The passing of Charlie Conlon

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Posted By: Kevin Savage

I recently learned of the passing of long time dealer and collector Charlie Conlon. He died August 31st while playing basketball- a true passion of his. He was 63 years of age. He was a fixture at cardshows across the US from 1975 to the present- and was usually seen with a brief case and a name badge: "Charles Conlon, Ypsilanti, Michigan". During the card show boom of the 80's it wouldn't be uncommon for Charlie to fly to two or three shows on a weekend. Some of us old time dealers used to joke that it wasn't an official cardshow unless Charlie Conlon made an appearance. He was a wealth of information on vintage card issues and especially loved T206 variations and rarities. Besides collecting and basketball- he loved taking in dogs from the humane society. He was a friend I talked to each and every week- I'll miss him.

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Posted By: Joe

Kevin, sorry to hear about Charlie. Charlie used to walk around the Plymouth and Dearborn shows all the time. I don't think he set up at the shows. What was interesting about him was that he usually had more valuable cards in his shirt pocket than most tables in the show. I know he had a great collection and was always trying to trade rather than buy.

Joe

Ty Cobb, Spikes flying!

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Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

Speaking of Michigan notables, longtime dealer Rogbert "Tony" Bussineau also passed away recently. I always enjoyed my discussions with him. We always shared a good story and laughter, and discussed our mutual fondness of good bagels. RIP Tony.

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Posted By: barrysloate

I knew Charlie back in the 80's, when he was the king of 75 Topps minis. He had cases of them and a never ending supply. He was a good guy- my condolences to his family and friends.

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

I first met Charlie at the Willow Grove show in 1983. And, as Kevin said....Charlie......
"was usually seen with a brief case and a name badge: "Charles Conlon, Ypsilanti, Michigan".

When I noticed Charlie's name tag, I told him that my Great-Grandfather (on my Mom's side) was named Ypsilanti.
It is a well known Greek name; and, this small town in Michigan was named after a famous Greek General in 1825.
A statue of this Greek General stands in the town. Charlie was fascinated by this and we became instant friends.

Every Willow Grove show, Charlie and I would spend hours talking BB cards. Our two favorite subjects were T206's
and 1949 Leaf BB cards....especially the 2nd series SP's (of which many have surfaced from the Michigan area).

Over the years, I sold and traded Charlie many star and rare cards (T206's to Bowman's).....and, believe me folks,
he was tough to bargain with. People would gather around my table to watch Charlie and I do a deal. At times we
would actually "agonize" over these deals. After which, Charlie and I would chuckle as I said to him...."we should
have charged everyone admission fees to watch us".

I will miss Charlie very much....he was a great friend.

GOD Bless his soul.

TED Z

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Posted By: Zinn

Though a relatively young man Charlie never caught on to the age of technology. I recall last year when I was looking for some cards that I thought he might have I had to leave telephone messages as it did not appear that he had email. When he got back to me and I asked for a scan he was only able to provide photocopies that he could mail to me. Kind of reminds me of the way we old timers interacted years ago before the advent of the internet.

I most remember Charlie from his SCD ads. Every issue had that 1/8th page of listed goodies. I purchased many T206's from him over the years and he was always spot on with his grading.

Charlie will be sorely missed.

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Posted By: Kevin Savage

Ted-

I agree- many deals with Charlie were very agonizing..... During negotiations he would sometines do like this protracted inhale thing- that would suggest you were really putting him through some kind of collosal mental anguish or something.( I personally always thought this was posturing- but it made for good drama......) I think he enjoyed this process probabaly more than I did.....

Kevin

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

Your description of Charlie's "dramatics" is better than mine. It always amazed me how a crowd would gather at my
table at the Philly Show when Charlie and I were doing a deal. This would go on repeatedly, as sometimes, Charlie
would initially give up on me, only to return several hours later to re-negotiate our former deal.The onlookers were
fascinated with our negotiating antics. It certainly made for a good show......and afterwards, Charlie and I would
chuckle as I would tell him that...."we should have charged all these onlookers an admission fee".

Charlie was unique.

Thanks Kevin for the memories,

TED Z

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Posted By: Mike

I remember Charlie well. I will always remember the Annaheim National at the Disney Hotel. I had my family and Charlie wanted to see Disney Land. So off we went. He wanted to ride the moving tea cups. When he got off he was green. I imagine his collection is terrific. I sold him a 34 Lajoie and a George Miller set. RIP Charlie.
Mike

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Posted By: Mark Macrae

Kevin..Thanks for posting this. While I'm saddened to hear of his passing, I consider myself fortunate that I got to know him & trade with him over the years. Some deals could make the $700 Billion bailout look simple, other transactions took seconds. He was quite knowledgeable in many areas of the hobby & an honest guy. The multiple facial expressions and anguished decisions were part of almost every trade. Truly a hobby personality that I looked forward to seeing at the National for over 20 years. RIP Charlie.

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Posted By: Bruce Babcock

While I never met Charlie I did a fair amount of business with him via mail order. I enjoyed our phone conversations. He went out of his way to painstakingly describe the condition of the cards he sold me. A good guy.

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Posted By: Ricky Y

Wow another longtime hobbyist has passed on...

I finally met Charlie at the old All American show run by Bob Lee in SF in the late 80's after corresponding with him via phone on previous deals.. He saw me holding a 34 Lou Gehrig from across the room..and came running over trying to make a deal for it. We talked briefly before introducing ourselves and realizing we knew each other. He was a passionate collector and I can still recall the enthusiasm in his voice as we talked that afternoon about cards, cards and more cards.

