What was your earliest National Convention?

[Vintagedeputy]

Reading all these great posts from those of you at the National has made me decide that I’m going to try to get to next year‘s show. That caused me to think about the two Nationals that I had been to previously and boy were they a long time ago!

Growing up in New Jersey, I was very involved in sports memorabilia early on. I was actually a dealer with my own table at shows at age 14. Having attended many shows in the area, I got to know a gentleman named Ron Durham very well. Ron was a dealer and ran a card store in Dumont, New Jersey called The Dugout where he used to get players to come and sign autographs. If I remember correctly, he would actually have them sign the wall of the store. I ended up starting to work for Ron at his shows in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey at the Sheraton and have many great memories of the athletes who came to those shows.

So what was my first National Convention? 1984. I attended the 1984 convention in Parsippany, New Jersey, and since every thread needs a card, here are some examples of the cards they provided, and the autographs that I obtained from athletes appearing at the show. They were all local New Jersey guys, but it was a thrill to meet them and get their autographs, and autographs were free!

Later, Ron made a push for the National in Atlantic City and he got that. I worked for him at the 1988 National as a runner, so I have been to two Nationals that seemed like a lifetime ago.

What was your earliest National Convention?