Card of the Day: Ken Goldin – Goldin Auctions – 2021 National Sports Collectors Convention Auto

Card of the Day: Ken Bradshaw 1992 Beach Sports #72

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.

BCW Helps Sports Card Info Celebrate It’s 13th Anniversary With A Contest (Winner Announced)

Congrats to hudsonfan15 on being the lucky winner of the (6) packs of BCW Modular Sorting Trays. Once hudsonfan15 sends me their mailing address, BCW will ship these Modular Sorting Trays ASAP.

A big thank you to BCW for supplying these to help celebrate Sports Card Info’s 13th anniversary!

BCW Helps Sports Card Info Celebrate It’s 13th Anniversary With A Contest! – NOW CLOSED

Today Sports Card Info celebrates it’s 13th anniversary. It was founded on December 27, 2007. Many sports card blogs have come and gone since then, but Sports Card Info is still going strong. BCW Supplies has teamed-up with Sports Card Info to help celebrate this important occasion.

BCW Supplies has provided (6) packs of BCW Modular Sorting Trays for a contest giveaway. (6) sorting cells per pack. That’s a total of (36) sorting cells which can be used to make a large sorting tray. BCW Supplies makes the best products which both protect and help organize your collection.

Contest Details:

• This contest will end Friday, January 1, 2021 @ 7:30 p.m. EST.
• To enter, please leave a comment in this post.
• You can enter once per day.
• The winner will be selected at random.
• Please provide a valid e-mail address when entering.
• U.S. residents only.
• The winner will receive an e-mail when the contest is over.
• The winner has one week to send me their contact information or the contest will be held again.
• Once the contest is over, I will need the winner’s mailing address so BCW Supplies can ship them these BCW Modular Sorting Trays for FREE!!!

Under The Tree: 1977-80 Pro Sports Marketing NFL Action Team Mates

Remember the days of flipping through a catalog and circling all the stuff you wanted for Christmas? Those days are long gone.

Sold exclusively through the Sears and J.C. Penney Christmas catalogs between 1977 and 1980 were the Pro Sports Marketing NFL Action Team Mates. Measuring 7.5″ tall, these NFL-themed action figures came with two sets of interchangeable numbers, removable helmet, football, playbook, and display stand. They aren’t player specific, but you could certainly place whatever jersey number you wanted on them and pretend it was Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach, etc…

Figures which have never been removed from their box can easily come in pieces. Small rubber bands were used to hold the limbs together. Over the years these rubber bands can disintegrate leaving you with a box of loose body parts.

Today these figures are highly sought after. Triple digit sales are not uncommon for loose figures. Individual parts even have a strong demand.

Compared to the collectible figures we have today, these look quite generic. For a long time this is how sports action figures looked. When these were released, we were still years away from Starting Lineup figures.

I wonder if any of these guys found their way over to Barbie’s Dream House and told Ken to take a hike?

Under The Tree: EA Sports NCAA Football 14

While doing some research for this post I came to realize something. I should have kept my video games sealed. Games I once had and originally cost $50 now sell for thousands. Then again, if I and everyone else had done that they probably wouldn’t have gone up in price.

Sports related video games aren’t the most in-demand when it comes to video game collecting. That’s not to say there aren’t any hidden gems out in the wild. Certain sports games command insane prices, but its not the genre collectors flock to right away.

A current diamond in the rough is EA Sports NCAA Football 14. Released on July 9, 2013 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, this is the last game in their NCAA Football series. The main reasons for this are legal issues based on the game using player likenesses, and the players not being compensated for them. NCAA players getting paid for their likeness remains an ongoing debate. Because of this, no sequels have been made. As of this writing, it doesn’t look like a new game is coming anytime soon.

Denard Robinson on the cover.

Even though the game is out of print, college football fans continue to play it. Fans can edit the team rosters to a certain extent in order to reflect up-to-date players. Watching people play this game on Twitch has become very popular too.

Completely sealed copies easily sell for over $200. I would expect the price to drop if a new version of the game was ever released.

Under The Tree: 1991-92 Ace Novelty M.V.P. Sports Stars

Witnessing the massive success Tonka had with their line of WWF Wrestling Buddies, Ace Novelty decided to cash-in with their own line of similar toys called M.V.P. Sports Stars.

