Leaf Booth Finds During The 2018 National

To celebrate their 70th anniversary, Leaf created a set of 2018 Leaf Originals Metal cards that were handed out during the National Sports Collectors Convention.  I opened a few boxes of 2018 Leaf In The Game Used Sports at their booth, and got the pull of a lifetime.  I also walked away from the Leaf booth with a nice stack of these promos that pay tribute to the original 1948 Leaf set.  They cover a wide variety of sports, and come in all sorts of colors.  I like the simple design combined with chrome technology.  Leaf is very underrated, and produces some nice looking products.

Look at what I got!

• Liangelo Ball Red #’ed/3
• Anfernee Simons Red #’ed/3
• Greg Maddux Green #’ed/5
• Errol Spence Jr. Black #’ed/7
• Gordie Howe Black #’ed/7
• Derrius Guice Black #’ed/7
• Earl Campbell Pink #’ed/10
• Dennis Rodman Pink #’ed/10
• Chloe Kim Purple #’ed/15
• Shohei Ohtani Purple #’ed/15
• Kyle Kuzma Purple #’ed/15
• Jerry Rice Purple #’ed/15
• Stephen Curry Blue #’ed/20
• Pete Rose Blue #’ed/20
• Josh Rosen Blue #’ed/20
• Whitey Ford Blue #’ed/20
• Josh Rosen
• Lamelo Ball
• Magic Johnson
• Cal Ripken Jr.

Leaf sold Babe Ruth Yankee Stadium seat relics at their booth too.  Each is stamped commemorating the 2018 National.  The photos used for these remind me a lot of their 2017 Babe Ruth Immortal Collection.  I chose the one picturing Babe Ruth in a tuxedo signing what looks to be a series of baseball bats.  Where do you think those bats are today?

If you weren’t able to attend, be sure to checkout my Day #1, Day #2, and Day #3 coverage.

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(2) 2018 NSCC Topps Wrapper Redemption Pack Break

Upon taking my box of Museum Collection to the Topps booth during the 2018 National, I received (2) wrapper redemption packs in return.  Inside each pack are (4) exclusive Bowman Chrome cards.  Parallels and autographs could also be found.  Although I didn’t get any autographs, I did pull two nice parallels.  Take a look!

If you weren’t able to attend, be sure to checkout my Day #1, Day #2, and Day #3 coverage.

Parallels

• Michael Kopech Red Refractor #’ed/5
• Walker Buehler RC Orange Refractor #’ed/25

Base

• Rhys Hoskins RC
• Shohei Ohtani RC
• Joey Votto
• Nick Senzel
• Noah Syndergaard
• Bryce Harper

2018 Leaf In The Game Used Sports (2) Box Break

The 2018 National Sports Collectors Convention is now closed.  The final autograph has been signed, and the last pack has been opened.  But I’ve got a few more blog posts coming that highlight what I pulled from the boxes I opened while I was there.  If you weren’t able to attend, be sure to checkout my Day #1, Day #2, and Day #3 coverage.

One of the hottest products to debut on the National’s opening day this year was 2018 Leaf In The Game Used Sports.  It was released on August 1.  Each (1) pack box contains (5) cards which are all hits.  I usually don’t do much with unlicensed products, but something about this one made me want to bust a few boxes.  Its a good thing I did because I pulled some amazing cards.  Not every dealer carried this product.  The only two dealers that I saw selling it were Blowout Cards and Chicagoland Sports Cards.  I purchased a box from each.  At the time Blowout Cards was selling them for $165/box, while Chicagoland Sports Cards had them for $160/box.

Both of these boxes were opened at the Leaf booth, which got me a bunch of Leaf Originals Metal promo packs.  I’ll make a separate blog post about all of the promo cards I got.

Brian Gray and the folks at Leaf did a fantastic job with this product.  Very fun to open.  Feast your eyes on these hits.  I’m still in shock with what I pulled.  The Babe Ruth/Shohei Ohtani card came from Chicagoland Sports Cards.  They opened a new case for me and I picked the upper left box on the top.  Pelé is from Blowout Cards.  Cleveland continues to be the location where I have the best luck.  I think it has something to do with the same Burger King I stop at on the drive out.  Its my lucky Burger King.  And you can’t know where it is 🙂

