My First Card Show in 15 Years

It's Superbowl weekend in New Orleans - and someone decided to have a card show at the airport Days Inn in Kenner.  Admission: $1.00

Let's ride.

I hightailed it over there around 2:00pm, $22 burning a hole in my pocket, sporting my Rated Rookie t-shirt, a hard case full of patch cards in my satch, and a Beckett.  Mama didn't raise no fool.

Everywhere there was football stuff, mostly 49ers and Ravens cards and Superbowl memorabilia, signs advertising Kaepernick rookies and Baltimore mini-helmets.

The problem here was that while the hotel was fully booked with people from the intended markets, they were all out enjoying the city (Saturday was beautiful).  So, it was me, the 8 guys selling cards, and 3 other dudes.

And I still managed to not win the drawing.

Anyway, walking around this card show asking for Ken Griffey Jr stuff was like trying to order a Shirley Temple at Oktoberfest.  I just felt silly.  But the people were nice, and I tried to spend a little something at every table that made a semi-reasonable effort at salesmanship (two didn't).

One of the sellers was a nice old guy with four tables full of vintage cards.  I definitely spent the most money with him.  In the way of Griffeys he only had a single 1989 Upper Deck rookie, but he was such a pleasure to talk to I searched for lots of other stuff to buy.  Here's Don "the Sphinx" Mossi.  I love Mossi cards.  It's a unique look, you've got to admit, and his later cards are downright famous for Mossi's unmistakeable mug.  This is his rookie card - it was expensive at $6, but it had to be mine!

This Waitkus is a tough find.  It's been on my want list for a while because of the deranged girlfriend story on the back.  He was also a heck of a baseman.  I snagged this one for $2.

The guy was a huge Musial fan, and this card was just so cool I had to take it home.  Tommy Davis' squint is also pretty sweet.

 

I bought this card because Rusty Staub graduated from my high school in NOLA.  My Dad met him once when he was eleven and got his autograph.  He didn't have any paper, so Mr. Staub etched his signature into my Dad's 1962 Championship little league football trophy.

The statue broke when we were preparing to evacuate for Hurricane Isaac.  Don't tell him.

 

I wanted a McCovey for an upcoming Griffey card post, and I figured a '72 would be appropriate what with the minis from the Topps set sparking so many differing opinions.  I think it's a cool-looking set.  And McCovey is the man.

The guy was impeccably organized.  Doesn't somebody collect these things?

When they have the show again next month, I'll bring your want list, Night Owl.  Unless you finished it already.

These were $2.  Face value for a set from 1987!  Just mass produced enough to maintain it's value to within a penny.  I couldn't pass it up.  Super glossy, solid checklist.  Plus, free gum.

I bought 2 packs of 2013 Topps, but this pack of Panini Golden Age was far cooler.  Something about cards with hot chicks - I'm going to have to start actively collecting those....

This is a wrestling program from 1980.  The event it was made for featured a match that included Jesse "The Body" Ventura, a fact I didn't know when I bought this thing.  Those pants......

Some great Ozzie's (Smith, not Canseco) turning DP's on the likes of Eric Karros and Craig Biggio.  That's not my first flip card of his, but I couldn't pass it up.  These came from a quarter box, along with a lot a what you're about to see.  I grabbed some duplicates of one of these for a certain blogger who like double-play cards.

That Beckham is the best tongue shot I have ever seen.  But all cards pale in comparison to Ron "Specs" Kittle (no one called him that).

Some Klesko pre-rookies, one of the best Brett Butler pics ever, a wacky-fitting hat on Barry, and Stan the Man for a quarter.  Plus if you don't like Dan Wilson, I don't want to know you.

A nice addition to the president collection.

A very cool-looking card for a quarter.

LSU legends Pistol Pete and Y.A. Tittle.  Also, I was in a few classes with Michael Clayton back at LSU.  Neat seeing him on a card....

That guy's name is D'Brickashaw Ferguson.   Keep saying it to yourself, and eventually you'll want one too.  D'Brickashaw.  These are the guys Key & Peele were talking about.

JaMarcus has expressed an interest in returning to the NFL this coming year, so get in on the ground floor people!  'Cuz when he's not sippin' sizzurp, he's somewhere being terrible at football....!

Morten Andersen is a legend.

Finally, right?  Only three of these are new to my collection, but for 25 cents each, it was a no-brainer.  Here's hoping there will be more Griffeys next month.
 

I'm leaving you with a 1938 "Horrors of War" card.  The guy with all those vintage cards had a stack of these.  This was the goriest one.  I love how this was made right before Pearl Harbor and the U.S.'s entrance into WWII.

Coming soon - an actual Griffey post.  I swear!