Football Cards / Collectors at the National

[jefferyepayne]

Ok, guys. Who attended the National and picked up some nice football cards? What did you see that you liked there?

I got to hold the PSA 8 Nagurski that Memory Lane has. What an incredible card that is! Better save your pennies, though, as they wanted $125K for the card and $200K for the complete set they had.

Also, did you meet up with any football collectors from Net54? I got a chance to say 'hi' to LuckyLarry, clamendola, myachelydra and others.

Show pictures and tell your stories here.

I was fortunate to pick up this cabinet photo of Edgar Allan Poe. He is the second cousin (twice removed) of the famous poet and was an All-American QB at Princeton in 1891. He went on to become the Attorney General of MD.



jeff

[LuckyLarry]

Nice to meet up with you Jeff, I am at the CLE airport Monday PM departure. I'll post a few detailed pics tomorrow. I finished two football sets 1965 Topps "tall-boys" also 1960 Fleer. Bargain of the show had to be one of the 60 Post football SPs I still need in the .50c bin
So what do you do if you are stuck in a hotel room with a late afternoon depArture? You sort cards!

Larry

[Mikehealer]

I'm mainly a baseball card collector, but this was my first purchase at this year's National.

[Hot Springs Bathers]

Great cards Jeff and Mike. Larry it looks like you had a blast!

[TanksAndSpartans]

Jeff, thanks for starting the thread - hope some others post their National pickups. I've never been, but I'm hoping to go when it's in Atlantic City since I have family in the area - it would be fun to meet some board members.

And Mike, nice Baugh - I have the same card in the same holder, but wow - yours is in way nicer condition - great pickup.

[jefferyepayne]

Great stuff, guys, and that's quite a haul, Larry!

Something else I picked up:



First recorded professional football player, Pudge Heffelfinger, is top row third from right. Future Treasurer of the United States, TL McClung, is holding the ball. Both are in the College Football HOF.

jeff

[mojorob]

1

[TanksAndSpartans]

Jeff, I really give you credit for going all the way back to the roots of this thing. I found out about Heffelfinger from "Pigskin: The Early Years of Pro Football" - I have some Pittsburgh ties, so I was glued to the book when they were talking about him. Do you have one more piece for us? (This is probably off topic, but from the same book - Connie Mack, Christy Mathewson, and probably more baseball players associated with the early pro football days - those would be some collectables to surprise some people...)

[LuckyLarry]

One of my main goals at this years big show was to complete my 1965 Topps "tall-boy" set needing just two cards. The first one I knocked off was #133 Fred Biletnikoff RC. This is one of those cards that is SO popular, dealers have no trouble selling and many collectors are searching for it, my 2010 Standard Catalog lists this card for $275 NM. This card was priced at $200 and after the first day negotiations we were at $150 but I didn't purchase it. The next day I went back and bought it for $130 and I was glad to cross it off my list.

[LuckyLarry]

Here's another tough SP card #46 Willie Brown, and the last card I needed for my set. 2010 Standard Catalog says $100 in NM condition, but again, it seems like everyone is looking for it so throw out the guide I am thumbing through some old football cards at one of my favorite dealers and he asks if I am collecting the 1965 Topps set, he just bought a collection. But when I looked through the binder, Namath, Biletnikoff, AND Willie Brown were missing. Dealer said "there is one card in the case", and I see part of a blue colored tall boy, and since Willie B is featured on a blue colored Denver card, I was praying it be him and it was! Priced at $20 I couldn't pull the money out of my wallet fast enough! Dealer said I could have all the creased cards in the binder for 10% of book so I bought all 29 of the off grade cards (mostly SPs) for $1.20 to $2 each. This card completed my set:

[tuckr1]

I am one card away from completing my 1935 set and I am trying to figure out my next adventure, I really like the tall boys, how pricy is this set to put together in a PSA 2 /PSA 3 range?? I love the looks of these cards!!!

[jefferyepayne]

Originally Posted by DezHood

Jeff, I really give you credit for going all the way back to the roots of this thing. I found out about Heffelfinger from "Pigskin: The Early Years of Pro Football" - I have some Pittsburgh ties, so I was glued to the book when they were talking about him. Do you have one more piece for us? (This is probably off topic, but from the same book - Connie Mack, Christy Mathewson, and probably more baseball players associated with the early pro football days - those would be some collectables to surprise some people...)

Not as old as the other stuff but also picked up this 1906 postcard of 3x AA Walter Eckersall. He played for Amos Alonzo Stagg at U of Chicago and won the 1905 National Championship. Eckersall also dabbled a bit in pro football.



Also picked up this Eckersall. These 1939 Gridiron Greats ink blotters are a BEAR to find in any condition.



jeff

[LuckyLarry]

I now need just five cards to complete my 1962 Post football set after I found this SP in the .50c box

[Footballdude]

Looks like some really neat stuff was at the national. I haven't been to one since 1994. Maybe someday.

I really like those Gridiron Greats blotters, but have never seen one in person, ever. It's the kind of item I dream about making a "find" of at a flea market.

[albrshbr]

I checked all over for a 1962 Fleer Billy Shaw for an upgrade. Saw 5, 4 the typical O/C and the 5th was well loved.

Did run across a dealer with probably 4,000 1977 Topps Mexicans. Picked up 3 Joe Ferguson's (hoping for an upgrade) and 1 Joe DeLamielleure I'd been looking for for quite a while.

