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Making the rounds at SportsFest
By Ross Forman
August 19, 2001
ROSEMONT, Ill. – At about 3 p.m, on Sunday, I heard the worst possible news at SportsFest. Not that there was only an hour remaining in the 3rd-annual collectibles extravaganza, held here at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, August 2-5.
“Sorry, we’re sold out … of ice cream,” the vendor said.
So much for one of the true show pleasures – soft-serve ice cream (preferably, a twist cone) – after walking for six hours-plus.
There were plenty of other notes from this year’s
second major summertime show. Anyway,
here’s more of what I saw, heard, and observed over four days.
· I went to four bookstores in the Chicago suburbs to purchase Milt Pappas’ new book, Out At Home, but none had it. In fact, one salesman told me, and I quote, “The book didn’t sell, so we sent it back.” Probably to the publisher, I assume. Anyway, I thought this was something Pappas would want to know – and maybe he’d have advice for me to obtain the book. So, as Pappas walked off the signing stage, I told him. He too was shocked.
· Best buy at SportsFest: the 5-by-7 signed Kurt Warner picture, which actually included three-picture collage of the star St. Louis quarterback. Signed in blue Sharpie, the Warner relic was given away free by Houston-based Tri-Star Productions, Inc., with a $15 purchase. Well worth it, I’d say, especially since the print promotes Warner’s First Things First, his official Foundation.
· The cover to this year’s Official Souvenir Program – with the four Quarterbacks of The Century – is a great keepsake. Are they available on eBay yet
· Topps had a huge presence here and did a wonderful thing for The Hobby, thanks to Alan Narz and his impromptu Pack Wars. Just curious, though, why wasn’t Topps set up at The National?
· I hear more than $1 million was spent purchasing items on the QVC broadcast.
· If you could acquire one of the great items signed by the Quarterbacks of The Century, such as a football, that magnificent jersey or the litho, what would you go with? My pick: the litho. The limited-edition painting from Mounted Memories is awesome! (Anyone need my address to send me one?)
· The signs in the autograph area said, and I quote: Free Autographs, then listed a name or two. But that’s not what they meant. They really meant: Free Autographs, If You Have Some Red Coupon. Very deceptive advertising, I thought.
· It was nice seeing former Miami teammates Larry Csonka and Paul Warfield interrupt their signing and walk over – to pose for a picture – with a physically-challenged youngster.
· Former Chicago Bear Bobby Douglass shook everyone’s hand when they approached for an autograph – and introduced himself. Very classy.
· Mickey Rivers signed autographs for two days … why? He never played in Chicago.
· Why were several players’ signs hanging in the autograph area misspelled?
· William Perry, Cliff Branch and Ickey Woods each signed free autographs … if you bought an item (such as a $10 photo) from the dealer who hosted the former NFL stars. Is that really a free autograph? I bought a pic of The Fridge in the Super Bowl, and had Perry also sign two other items. I was happy, though $10 is kinda steep for an 8X10 photo.
· Former professional wrestler Virgil, who has worked for the WWF and WCW, is a gracious and friendly autograph guest. And signing autographs is a lot easier than flopping around in the ring, he stresses. Virgil will appear at Tri-Star Productions’ annual Labor Day weekend show in San Francisco.
· Hey, whatever happened to Jeff Blatt, longtime president of the Chicagoland Sports Collectors Convention? Jeff and his wife Beryl, plus son Chuck and daughter Michelle, were fixtures on the Chicago show scene for years.
· Out of curiosity, how many cards were graded at SportsFest?
· Out of curiosity, what was the most valuable card graded?
· Out of curiosity, which company graded the most?
· Game Time Promotions (St. Charles, Ill.) offered some great Walter Payton-related relics, commemorating the late former Chicago Bear. Check out their wares at www.walterpaytonfootball.com. The company even had free drink-coasters that are sweet-ness.
· Kudos to Ken Movold and the folks at Hartland for one of the best booths at SportsFest. Let’s see, it featured most former Hartland statues (sports and Western/Equine), the fabled Mickey Mantle mold, prototypes of the upcoming Hartland Lightboxes, not to mention two sculptors showcasing their talent.
· Funniest Quote of the Weekend came Saturday from a lady in the backstage signing area, when the Hanson Brothers arrived. The mid-aged lady looked at the long-haired former actors and, well, was baffled. “Who are they?” she asked. “Those are the Hanson Brothers, from the movie Slaphot,” several people told her. Dejected, and completely serious, she said, “Oh, I thought it was the Hanson Brother singers who were signing – and singing – here.”
