2019 National Sports Collectors Convention - Chicago

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2019 National Sports Collectors Convention - Chicago

Postby vintagebrett » April 3rd, 2019, 8:25 am

The 40th National Sports Collectors Convention will be taking place July 31st - August 4th in Chicago this summer. I'll have a booth with miscellaneous sporting goods for sale and hope that a bunch of you can make your way to the show. As always, if there is enough people and interest, I'm happy to set up a dinner/gathering where we can talk all things glove. Glovecrazy will be joining me in the booth and I'm sure he will bring an assorted mix of treasures to tantalize. Anybody planning on attending?
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Re: 2019 National Sports Collectors Convention - Chicago

Postby vintagebrett » June 9th, 2019, 11:17 am

Just wanted to bump this up as a reminder if anyone is considering going. I know you are all big fan's of JD's glove lists, well, if you come to the National you can experience a similar "glove list" in one booth. As this point in time I have an interesting selection of models from the early 1900's up to the 1970's that you'll be able to put on your hand, enjoy the feel of the smooth linings and take in that great leather smell. There will be some unique models, top line gloves, rare endorsements and some other surprises. I'm sure Mr. GloveCrazy will be bringing a few to tantalize you with as well. A veteran collector of over 30 years, Doug Wolk, is downsizing and will have a great variety of models that will be available in my booth as well. It's always a hoot to hang out with glove-minded friends so if you're considering going, please do!
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Re: 2019 National Sports Collectors Convention - Chicago

Postby vintagebrett » July 18th, 2019, 7:52 am

Two weeks until the show in Chicago. I've heard from a few people that will be attending and I look forward to seeing everyone there that can make it. I will be set up in booth 613. There will be a great selection of vintage gloves to choose from. A good 30-40 models are what you would expect to see in Glove of the Month postings, while another 30 or so are just a notch below. There will be a bargain bin of $20 and under gloves as well. A great majority of the gloves I'm bringing are fresh to the hobby and have not circulated among the collecting masses. If your interest extends beyond gloves, there will be some nice bats, uniforms, football equipment, advertising, trophies, display pieces, etc. GloveCrazy Rob will be posing for pictures and signing autographs daily in the booth as well. It's always a fun time to hang out with fellow glove collectors so if you're on the fence about going, I'd highly recommend making the trip. Make sure to "zip" right over to booth 613! 8)
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Re: 2019 National Sports Collectors Convention - Chicago

Postby GloveCrazy » July 18th, 2019, 5:07 pm

Alright Glovers, who’s gonna stop by and say hello at the National?! Really looking forward to it as Chicago is my favorite location (other than rare historic Anaheim), and Brett always has premier stuff that holds back for that show (darn it). I know Paul can’t make it this year but how about fellow Clevelanders Mark Walters and Bob Seedhouse? I hear Longtimer Doug Wolk may bring some stuff and Richie Boswell and Scott Noble usually a have a bag of goodies as well. Can’t wait!
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Re: 2019 National Sports Collectors Convention - Chicago

Postby scottnoble » July 22nd, 2019, 10:03 pm

Hey Guys , I am so disappointed that I am still on the fence. We have a family wedding and it doesn't stop raining here so I can only come if the rains stop long enough and the stars align. Way too wet for way too long, hopefully you guys are all well and have yourselves a blast in case I cannot make it, Scott
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Re: 2019 National Sports Collectors Convention - Chicago

Postby vintagebrett » July 27th, 2019, 2:24 pm

Car is packed and I’m ready to roll out at 4am tomorrow. Besides the vintage sports, I may have two kids for sale depending on how they behave during the 14 hour drive. 8)

I probably won’t have time to post on here but I’ll try to throw some pictures up on my Instagram account during the show. Hope to see a bunch of glove collectors next week!
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Re: 2019 National Sports Collectors Convention - Chicago

Postby vintagebrett » August 5th, 2019, 4:40 pm

Back from Chicago - what a great week! It went by super fast but I had a fantastic time getting to see a bunch of glove-crazed people and talking about the things we love about the leather we collect.

Started the journey last Sunday with my two boys in tow - my wife was lucky she had to work and got to fly solo a day later. We hit a few antique malls along our travels and bought a few modern gloves to sell on eBay at a later time. Traffic was cooperative and we made it to Indiana to stay overnight before heading to Chicago on Monday. Josh and Tom Maddox were kind enough to host me and the kids at the house for a bit and I got to see all of their great new additions since the previous trip out there. Josh had found a nice Sonnett glove that I didn't have so I was happy to take it off of his hands.

