The Origin of Baseball Card Shows

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Posted By: peter chao

Guys,

I'm not sure that this is a vintage topic, but it might be, here's a chance for the dinosaurs to weigh in. Pun intended.
This is a fun thread, so I don't want to hear about the first time you saw an altered card.

Tell me about the first time a card show was held at your local YMCA or church. Tell me about the people that organized these shows and what their concerns were. Tell me if these people are still in the hobby.

Peter

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Posted By: boxingbaseballgolf33

VFW, in Braintree Massachusetts - I was 8 years old at the time when I started going. The person who runs the shows has had the same location for years. The one problem is getting folks away from the internet and bigger shows to visit him and his show once a month. The show is always advertised in Beckett. I am thinking about trying the show as a dealer (have done it a few times), but not a lot of vintage collectors. Maybe I can change that and get people to come visit me. There is also another show that is better, which I set up every month in Mansfield – advertised in Beckett – both shows have been around a long time. I also remember a flea market at the basement of super market in Weymouth that is long gone, but had many card dealers.

Jimmy

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Posted By: CN

As a young teenager I was lucky to have a relative who worked for a charity that sponsored Monthly card shows at the Golden Gate Motel in Brooklyn. I was fascinated by the shows. I would help out the dealers in setting up and packing up and since I was always there they would have me watch their tables. I never got paid in money just cards and in about 4 years I built up a nice collection and a lot of knowledge about cards. Those weekends are priceless for me. CN, This was in 1976 to about 1979 when Topps was a Monopoly but I always drifted for the Older cards.

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Posted By: Anthony

I thought the 1st one was put on by Jim Nowell in Orange County in 1969. Jim (and Gavin Riley, Steve Brunner, Clay Hill and a few others) kept putting them on every year thru the '70's, and had a monthly meeting in Garden Grove starting in the early '70's. I stopped going (and collecting) in early '76, and when I got back in 2000 all but Clay were out of the hobby, from what I could see. Anyone know what happened to any of them?
There was also an early convention in Detroit, but I'm pretty sure it was a year or 2 after Jim's.

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Posted By: Jack R.

Way back in the mid-70s I remember there were several shows each year featuring "Collectibles" or "Antique Items" in the Chicagoland area.

I attended a couple, and was pleased to see that about 6 or 7 tables had old baseball cards. It seems, if I recall correctly, there were more sports related magazines, books, and picture/posters, than there were actual cards at these shows.

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Posted By: Richard Masson

I set up on the benches in the lunch room of Garden Grove Elementary School to peddle cards and autographs on a few Saturdays in the very early 1970s. Gavin Riley, Mike Berkus, Jack Something-or-other were a few of the names I remember. Mike Berkus is still around and sells on eBay now and then.

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Posted By: peter chao

Actually, that makes a lot of sense. In the Bay Area, there's an upscale city of Albany, on one street in Albany there's a very trendy street with a number of antique stores.

In one of the antique stores the owner sold baseball cards as well as antique furniture, clocks, etal. Each time I went into the store there became fewer and fewer other antiques and more and more baseball cards.

The owner simply went with the money. Baseball cards took less space and were selling while the antique furniture took up space and wasn't selling.

Possibly that's the way baseball card shows developed. It could have been flea markets or whatever where many different types of items sold. But because baseball cards were popular, people started having shows that were focused mostly on cards.

Peter

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Posted By: Mark L

My first was the Second Annual Midwest Card Collector's Convention at a Holiday Inn in Detroit. I think it was in 71 or 72. It wasn't big by modern standards but I got to meet Frank Nagy and lots of other friendly and helpful people.

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Posted By: Rich Klein

Was the old Montclair State College show hosted by Tom Reid and Bill Jacobowitz (sic). A good way of knowing if someone is a real long-time collector in the North Jersey area is to see if they remember this show at all

Regards
Rich

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Posted By: MikeU

I believe my first real card show was at the North Kent Mall in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Circa 1984 or 1985. I believe Steve "Big Daddy" Knapp was the promoter.

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

I have fond memories of the Montclair College Show. First one I attended was in 1981 and it's where
I first met Tom Reid, Ron Oser, Barry Halper, Steve Koscinski, Mark Lewis, Alan Rosen, Joe Sak, John
Broggi and many other dealer's in the hobby back then which I'm sure Rich that you are familiar with.

The vintage cards were great.....the prices were even greater.....for example, I payed only $15 for a
Green Cobb in Vg-Ex condition.

TED Z

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Posted By: judson hamlin

The first show I can recall was at the (long-gone) Ramada Inn at Exit 9 of the NJ Turnpike; probably at the same time as I was trolling the (also long-gone) Route 1 Flea Market in New Brunswick. John Broggi had his stall there before he cashed it in with whatever real job he had and opened hi store full-time.
Typing this made me feel old.

