Josh Evans Passed Away

[bobfreedman]

Press Release

[prestigecollectibles]

Wow, that is horrible. Josh was a great friend to me and I knew he had been sick. RIP buddy.

[prestigecollectibles]

Wow, that is horrible. Josh was a great friend to me and I knew he had been sick. RIP buddy.

[autograf]

Josh had won a few items in my Nonsports auction and I’d conversed with him some and knew he was sick. RIP Josh.

[aelefson]

I heard it too. I am really sorry to hear about his passing as I considered Josh a mentor for years. He was always good to me, from the first time I sold him a few college programs in my early teens to my more recent visits to his home and office for sales. I enjoyed hearing his stories about finding things at Brimfield years ago and he always paid well for items that excited him. He helped direct me to my passion of 19th century baseball items and he encouraged my unusual pursuit of those items through antiquing, rather than typical hobby sales.

Alan

[Hankphenom]

Wow, so very sorry to hear this. One of a handful of true hobby creators and icons. I had many dealings with Josh, and they were usually fun and always interesting. One time at a National we got to chatting about Fillmore concert posters, and not long after I got home a copy of "Art of Rock," the incredible definitive coffee table book of psychedelic posters, came in the mail with an inscription by Josh. The hobby will go on, of course, but it won't be quite the same without him.

[sb1]

Very sorry to hear this, Josh and I have been hobby acquaintance's for over 20 years. He always had time to sit down and talk one on one, each and every time we ran into each other. He will be missed in the hobby as he was one of the hobby pioneers of the modern era.

[Rich Klein]

I knew Josh for almost 35 years and he was always very interesting to chat with. I will miss seeing him at the big shows.

His mom posted this on FB:

Josh is most wonderful son to me. He made my life happy and complete.
Sad to say that my darling son is no longer with us. Missed by his sister Andrea Young.
Sincerely,
Maxine Rosen Evans

RIP Joshua Leland Evans

Regards
Rich

[Leon]

This is awful news. I knew he had been very sick. He was always a strong supporter of our forum. And more importantly he and I had a special relationship. It was all good. At least a few times he yelled at me and we ended up hugging. I believe he spoke at no less than 3 Net54 dinners. He was always a trooper. I appreciated every thing he did for the forum and the hobby.
I will definitely miss him a lot. RIP friend.

Condolences to his family and friends.

[Wite3]

I too was dismayed to hear of Josh's passing. We had exchanged emails and messages on hobby related stuff (including postings here on this board) for years and I had a chance to talk to him a handful of times over the years. Great guy who will be missed.

[Vintage Yankee]

So sorry to hear this. The first live auctions I attended were Leland's live auctions in NYC across from Penn Station in the early-mid 1990's. Josh had a meaningful impact on my personal collecting focus and he will be missed. My deepest condolences to his family.

[Kevin Savage]

Josh Evans was one of the most interesting and colorful characters I ever met in this hobby of ours. He had a keen sense for value, a quick mind, and a piercing wit. It was truly a pleasure to visit with him at hundreds of card shows over the years- and I especially remember fondly hanging out with him at Kit Young's Hawaii shows in the 1980's and 1990's.

He founded and helped build a great hobby company- Lelands. There he employed many great people - and served many, many collectors for decades. He will be remembered by me as an innovator and a guy who really "loved the stuff". I will miss him- as will this hobby.

I am sure the card show in the next life - just got a little more interesting-

RIP Josh

[scgaynor]

From 1999-2009 Josh and I were tight. Like really tight. We spoke on the phone every day. We traveled the country, Canada and Europe together. I have so many great memories.

We were truly friends inside and outside of the hobby.

He was a mentor and the most knowledgeable hobby generalist I have ever met (along with Heff).

He was a huge personality and he made a huge impact on my life.