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After that, the boys and I headed to hotel for some swimming and some rest. Monday morning we awoke and headed up into Michigan to hit a few antique stores before working our way into Chicago. Crossing into central time gave us an extra hour to play with but we weren't able to find anything worthwhile at our stops. We drove to Midway airport to pick up my wife and Glovecrazy Rob - they just beat the thunderstorms that wreaked havoc with a lot of other people's travel itineraries that day. Packed to the gills in the car, we drove up to Rosemont, picked up the National packet at the convention center and went to the hotel. Dinner was some delicious pizza at Lou Malnati's and lots of glove talk.

Tuesday is a setup day and is usually my most stressful one. In years past, I've driven my vehicle into the venue and unloaded. This year, I had two large tubs with wheels and decided to just carry in. It was super easy and gave me more time to work on getting the booth up and going. While I was getting my setup to my liking, Rob was hauling butt around the floor looking to scoop up any good gloves. Business was brisk during setup time but I only sold 2 gloves the first day. We cut out early to head downtown to Chicago and meet my family for dinner and a walk. Had a great time at Safehouse Chicago (learned that Rob's nickname back in the day was Shredder), which is a spy themed restaurant with a bunch of fun things for kids and adults alike. Walked around Michigan Ave. and thru Millenium Park as the weather was perfect.

Wednesday is a long day at the National - 8am to 8pm. There is continued dealer setup until about 3pm when the first wave of shoppers hit the floor. At 4 pm, the floodgates open and it gets busy. Once that time arrived, gloves started flying out of the booth at a fast pace. I had a chance to walk around earlier in the day and picked up a few gloves, one which is a surprise keeper for me - i think it was the only time Rob was jealous of a purchase I made. Picture below, it is gorgeous Wilson A2010 with great patch and shooting star logo.

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Thursday, Friday and Saturday all turned out to be great selling days. Richie B. hung out with us for a good portion of Friday and I had a super time exchanging stories about our search in the wild for vintage gloves. Gloves continued to sell and I was happy to give people information about our hobby when they inquired. After doing shows for so many years, the most frequent comment/questions I get are:
-"How did they catch with these things?"
-"I had this glove when I was a kid."
-"People actually collect these?"

Overall, I was very happy with the show and the outcome. I brought 72 gloves to the show and sold 40 (I gave one away to a 6 year old who was thrilled to take a Rawlings Mr. Shortstop home). During the trip I purchased 16 gloves and sold 2 of those at the show. My friend, long-time collector Doug Wolk, joined Rob and I in the booth and he sold 30 gloves over the course of the week. Rob sold a handful as well. There were people interested in gloves from all eras and I was a bit surprised that so many of my higher end 60's and 70's gloves sold there. Besides glove collectors, we sold some to people decorating their collection room, people who just thought they were cool and a few who had the model when they were younger. The booth got lots of compliments and I think everyone enjoys seeing a big pile of gloves they can go thru.

Big thanks to everyone who stopped by the booth and said hi. I know it's expensive to travel to the show and you may not find what you are looking for but the comraderie of glove collectors is something that can't be measured in dollars. Each glove has a story, not only when it was being used, but where it was found and how it got to the show - glove nerds like us really enjoy swapping those stories. Next year the National is in Atlantic City which I know is not a desirable travel destination. In 2021, it is back in Chicago and Rob and I discussed how we'd really like to get as many glove enthusiasts there as possible. Start your planning now! 8)

My two other acquisitions at the show for my collection are below - a mint Sonnett Harmon Killebrew in box (Thanks Doug!) and a Wm. Read & Sons baseball cap that matches the uniform I got at Brimfield in May.

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Re: 2019 National Sports Collectors Convention - Chicago

Postby mikesglove » August 6th, 2019, 2:17 pm

Your '64-'65 Wilson A2010 used a willow cowhide leather, different from the A2000 leather. You can just see it in the darker color. What a beauty!
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Re: 2019 National Sports Collectors Convention - Chicago

Postby vintagebrett » August 6th, 2019, 2:27 pm

Thanks Mike! It's not something I'd usually keep but once I saw it and put it on my hand it was over. Rob tried his best to pry it away but he wasn't successful.

