Filed under: Card of the Day | Tagged: card, cfl, day, lancaster, o-pee-chee, of, ron, the | 1 Comment »
2015 Central PA Sports Card Show Review
Hey! Look at this! Its a card show! These are becoming rare at least where I live. Outside of the annual Ephrata Lions Club Sports Card Show and National Sports Collectors Convention, there really aren’t that many shows worth going to anymore. Last month I heard about the Central PA Sports Card Show from a dealer I met in Ephrata – VSM Sports Card Outlet. It was held at the Lancaster Host Resort. Judging by the flyer, it looked like it might be a decent show. So I decided to give it a try.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but there was a good supply of vendors. A lot more than what I thought was going to be there. Before making any purchases I like to make my way around the whole show. There was a good mixture of vintage and modern cards. Neither was too dominant. All of the dealers were quite friendly and helpful too. I’m a Harry Kalas collector, and that list of cards I need is small. Not only is it small, but the cards are difficult to locate. The only Harry Kalas item I saw all day was a duel bobblehead of Harry and Richie Ashburn, which I already own. At one time I couldn’t find that bobblehead at all. Now I see it all the time.
VSM Sports Card Outlet was where I spent most of my time and money. In addition to high-end cards under glass cases, they had autographs and relics divided up in boxes. I spent a chunk of time flipping through the Phillies section, but didn’t come up with anything I need. But the fun of it is not knowing what you might find. They also had the best supply of newer boxes. I bought two boxes of 2015 Topps Five Star Baseball.
Throughout the day they had a steady run of autograph guests. Guests included Sean Landeta, Lenny Moore, Lydell Mitchell, Brian Propp, and Bob “The Hound” Kelly. The prices were very reasonable. Sean Landeta was free with the $5.00 price of admission. Lenny Moore was only $25.00 (20.00 for the autograph, and $5.00 for the photo op). Both guys were really nice and happy to interact with their fans. After signing my football, Sean Landeta gave me an autograph photo for free too.
The only negative part of the day really didn’t have to do with the show itself. You had to walk down a few steps in order to get onto the show floor. I don’t use steps because I’m in a wheelchair. Luckily there was a ramp right next to the steps, but they had a table blocking it. The table was there so people wouldn’t go down the ramp and skip out of paying the admission fee. It was a little inconvenient having to move the table each time I went in and out of the show.
Another issue was the bathroom. The Lancaster Host Resort really didn’t have a bathroom I could use. The bathroom most people were using was nothing my wheelchair could even fit into. According to the Lancaster Host Resort, I would’ve needed to hunt somebody down for a key and hop on a lift in order to get to the bathroom I had the best chance at using. Even that one wasn’t the best. Its an old hotel, and I guess that should be expected.
Overall it was a pretty nice show. I would say that its about the same size as the Ephrata Lions Club Sports Card Show, maybe a little smaller or bigger. The dealers were spread out a lot more here which can make it look bigger. If they decide to have this show again next year, I’ll probably check it out as long as the autograph guests are different.
Baltimore Colts halfback and 1975 Hall of Fame inductee Lenny Moore
Retired punter Sean Landeta
Sean Landeta had a very long career as a player (’83-’06). This is one of the longest inscriptions I’ve ever received during an autograph signing.
Landeta’s rings from Super Bowl XXI and XXV
Filed under: Card Shows | Tagged: 2015, card, central, host, lancaster, landeta, lenny, moore, pa, resort, review, sean, show, sports | 2 Comments »
The 2nd Annual LeSean McCoy Celebrity Softball Game
Over the weekend I attended the 2nd annual LeSean McCoy Celebrity Softball Game at Clipper Magazine Stadium in Lancaster. This charity game was a fundraiser for McCoy’s foundation that supports people with ALS. The gates opened at 5:00 p.m., there was a home run derby at 6:00 p.m., and then a seven inning softball game at 7:00 p.m. Some of the celebrities included LeSean McCoy, Jeremy Maclin, Brent Celek, Jason Avant, B.J. Cunningham, Jamar Chaney, Torrey Smith, Dion Lewis, Devon Still, Josh Evens, and Kevin Ogletree. Even Drew Rosenhaus, the owner of the Miami-based sports agency Rosenhaus Sports came to play. The following players were schedule to participate, but didn’t show up: Ray Rice, Darrelle Revis, Plaxico Burress, Dominique Rogers-Cromartie, Mike Wallace, Marques Colston, Jared Odrick, DeSean Jackson, and Michael Vick.
