Card Shows

Whitey Ford, A 1982 Card Show, And His 1951 Bowman Baseball Card

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Have you been to any great card shows lately? I’ll bet the Sports Memorabilia Show #4 in Whippany, New Jersey, was a good one!

This ad comes from the July 1982 issue of Trader Speaks and highlights Whitey Ford’s attendance during Sunday’s show, where he had agreed to sign 1000 autographs on a first-come, first-served basis.

Given that the ad features Ford’s 1951 Bowman baseball card, I thought it would be fun to take a look at a few sales of them:

REA has sold a handful, including the following PSA VG 3 Auto 10 copy with an HOF ’74 inscription for $780 in 2018, a PSA authentic copy for $510 in 2021, and a fairly beat-up card with an authentic signature for $450 in 2022.

Interestingly, REA re-sold the PSA VG 3 Auto 10 copy in 2023 for $3600, quite an increase! That’s probably because Ford died in 2020.

Now, some cards change hands quite often, so guess what? Probstein sold the same PSA VG 3 Auto 10 Ford on eBay on May 29, 2024, for $2200.

What’s more, the beat-up version above with cert 17605781 is also on eBay, with an asking price of $1699. There’s another PSA authentic copy on eBay as well, with an asking price of $1299.99 (cert 43601626). Given these prices, someone possibly got quite a steal when they picked up this blue-label version in April 2024 for $500.

The Time MastroNet Brought Nine 1909 T206 Honus Wagner Cards Together at the National Sports Collectors Convention

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The hobby changes quickly, but the National Sports Collectors Convention and the popularity of the 1909 T206 Honus Wagner card are two steadfast consistencies. And in 2004, something amazing happened involving them both.

At the 2004 National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, which ran from July 22 to 25, MastroNet Auctions brought together nine 1909 T206 Honus Wagner cards for an incredible display and promotion. Seeing just one or two on any show floor is a big deal today!

The Wagner Reunion

I learned about this incredible reunion from the first edition of Old Cardboard Magazine.

Old Cardboard Magazine Issue #1

In their synopsis of the show, Old Cardboard wrote that the cards came from various collections and were brought together by MastroNet specifically to display at the National.

In researching the Wagner Reunion, one promotion leading up to the show said 12 of the approximately 50 known Wagners would be there; presumably, some collectors decided not to participate. 

Mastro gave out an awesome “The Wagner Reunion” poster at the show. The T206 Museum shared this example. If you have one for sale, please get in touch with me.

The Wagner Reunion Poster

At the time, the nine Wagners that MastroNet brought together were graded SGC Authentic, GAI 1.5, PSA 1, PSA 2, PSA 3, PSA 5, PSA 1, PSA 1, and PSA Authentic (trimmed).

What’s more, I’ve read that PSA had the ‘PSA 8’ T206 Wagner displayed at the 2004 show, too. So all together, 10 of the ~47ish known T206 Wagners were in a single room, with a value well over $20M today.

It would be cool if a major auction house would do something similar, like trying to bring together the most extensive collection of 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle or 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth cards. Until then, we can look back at the T206 Wagner Reunion as a hobby event that likely won’t be duplicated again; happy collecting!

The 1982 Omaha Sports Collectors Show With Bob Feller And Warren Spahn

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The 1982 Omaha Sports Collectors Show, co-sponsored by Coors and held in parallel with the College World Series, featured Bob Feller and Warren Spahn, who signed autos for $1!

A destination card show with a relevant sponsor featuring some incredible sets on exhibit from William McAvoy (N28, T205, T-3 Cabines, and 1933 Goudey) and two incredible signers. Sign me up.

On card autos weren’t as big a thing back in ’82, but in concert with the advertisement, here are signed copies of each of their 1953 Topps baseball cards that I found on eBay.

PS, this ad was in the May 1982 edition of Trader Speaks; how incredible is the cover?

The December 1981 New York 1 Show Featuring Mickey Mantle and Duke Snider

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I ran across this advertisement for “The Largest Show Ever Held in New York” in the December 1981 issue of Trader Speaks.

Mickey Mantle and Duke Snider were probably decent draws to a show offering free admission! And they appeared on both days of the show.

I’m curious about which items made up the display of the hobby’s ten most valuable cards. If you know, drop a comment. By the way, many collectors used to order from Gelman’s catalogs. Unfortunately, I don’t have any of them in the Hobby Library to share yet.

Joe DiMaggio Autographed Limited Edition John Martin Collectors Print

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If you attended the Kansas City Sports Collectors Convention in August 1981, you had the chance to pick up a Joe DiMaggio autographed collectors print done by John Martin. Here’s an ad for it from Trader Speaks.

You can read that Martin limited the number of 18′ x 24” prints to 325 and signed them, along with DiMaggio. Autographed prints were $75, while unsigned copies were $60 at the convention.

I tracked down this copy, numbered 35/325, on the website Everything But The House, where it sold for just $91 in September 2017 (most prints by Martin sell for a couple hundred dollars these days).

Brooks Robinson Card Show Appearances In Early 1982

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A few weeks ago, I shared an advertisement for the January 1982 Baltimore Sports Collectibles Show. I highlighted it because Brooks Robinson was signing on Saturday, January 16th, of the show. I noted that Robinson was a guest at a lot of shows back then.

Well, in the March 1982 issue of Trader Speaks, two more shows highlighted Brooks Robinson as a guest. First, the Central Jersey 8 had him on Sunday, February 28th, 1982.

Then, the Philadelphia Sports Spectacular 1 highlighted Robinson’s attendance on both days of their March 6-7 show, along with Stan Musial on Sunday and Chris Short on both days.

He was really making the rounds in early ’82!

$5 Hank Aaron Autographs

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Here’s some hobby-show history from March 1982, when you could get a Hank Aaron autograph for $5!

The advertisement for the “East Coast’s Newest and Largest Show..Sports & Paper Collectible Show and Sale” in White Plains, NY, was scanned from the February 1982 issue of Trader Speaks.

And here’s what may be the coolest Hank Aaron signed items in the hobby: a signed ticket stub from the game where he hit his 715th home run to pass Babe Ruth.