Innholdsfortegnelse for September 1, 2023 i Sports Collectors Digest

LEADING OFF NBA great Allen Iverson was walking on Air when he entered the Fanatics Live booth at the National Sports Collectors Convention. Iverson walked in and hugged Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin, the former co-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers franchise AI starred for. Iverson joined Rubin for a box break at Fanatics Live, the company’s new livestream platform. The billionaire CEO and Basketball Hall of Famer were about to rip open a box of 1986 Fleer Basketball cards, chasing Iverson’s hero. The Fleer set is filled with Hall of Famers, but the prize, of course, is a Michael Jordan rookie card. Iverson was anxious to get his hands on one. “MJ is my hero,” Iverson said. “I think he’s the greatest player of all time. … He seems like a…

Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels has elevated himself to the top of the hobby, and why not? He’s a one-of-a-kind baseball force, between his prodigious home runs and blazing speed on the basepaths and unhittable selection of pitches on the mound. He also has forged a reputation as a hard-working, positive role model. In early August, Ohtani already has had a remarkable season — or maybe we should say “seasons” — as both hitter and pitcher. With almost two months to go, his stats included 40 homers, 80 RBI, 15 steals and a .305 average at the plate. On the mound, Ohtani showed a 9-5 record, a 3.32 ERA and 160 strikeouts in 124 innings. Our Top 10 chart this time out finds Ohtani in the 4th, 9th…

ROSEMONT, Ill. – With the successful 43rd annual National Sports Collectors Convention in the books, a new chapter will begin for the 2024 show. On Nov. 1, JBJ Corporation takes over as promoters of the largest card and memorabilia show in the country. JBJ Corporation — which consists of longtime card/memorabilia dealers Joe Drelich, Brian Coppola and Jim Ryan — will have big shoes to fill. SMI LLC, run by John Broggi and Dan Berkus, orchestrated record-breaking attendance and the largest show floor in event history this year in Chicago. Drelich, Coppola and Ryan are tasked with taking the show to the next level while satisfying the needs of the constantly growing collectors, dealers and corporate sponsors that travel in droves to the hobby’s premiere event each summer. All three…

THE HOBBY IS THE PEOPLE I've heard some other content creators declare that the hobby is dead or dying. If they attended the 43rd National Sports Collectors Convention, they've changed their tune or they're just trying to sell you clickbait. As you most likely have heard already, this year's event broke the all-time attendance record set in 1991 in Anaheim, Calif. I was at this year's event from Wednesday through Saturday and if that's a dead hobby, I'm scared to think what a live one may look like. The 100,000 extra square feet added to this year's National was palpable. I could feel the difference. It seemed more airy with more open spaces. All the more impressive when you realize this National had more attendees than ever before. Now listen,…

ROSEMONT, Ill. — I’m not real sure how they keep track of attendance at the National Sports Collectors Convention, but I don’t see how there could ever have been one bigger than this year’s show in Chicago. Every day, as soon as they opened the doors, one of the first things you encountered was a mad dash to the different grading companies, where collectors were scrambling to get in line for their services. PSA, Beckett, SGC, CGC and all the others were doing a brisk business from Wednesday afternoon until the show closed on Sunday. I set out to find just what kind of items collectors brought to have graded and what they expected to get in return. It was around 1:30 p.m. on the first day, two hours before…

NOTE: If you have a show listing, follow the style below and send to jowens@aimmedia.com. ALABAMA Sept 16 AL, Prattville. The Card Guy's Sports Cards and MemorabiliaShow,Robert Trent Jones Convention Center,2500 Legends Circle,Prattville, Al 36066. SH: 9:30am-4pm. T:100.($40), A:$5. Contact: Tim Dennis 334-430-5608, dennistimo-thy829@gmail.com Sept 23 AL. Sheffield. Muscle Shoals Sportscards and Memorabilia Show, Clarion Inn, 4900 Hatch Boulevard, Sheffield, Al. 35660, SH: 8am-2pm. T:3 0. A: Free. Contact: Leroy Willis 256-412-2184, popandhoney@yahoo.com ARKANSAS Sept 23 AR, Conway. Conway Sports Cards Show, ELITE Academy, 1400 Old Morrilton Hwy. #3513, Conway, AR. SH: 9am-3pm. T: 60. A: Free. Contact: Clay Winn claywinn32@yahoo.com ARIZONA Sept 2 AZ, Tempe (Phoenix). Collectibles on College — Tempe Monthly, University Presbyterian Church, 139 E. Alameda Dr., Tempe, AZ 85281. SH: 10am-3pm. T: 65 ($50-60, free lunch…

With Fanatics acquiring the rights to produce trading cards in all three major professional sports, rival card manufacturer Panini has sued the company, alleging antitrust violations. Fanatics, meanwhile, has filed a countersuit in U.S. District Court, calling Panini’s claims “baseless” and “incoherent” and revealing the company’s attempt to “strong-arm” Fanatics into paying an “early termination” fee. Panini owns the exclusive rights to produce NBA basketball cards through September 2025 and NFL cards through 2026. It alleges in its federal lawsuit that Fanatics has interfered with those existing contracts and Panini’s ability to conduct business. “Fanatics has done all this Anticompetitive Conduct to monopolize the markets for Major U.S. Professional Sports Leagues trading cards [and others] even before its exclusives begin,” the Panini suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Florida,…

ROSEMONT, Ill. — The show floor stretching 600,000 square feet was jam-packed. Collectors were elbow to elbow at some dealer booths, checking out the impressive eye candy. Corporate sponsors went all out on their displays, and show attendees loved the view. The 2023 National Sports Collectors Convention was historic in its approach and delivery. It also set an all-time high for attendance, eclipsing 100,000 to move past the highly-decorated 1991 show in Anaheim. The Donald E. Stephens Convention Center was the place to be for collectors from all over the country. “We averaged much more than 20,000 a day,” NSCC show manager John Broggi said. “[Sunday] was a little bit lighter, but the other four days made up for that, and it’s got to be the largest sports collectibles convention…

NFL great Adrian Peterson landed in St. Louis at about 1 a.m. after his flight to Chicago was diverted. He was scheduled to sign autographs the following morning at the 43rd annual National Sports Collectors Convention, but no flight would get him to Chicago in time for the signing session. But a five-hour overnight taxicab ride would — and that’s exactly what he did. “That’s the dedication some of the players and their agents had to get to The National,” TRISTAR Productions Vice President Bobby Mintz said. Andre Dawson had similar travel woes, as his flight was diverted to Indianapolis and he too took a taxi — for three hours — so he could sign autographs on Sunday morning, July 30. Despite travel issues that impacted those two and others,…

With 48 members of the Baseball Hall of Fame on hand in Cooperstown for the 2023 induction ceremony, it seemed at times as if there were more people on stage than in the crowd. In spite of their respectable if arguably unspectacular careers, neither of this year’s inductees, Fred McGriff and Scott Rolen, command the kind of fandom that inspires a crowd to make the trek to rural, upstate New York. Attendance estimates for 2023 ranged between 5,000-10,000, considerably lower than the 40,000-50,000 that has been the norm in recent years. Ironically, what was disappointing to the Hall of Fame and town merchants turned out to be a boon for fans, especially autograph collectors. The crowd was thinner than usual at Cooperstown shops and restaurants, and a bit lighter at…