Jeremiah Trotter Signing Autographs At The Ephrata Lions Club’s 43rd Annual Sports Card Show and Auction

Former Eagles, Redskins, and Buccaneers linebacker Jeremiah Trotter is scheduled to sign autographs at the 43rd Ephrata Lions Club Annual Sports Card Show and Auction.

When: Saturday, March 25, 2023

Where: Ephrata Recreation Center – 130 South Academy Drive, Ephrata, PA 17522

Show Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Autograph Hours: 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Show Admission: $5.00/adult and $1.00 for children under 12

Autograph Price: $25.00 – $35.00 depending on the item

The Ephrata Lions Club Sports Card Show and Auction is the longest running one-day show in the country.

Lots of Phillies, Eagles, Steelers, and Penn State memorabilia spread over (70) vendor tables.

Did Pristine Auction Sell A Fake Willie Mays Autograph?

UPDATE – 12/17/2022

According to Pristine Auction “Looks like that is an auction from 2014. This may have fooled us and others back then but is more known now. We always guarantee authenticity so we would buy it back (if we didn’t already).”

An interesting card sold over at Pristine Auction that I believe is worth talking about.

The card that caught my eye is the Willie Mays 2001 Fleer Tradition Stitches In Time Autograph.

Link to the Pristine Auction listing. Screenshot for when their auction listing comes down.

Its a great looking card, unfortunately Willie Mays never signed them for Fleer.

Fleer inserted redemption cards for these Willie Mays autographs inside packs of 2001 Fleer Tradition Baseball. For some reason Willie Mays chose not to sign them. Possibly due to him not wanting to sign Negro League items.

After Fleer’s bankruptcy the non-autographed cards they had intended Willie Mays to sign surfaced. Because they were originally meant to be signed the cards come with Fleer’s autograph COA on the back.

If you come across a Willie Mays 2001 Fleer Tradition Stitches In Time card containing an autograph there are two possible outcomes.

The first outcome is that the autograph is fake. Many scammers have forged Willie Mays’s signature on these aftermarket cards, and passed them off as the real thing. Collectors who don’t know the true history behind this card will see Fleer’s COA and not think twice about it’s authenticity.

Second would be that an individual purchased the non-autographed card on the secondary market and was able to get Willie Mays to sign it in person. Difficult to do, but not completely out of the realm of possibility.

I would stay far away from any autographed versions of this card. Even the examples that come with PSA/DNA and JSA authentication. If you didn’t get Willie Mays to sign the card yourself assume that it is a fake signature.

Judging by that Pristine Auction listing Fleer’s COA is suppose to be good enough. BAD IDEA! Their description mentions nothing about this card’s history. Either they don’t know about it or just don’t care. You be the judge as to whether that autograph is real or not.

Willie Mays does have an insert and relic found in the 2001 Fleer Tradition Stitches In Time set. Both of these were pack-inserted by Fleer.

Trace McSorley Signing Autographs At The Ephrata Lions Club’s 42nd Annual Sports Card Show and Auction

Former Penn State QB Trace McSorley will be signing autographs at the Ephrata Lions Club’s 42nd Annual Sports Card Show and Auction.

Trace McSorley is currently one of the backup QB’s to Lamar Jackson from the Baltimore Ravens.

The Ephrata Lions Club’s 42nd Annual Sports Card Show and Auction is the longest running one-day show in the country.

Show Details:

When: Saturday, March 26, 2022

Time: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Where: Ephrata Recreation Center, 130 South Academy Drive, Ephrata, PA 17522

Admission: $5.00/adult, $1.00 for children under 12

Autograph Time: 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Autograph Price: $25.00 to $35.00 – only (200) tickets will be sold

Show Size: 70 tables

Ephrata Lions Club’s 41st Annual Sports Card Show & Auction

After numerous COVID-19 postponements and cancellations, the Ephrata Lions Club’s 41st Annual Sports Card Show & Auction is set to take place on Saturday, October 23, 2021.

The show opens at 8:30 a.m. and goes until 5:00 p.m. About (70) dealer tables will be filled with various sports cards and memorabilia to buy, sell, and trade.

