Cranston RI show
 

The annual Cranston show, which began in 1976, is this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Usually 130 dealer from all over the East. Anyone going or setting up to sell?

Not familiar with it or i might have set up there
 

I'll be set up at the Chantilly show instead.

Good luck at the Chantilly show, Howard. The Cranston show usually takes place in Late Jan./early Feb. but was moved to July this year due to COVID.

I was at the show for a bit this morning with my 9 year old son.

Fewer dealers than 2019, but a nice mix of items - little something for everyone.

As always, the dealers were very kind to my son…he got a commemorative cups and a free pack he was excited about.

Bill Lee was there with a bunch of photos, bats, and books. I chatted with him for about 10 min and bought a copy of his latest book, which he signed.

I didn’t buy a lot, but was nice to get out and talk to a few dealers, see some interesting collectibles, and chat with Mr. Lee.

Definitely underwhelming this year due to the tropical storm on Friday and I think probably the late planning and change to the summer this year. Seems some of the out of NE dealers/collectors already committed to Chantilly and now the Dedham show is up and running every 3-4 weeks and Shriners next month so there could be a bit of fatigue overall.

Hopefully next year it goes back to Super Bowl weekend and return to its glory. Its a really nice show when its at its peak!

Yes, I suspect you’re right about the competition from other shows. I’m hoping they go back to super bowl weekend as well.

Going to try to go to tomorrow. Any decent vintage?

I feel there was more vintage than modern. Prices for the high grade stuff felt expensive but that might be me not adjusting to the market. A handful of pre-war is all I saw of that era. Lots of 50’s-70’s.

I was a bit bummed because the promoter hyped up that former Sox pitcher Bill Lee was bringing by "one of a kind memorabilia from his playing days" to sell. Bill is a great guy and everywhere in New England so his appearance wasn't a big deal but I was excited about the chance to own something from his playing days for my memorabilia collection that came directly from him.

Surviving the tropical storm, he and his wife unpacked and aside from a few generic and branded bats and photos and branded hats, the few bits of memorabilia he had was very random - and not originally his.

When someone mentioned to his wife that the promoter announced he was selling all his memorabilia, the color drained from her face. She sort of frustratingly asked Bill what he said to the promoter and he sort of played it off. She later told me he didn't really have anything from his playing days since he left the Sox and Expos on bad terms back then.

Bill and I chatted for awhile and he's so friendly with 100 stories a minute so it was fun and I don't want to sound ungrateful by any means. I kind of felt sorry for him since he came through a tropical storm on a Friday and there were hardly anyone but the brave dealers who showed up to set up during the storm. But he had fun with it.

As I stated above, the show got caught between post-Covid planning, a tropical storm and a busy summer schedule. But I do think the promoter was hasty in announcing Lee's offerings without checking first, and selling "Early Bird" tickets for a show that was quite underwhelming compared to 2019.

Hopefully it will be back to normal in 2022!