion to get to some cooler air. I last attended the show in 2018 and it was probably around a quarter of the people. And I’m a young guy and average build. Not sure how the big guys and older gents suffered through.
This place was packed with a noticeable older crowd so that tells you everything you need to know about the vintage market at that time. Anyhow selection was great if your looking for raw, not too much graded stuff. Tobacco and candy cards a plenty.
This show desperately needs a larger venue. It was far too crowded to the point where it felt unsafe. Unless the venue changes I’m likely not going back.

[obcbobd]

Originally Posted by Brownie33

There’s also a ~ Monthly Show in the Boston area (Dedham) that always has great vintage and pre-war representation. However, it can be hit or miss since these shows occur frequently and sometimes vendors skip certain shows so only worth going to if you’re in the area.

No one goes there, it's too crowded :-)

Serious, it is a pretty decent show but the aisles are so narrow that, to me, it is not worth the effort. Would be great if they had a bigger hall or moved the autograph guests to a different room

[obcbobd]

Originally Posted by jbsports33

Philly and Boston are good compared to others, always a good number of vintage dealers - good luck if you are going soon! Boston in Nov- Don always has a great selection! and Philly in Dec

Jimmy

I'm 20 minutes from the Shriner's and always go. Is it worth the long drive from Boston to Philly? Or would I just see the same dealers.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by dfletch00

Agreed with Trent — STrongsville is really slanted to pre-war / vintage …. Would be nice to see them move it to a bigger venue … Been around a long time .. First show I ever went to … at age 10 — ya a long time ago

Go Tribe !

The Strongsville show has been going since 1978. "The Professor", Jeff Sindelar, used to run it with friends of his for the longest time. And after his passing, Paul Fusco took over the helm, and made sure to keep it vintage. Paul passed away in January of the year before the pandemic, so his wife, Debbie, ran it that one last time in 2019, before the pandemic cancelled the next two years. Finally came back this past Spring, but the Holiday Inn it had always been held at was taken over by Best Western, so it is no longer the Strongsville Holiday Inn show, as it was commonly referred to locally. And the show has now been taken over by the guy who owns and operates the Toronto Sport Card and Memorabilia Expo, Steve Menzie. The Show's website still advertises it as a premier vintage show, so hopefully the new owner will continue that tradition going forward.