Lots of good deals to find in the bargain boxes also.

[albrshbr]

...duplicate post....

[oddball]

Originally Posted by tuckr1

I am one card away from completing my 1935 set and I am trying to figure out my next adventure, I really like the tall boys, how pricy is this set to put together in a PSA 2 /PSA 3 range?? I love the looks of these cards!!!

The '65 Tall Boys is actually where I started with my vintage set building in 2005. So I've seen a ton of Ebay sales of the '65s for several years now.I focused on raw and graded cards in the EXMT-NRMT range and found it to be pretty affordable, especially with the raw stuff. Regular commons in EX condition are readily available for $3 to $4 apiece, with common short prints normally found in the $5-$7 range (again in EX condition). Sometimes you would even be able to snag VGEX singles for a couple of bucks!

If you're not too picky with the checklists, they won't be too bad. The only problem is Namath, who will run you up to $400 or so, even in PSA 2/PSA 3. Other than that, I bet you could put together a decent, presentable set in mid-grade for right around a thousand bucks. Probably $600 to $750 total in VGEX/VG would be my estimate. It is a great set that was a blast to put together!

Here is the key to my set:

[oddball]

Originally Posted by albrshbr

I checked all over for a 1962 Fleer Billy Shaw for an upgrade. Saw 5, 4 the typical O/C and the 5th was well loved.

The '62 Shaw RC has been an enormous pain in the butt to find in higher grades and not have to overpay for it.

[tuckr1]

That's a beautiful Namath , you wouldn't have any duplicates of any 65 tall boys for sale to get the ball rolling would you ??


Thanks Tucker



QUOTE=oddball;1307369]The '65 Tall Boys is actually where I started with my vintage set building in 2005. So I've seen a ton of Ebay sales of the '65s for several years now.I focused on raw and graded cards in the EXMT-NRMT range and found it to be pretty affordable, especially with the raw stuff. Regular commons in EX condition are readily available for $3 to $4 apiece, with common short prints normally found in the $5-$7 range (again in EX condition). Sometimes you would even be able to snag VGEX singles for a couple of bucks!

If you're not too picky with the checklists, they won't be too bad. The only problem is Namath, who will run you up to $400 or so, even in PSA 2/PSA 3. Other than that, I bet you could put together a decent, presentable set in mid-grade for right around a thousand bucks. Probably $600 to $750 total in VGEX/VG would be my estimate. It is a great set that was a blast to put together!

Here is the key to my set:[/QUOTE]

[Hot Springs Bathers]

Ty- I just picked up a 1962 Fleer set with a nice Shaw RC. The fellow who sold it to me is a huge signed card collector. He told me that he had sent a '62 Fleer to Shaw and got back a fun reply something along the lines of "I can't believe you mailed that card to me, those are tough to come by!"

[oddball]

Originally Posted by Hot Springs Bathers

Ty- I just picked up a 1962 Fleer set with a nice Shaw RC. The fellow who sold it to me is a huge signed card collector. He told me that he had sent a '62 Fleer to Shaw and got back a fun reply something along the lines of "I can't believe you mailed that card to me, those are tough to come by!"

Ha Ha! That's AWESOME! Even he knows that his card is brutal to try and find!

[cmoore330]

Love the Eckersall's, Jeff! He's one of my favorites, so I will be jealous now.

[oddball]

Originally Posted by tuckr1

That's a beautiful Namath , you wouldn't have any duplicates of any 65 tall boys for sale to get the ball rolling would you ?

Tucker: I actually have a few laying around that I've upgraded over the year. I haven't done a show for a long time, so I haven't unloaded them. Garron is probably EX, Webb is EX+, McGeever is also EX (top left looked like it was pinched in the edge of a snap-down case). All three of those still present well. Obviously, the Dawson is off-center, but the corners are a solid EXMT. PM me and we can settle on a suitable price if you are interested in any of them. Thanks!

[iowadoc77]

I only bought 3 cards at the National and 2 are prewar baseball. Just this one for football...



Only that upper right corner keeps it from being an 8. Love the card, but dang these are huge holders and cards. Obviously my first 1965.
Thanks for looking

Good luck with your set Tucker. Bought this Namath from a guy from the East Coast. Great guy and he has a ton of 1965 cards, graded and raw. Will need to look for his ebay store address. He will give a nice break if deal done outside of eBay.

[tuckr1]

Nice Namath iowadoc!!!! Let me know if u still have the guys name , think I am going to go slowly for this set in raw , beautiful cards

Thanks again

Tucker

[clamendo]

Jeff - that's the second time in two nationals, I saw something that caught my eye passed and you scooped them up a few hours later..in 2013 the National City Browns and now in 2014 the Eckersall postcard. Wait til Chicago ... you better bring your "A" game, instead of selling first then buying, I'm going to flip the order...

[jefferyepayne]

Originally Posted by clamendo

Jeff - that's the second time in two nationals, I saw something that caught my eye passed and you scooped them up a few hours later..in 2013 the National City Browns and now in 2014 the Eckersall postcard. Wait til Chicago ... you better bring your "A" game, instead of selling first then buying, I'm going to flip the order...

You mean these?











Bring it on, Carl! Or you could just sell ME some of the stuff you have that I need and kill two birds with one stone.

jeff