My National experience

[TNTtoys]

I was there on Wednesday night from 5-9, and then again on Thursday from 12-3:30. The convention was all that I expected, and although my time there was limited, I feel that I made the best out of every minute.

Just a couple of side-notes before my review...
Eric: Sorry, no photos of the show. I brought my "big camera" with me to Chicago, but it would have been too cumbersome to lug around for hours at the show. I did however take some nice photos of the city Wednesday, and look to share these later for anyone interested.
Others: My apologies for an unintentional "bad description" of myself. On Thursday morning, I had the mentioned jersey on with another shirt under. I was in the middle of my hotel checkout when I started to sweat... and thought that this would be a ridiculous way to spend the day... so I quickly changed & left in a cab for the show...

My review...

My goal -- I had never been to a National before. I wanted to first and foremost experience one. I wanted to meet some of the friends & colleagues I have made in this hobby over the years... and last but not least, I wanted to search through the various dealer tables for any "hidden gems."

Hoping that I don't forget anyone, I enjoyed chatting with --
Chris Cavalier, Bruce & Mike (Hartel Sports), Wayne & Morgan (Pro Am sports/gamewornuniforms.com), Dave Miedema, John Taube, some dealers from the NY area, some dealers "formerly of the NY area" and countless other collectors.

My assessment of the game used aspect of the show... similar to many of the others here. In a nutshell, the show is geared to the card & autograph collector. Though these are the dominant themes, there are game used items throughout, but you need to take your time and search. Of course, there are the heavy hitters like Bruce's and Wayne's booth (no Batman pun intended) with many hundreds of jerseys on display (in my opinion these 2 booth alone comprised more than half of the game used jerseys at the show), but there were pockets of 10-20 jerseys in some other booths, and an occasional one-off at others. Some nice items on display by the auction houses, and some random nice items scattered throughout.

On day 1 (I should say night 1), I spotted a beautiful 1984 white home Montreal Expos gamer. It was among about 1-2 dozen jerseys at a primarily Cincinnati Reds dealer's booth. I got to talking with this guy, and after a while realized that he is the uncle of a seller I have been buying jerseys from for sometime now. It's a small world!!! I also picked up a Dave Magadan late 80's Mets bat, and then found a heavily used pair of Keith Hernandez game used home pinstripe pants. It was buried under a pile of 1999 Mets pants, and being sold by someone for someone else. It was that hidden gem I was looking for... the item you more than likely would never find online because it's tucked away in someone's collection or on consignment in some little "mom & pop" shop somewhere across the country. Course, I called home to express my joy to my wife, and her reaction was the usual "ewww...what's with your fascination with soiled pants?"

Day 2 started out kind of slow... but began to pick up when I spotted a near-mint official 2000 World Series "Subway Series" baseball signed by former Mets manager Bobby Valentine. The price tag on it was hardly worth the price of the ball alone. In talking with the seller, I realized that I knew this guy as well from past ebay transactions.
Then I noticed the "Mookie's tickets" booth, run by Lenny, who I have been in touch with for years. He's helped me and many others with various ticket requests; you might be familiar with him. Unfortunately I missed him both times (though I had a great chat with "Mrs. Mook").
And the big surprise of the trip came later that afternoon. I saw one table with a Mets jersey in a ziplock bag. It turned out to be a replica jersey of an early 90s road... but if I didn't first ask to look at it, I would have never noticed what was hidden underneath it. A 1982 road alternate (that 1 year style that I have been torturing myself over for years) of former Mets catcher Ron Hodges. This find was completely unexpected and has taken a huge hole out of my "1 of every style" collection.
I wrapped up the final hour or so of my stay with a round of goodbyes.

All in all, a very worthwhile trip. Enjoyed it thoroughly!

Nick

[Jags Fan Dan]

Nick,

I enjoyed reading this. Thanks for sharing!

[harpt]

I was there Thursday and Friday. I picked up a couple of bats, but the best part for me was getting to rub elbows with one of my heros. (see Pic). I know these shows are not the same as they used to be for game used collectors, but I really enjoyed the National this year. It was great meeting new people and sharing this great hobby with so many.

[Vintagedeputy]

I was there Thursday and Friday. I picked up a couple of bats, but the best part for me was getting to rub elbows with one of my heros. (see Pic). I know these shows are not the same as they used to be for game used collectors, but I really enjoyed the National this year. It was great meeting new people and sharing this great hobby with so many.

Ok I give up, who is that?

[markfd]

My guess is Bart Starr

[Neely8]

My guess is Bart Starr

Ding ding ding we have a winner!!

[harpt]

Oops, sorry...I forgot that Bart may not be as recognizable to folks outside of Wisconsin. He's a god here.

[skyking26]

I was there Thursday and Friday. I picked up a couple of bats, but the best part for me was getting to rub elbows with one of my heros. (see Pic). I know these shows are not the same as they used to be for game used collectors, but I really enjoyed the National this year. It was great meeting new people and sharing this great hobby with so many.

Scott blew me off as usual at the National Thursday ...

[harpt]

Ha ha, yeah we missed each other again. Just remember, last time you blew me off for Dave Kingman. Anyway...it will work out one of these times.

[Vintagedeputy]

Ding ding ding we have a winner!!

Oh, I knew that....I meant who was the other bald guy?