Former Phillies first baseman John Kruk will be signing autographs from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

The Ephrata Lions Club Sports Card Show is the longest running one-day show in the country. I’ve been attending this show regularly since 1997. Lots of Phillies, Eagles, Steelers, and Penn State stuff.

I haven’t attended a card show since the Ephrata Lions Club’s 2019 show. Since then, we’ve seen a huge amount of new people enter the hobby. With COVID-19 restrictions being lifted all over the country, more shows are beginning to be held. Shows look to be packed with people based on some of the coverage I’ve watched. Will it still be this way in October? I don’t know. More things are opening up giving people other activities to choose from. When PSA catches up with their backlog of cards we will see a huge wave of graded cards hit the market. Many of those high-graded fourth, fifth, and sixth year cards of players that have low pops now will tank in price. And that’s just the start. Its very possible those falling prices could weed out a lot of the flippers crowding up those card show aisles. Perhaps then things will get back to normal.

Williamsport Crosscutters 7th Annual Hot Stove Banquet & Auction

Last night I attended the 7th annual Williamsport Crosscutters Hot Stove Banquet & Auction.  For the past seven years, the Crosscutters have been bringing in all types of colorful guests to entertain fans while at the same time raising money for a good cause.  This year the guest lineup included Denny McLain, Tom O’Malley, Justin De Fratus, and other members of the baseball community.  Good food, great stories, cool memorabilia, all in the middle of a snow storm.

View from my seat.  The Genetti Hotel Ballroom was packed.

Denny McLain is the last pitcher to win 30 games in a single season.  In 1968, he went 31-6.  I highly doubt this will ever happen again.  Listening to his stories about Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams were very fun.  McLain even mentioned that he is in talks to do a potential reality T.V. show.  Given his interesting history, it would probably make for some fun T.V.  Perhaps he and Pete Rose could do a crossover episode.

Phillies relief pitcher Justin De Fratus (on left)

Crosscutters 6th Annual Hot Stove Dinner with the Phillies

Last night I attended the Williamsport Crosscutters 6th Annual Hot Stove League Dinner & Auction with the Phillies.  Guest speakers included Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, Jr, Phillies Broadcaster Tom McCarthy, Phillies Special Consultant Ed Wade, Phillies Assistant Director of Minor Leagues Steve Noworyta, Crosscutters 2012 Manager Andy Tracy, and Dave Bresnahan of “The Great Potato Caper”.

This was a fantastic event where the proceeds benefited Andrew’s Special Kids Foundation.  I’ve been to four out of the six Hot Stove Dinner’s they’ve held, and I think this was the most entertaining, but its still not the same without Harry Kalas.  Hearing Bresnahan’s potato story was very funny, and something I’d never heard before.  In between speakers they would auction a few items off.  Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, Jr purchased a Jim Kelly signed football, and bid up a few other auctions to help raise more money.  There was a heated battle between a few bidders for a Placido Polanco signed bat which ended up selling for around $640.00.  Ruben Amaro, Jr asked the person who lost the auction if they would be willing to spend the same amount if he got Polanco to sign another one.  The bidder said yes.

Every table had a prize on it.  Whoever had a baseball card taped to the bottom of their chair won the prize.  I ended up with a $20.00 gift certificate to Dick’s Sporting Goods.  This dinner and auction had some really great items you could win.  I tried to win a bobblehead but was unsuccessful.  One lucky winner went home with an autographed Dave Bresnahan 2007 Williamsport Crosscutters bobblehead showing him holding a potato.  Its a very rare bobblehead that is worth into the hundreds.

The event was completely sold out, just like a Phillies home game.  The food was excellent too.  Be sure to read the Crosscutters write-up on the evening.

Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, Jr (left) and Williamsport Crosscutters VP Marketing Gabe Sinicropi (right)

Ruben Amaro, Jr

Phillies T.V. Broadcaster Tom McCarthy

Phillies Special Consultant Ed Wade (left) Williamsport Crosscutters VP Marketing Gabe Sinicropi (right)

Dave Bresnahan (left) played for the Williamsport Bills.  In 1987 he gained notoriety for playing a trick on the field that involved a potato in a game against the Reading Phillies.  Last night he was inducted into the Bowman Field Hall of Fame.  Williamsport Crosscutters VP Marketing Gabe Sinicropi (right)

Ruben Amaro, Jr’s signature on my bat.  Right beneath Jimmy Rollins.

