Looking For a Card Show Near Atlanta Georgia
 

My son moved to Georgia last year and misses the Chantilly, VA and Philly sports card shows. Does anyone know of upcoming sports card shows within a 2 hour drive of Atlanta?

I hate to tell you but Atlanta and its surrounding area is dead for card shows and really for the card and autograph and memorabilia market in general . It was great from 1985 until about the early 2000s but since then not much . A few small local shows maybe once a year but nothing big or worthwhile, especially compared to the heyday for those years or the Chantilly show that you are used to.
Atlanta's history as a collecting area is strange at best . I speak from experience having been in this area since college beginning in 1977 and doing shows and private signings in the area for many many years .
In fact the southeast is pretty dead in general for shows .

Jacksonville FL has one. Panama City used to before the Hurricane.

Is there one tied to the Super Bowl? I know there used to be some tied to Super Bowls in the past.

Does the monthly vintage market down in College Park (Hi Fi Buys Amphitheater) still exist? That might be the place to find vintage sports collectibles. The other good ones from when I lived there (and go back to visit every once in a while) are antique malls up in Peachtree Dunwoody.

How about any stores that have opened up by Galleria due to the Braves new stadium?

Completely agree with you. I used to go to the Tri Star shows here and Bob Pressley had great shows here which were awesome to attended. Bob always had National dealers and a variety of auto signers. I attended from mid 90s to early 2000s. The general consensus from dealers was Atlanta was a market hat loved vg/ex cards. Hard to sell the high end stuff. After the shows dried up here, I had to wait for Roger Neufeld to come twice a year and set up in a Hotel banquet room. The National was hosted here once and I dont recall how that went over? I know I didnt like paying for parking at 30.00.

Neither National was real good and the 1st one was during the boom years (1992) and the 2nd one was 1999 and horribly slow.

There is no real reason to go back to Atlanta for anything big at this point

Rich

To answer a question . Yes there will be a show and an auction sponsored by Hunt Auctions during the Super Bowl but as in the past if it is true to form will be totally football in focus since it is the Super Bowl.
Also Atlanta hosted 2 Nationals . The first was moderately successful but collectors focus in this area was different than other areas of the country and the locals didn't break loose with their money .
The second National was a disaster . Autograph guests not close to selling out and no crowds with limited promotional give always . It was the first National not run by the National committee but rather it was run by the infamous group Smith - Bucklin who had never organized , promoted , or ran a National , let alone any sports memorabilia / card shows and their inexperience and lack of organization was apparent from the start and resulted in a very unsuccessful show for both dealers and attendees.

These are sad but true realities of the Hobby in the Southeastern region.

Ebay is responsible for most of it.

Ebay is to the hobby as Walmart was to brick-and-mortar stores and everything is getting sucked into Amazon.


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Show
 

Id like to read or hear about this Atlanta National that was a big bust

Is there an article or detailed post ?

Long ago, I used to run a show a couple times a year in Rome, GA. I was a fairly recognized promoter and I might go back to it one day but there's some crazy stuff going on. I can't believe that virtually anyone who has ever played in any league is commanding $20 an autograph now. I used to do free or $2 autographs, usually paid the guys $200 or less. I had a lot of good players at my show including Bobby Richardson, Wally Moon, Gene Tenace, Jim Bibby, Bullet Bill Dudley, Sam Pihos and others. It made the show special and both the fans and the players loved it. I might do another show someday, but it will be an adjustment.

I appreciate the responses, unfortunately, doesn't look like he will be attending any shows in the Atlanta area anytime soon. I did check the Hunt Auction website and as previously indicated all lots are football related in their Super Bowl auction.

Small world Todd! My son lives within walking distance of State Municipal Stadium in Rome, GA.

I hate to ask but don't you mean Pete Pihos and not Sam Pihos.

BTW == I agree with your comment about the exorbitant price of almost any athlete active or retired.

Rich

That's my neck of the woods. But I grew up in Marietta, Ga.
The only shows I ever remembered were at the Cobb Civic Center.
There might be a few small shows at the Mariott or something I recall in the past. Basically there is nothing much here. I visist the card store in Kennesaw area once a moon.
Todd- I never heard of your shows, when was this?? Would love to hear more about them. My elders were born/raised there. I moved back in 97.

Oh, he must live in those new condo-ish building then. Those went up fast. It indeed is a small world. That's basically at my back door too.

There's a pretty decent show in Nashville - about a 3.5 hour drive depending on what part of Atlanta you're coming from.

The show is twice a month and has about 30 tables. However, twice a year, it's a big show - almost 200 tables. The twice monthly show is fair but probably not worth a 7 hour round trip drive. The twice a year show probably is.

Feb 23rd is the next big show. It's at Lighthouse Christian School on Blue Hole Road in Antioch (convenient if coming from Atlanta). Beckett grading is there, JSA is there, and Denny McLain will be there. It's definitely not the national, but by the sound of things, it may be your best reasonable option.

You nailed it, right down the street from the Rome Braves and his favorite restaurant Bella Roma.

Thanks for the info Robert. He will definitely have something to look forward to in February, this week he'll be at Chopfest at SunTrust.

There is a weekly show in Marietta, just north of I285. Here is the email from the Jan 13 show:


East Cobb Sports Collectibles Show

Sunday ~ January 13th 9:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/GeorgiaCollectibleShows



Hilton Garden Inn/Wildwood
(I-75/Exit 260 - 3045 Windy Hill Rd.)
Atlanta, GA 30339

For more information please contact Jim (jimdaley64@yahoo.com), or call him at 678-933-8568.

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