Baseball cards still hottest ticket for collectors at convention
By Ross Forman
Special for USA TODAY

The National Sports Collectors Convention, which began Thursday and runs through Sunday at the Anaheim Convention Center, is making a return appearance in Southern California.

In 1991, the annual event was held in Anaheim and attracted 100,000 collectors. The first convention was held in 1980 in Los Angeles.

''This is the show to attend, to buy, sell and trade. It's a great marketplace,'' says Jeff Rosenberg of Houston-based Tri-Star Productions Inc.

Kevin Nash, the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) superstar, is among the celebrity autographers in the lineup. ''Sports memorabilia is part of American history,'' Nash says.

Still hot: Michael Jordan items remain highly collectable.

''He's still The King,'' says Tom Mortenson, editor of Sports Collectors Digest.

Items from Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle and Muhammad Ali also are still popular.

Favorites among the active stars are Kobe Bryant, Mark McGwire, Ken Griffey Jr., Vince Carter and Chipper Jones.

Speaking of Bryant, Upper Deck will distribute three-card packs this weekend of a Kobe-only, 10-card set. Also, 15 signed, game-jersey cards have been inserted.

Inscriptions: Autographs with inscriptions also are a hot item.

Take, for example, Don Larsen: His single-signed ball might sell for $20.

If Larsen also signs ''1956 World Series Perfect Game,'' the asking price could jump to $35.

Mortenson says inscriptions add at least 50% to the value or selling price.

Memorabilia: Game-used memorabilia, either intact or cut up to be included on cards, is a hot item, too.

Upper Deck, which has been raffling one-of-a-kind items all year, will be giving away a Babe Ruth-signed ball, a Hank Aaron-signed, game-used bat and a Ty Cobb-signed ball.

Top seller: Baseball remains the top card seller but is down to ''40% or 50%,'' Mortenson says.

Still, current-issue baseball cards are selling. Of Upper Deck's nine baseball releases this year, eight have sold out. Fleer created 8,000 six-card sets featuring cards from the SkyBox baseball set for the national convention.

Next in popularity are football and basketball, then hockey.

Today's marketplace overall is a$500 million industry, down from about $1.2 billion in the early 1990s, says Mary Mancara of The Upper Deck Co.

''Manufacturers have taken a much more controlled approach. They're more responsible to the number of releases and the greater distinction between products.'' The vintage card market is ''better than ever,'' says dealer Alan Rosen of Montvale, N.J.

Internet: Unquestionably the biggest impact on the industry in recent years has been the Internet.

''It's changed the face of the industry, no doubt,'' Rosen says.

The most coveted baseball card, the famed T206 Honus Wagner tobacco card once owned by Wayne Gretzky, sold for more than $1 million this month.

''The Internet, particularly eBay, has brought a breath of fresh air to the industry and a lot of new customers,'' Mortenson says. ''But counterfeit autographs are a huge, huge problem on the Internet.''

The National's annual auction will be held online. About 100 items, assembled by Beckett.com, will be available. The auction will be held on Yahoo's ''Sportscard and Memorabilia'' page.

Fewer shows: The weekends of 20 or 30 shows in one area are gone.

The second annual SportsFest, Aug. 17-20 in Rosemont, Ill., is the next major collectibles event.

''There isn't that chaotic collecting madness of a few years ago,'' Mortenson says. But, Rosenberg adds, ''It definitely is a healthy market these days.'' 

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