The 35th National: Day #3

Today was my last day for attending the 35th National Sports Collectors Convention.  The weekends can get quite crowded that’s why I usually stay for the first three days.  I had it set in my mind to get an autograph, open some more Topps and Upper Deck products, and get more promos today.  And I did just that.

I still have a sealed box of 2014 Topps Minis Baseball to break open.  Over the next several weeks I’ll be showing off what I pulled from the various packs and boxes that I purchased.

Here are the highlights from Day #3.

While checking out the autograph lineup for the day, I ran into sports artist Monty Sheldon.  He’s known for his really cool painted artballs and sketch cards.  Monty Sheldon is also responsible for many of those 1/1 art/patch cards you find in Gypsy Queen.  It was really great to finally meet him in person.

Jim Thome (far left) is one of 8 MLB players in history to hit over 600 career home runs.  I wanted to get his autograph on my bat ever since I saw he was coming.  TRISTAR was moving people through the line very fast.  He was already onto the next item when I tried to get a picture.

Kenny Lofton

Warren Sapp

Wade Boggs

At lunch time I opened one of my boxes of 2014 Allen & Ginter.  I still have to look through a lot before I show off the entire box break, but I did pull my first Rip Card.  Its of Freddie Freeman #’ed/75.  I haven’t ripped it… yet.

Upper Deck was doing their wrapper redemption program again this morning at 10:25 a.m.  Today’s promos were of Michael Jordan, Roberto Osuna, Frank Thomas, Teddy Bridgewater, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and my Amazon.com card was of Reggie Jackson.

To get my promo pack from Upper Deck today, I decided to open another pack of 2014 Upper Deck SP Game-Used Edition Golf.  Inside was a Michelle Wie Tour Gear Dual Shirt #’ed/35.  I also pulled a Victor Dubuisson First Tee Rookies Auto #’ed/199 redemption.

The 35th National: Day #2

Day #2 of the 35th National was a fun one.  Then again, everyday at the National is fun.  I participated in promos from Upper Deck and Topps, then took some time to check out some of the many dealers found outside of the Corporate Area.  I even seemed to pull a little MOJO!

Here are the major highlights of the day for me.

Diamond Stars paintings of “Cards That Never Were” – Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

Van Mungo and Billy Werber Diamond Stars cards.

Frank Crosetti Diamond Stars.

1927 World Series (New York Yankees) Press Pin

1902 Pittsburgh Pirates National League Championship Lapel Pin

Dennis Rodman

1992 Donruss Diamond Kings Supers.  This auction house had a complete set on display.  Only 10 sets are known to exist.

I purchased 15 packs of 2014 Topps Baseball and took them over to the Topps booth.  In return I got 6 Allen & Ginter minis – (2) Jim Brown, Johnny Manziel, Mike Trout, Jadeveon Clowney, and Derek Jeter.

Upper Deck started their wrapper redemption program this morning at 10:25 a.m.  Today’s promo cards were of Jack Nicklaus, Joc Pederson, Johnny Manziel, Archie Griffin, and Wayne Gretzky.  I also got one of those Magic Johnson Amazon.com cards.  Wait until you see what I got in the pack I needed to open in order to get these.

In order to get my Upper Deck wrapper redemption pack today, I decided to open a pack of 2014 Upper Deck SP Game-Used Edition Golf.  Inside the pack was this Jack Nicklaus Inked Fabrics Shirt/Auto #’ed/10.  I also pulled a Nancy Lopez Tour Gear Dual Shirt #’ed/35.

The 35th National Has Begun!

Its official.  The 35th National Sports Collectors Convention has begun.  Autographs, cards, and promos are flying all over the place.  Every single collector in the world should be in Cleveland right now.

I arrived in plenty of time to obtain my VIP and Guest/Media credentials.  Then off to the VIP Party I went.  After eating some pizza and a cookie, the show opened to VIPs at 3:30pm.  Take a look!

7x All-Star Dale Murphy signing at the Freedom Cardboard booth.

Now for the pickups.  While waiting in line for Dale Murphy, I just happened to be standing next to the Topps booth.  I decided to pickup a box of 2014 Topps Minis.  With every purchase of a Topps Minis box, you get a jumbo card made just for the show.  I picked Mike Trout.

These OYO minifigures were actually the first promos I got upon entering the show.