· Another funny quote came from Don Pearson of On Thin Ice At Pucks Place (Corals Springs, Fla.). He had some attractive wooden jewelry boxes, with team logos. Asked how much, he said, “Anywhere from $20 to $40, depending on how scratched up they are. They’re normally $59.” The Florida-based company also offered numerous other unique collectibles, such as the limited-edition (of 313) framed pin set ($250) featuring 17 pins from Dan Marino’s career made to form a “13.” The signed edition sells for $500 and up, depending on the number in the edition.
· Stopped by Authentic Sports Investments (Oldsmar, Fla.) to check out their pro model stock bats ($10). They must have had 100 or more, but the way they were placed on the table, I could only look at a limited number – out of fear they would all go tumbling down. Authentic Sports Investments has many other unique, authentic items, mostly from Carlos Lee, Christian Guzman (including his 2001 All-Star Game batting gloves) and David Ortiz. Some of the odd-ball items included an Ortiz-signed winter hat ($25) and a belt ($10), and an Eric Chavez-signed pair of yellow sanitary socks ($15). And, yes, both socks were signed. There also was a used and signed elbow pad and wrist-split from Ortiz. For the more “normal” collectible, Authentic Sports Investment offered a Muhammad Ali-signed robe ($7,000) from 1966.
· I saw the booth for the LaserCare Institute and just had to ask, Why? Why attend a sports collectibles convention. “That’s a good question,” answered Daniel J. Ritacca, a board certified ophthalmologist. “We go to two or three conventions (annually), and it exposes us to a high volume of people. And people who are interested in sports usually don’t want to wear glasses or contacts.” Ritacca and his crew attend the annual Golf Show and do very well, he said. They also attended beauty and health shows. From SportsFest, Ritacca had a list of about 100 “potential customers.” And at $2,600 for both eyes, even one customer makes their show. Ritacca tested my right eye, which requires a contact lens, but the prescription isn’t too strong. He said I probably wouldn’t need the short procedure. My left eye, on the other hand, is very bad and probably would benefit from the surgery … for a mere $1,300. But I’m gonna save that money and, instead, spend it on laser chest-hair removal, which also was offered at Ritacca’s booth. “The downside (of attending SportsFest) is that a lot of the (collectors) do not have a lot of extra disposable income,” Ritacca said. “We could help a lot of these (attendees), but I think a lot of them are suspicious.”
· Longtime dealer Denny Graziano (Franklin Park, Ill.) didn’t just offer his abundance of photos. He also had used cassettes ($1 apiece, 6 for $5, 13 for $10). I picked Samantha Fox’s Naughty Girls (Need Love Too) and, appropriately, The Outfield (Diamond Days). Graziano also offered an Aunt Jemima large cast iron skillet ($19). Dare I ask, why?
· Kirk’s Collectibles (Covington, Ga.) offered numerous game-used University of Georgia helmets. They had one with No. 83 and one with No. 84 – and didn’t know who once wore them. I asked the price and was told, “Only $125 … and you can’t even buy a new helmet for that (price).” But I didn’t buy either.
· Those foot and back massages looked great.
· Daphne Mischel, Special Events Coordinator for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago, brought several “Littles” to the show – and all seemed to have a good time, especially when given the opportunity to sculpt their own items at the nearby Hartland booth. Kudos to PR guru Timm Boyle of Double M Communications (Kenosha, Wisc.) for arranging the Big Brothers/Big Sisters involvement with SportsFest.
· Saw a Bob Uecker bobble head for $50. Nice item, but the price seemed a bit steep,
· Kudos to Dale Wright of Showcases U.S.A. (Tampa, Fla.) who was talking to a 10-year-old Saturday about authenticity of autographs. Dale treated the youngster like a truly valued customer; he didn’t just ignore him because of his age.
· Saw one of the funniest things all show at the Young Bat Company (Brevard, N.C.) booth. They had this little doll, the Rookie League Mighty Mac ($150), and the poor guy was leaning – face-first – against a toilet.
· Glad to see Patrice JM Lagnier and Keith Hertz from Sports Collectors Guild (Phoenix, Ariz.) back on the show scene. Their products are awesome!
· Glad to see the booth that was selling unique signed items to benefit the Adam Walsh Children’s Fund (Lake Park, Fla.). Good cause, good products. Hope they sold everything.
·
Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle threw a
one-hitter Friday night, then signed free autographs at the Tri-Star
Productions booth on Saturday. He
cordially signed everything put in front of him, posed for countless
pictures and, on his way out of the show, had his photo taken with two
Chicago Bulls’ cheerleaders.
Glad to have been the good humor man at SportsFest, minus the ice cream unfortunately.