kovacs
 

Anyone remember one of the first big time dealers with the last name Kovacs?

Jim Kovacs was a fascinating dealer who was in many ways well ahead of his time. At work so I'll update later

Kovacs
 

I remember his ads in SCD. I would really like to hear some stories by guys who knew Kovacs.

Yikes!

That article may be the least flattering article I have ever read about a card dealer. If that article is accurate I am sort of glad he is no longer involved in the hobby if that is the case. Hates kids, rude to customers, in it only for the money, gambling problems, substance abuse issues... why even write an article like that.

Ummm wow! That was a very descriptive article. Actually a very funny read as I remember going to card shows (especially as kid/teen) and getting the ole stink eye by dealers like this....lol


Andy

Actually a great, accurate article. I encountered him a couple of times at shows and he acted just like he is portrayed, though I never saw him be rude to kids, but I am sure he viewed them as rugrats. He was just very upfront about being in the business for the money. He was a wiry little guy who wore a 30's style newsboy cap and when you talked to him he seemed to be sharing his inner monologue with you, not actually carrying on a conversation with you.

Definitely not my idea of an ideal baseball card dealer, but I have met plenty that were worse. He was just a character (and a caricature...I think his business cards had one of him wearing that newsboy cap) that made you smile and shake your head.

Brian

a great, accurate article
 

ha ha ha…
jim kovacs did, in fact put upside-down galvanized buckets under the legs of his display tables to raise them up, so they would be out of reach to kids.
he always had multiples of each card in his albums & when one sold, he would automatically raise the price on the next one.
jim was rumored to spend his evenings in his motel room, after each show date, ironing his wrinkled dollar bills, which were apparently, numerous.
eventually, I believe, jim purchased a parcel of land in some god forsaken desert area east of san diego (Julian, I believe) where he proudly roamed the property each day, totally naked, perfecting his so-cal all-over tan!
also, jim kovacs was considered to be THE face of the (west coast, at least) baseball card hobby prior to yet another very obnoxious & annoying personality- alan rosen/mr mint!.
ahhhhhh, such fond memories of days past.;)

Rose Rookie Reprints
 

Would anyone be able to provide any insight as to just how deep Mr. Kovacs involvement was with the Rose rookie card fakes (unmarked counterfeit version) when they first hit the hobby in the early 1980's? Actual fake card producer? Main hobby distributor? Both? Misidentified innocent?

I remember he used to have a shop...
 

near Cleveland, Ohio. Is he still alive?

Eric

The person who knew the most about that was the late Jack Petruzzelli (sic) and he's no longer with us.

Rich

He passed away last year.

Anyone have any memories of dealing with Kovacs in person or through mail order?

Makes Kovacs sound like a lot of the fast buck dealers from the late eighties into the early nineties. Glad those guys are gone!

Kovacs
 

The guy was not customer friendly. I went in his store once in Cleveland and asked if I could see a silk in his display case priced at $10. I could already see I wanted it but wanted to turn it over to be sure. His response....."You can see it just fine right where it is!" My response "OK then I will buy it!" At that point he let me look at it and I did buy it. At a card show I remember asking him, what do you think is the best investment at this time ( around 1982 or so) and his response was to pull out a $100 dollar bill , saying "Get all of this that you can!" I found it kind of funny at the time and still do.

“It’s no fun anymore,” he said of the business. “You travel, make money, but you never see any girls in this hobby. I’m tired of looking at guys.”

Hahaha

Kovacs
 

My father dealt with him dealer to dealer, buying his comic stock. As such he was fine with me, tolerated me. I was about 12 when I bought a 1964 Topps Pete Rose for $5, which was a lot of money to me then. Still have that card! Jim did put out a business card that was baseball card size and had a cartoon drawing of himself on it, newsboy hat and all. Someday I'll dig it out. Should get it graded!

Kovacs
 

Yes I have that card too! Need to get it out and post it....

If you remember the drawings in Baseball Hobby News with the JOK initials, those were the work of Jim Kovacs. He was a very talented artist/cartoonist among his other traits

More later

Rich

Can someone post a picture of this guy?

i worked for and with jim kovacs