Looking For A Good Laugh? Check Out Coach’s Corner

Its been over a year since I wrote about Coach’s Corner auctions, but I think its my duty as a blogger to keep reminding people of all the fake crap that floods our beloved hobby.  I was just watching a video of a product being opened, and to the right I saw an ad for Coach’s Corner.  This auction site is filled with one counterfeit item after another.  I seriously don’t see how they are allowed to stay in business.  I would say that 99.9% of all the COA’s that come with their signatures are totally bogus.  Its a great place for people to pickup fake junk to take to a show and pass off as the real thing.  I just don’t understand why people don’t question things like this.  Instead they move along like mindless little robots believing whatever they’re told.

When Babe Ruth autographed baseballs are only selling for $500.00, its a major red flag.  This place just makes me so mad!!!  Someone please shut them down!!!

This is total garbage!

Long Time No See

Take a good look at this completed auction.  I never thought I would see this card again.  Many years ago I purchased this exact Ryan Howard 2003 Donruss Elite Status Die-Cut #’ed 55/57 on eBay for only $18.00.  This was well before he became such a huge star.  At the time I was really into grading and sent it in to BGS.  Just by dumb luck it came back a 9.5.  This is one card I wish I would have held onto.  This is the second time I’ve seen it surface.  The last time I watched it sell for almost $600.00 when Howard had his Rookie of the Year season.

Have you ever sold a card(s) you wished you hadn’t?  Which card(s) of yours did you sell and keep seeing pop-up online?

Possible Paterno Relics Coming Soon?

Most likely not.  Thats why two Penn State graduates paid $9,000.00 for an autographed pair of Joe Paterno’s glasses.  Last month Paterno had eye surgery and he no longer needs those thick Coke bottle like glasses to see.  You can read the whole story over on ESPN.

Joe Paterno doesn’t have a lot of cards for collectors to add to their collection.  The cards he does have will hit your wallet hard because they are so rare and valuable.  Last year Razor and Panini created a few cut signatures that sold well into the high hundreds.  And if your looking to add an authentic 1950 Topps Felt Backs Paterno RC to your collection you better get ready to spend some big bucks.  I think it would have been great if Press Pass, Upper Deck, Panini, or Topps would have purchased this pair of glasses to insert into a set.  It wouldn’t be the first time a pair of glasses found their way into a pack.  A few years ago Topps included the eyeglass frame once used by Woodrow Wilson into a pack of Triple Threads.

PHOTOS: 4th Annual Hot Stove League Dinner & Auction

Last night the Williamsport Crosscutters presented the 4th Annual Hot Stove League Dinner & Auction at the Genetti Hotel.  This is the third dinner I have attended and it was a lot of fun.  I’m really glad the Crosscutters are affiliated with the Phillies because they have brought in some great people who tell some very entertaining baseball stories.  This was the first time the event took place without Harry Kalas who was deeply missed.  Before any interviews took place they played a short movie which was a tribute to Harry and featured some of his most famous calls.

During dinner, you could sit back and relax while listening to various guests that included Phillies broadcaster Tom McCarthy,  former Phillies pitcher Dickie Noles, Phillies hitting coach Milt Thompson, and the Phillies Asst. GM Scott Proefrock.  Throughout the evening, the Crosscutters mascot Boomer and the Phanatic made their way around to everyone’s table.  Check out some of the photos.  Click on each one to enlarge.

Phillies Asst. GM Scott Proefrock on the left, and the Crosscutters Vice President/Marketing & Public Relations Gabe Sinicropi to the right.

Phillies play-by-play announcer Tom McCarthy

Former Phillies outfielder and now hitting coach Milt Thompson

Former Phillies pitcher Dickie Noles being interviewed by Gabe.

I took one of my new bats along and got Tom McCarthy, Dickie Noles, and Milt Thompson to sign it.

Phanatic came over to say “hi”.

The Genetti Hotel has been around for 87 years.  It has seen a ton of historic figures pass through its halls.  The hotel has a bunch of photos on display of some of the celebrities who have visited.  This picture of Cy Young and Connie Mack stood out to me.  I could have gotten some autographs that night 🙂