I stopped by Marty’s Sports Card Exchange and bought a box of 2014 Allen & Ginter.  The I went to Blowout Cards and bought another just so I could get the Johnny Manziel Beckett Cover card.  Both boxes were unwrapped at the Topps booth and I got my Abreu and Tanaka exclusive National mini promos.  I still need to go through my boxes to see what I got.

Historic Autographs Details Promo Plans For The National

Historic Autographs has detailed their plans for the 2014 National.  Check out everything they have going on!!!

Every person that opens a box of ANY Historic Autographs product (PURCHASED AT THE NATIONAL & OPENED AT THE HA BOOTH ONLY) will be given a BECKETT COVERS card that features Mickey Mantle from the 1986 Beckett cover as well as a complete 22-card HA Originals, 1909-12 art card set & a 42-card HA Originals, 1933 art card set.  So every Historic Autographs box bought at the National gets (3) free items.

For every box of the 2014 Historic Autographs Originals, 1941 or the 2014 Historic Autographs Originals, 1934-36 (released at the National) and opened at the HA Booth – the customer will get (1) of the National promotion PSA-slabbed Bob Feller cards (while supplies last) – plus the Beckett Covers card and (2) HA Originals art card sets listed above.

Buy (2) boxes of the 2014 Historic Autographs Originals, 1941 or the 2014 Historic Autographs Originals, 1934-36 and opened at the HA Booth – the customer will get your choice of (1) of the other FOUR promotional PSA-slabbed cards including (2) different Babe Ruth cards, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio – plus the Beckett Covers card and (2) HA Originals art card sets listed above (or their choice of a FREE HA Originals, MINI box or a Five Boroughs box).

For those who buy (3) or more boxes of Peerless, 2014 (at the National and opened at the HA booth), the customer will get (1) of the National promotion PSA-slabbed Bob Feller cards (while supplies last) – plus the (3) each of the Beckett Covers card and HA Originals art card sets listed above.

For those who buy (6) or more boxes of Peerless, 2014 (at the National and opened at the HA booth), the customer will get a choice of (1) of the other FOUR promotional PSA-slabbed cards including (2) different Babe Ruth cards, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio (while supplies last) – plus the (6) each of the Beckett Covers card and HA Originals art card sets listed above.

National ONLY Memorabilia Edition

This product is quite simple, each tin will have (1) redemption card that MUST be redeemed at the HA booth at the National – no exceptions – but the beauty of the product is that the customer will get a fantastic piece of SIGNED memorabilia for the lowest price possible.  The product will include mostly autographed jerseys along with some very nice HOF signed baseball bats, a few full-sized helmets and a handful of Stan Musial signed baseballs.  Highlighted by a wonderful LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers UDA-Authenticated jersey with ALL the other items being PSA/DNA authenticated.  The selection of jerseys is better than their very popular Jersey Edition from earlier this year – so this product is a great value price to those who like memorabilia.  All items can be seen at Booth #349.

Historic Autographs will pay a $2500.00 cash reward to any collector that completes a 2014 HA Originals, 1941 72-card set and places it on the PSA/DNA Set Registry by noon Sunday August 3, 2014.  There are (7) possible sets so there could be multiple winners.  The collector gets to keep his set and the cash.  For those who put together the 2014 HA Originals, 1941 MINI 24-card set (and places it on the PSA/DNA Registry by noon Sunday August 3, 2014), Historic Autographs will give each of those winners a free PSA-Authenticated signed baseball (HOFs only).

Exclusive OYO Minifigures For The 35th National

We’re exactly one week away from the opening of the 35th National Sports Collectors Convention, and the promos are still pouring out.

My top three favorite innovations the hobby has seen in recent years include Topps BUNT, Sports Card Album, and OYO Sportstoys.  For a second straight year, OYO Sportstoys will have specially made minifigures for National attendees.  This year there will be two different minifigures to chase.

Never Enough Cards/Sports Evolution Marketing booth #1132 will be handling this promotion.  Each day of the show they will hand out 125 minifigures to the first 75 kids and 50 adults.  OYO has said that the National football minifigures are limited to 200 and the baseball to 400.