My condolences to the Evans family (Andrea and Maxine) and to Lelands

Scott Gaynor

[sando69]

when josh was originally diagnosed with lymphoma years ago, he responded to the well wishes of our community by saying,
"I will be fine
If not, I will still be fine."
i hold a profound & sincere respect for his wisdom & perspective.
these are words that will stay with me forever.
may you rest in peace, joshua leland evans

[Keith H. Thompson]

I've known Josh since he was a high school student helping his mother set up and sell at New England antique shows. He had a precocious instinct for baseball cards and memorabilia, and his enthusiasm was infectious. I believe Josh is a graduate of Babson College. In those years he usually had a corner of the family booth devoted to baseball, and it took off from there.

My collection of seats and chairs from all of the fourteen parks that the "original" sixteen major league teams played in (say 1950) owes much to Josh. He had a good eye, and always described the chair accurately.

I will remember Josh and his family with great fondness.

[oldjudge]

I remember going down to Leland’s Saturday morning auctions in the early-1990s. Josh ran them and all the big names from the New York area were there. I did some, but not a tremendous amount, of business with Leland’s over the years, mainly because they were more memorabilia than than cards. However, despite not being one of their active customers Josh always treated me well. He was a hobby scholar and a gentleman and I will miss him.

[danmckee]

It is true and so sad... Josh was a true hobby Icon and a damn good friend. RIP Josh! 2020 SUX!

[painthistorian]

Lelands had their location across the street in Seaford, NY from my Benjamin Moore headquarters store for many years and he and his key personnel always showed me great service, respect, courtesy and knowledge....I remember when he first came into the hobby, he did many great things in the hobby and will be missed...RIP Josh!

[T.S. OConnell]

I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Josh Evans. I have known him for about 35 years, having met at the old Philly Shows at Willow Grove. He was one of the true giants in the hobby and will be long remembered as such. My deepest condolences to his family, Mike and the rest of his wonderful crew. TS

[MVSNYC]

Very sad news. Met him many times. A true hobby pioneer in the sports auction house arena.

RIP Josh.

[Fred]

Truly sad. Another huge loss for the hobby and most of all, his family.

[sforaker]

RIP hobby pioneer, icon and friend.

[Baseball Rarities]

So sorry to hear this. RIP Josh.

[batsballsbases]

So sorry to hear of his passing... A good friend from my New York Days He will be missed.. RIP Josh....

[NiceDocter]

Knew Josh and bought cool stuff from him in person at shows in the early 80s.... before he used the Lelands moniker..... he was a fun guy to deal with and always had interesting items to sell. One of my highlights early on was when he ran an ad in Sports Collectors Digest with quotes from satisfied customers and I was one of them! My 15 minutes of fame! Sorry to see you go Josh but plan on seeing you again someday! Rocky

[Wildfireschulte]

We set up next to Josh one of the Cleveland nationals around the time that he had the Merkle Boner ball in his auction and had a blast watching him defend its provenance. He had the same passion for a pile of old boxing magazines as a high end collectible.

[Vintageclout]

A true hobby icon & a very sad day for the sports memorabilia industry. Josh was a pioneer who paved the groundwork for the entire auction circuit. He will be surely missed...rest in peace my friend.

[rjackson44]

those were the days ..fun saturdays.always gave me a free catalog.r.i.p will be missed.

[Snapolit1]

I didn't know Josh, but he was a lucky man to be able to fall in love with a hobby and make it his life work. Sounds like he was one of those people who couldn't wait to get going every day and talk cards and collectibles.

[Exhibitman]

A nice man in an often shitty industry. We had a nice consulting relationship and he was a big proponent of boxing collecting, which he undertook with his usual enthusiasm and love for all things collectible. RIP.

[NATCARD]

I was very saddened to get the message of the passing of Josh. I have known him since the 1980's and would always use his expertise to guide me when needed on items that he was more than happy to talk to me about. Whether it was for a value, general info, authenticity or more he was always willing to help me. Truly great man who had an elite knowledge of the hobby from top to bottom. The world has lost a true sports memorabilia expert and he will be missed. My thoughts are with his family and the entire Lelands Auction Company. Jeff Weisenberg

[Yoda]

Another notch in the year 2020's gun belt. Sad ending to one of the hobby's truly good guys.

