Anyone plan on going to The National?

[BrewCrew25]

Pedro I just sent you a message.

[JimH5]

I went to my first National yesterday, and was quite impressed with what I saw. I have no other National experience to compare it to, but I have been to the Philly show several times, several MAB shows, the East Coast National a couple of times, some of the old shows that Mark Grunske used to put on in the Milwaukee area, the Gonzaga shows, etc. . .anyway, this was certainly the biggest show I had been to, with lots of dealers with some very interesting stuff.

 

Here's what I brought home. . .

 

Autographed 8 x 10s of Ken Sanders, Danny Walton, Ted Simmons, Ben Oglivie and Mike Hegan

 

Autographed balls of Gorman Thomas, Ben Oglivie & Mike Caldwell

 

Vintage Pennants from the 1950s of the Cleveland Indians, Brooklyn Dodgers & Chicago White Sox

 

A DVD featuring 4 short films (restored) of the earliest Milwaukee Braves teams, and lots of great stuff from County Stadium and Milwaukee in the 1950s.

 

Signatures of former Negro leaguers Hank "Baby" Presswood and Don Johnson.

 

I also bought a bunch of supplies, which I kind of regret, as I really could have gotten that stuff anywhere, and it was pretty heavy and bulky, and it got to be a little burdensome. Carrying that stuff, plus the awkwardly shaped pennants was kind of a drag--and parking at the convention center is quite a hike away. It would have burned at least half and hour to take that stuff back to the car and return to the show.

 

The Dodgers pennant was my biggest splurge. The bulk of my collection is actually vintage HOF autographs, and I was strongly considering a Hornsby cut, but left it on the table, and was content to give it a go next time.

 

I thought attendance was pretty light. I was there on Thursday, which is probably going to be the lightest day, but it was still pretty much wide open.

 

The MEARS booth had some terrific vintage Brewers jerseys. There's one guy there who specializes in Roberto Clemente, which was pretty cool. Lots of vintage cards. Lots of new boxed stuff. Some terrific vintage sports themed board games. Game programs, ticket stubs, bobbles, you name it, it was there.

 

A fun time, and it definitely had me making plans for the Cleveland show next year.

[Pedro]

It was my first National also; but I doubt it's my last. I attended for a little while on Wednesday afternoon, then most of the day Friday and Saturday. As JimH5 commented, this was by and far the largest and most interesting show I have attended. The urge to impulse buy was incredible, due to the variety of vintage material available.

 

I attended primarily to get autographs of the numerous NFL HOFers in attendance. I added Joe Namath, Jim Brown, Terry Bradshaw, Bob Griese, YA Tittle, Franco Harris, Eric Dickerson, Jack Lambert, George Blanda, John Riggins, Randy White, Roger Wehrli, Jackie Slater and Jackie Smith to my collection. A lot of former Lombardi Packers were also in attendance. I hadn't planned on getting their signatures, as I already have them on a variety of items. However, while perusing the various booths, I ran across some 1960s Sports Illustrated magazines. Well, I didn't resist my impulses too well and ended up with three signed SIs: Starr, Taylor and Hornung, and Gregg and Kramer (carrying Lombardi after Super Bowl II). It was costly, but I'm glad I did it, as they will make very nice displays, and I'll never get that opportunity again.

 

I took my nine-year old daughter with me both days (no, it's not child abuse, I checked). She had a great time to my surprise. And, because she was one of the very few young girls in attendance, led to more interaction with the players, as they were mostly all extra pleasant to her. In fact, Kramer let her wear his Super Bowl ring, which was very cool. She really liked Dickerson and Namath -- who were extremely friendly, as were Griese and Tittle. She also spent a lot of time at the booth featuring one of the old All American Girls Professional Baseball League players.

 

My only other purchases were two Packer decanters from the late 1960s, a Rogers Hornsby Hall of Fame statue from the early 60s, and a 1969 Rolling Stones pennant for my sister-in-law. JimH5, I was also tempted to get a Hornsby cut (from Quality Autographs), but my budget was broken by all the football autographs. Next time, perhaps a Hornsby (I'll start saving now).

 

We spent so much time in line for autographs, I didn't get nearly enough time to thoroughly see all the exhibitors. But from what I did see, it was overwhelming as a collector. One of the best times I've had doing this sort of thing. I, too, will seriously consider Cleveland next year.

 

And, thanks again to BrewCrew25 for helping me out and getting a Biggio autograph on Sunday.

 

And thanks JimH5 for starting this thread, or I never would have known about the National in Chicago.

[jason21nl]

about how much would someone expect to spend at one of these things?

[Pedro]

about how much would someone expect to spend at one of these things?

Well, my daughter spent $2 on eight Prince Fielder cards, and some guy from Arkansas spend $1.62 million on a 1909 Honus Wagner. So, somewhere in between those two numbers.http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

I really do think there is something for everyone and every budget.

 

[PeaveyFury]

Pedro- did you have to provide the items for them to sign, or was that included in the price? IE, if Namath signed an 8x10 or Jets helmet, I'm assuming you had to bring it?

[Pedro]

Peavey, yes, you had to provide the items for them to sign (although, for the prices they charged, you think they could throw in an 8 x 10). I primarily got Goal Line Art cards signed, although I did spring for a Namath helmet. The show promoter was selling helmets, footballs, mini helmets, 8x10s amd 16x20s. Plus, a lot of vendors had items for signing. I also saw a lot of people bringing their own unique items, from a Jets Monopoly board to a 4-foot tall Starr statue.

[BrewCrew25]

I'd be interested to hear what other people brought home with them as well.

 

I was pretty happy with what I found. Considering I have only seriously been collecting for a little over a year, I'm still working on getting a few of the big HOFers for baseball. In all, this is what I came home with...

 

-Prince Fielder Authentic 2007 All-Star game jersey

-Willie Mays baseball (PSA/Say Hey hologram)

-Stan Musial baseball (PSA)

-Matt LaPorta baseball (PSA)

-Fergie Jenkins baseball (I caught him on Saturday signing at his booth for a $20 donation to his juvenile diabetes foundation, I figured it was for a good cause) :o)

-Dan Marino sign 24x40 photo (Marino Hologram)

-Bo Jackson bat (thanks to Pedro)

-CC Sabathia Brewers unsigned 8x10

 

Overall I was pretty happy. The only regret that I had was that I didn't jump on getting a Jay Bruce PSA baseball for $30, those were gone by the time I went back. As everyone said previously, there's lots of interesting things to look at there. I'm always tempted to get a Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, or Sandy Koufax, but luckily, that's not much of a reality for me to pull the trigger. Always nice to stare at though. :o)

 

**Note to anyone going in the future: If you can gamble/hold off until the last day, a lot of the dealers significantly reduce their prices. The Marino picture I got was $100 on Saturday, and Sunday I was able to snag it up for $75. I saw a Steiner authenticated Griffey Jr ball that was $150 on Saturday and marked down to $100 on Sunday. But if it's something at a good price that you really want, get it early.

[BrewersSuperCollector]

I didn't pick up much. I waited in line and got LaMarr Hoyt autograph on a baseball with his CY Young inscription. I also, was able to pick up a Hank Allen autographed baseball. Now I'm down to 7 players from the 1970 team. A few odds and ends Brewers cards/stickers I neede. I was surprised to find one of the '70 Brewers, so that made my day.

[jason21nl]

does sound like an awesome time