RIP and condolences to his family and friends.

Ricky Y

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Posted By: Mike

Sorry to hear about Charlie. I don't think I ever did a show in Michigan that he did not walk around at with his briefcase. I don't ever remember him setting up at a table. He traded and sold the vintage cards , but he must have found and made a "goldmine" with all those 1975 Topps Minis boxes and cases. He sold these for years and years. Wonder if he had any left ?

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Posted By: barrysloate

Charlie lived in Michigan, which was one of the two states where the 1975 minis were distributed. He believed they would be valuable so he bought cases of them. He offered them in SCD on a regular basis for about ten years.

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Posted By: Dan Mckee

Posting for my friend, Dan Mckee....who is having computer issues......


Charlie was a very good friend and always a pleasure to see. He was a true and knowledgable hobbyist. I agree with Kevin and ted, dealing with him wasn't a walk in the park but it was never miserable either. I remember Charlie running around trying to bum a place to stay from dealers at the show, he would even take a floor spot God bless his heart! He was the owner of the only known full sheet of George C Millers that I know of. He will truly be missed. Sincerely, Dan and Dan Mckee.

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Posted By: CoreyRS.hanus

Very sorry to hear of Charlie's passing. I too can recount numerous dealings. He was a true old-timer. My condolences to his family.

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Posted By: Tom Boblitt

Charlie but I always remember his blocky long skinny ads in SCD. I know I called him a time or two on W600's when I was accumulating them.

As for Tony Bussineau, I sold him MANY things over the years, always memorabilia, and he was a true character. He'd hound me when I walked into a show and he saw me. Always a good buyer and nice guy. Bryan Dec had told me he wasn't doing well the last time I'd seen him at the National I think.

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Posted By: Rich Klein

So, my condolonces to all the people involved and their families.

A quick note about Mr. Bussineau. My dear friend, the late Tom Reid, who taught me so much about this business, always said that the elder Mr. Bussineau was one of the sharpest and best (if not the best) baseball memorabilia dealer he knew. That was very high praise indeed.


Regards
Rich

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Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

I'll really miss Tony. And yes, he was one of this hobby's true characters.

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Posted By: Wil Jordan

Sorry to hear about the passing of Charlie. I meant Charlie years ago at the National that was held in San Francisco. A great guy and he will be missed.

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Posted By: Richard

Hi everyone. I am real sorry to hear about Charlie Conlon. I first did business with him through one of his SCD adds in the late 80's. I remember haggling with him over price sometime. He was tough with his prices. I also remember acquiring quite a few 1932 (33) U.S. Caramels from him. I also purchased some high grade 1933 Goudeys from Charlie. My best purchase was probably a 1932 U.S. Caramel Lou Gehrig and 1933 Goudey #181 Bambino. He will be missed. My sympathies to his family.

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Posted By: tim zwick

I am sorry to hear of the loss of two hobby legends and characters. I first met Charlie at one of the old Dearborn Michigan shows put on by Bob Wimmer (Thanksgiving weekend 1975 I believe) and am quite sure it was the only time I ever saw him with a table. His entire inventory that day was a laundry basket filled to the brim with 1975 Topps mini packs. I bought lots of packs with profits from my sales and many boxes from him in the years following. I believe that Charlie was in the grocery business in some manner and had a pipeline of the cases when they surfaced in Michigan. Like many have said, he was a fixture at virtually any show I ever set up or attended in the next 25 years. As for Tony, we first crossed paths in the early 1980's when he started stopping in my hardware store where I had a corner with sports cards and memorabilia. He actually purchased many of the same 1975 Topps Mini boxes that I had purchased earlier from Charlie. We became friends quickly, made many deals and shared lots of good times with each other over the next 20 years. Tony was probably the best buyer I ever met and knew baseball memorabilia inside and out. He was a great guy with a huge heart that I will truly miss. My condolences to both of their families. RIP

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Posted By: Kevin Savage

I would be remiss if I didn't recognize how much I will also miss Tony Bussuneau. In my formative years in the business - Tony and his son Greg were fixtures on the card show scene. We did lots of deals- some at shows, some at his Lansing Michigan home. He was a great guy who had a nose for good memorabilia- and a competitive nature which led to his success. I still remember this one really good autograph deal which was in my hometown of Toledo- and I looked at it on a Tuesday(made an offer- which the fella said he'd consider)- and the next day Tony came rolling into my retail store. I immediately knew why he was in town- and the likelihood of me getting that deal were greatly diminished..... the sly smile on his face- reassured me of my weakened position.(By the way Tony got the deal....)
I learned a lot about how to do business from Tony and Charlie- they are guys I liked and respected- it is hard to come to the realization that they won't be at the next big card show I attend. RIP.

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Posted By: Arthur Lobbe

Over the years I had many conversations with Charlie. Some were cards but most were basketball. I have a smile on my face as a write this, because although he left us much too early I can't think of a more fitting way for him to go. I really enjoyed him.

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Posted By: Robert B

Sorry to hear about Charlie.
I never met him, but did business with him in
the 80's through his SCD ads.
I'd say a good deal of my '53 Bowmans and '56 Topps
came through him. He was a fair dealer
something that is not very easy to say about most.