Rosen was a character
I knew Al Rosen for many years. I think he treated me well because I was a longtime monthly columnist for Baseball Hobby News. He once told me he considered baseball cards to be like loaves of bread - he sold them as quickly as he got them.
At one national show I watched him yell at a few of my friends. So I decided to play to his ego. He wanted to buy 8 vintage Topps “sub-sets” I had. I told him that one of the dealers he yelled at had already agreed to buy the sets for $1,500. So Al whipped opened his briefcase and counted out 18 of his $100 bills. I pretended to hem and haw for a few seconds, then agreed to the deal. After he left, I gave both of my dealer friends a $100 Rosen bill for letting me use their names in “playing” Rosen for his bad behavior. I wasn’t the only one who “played” Rosen because of how he mis-treated my fellow collectors and dealers.
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