Between Thursday and Sunday of the National from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. OYO will have 45 minute building sessions.  Fans can build a field set or Zamboni.  Ten spots will be open per session.  OYO will provide all of the building kits and there will be tons of giveaways including OYO minifigures.  Parents of interested children may register their child, ages 6 and up in advance by sending an email to OYONationalPromo@aol.com to reserve a spot.  Parents should send an email including the child’s name, day and time they would like to participate, and a contact phone number.  You can also reserve a spot by stopping by the booth.

Never Enough Cards/Sports Evolution Marketing will also have brick building displays they’ve created for the show too.

On a side note, it looks like OYO is also starting to make minifigures for Little League now.

Amazon.com & Upper Deck Bring Special Autographs To The National

Collectors ripping through their Upper Deck wrapper redemption packs this year during the National can look for these Amazon.com exclusive autographs.  Amazon.com has teamed-up with Upper Deck to help celebrate Upper Deck’s 25th anniversary and promote their own sports memorabilia store.  The autographs, limited to 25 copies each, are of Reggie Jackson, Peyton Manning, Bobby Orr, and Magic Johnson.

These cards don’t differ that much in design when compared to the other autographs you can pull from the redemption packs.  They do have that Amazon.com orange tint to them.  I’m waiting for the day when those Amazon.com drones deliver boxes to my front door.  Even better, maybe they’ll throw in some bonus autographs of Jeff Bezos in this set.

Will You Find All The 2014 National Beckett Cover Cards?

National attendees this year can keep their eyes open for these exclusive Beckett Cover cards.  These covers range from all different years and feature a lot of great athletes.

There are 16 cards in all.  How do you obtain these cards?  Last night I mentioned where you can find the Roberto Clemente cover.  The Mickey Mantle July 1986 cover can be obtained at the Historic Autographs booth.  Johnny Manziel is available at Blowout Cards.  I also hear you’ll get one at the show’s entrance.  The 16th card is still a mystery, and you’ll need to stop by the Beckett booth to see how you can get that one.  As for the rest, that’s a good question.  I’d check around with some of the other dealers.

Exclusive Roberto Clemente Card From Steel City Collectibles For National Attendees

One of the top things to do while attending the National Sports Collectors Convention is bust boxes.  There are always plenty of dealers ready to provide you with your box breaking fix.  Among the dealers you’ll find is Steel City Collectibles out of McKeesport, PA.  And guess what?  They have a promo for this year’s National.  While supplies last, anyone who purchases a box from the Steel City Collectibles booth will receive a Roberto Clemente Beckett Sports Card Monthly cover card.  This card looks just like the cover to an issue of BSCM, and is a National exclusive.  Limited quantities will be available.

Tristar Announces 2014 National Redemption Program

I bet you’re getting sick and tired of me talking about all the promo programs that are in store for the National.  Well too bad!  Here comes another.

Collectors who purchase specific Tristar products and open them at the Tristar Redemption booth will receive a free redemption bag.  Inside each bag will be at least (1) autographed card.  You can also look for randomly inserted redemptions that can be redeemed for large pieces of sports memorabilia.

Eligible products include:

• Series 6 Autograph Baseballs
• Signacuts Football
• Game Changer Baseball
• Hidden Treasures Football Autograph 8×10

Don’t forget to check out the Breakers Only program too.

 

PSA To Offer “Cards That Never Were” To Collectors Club Members During The National

For those collectors who like getting cards graded a lot, PSA and Historic Autograph Company have teamed-up to bring you an interesting promotion this year for the National Sports Collectors Convention.  According to PSA, “The first 500 visitors to the PSA booth who sign up for a Gold or Platinum level PSA Collectors Club membership or who renew their membership at the show will receive fantasy Diamond Stars-inspired cards.  Gold Level memberships receive one randomly-selected card, and Platinum memberships receive the complete five-card set.”  The set features two different Babe Ruth cards, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, and Bob Feller.  None of these players were included in the original Diamond Stars set which debuted back in the 1930’s.  Each card comes encased in a PSA holder.  The cards are printed by Historic Autograph Company, and the artwork was done by Arthur K. Miller.  Miller isn’t a stranger when it comes to designing fantasy cards as he was the artist who designed the Babe Ruth Cracker Jack card for last year’s National.

Be sure to stop by the PSA booth to see Miller’s original artwork that was used to make these cards.  Also on display will be an original set of 1934-36 Diamond Stars cards from the Charles M. Merkel collection.  Its the best example of a Diamond Stars set known to exist and was inducted into the PSA Set Registry Hall Of Fame in 2013.