Today marks the 4th day at the National Sports Collectors Convention and according to Google, I'm approximately 3,000 miles and 44 hours away from the event. In other words, even if I hopped into my car right now, I'd have zero chance of making it to the show before they close their doors tomorrow evening.
I'm okay with that. As much as I enjoy attending card shows, attending the National isn't something I have to do in my lifetime. Do I want to attend one? Of course. The problem resides in the show's location and my personal finances.
The National hasn't been held on the West Coast since 2006 and based on what I've heard... it's probably not coming back here any time soon. That means a trip to the show involves hotel and travel expenses on top of any spending money for food, entertainment, and of course... cards.
Maybe I'll attend one day (after I retire), but it will definitely be part of a planned vacation that involves much more than a card show. Until then, I'll stick to local card shows and/or virtual ones like the Blogger National... which is a current Blog Bat-Around started by Cards Over Coffee that involves bloggers sharing one of two things in a blog post:
#1: Show off cool or favorite cards that you consider show worthy.
#2: Share a recent mail day featuring dazzling cards that would attract people to your table.
I figured I'd pull from both of these categories for my BBA contribution.
Back at the start of summer, Dennis over at Too Many Verlanders sent me a padded envelope filled with several cool cards for a few different collections.
Let's start off with a card that I was actively looking for at the last card show I attended:
2021 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs #FFA-GT
I've wanted this autograph of Gene Tenace since I heard Topps included him on their Fan Favorites checklist.
He also included this dual memorabilia card of one of those guys you probably don't appreciate unless you're an A's fan:
2005 Diamond Kings Silver Materials #380 (#'d 94/100)
Eric Chavez was the Brooks Robinson of the East Bay before Matt Chapman arrived. When you consider Chavez won six straight Gold Glove Awards compared to Chapman's three (in a span of four years), I personally think Chavez has earned the right to hold onto that title (that nobody uses except me).
Next up are a stack of cards for my Japanese Athlete PC. Let's start with a pair of minor league cards of Tomo Ohka:
2000 Dunkin' Donuts Pawtucket Red Sox #NNO
2001 Dunkin' Donuts Pawtucket Red Sox #NNO
Who doesn't love minor league cards sponsored by Dunkin' Donuts? When I turned both of these cards over, I thought they were signed by Ohka, but after looking them up on COMC, I discovered they are facsimile signatures. That's why it's good to take a closer look at your cards.
Here's another example. At first... I thought this card was your run-of-the-mill base card from the 90's...
1998 Score Team Collection #3
But when I flipped it over, I discovered it was from one of those team sets that were distributed in specially marked boxes that contained one specific team. Gotta love the 90's.
Dennis also hooked me up with three new memorabilia cards for this collection:
2002 Fleer Focus Jersey Edition International Diamond Company #NNO
2002 UD Authentics Retro Star Rookies Jersey #SR-KS
2017 Panini Chronicles Swatches #CS-HM (#'d011/499)
If you know me, I'm always looking for memorabilia cards at card shows. I'll even buy manufactured "hits" if they're cheap enough:
2019 Topps Update 150th Anniversary Patch #AMP-YM
I wouldn't exactly describe this card as dazzling. But this one sure is:
2021 Topps Update Rainbow Foil #US143
Sorry... my scanner doesn't do this card justice. However... when the sunlight hits it just right... this card definitely dazzles.
I might not be able to show off a National haul anytime soon, but thankfully there are care packages like the one to entertain me so I don't feel withdrawals. Thank you so much Dennis! Sorry it took me so long to open it up and share it on my blog.
Crap. I almost forgot this card:
1988-89 Fleer #64
Not gonna lie... I probably wouldn't buy this at a card show unless it was in a dime box. Nor would I go out of my way to trade for it. That being said... this card is an awesome addition to my Damaged Card Hall of Fame. I mean it's off-centered, it has a huge dinged corner, and it features a nasty brown stain on the back. I love it!
Thanks again Dennis. Thank you Matt for kicking of this Blog Bat-Around. And thank you all for taking the time to read this post.
By the way... I'm sure most of you have already seen Night Owl's contribution to this BBA. If not, click here.
And while I'm plugging other blogs, Jon over at A Penny Sleeve for Your Thoughts and My Kind of Nonsense recently shared four new card blogs with his readers. I'm sure most of us with blogs would agree, it's not easy attracting new readers. That's why I think it's really important to support each other. Here are links to their blogs:
I hope you'll check them out and add them to your reading list.
Thanks Jon! Not only for sharing these blogs with us... but for also taking the time to read and comment on so many of our posts.
Happy Saturday and sayonara!
They should really stop calling it the National.
ReplyDeleteSix Gold Gloves is good for a 3B.
Not as good as 10 though. Bwahahaha!!!