[jbsports33]

God Bless Josh and his family! - I am glad we had the deals over the years and remember his knowledge and love for the hobby. He fought back hard for his family and this hobby the last 5 years or so, and it was just a few years back after we stopped doing the Boston Show we had our last deal together. Mr. Mint and Josh always fought to get what I was bringing to the shows and that will always be part of my hobby history. I never always agreed with Mr. Mint or Josh at times, either way it was fun!

Jimmy

[gnuche]

Sorry to hear about the passing of Josh. Always enjoyed his company and stories

[jcmtiger]

A sad day for sure, I met Josh about 30 years ago at a Michigan show & saw him many times after that. Later on when he started his Auction Company I consigned many items to his auctions. Nice guy !!!! RIP Josh, condolences to his family

[mantlefan]

Josh was always a gentleman in my dealings with him. RIP.

[Rich Klein]

In one of those tapes that are sad to make: Dr. Beckett and I taped a tribute yesterday morning:

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR...EegQIBhAF&ep=6

Regards
Rich

[Kevin Savage]

Rich-

Great job on the Dr. Beckett broadcast about Josh-

Great to listen to-

Kevin

[Donscards]

Originally Posted by Rich Klein

In one of those tapes that are sad to make: Dr. Beckett and I taped a tribute yesterday morning:

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR...EegQIBhAF&ep=6

Regards
Rich

Rich I just listened to the tribute to Josh---Very Nice and interesting--Great Job--We will all miss Josh.

[Den*nis O*Brien]

... with him as a passionate collector, honest dealer and all around decent human being. All of that from one phone call many years ago about one card he had for sale...a 1963 Topps Lou Brock. The time spent with me , the collecting subjects he initiated during that long call told me all that I needed to know about his character and how lucky the hobby and world was to have him "On Board". A prayer out to his family.
Sincerely, Dennis

[Vintagecatcher]

Josh was truly a luminary in the sports memorabilia auction industry.

He always had a World Class memorabilia display at the Shriner's Auditorium Show.

My only interaction with Josh was when I sold him a beautiful 19th Century team cabinet that I had found in an antique shop here in Maine.

He paid me a fair price, and as I about to walk away, he turned over the cabinet and he saw a price in pencil on the back. With a nervous laugh he said... "Hope that's not what you paid." We both started laughing.

Patrick

[akleinb611]

Over thirty years ago, in the pre-Internet days, when Josh's auctions would merit an entire pull-out section of Sports Collector's Digest (which itself was the size of the Sunday NY Times), Josh would allow me to visit him in his NYC offices and select lots that didn't sell in the auction. He made them available for the price of the minimum bid - which meant he waived the buyer's fee, a good way of guaranteeing consignor satisfaction and future business. My collecting tastes have always leaned toward oddball stuff, and since that often was what didn't sell, I got myself some very nice bargains. Josh was always good natured, courteous, and helpful. He was a solid, good guy, in a hobby that often has a shortage of that sort.

My condolences to his family. I've found in recent years that losing hobby friends is much tougher than losing a chance to buy a card.

Alan

[Leon]

I received the press release yesterday so posted it in the first post. I am going to miss him at the shows. Always had a great time chatting with him. He was just so passionate.

[Rickyy]

Condolences to the Evans Family. Josh left us too soon. Bought and sold with him many times going back to the pre internet days..

Ricky Y

[jefferyepayne]

Just stunned by this news. Josh was a hobby icon and all of my interactions with him were very positive.

Josh was also a member of my Vintage Football Community (VFC) forum and even volunteered to pay our yearly fees in 2019 as long as the donation was anonymous. He didn't want anyone to think Lelands Auctions was trying to influence VFC members and also didn't want the attention. What an act of kindness that was!

RIP Josh. You will be missed.

jeff

[BeanTown]

Just now learning of his passing. RIP josh and always enjoyd our chats. Uve Been one of his customers for decades (Lelands or eBay with Andrea) and this is very sad news.