Auto/Relic

• Pelé Auto/Relic Red #’ed/3

Relics

• Babe Ruth/Shohei Ohtani Reflections Bat/Jersey Gold #’ed 1/1
• Vince Carter Jumbo Patch #’ed/3
• Frank Thomas Enshrined Prime Relic Magenta #’ed/3
• John Smoltz Enshrined Prime Relic #’ed/6
• Ozzie Smith/Paul Molitor/Tim Raines Draft Class History Relic #’ed/12
• Joe Namath/Mickey Mantle/Mark Messier/Walt Frazier/Lawrence Taylor/Mike Bossy City of Champions Relic Blue #’ed/6
• Karl Malone Legendary Kicks Shoe Relic Red #’ed/3
• Goose Gossage Nickname Hall of Fame Relic Blue #’ed/6
• Yogi Berra/Gordie Howe All-Time Enshrined Relic Blue #’ed/6

The 2018 National – Day #3

My third and final day of the 2018 National Sports Collectors Convention has come to an end.  I spent most of it browsing the show floor and taking pictures of all the amazing items.

The first stop I made was to Chicagoland Sports Cards where I had them open a new case of 2018 Leaf In The Game Used Sports.  I chose the box on the upper left corner.  Boy did I pick a good one.  One of my hits is a Babe Ruth/Shohei Ohtani dual relic #’ed 1/1!!!  Like I mentioned earlier, I’ll go into full details about what came out of my boxes I bought in Cleveland once I get home.  The scans will look nice.

At 5:30 p.m. Topps held their Q&A session.  This was the first time I had ever attended one of these meetings.  It was fun and educating to hear collector’s questions and concerns.  Only (150) spots were available for this meeting.  Everyone that attended the meeting received a specially made Francisco Lindor autograph #’ed/50.  Not every card uses the same photo of Francisco Lindor either.  At least (3) different photos were used.  Here is a video of the entire Q&A courtesy of Sports Card News/Sports Card Radio.

Every collector should be able to attended at least one National.  No show gets better than this.  I’ll be heading home on Saturday.  I’ve got a feeling the weekend will be very crowded.

This show was a blast.  I got to meet some awesome people, take great pictures, get some autographs, and pull some cool cards.

Exclusive Francisco Lindor autographs given out during the Topps Q&A

Showing off my Babe Ruth/Shohei Ohtani dual relic #’ed 1/1 at the Leaf booth

Getting to hold a Hank Aaron 1954 Topps #128 PSA 10

1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle SGC 9

1917 Collins-McCarthy (E135) #147 Babe Ruth SGC 8

Willie Mays – 1952 Topps SGC 9, 1951 Bowman SGC 9, 1953 Topps SGC 9.5

1961 Topps Dice Game # Mickey Mantle SGC 1.5

1909 Sweet Caporal T206 Honus Wagner SGC 4

Babe Ruth Tobacco Tin

1956 Oversized Baseball Signed by 53 Yankees in 1956 Spring Training

Penn State Athletic Director 1992 Fiesta Bowl Trophy

1976 Topps Football 15 Box Cello Case $110,000

NFL logo patches

Vintage golf balls

The 2018 National – Day #2

Day #2 of the 2018 National Sports Collectors Convention is in the books.  I was there right when the doors opened.  This is the first time in six years that I can remember the National having merchandise for sale.  I ordered a t-shirt a few months ago, but they have different shirts at the show to buy in addition to posters and pins.  Yes I said pins.  It use to be a regular thing that the National would issue pins, but its been a long time since those days.  This merchandise is for sale in the West Entrance.  I picked up another shirt and pin first thing this morning.

At 11:45 a.m. Jack Ham started signing autographs and taking photos with fans.  I had a little time to kill.  I went in search of a box of the new 2018 Leaf In The Game Used Sports.  Not every dealer/vendor has a box of this stuff.  The only two companies I saw selling them were Blowout Cards and Chicagoland Sports Cards.  I think Blowout Cards is buying up a lot of these boxes and cases from others to sell themselves.  I took the box over to the Leaf booth and broke the seal.  In return I received a special 2-card pack of Leaf Metal Originals.  These celebrate Leaf’s 70th anniversary and come in a variety of parallels.  Before I left, I handed two of the Leaf employees Sports Card Info pins.  As a thanks I was handed a stack of those Leaf Metal Originals packs.  Once I get back home I will go into full details about what I pulled from the boxes/packs I opened here in Cleveland.  I will say this.  From my box of 2018 Leaf In The Game Used Sports, I pulled an autograph/relic of Pelé #’ed/3.

Once I wrapped things up with Leaf, I headed up to the TRISTAR autograph pavilion.  This went a lot smoother compared to Wednesday night.  It only took me 30 minutes to get my Jack Ham signature.  Jack Ham is a really nice guy, just like Ickey Woods.  I got him to sign my black/gold Penn State football.  He was very interested to see which other Penn State signatures I have on the ball.  Its been a few years since I’ve been to the National, and I think TRISTAR’s employees are getting snippy.