Overall, the 2019 National was the strongest for gloves that I've seen in many years. There were some really nice, well made models on the floor that were in great condition. I thought the prices were very fair on most of them and that's probably why they all got purchased over the course of the week. There were only a handful of gloves over $500 and I believe only one that was four figures. If you were lucky, you could get some quality pieces and not break the bank. It seemed that were enough to go around as all the glove people I talked to were happy with what they had bought. So, despite what you may think when you see his pictures, Rob did not buy every single nice glove there. :lol:

I forgot to post a booth picture yesterday - this was taken early Wednesday morning before the real feeding frenzy began.

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Re: 2019 National Sports Collectors Convention - Chicago

Postby GloveCrazy » August 6th, 2019, 6:12 pm

It's not fun, you won't have any meaningful glove conversations, and you certainly won't find any good gloves.
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Re: 2019 National Sports Collectors Convention - Chicago

Postby GloveCrazy » August 6th, 2019, 6:39 pm

OK, so maybe I was stretching the truth a little to keep the competition down. All I can say is I'm sort of fortunate I couldn't drive to it or it would have been real scary (scarier) in terms of what I would have purchased, and even then I ended up with more than I could get back in two suitcases and two large carry-ons. They call me an old-timer, out of reverence I assume, and have a fairly large collection already ( :shock: ) that runs the full gamut of collecting, and yet picked up all kinds of good stuff from old gloves in amazing condition, to colorful hard to get varieties, cool labels, big names, one of my new top three gloves, and upgrades to three (3) of my favorite models that I have been going after for nearly 20 years. And it wasn't just a first day rush, stuff trickled out all week long, and one of Brett's gloves I wanted the most didn't sell until Saturday, and I brought home some of my very hard to get models that were only available at the show. Brett and I brought some quality items that previously weren't available to the public so If you couldn't find something at this National then that maybe a you thing.

But it's not just about the stuff. Truly. It is about the hanging out with fellow collectors, walking the floor together, looking for stuff for collector friends who couldn't attend, and just hanging out and talking about favorite glove finds over the years, favorite gloves, want lists, pondering future trades, etc. Forums and emails are great but they are nothing like spending time with another collector face-to-face for a while.

Anyway, thanks to Brett for the amazing hospitality and in making me feel at home in his booth, to those who came out to say hello, to Doug and Richie who completed two large win/win trades with me, and to the longtime collector who walked me to a very special glove that eventually ended up in my collection. Lots more to thank and talk about, but am still recovering from collecting stimulus overload and will wait until I pull together a group shot.
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Re: 2019 National Sports Collectors Convention - Chicago

Postby GloveCrazy » August 7th, 2019, 12:00 am

Monday Brett picked me up from airport and took me directly to Lou Malnotti’s ... doesn’t get any better than that! Love Chicago style pizza and had it every day except one. We also ventured downtown to get the top ranked burger (and cheese curds), and then capped the week off with Doug treating us to very tasty large plates of German. Mixing in some salads this week!

And yes, every show Brett teaches me a lesson about scouring all booths, and it’s always when we are walking together!

Here’s a photo of most of the gloves I picked up, including several for my glove trading friends. Instant advanced collection, or what?! A couple trophies, too, which are always fun to pack.

Sometimes in that atmosphere you end up buying stuff you may regret a little, but after the dust has mostly settled I can only think of two I sort of regret, and they were literally the last two I purchased. I was quickly walking back on an amazing glove high from my biggest purchase (tilting?) and saw these two decker patent c-mitts and mistakenly thought one was a name one of my friends needed. It’s all good. Completing inventory, cleaning and photo taking may take me a while.

Always interested in trading but the ones in the middle are spoken for, as are the interesting color ones. Otherwise let my trade broker buddy, Ricky, know and he’ll work something out.
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Re: 2019 National Sports Collectors Convention - Chicago

Postby mikesglove » August 7th, 2019, 12:15 am

I love that, 28 KB. Is that from your Kodak Instamatic?
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Re: 2019 National Sports Collectors Convention - Chicago

Postby GloveCrazy » August 7th, 2019, 12:26 am

Now that’s funny! Original shot too large so had some challenges on iPhone shrinking it down. Is there a good app that that'll get it to 256kb? Asking for a friend.
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Re: 2019 National Sports Collectors Convention - Chicago

Postby vintagebrett » August 7th, 2019, 8:11 am

Here is a better sized photo of Rob's haul:

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