It came down to LeSean McCoy and Torrey Smith in the home run derby, but McCoy walked away with the trophy. The softball game was filled with a ton of fun errors, and I believe the two teams had over 60 combined hits. In the end I’m sure a lot of money was raised for a good cause, but leave it up to Eagles fans to break into a fight during a charity softball game.
Eagles running back LeSean McCoy
Renowned sports agent Drew Rosenhaus (left) Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith (right)
Rosenhaus looks to be working on his next deal. He’s probably checking to see is DeSean Jackson has paid his bill yet 🙂 Maybe that’s why Jackson wasn’t there.
Torrey Smith has a few laughs with fans
Smith signing some autographs
Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin gets his turn at the plate
McCoy swings!
Pop-up!
Filed under: Events | Tagged: 2nd, annual, celebrity, clipper, game, lancaster, lesean, magazine, mccoy, pa, softball, stadium, the | Leave a comment »
Happy Fasnacht Day!
Today throughout many parts of the world its Fasnacht Day. For those people that aren’t familiar with what a Fasnacht is, its basically a fatty doughnut. People are suppose to use all the fat in their kitchen before the start of Lent. Its a big tradition in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Switzerland, and Germany.
I know, I know. What the hell does Fasnacht Day have to do with sports cards? This is why cards are so cool. They are part of almost every American tradition. In 1937, Doughnut Company of America produced a set called Thrilling Moments in the Lives of Famous Americans. There are only 7 athletes in the set. The rest of the set features non-sport figures. These cards needed to be cut off the side of the box if you wanted to add them to your collection. They can also be found in four different colored backgrounds: blue, green, orange, and yellow. A large portion of these cards were thrown away because you had to take the time to cut them out. Depending on the condition, they get be very expensive and sell for into the thousands. Usually you never want to purchase a card that has been trimmed by the collector, but in this case you don’t have much of a choice. This is a set your rarely hear about because the cards are so scarce.
Go have a doughnut everyone!
Red Grange
Filed under: Card Info | Tagged: 1937, america, company, day, doughnut, dutch, fasnacht, fat, grange, lancaster, lent, pennsylvania, red | Leave a comment »
PHOTOS: Lou Marson / Card Show & Eagles Summer Event
Yesturday I made my way down to the Park City Center, located in Lancaster, PA, where they had a sports card & memorabilia show. A little after 12:00 p.m. Lou Marson of the Phillies arrived to sign autographs. This was the first time I had been to a show at the Park City Center and I didn’t know what to expect. The dealers were really spread apart, but thats probably because they wanted customers to walk all over the mall. I did pickup a few things:
- Carlos Ruiz 2005 Donruss Classics Auto #’ed/1200
- (1) 2008 Upper Deck Philadelphia Phillies World Series Box Set
- (1) Hobby Box of 2009 Upper Deck Draft Football – will post the results later
One dealer had a really nice Richie Ashburn Cut Signature, but he wanted $200.00 for it and wouldn’t negotiate on the price.
Lou Marson signing my bat
I think this looks really cool. I hope Marson makes it back up to the Phillies soon.
I give this show an overall rating of 3 hot dogs out of 5 (1=poor 5=perfect). The dealers were really spread out, and PAC Signatures who got Marson to come to the show said he would be signing in the Center Court, but I later found out he was going to be near Sears. The person working at the mall information desk had no idea what was going on and I think PAC Signatures should have communicated a little better with the mall. Other than a few miss communications, I found a lot of wax and Phillies stuff.
Across town over at the Rockvale Outlets, the Philadelphia Eagles had a summer event where they had the cheerleaders, SWOOP, and a few players signing autographs. The players included: Stewart Bradley, Juqua Parker, Todd Herremans, and Quintin Demps. Driving in you could see the line people were in to get autographs. It must have been over 200 yards long, so I decided not to wait in line. I stayed for a little while and got a few pictures.
Stewart Bradley throwing footballs into the crowd
Eagles Cheerleaders 🙂
Filed under: Card Shows, Events | Tagged: autograph, card, cheerleaders, city, eagles, event, lancaster, lou, marson, memorabilia, pa, park, philadelphia, phillies, show, sports, summer | Leave a comment »