I pulled the trigger on a vintage Philadelphia Eagles bobblehead from the 1960’s.  This is the second vintage bobblehead in my collection.  I purchased it from the same dealer I bought my vintage Phillies bobblehead from while attending the National in Atlantic City.

Marty’s Sports Card Exchange has some of the best deals on wax.  They are also one of the authorized Topps vendors who’s products are eligible for the Topps wrapper redemption program.  I purchased a box of 2018 Topps Museum Collection Baseball which got me (2) promo packs upon breaking the seal at the Topps booth.  Like I mentioned before, its better to show off what came out of my packs/boxes after I return home.  But I did get a Red Refractor #’ed/5, Orange Refractor #’ed/25, and an Ohtani from my Topps promo packs.

The rest of the day was spent wandering around checking out everything the National has to offer.  One of my favorite things to do is checkout what the auction houses have on display.  There are a lot of items here that once they’re sold will go into hiding and won’t be seen again for a very long time.

Friday, August 3rd is my last day for attending the 2018 National.  The big event of the day is the Topps Q&A meeting which I heard is already filled up.  All (125-150) spots were taken opening night.  I’m really interested in hearing the topics discussed.  I also have a feeling those attending leave with a special something.  We’ll see…

Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker and 1988 HOF inductee Jack Ham

1971 LeRoy Neiman Signed Original Hand Drawn Sketch of Muhammad Ali

1921 E121 American Caramel “Series of 80” “Babe” Ruth

Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig signed baseballs

Tom Brady rookies

Circa 1906 Jack Coombs Game Worn Philadelphia Athletics Rookie-Era Jersey

The 2018 National – Day #1

The 2018 National Sports Collectors Convention is officially underway.  It is the greatest gathering of collectors, dealers, manufacturers, and other prominent hobby individuals all under one roof.  This year’s National is taking place in Cleveland at the I-X Center.  I like this location the best as I find it the easiest to get to.

I arrived at the I-X Center around 2:00 p.m.  Thanks to Sports Card Info I’m eligible for media credentials.  That got me into the show before the 3:30 p.m. opening time set for VIPs.  I immediately went over to the Topps booth and signed up for the Q&A meeting scheduled for Friday at 5:30 p.m.  Topps leaves (125) spots open, and they fill up fast.

The TRISTAR autograph pavilion was my next stop.  I bought a few autograph tickets – Ickey Woods and Jack Ham.  Ickey Woods started signing at 5:30 p.m. today and Jack Ham is scheduled for 11:45 p.m. on Thursday.  I didn’t know this.  But having media credentials gets you a discount on autographs.  Ickey Woods normally would’ve been $29, $19 for the media.  Jack Ham $59, $55 for the media.  Way cool!

You almost need a Ph.D. to understand how the autograph signings work.  I had ticket #1 for Ickey Woods.  The first level of people who get their autographs are the ones who spend about $300 on the high-end All Access Platinum Passes.  After that come those who purchase single tickets like myself.  TRISTAR never mentioned that they were accepting tickets like mine.  All I heard were the high-end passes.  After waiting awhile I finally showed them my ticket and they told me I could go in.  Who knows how long I sat there for no reason.  Just a communication error on their part.

One of the best things about the National is meeting all of the people you talk to online.  I met Rob Bertrand of Go GTS Live, Susan Lulgjuraj of Topps, and former Eagles/Broncos guard Evan Mathis with his impressive collection.  Of course, Ickey Woods too.

The National is a monster of a show.  Its the show of all shows.  Nothing else comes close to beating it.  There is a lot to take in.  It closed at 8:00 p.m.  Before leaving for the night, I snooped around some booths and got pictures.  I’m looking to add another vintage bobblehead to my collection.  I’ve already inquired about a few Philadelphia Eagles ones.  I’m also possibly looking to add a Mike Schmidt 1973 Topps Rookie to my collection too.  I’ve found three.  One graded a PSA 3 for $85, a PSA 5 for $125, and a PSA 5.5 for $175.

Ickey Woods – Get some cold cuts!

Susan Lulgjuraj of Topps

Rob Bertrand of Go GTS Live

Former Eagles/Broncos guard Evan Mathis

Mickey Mantle 1953 Topps PSA Gem Mint 10

1910 Old Mill Cigarettes T210 Joe Jackson Series 8 SGC 4.5 – $500k+

Card of the Day: Bill Lee 1999 Sports Illustrated Greats of the Game Auto