I'm glad you liked those and that you were actually looking for the Tenace, I had no idea! Chavez was fun to watch for a while, I remember him. And I'll have to check out those blogs you mentioned!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to attend the National one day, just ain't heading to NJ or Chicago. Chavez .... reminded me of when he was a much younger buck I racked u tons of Fantasy points with him on my roster.
ReplyDeleteThe National would be quite the trek for me too, but not as far away as you!
ReplyDeleteI definitely appreciate Eric Chavez--he's doing a fine job as the Mets' hitting coach this season!
ReplyDeleteI'm only about 150 miles from the National, but it's not happening for me either. Hopefully I'll hit a show soon, maybe the Parsippany one next weekend, but nothing that big.
Nice Godzilla 🐲 Garb!
ReplyDeleteCount me amongst those that believe Hideki Matsui deserves consideration for The Hall of Fame on the Totality of his career here an abroad. Though I'll admit to complete and utter biased as he performed on the Grandest stage for my Beloved Yankees. Much in the way I believe Bernie Williams is a legit HoF snub. That Abdul-Jabbar is Choice! Fleer was On-Point with their card designs in the mid-eighties 💯
Even with the Nomo there, the highlight for me is the Tenace card. I loved his A's cards as a kid.
ReplyDeleteI was ready to go to The National the last time it was in Cleveland but family stuff got in the way. I don't know if I'll ever go, even when it's back in Cleveland. That's a lot of money to blow, especially with hotel rates now.
I went to my first National Sports card Convention in 1988 when it was in Atlantic City, N.J. To be honest it was just ok sure I saw lots of cool cards, but I was at the time collecting many tobacco cards. I was working on completing the T-205 and T-206 cards and I had grabbed my last N-28 Allen and Ginter Cap Anson. I only completed the ten Baseball players and to this day I someday hope I can own the Annie Oakley N-28 Allen & Ginter card. I do agree if the National was any further away on another coast I would not go as you said the travel hotel room etc.. I fondly remember when Gene Tenace played for the athletics. Very cool auto card of Gene.
ReplyDeleteelliptical man - just curious... why should they stop calling it the national? i hope to one day watch a documentary on brooks. i'd love to see more clips of him in action.
ReplyDeletedennis - thanks for the care package dennis. that tenace autograph is sweet.
johnnys trading spot - maybe it'll go back to atlanta one day.
jeff b - unless it lands in vegas, san francisco, or los angeles... it's highly unlikely i'll attend while i'm still working. but we'll see in a decade or so when i retire
brett alan - i didn't realize he's with the mets. good for him. hope you're able to make it out to a show to add some new mets to your collection
xavier higgins - i was so stoked when matsui landed in oakland. maybe he'll get in one day. had to look up bernie's numbers. he had a really good career. baseball reference compared him to dave parker who i've advocated for in the past. the 87-88 and 88-89 fleer basketball designs were really nice. i should have built those sets back in the day.
night owl - i agree. traveling is very expensive... especially hotel rates. that's why unless it's a planned vacation where it's already part of the deal, i don't see myself attending a national outside of vegas, sf, or la.
rr - wow. you were collecting tobacco cards in the 80's? that's awesome. you must be sitting on some a really nice collection. i was buying up 88 topps, fleer, donruss, and score back then :D
You are Correct Professor; Mid-to-late Eighties is a better descriptor. Though to be Honest Fleer Basketball hit Hard for it's original run.
DeleteA thought I've been pondering lately is: What are The Modern Inserts/Parallels that will considered the Iconic cards/sets of this generation.
The Elite Series/Finest Refractors of The RC Logo/Transcendent Generation....
That Tenace auto is really great. I have a small collection of his, but no signatures yet. Some years ago I thought I would enjoy going to the National, but from what I've seen in recent years, I don't think that I'd have very much fun there.
ReplyDeleteThe Tenace card is stellar, although I also really like the Cronenworth card. I actually just received a new Tenace autograph and am posting it this week. I like that he has been signing a lot this year.
ReplyDeleteI hit the National when it's in town here in Chicago, but I can't see myself traveling for it at all. Haven't devoted much brain space to this year's show - judging from what I've seen on Twitter, I'm not missing a whole lot (I see enough card show bros at the local shows!).
ReplyDeleteThat Tenace is the rare example of an autograph card that actually excites me - I wouldn't have thought he even had any certified autos out there.
i went to the national a couple of times when it was in southern california, but that was a long time ago. i hadn't seen this bat around - i have a post in the hopper that will fit, i think.
ReplyDeletei, too, like that tenace card, and it looks like he is fully in the fold with topps - he signed a bunch of cards for the 2022 archives signatures release, too.
Great cards! tHanks for the tag and for joining in on the BBA.
ReplyDeleteReally dig the Kareem!
If rumors are true the National may have a chance at ending up somewhere like Nashville, Dallas, or Indianapolis in between Chicago in the near future. That would definitely be cool!
ReplyDelete