Ace Novelty produced their M.V.P. Sports Stars between 1991 and 1992. Instead of focusing on wrestling, they produced pillow-like dudes for MLB, NFL, NBA, and the NHL.

MLB a.k.a. Super Sluggers consists of (4) pillows – Nolan Ryan, Jose Canseco, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Ryne Sandberg.

NFL a.k.a. Tackling Dummies consists of (7) pillows – Randall Cunningham, Jim Kelly, Joe Montana, Boomer Esiason, Troy Aikman, Warren Moon, and Dan Marino.

NHL a.k.a. Power Skaters consists of (3) pillows – Wayne Gretzky, Brett Hull, and Mario Lemieux.

NBA a.k.a. Hoopster Heroes consists of (3) pillows – Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Patrick Ewing.

Mint condition examples which have never been removed from their box do have a certain level of desire. Nowhere near as much as the Tonka WWF Wrestling Buddies though.

These are toys, and they were meant to be played with. They took quite a beating over the years.

Card of the Day: The Phillie Phanatic 2000 Sports Illustrated for Kids #896

BREAKING: 2020 National Sports Collectors Convention Postponed Due To Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Update: THE 2020 National Sports Collectors Convention HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

The National Sports Collectors Convention issued the following press release today:

(Edison, NJ) – The National Sports Collectors Convention (NSCC) announced today its Board of Directors has voted to postpone the 41st National, scheduled to start Wednesday, July 29, 2020 at the Atlantic City Convention Center, a result of health and safety concerns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The world’s largest sports and entertainment collectible show’s premier annual event has been tentatively rescheduled for Saturday, December 12th through Wednesday, December 16, 2020, at the Atlantic City Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey.

“We have been closely monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic situation with our partners along with city and state officials.  It has become clear postponement is the appropriate course of action.” said John Broggi, NSCC Show Promoter.  “We have tentative plans to hold the National December 12-16, 2020, at the Atlantic City Convention Center, given state and federal guidelines indicate it is safe to hold our event.”

Open to the public, the Atlantic City Convention Center will be transformed into a collector’s paradise utilizing over 400,000 square feet, including 650 high profile exhibitors from around the country who will be buying, selling, and trading sought after sports and entertainment collectibles.

“It was a very difficult decision to postpone the 41st National but we feel it is the right decision given the number of critical unanswered questions and uncertainty concerning the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, said Dan Berkus, NSCC Show Promoter.  “We are currently working with Atlantic City officials and our NSCC team will be coordinating with exhibitors, attendees, and signing guests to ensure a smooth transition to the new December 12-16, 2020 dates.”

Exhibitors currently registered for the 2020 National will receive information pertinent to their participation and how to proceed going forward.  In addition, exhibitors and attendees can visit http://www.NSCCShow.com, and our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (@NSCCShow) social media platforms for current news and up-dates concerning the National Sports Collectors Convention show dates, December 12 – 16, 2020, at the Atlantic City Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey.

We thank you for your support and patience as we all work through these unprecedented times.  Our thoughts go out to those directly affected.

Well… this should be no surprise.  Honestly, I don’t think it will even happen in December.  People will still be recuperating from the coronavirus both physically and financially.  Given that its December the weather could be a potential factor.  Plus its the holiday season.  Lets not forget right now the Atlantic City Convention Center is being used as a field hospital for non-coronavirus patients.  I just don’t see it happening this year.  Wait until 2021.

I’ve attended seven Nationals.  Four in Cleveland.  Two in Baltimore.  One in Atlantic City.  I wasn’t impressed with the Atlantic City Convention Center.  I wasted so much power in my wheelchair just getting from the parking garage up to the room where the National was being held.  Cleveland will always be my favorite location.  As soon as you walk in the door of the I-X Center in Cleveland the National is right there.

Promos obtained through wrapper redemption programs are a huge part of the whole National experience.  I’m not a fan of Panini, but they are the only manufacturer so far to show-off what their wrapper redemption base set for 2020 will look like.  Take a good look folks.  This could very well be the most of any National promos you see this year.