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Posted By: Paul S

Anthony,

You ever run into Goodwin Goldfaden at any of those shows (or in that era ,for that matter)? I got a lot of my pre-war from him in those days at his store, ADCO.

Paul S

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Posted By: Larry

The original NYC shows were run by Paul Gallagher and Bob Gallagher(amazing material was found by these guys way before Al Rosen) and were around since 1973/74.....Early names include : Mike Aronstein TCMA, Lou Michtisch,Dan Dischley, Barry Halper, George Lyons, L&R Card Co, Denny Collectors Den, Rex Coyle,Tony Spaneo, Wayne Varner, Steve Friedman, Rob Lifson(he commuted back then!) etc...These were earlier than the Reid/Jacobowitz or Taylor/Schmierer shows, also St. Louis and Detroit had fabulous shows....Cards were stacked on tables in rubber bands or stamp albums, great time for collecting!

I have almost every button which was given out at the door since 1973, ......I was very young then but I am proud I was part of that era...........

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Posted By: Andrew

My first card shows were the ones put on by by Mark Christiansen (very tall guy) in Fountain Valley, CA. It was 1981 so Fernando mania gripped So. Cal; I searched through all the common bins for his cards. Regular dealers included Dave Kohler (Sportscard Plus), Gavin Riley, and maybe Tony Galovich (who's a member here.) About twice a year there was a "Big Show" in Buena Park put on by Gavin, Mike Berkus (currently organizer of the National) and Steve Brunner.

"Take your life in your own hands and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame." -- Erica Jong

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Posted By: Anthony

Paul- I did deal with Goody often back then- first at his store (I grew up in Santa Monica) and later at the Garden Grove monthly meetings and the annual Anaheim shows at the Hyatt. He never treated kids very well, no matter how polite you were, but his wife Esther was very kind.
Richard, I think we're talking about the same shows (Garden Grove). John Parks was the principal of the school and also a collector. But they were on Thursday nites, once a month. At least in the '73-'75 period.

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Posted By: peter chao

Guys,

From the above posts, it appears that baseball cards were around for approximately 75 years and then in various parts of the country baseball card shows suddenly sprang up. Is that the way it happened?

Why did organizers start to get the same idea around the same time?

Peter

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Posted By: Peck

Peter

I believe the Sports Collector's Digest show calendar had a lot to do with the number of card shows in the late 70's and early 80's. Many of us that traveled the curcuit during that time used SCD to plan our shows three to six months ahead. Every weekend was either a two day show or two one day shows. I traveled a six state area and would see many of the same dealers and customers week after week.

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Posted By: Al C.risafulli

Ted, I used to go to that Montclair show every year when I was a kid. I looked forward to it and saved my money for it all year long.

-Al

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Posted By: peter chao

I enjoyed the old SCD. Back in those days, I would say that it was the primary source for the hobbyist. Nowadays, I would say the internet has become the primary source, it certainly doesn't feel the same.

Peter

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Posted By: Peck

Peter

You are surely right, it's just not the same. I had many happy times traveling to the card shows back then. I don't remember ever getting up from the computer feeling like that.

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Posted By: CN

Larry aka Painthistorian I believe you were one of the dealers/collectors I used to talk to during shows. I still have your business card from when you lived in Oceanside. I just remember you being what seemed to be a lot younger than most of the table holders but you went out of your way to be super helpful. CN

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Posted By: jay behrens

For those of us in wastelands of the Midwest, all we had was Mansco Perry's show at the Thunderbird. The first one Lee and I went to was in 1980. Larry Fritsch was the only "name" dealer I remember there, but I think Lee might remember some others since I only made it to two shows. The next show I got to go to was the March '82 Willow Grove show. I've never seen a show with better material, including Nationals. Oh to have $10k to spend back then

Jay

I love pinatas. You get to beat the crap of something and get rewarded with candy.

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Posted By: Larry

Hi CN- I am not sure of your name but yes, I was from Oceanside which was a hotbed of young card collectors and autograph hounds, it was a great time to be young!

I am so glad I was helpful and not a grouch!

I learned at a young age to hang out with the older guys and by osmosis I learned at shows a lot about cards and autographs and how to handle customers with dignity. Paul Gallagher was a fabulous man who really had patience to teach me about obscure issues and even took me out with the guys after the show to dinner, and Barry Halper was just amazing to meet in person, he was kind, knowledgable and very innovative in his purchasing, he bought the best of the best items even then. Now I am lucky to have three girls and a wife that will put up with me and she deserves a 52 Mantle( or a new kitchen)just for that!