Dinner with Mike Gidwitz: A Story about Kindness

[marzoumanian]

I still can't believe this happened. It's the subject of my latest blog.
Four summers ago a salesman walks into my condo here in Chicago to measure my living room for new carpeting. He sees my framed Mickey Mantle poster on the wall and I point out to him my nearby stacks of baseball card albums. He then informs me he has a good friend who collects baseball cards. His name is Mike Gidwitz. Would I like to meet him?
What would you say? That's what I thought.
For those who might not know, Gidwitz is a Chicago-based investment advisor who back in 1991 badly wanted the famous T206 Honus Wagner tobacco baseball card that's graded a PSA 8 today. Sotheby's Copeland Collection auction was held that year and it had the (then-raw) card. Gidwitz was outbid by Bruce McNall and Hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky. They won with a bid of $451,000. But he didn't give up. In a 1996 Christie's auction he won the (now-graded) card with a bid of $641,500. Four years later, on July 5, 2000, he put the card up for auction. Collector Brian Seigel won it with a $1.265 million bid.
Arizona Diamondbacks Managing Partner Ken Kendrick now owns it. He paid $2.8 million for it in August 2007.
I didn't seek Mike out. The opportunity to meet him fell in my lap. Forum cynics might say, "Who cares?" Sorry. I have to admit it was a thrill. It's an evening I still remember vividly four years later. And what impressed me most about Mike? His kindness.
Visit www.markearzoumanian.com to learn what occurred. Then click on "My Love of the Hobby."

[arcadekrazy]

Pretty neat. I’d love to meet him. I’ve purchased a few things from him over the years and he’s always been a perfect gentleman. Certainly one of the “good guys”.

[tedzan]

Mark Macrae introduced me to Mike Gidwitz back in Feb 1993, when Mark and I were set-up at Kit Young's Hawaii BB card Show.

Mike and I had two things in common. Mike graduated from the prestigious Lawrenceville College Prep School. In the 1990's my wife and I
had a 2nd home in Lawrenceville (NJ) adjacent to the School. So for starters, Mike and I shared a lot of very interesting stories of the area.

Hobbywise, Mike and I collect original uncut sheets of Sportscards. Of course, Mike's collection is unbelievable. Mine does not compare with
Mike's. However, I have certain BOWMAN uncut sheets which Mike did not have back then. This topic was a source of "joshing" between us.
Two examples of such BOWMAN sheets are shown here.

It's been quite a while since Mike and I have had contact with each other. The last time was when he had an opportunity to acquire the BB
card sheet shown here. And, he asked me what I paid for mine. Well, I told him I traded a 1951 BOWMAN Mantle rookie for my sheet, but
that was back in 1982. We both had a good laugh over that, and that's the last time we spoke.


The greatest truth of this hobby are the fellow collectors you meet and the lasting friendships which result there of. Mike is certainly one of
the guys who is on the top of my best friends list.


1949 BOWMAN (4th series)




1st series....LARGE version




TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[marzoumanian]

Wow, thanks for sharing. Great stories.
Why did I tell my tale when I did? Now more than ever we need to show kindness to each other. We need to "Be Like Mike." Let's be honest. Mike didn't need to meet me. He was doing his friend "Pete" a favor. Mike is a gentleman in the true sense of the word. That evening we talked books ("For Whom the Bell Tolls" is his favorite), restaurants, his family, and other collecting stories.
You are right. The hobby is all about the people you meet. It was a thrill to meet Mike.
Peace and stay healthy.

[oaks1912]

Mark,...Its nice to read that you had a great visit with Mike Gidwitz. He & I have shared a number of meals, conversations and visits over the years. Although he is no longer active in the sports hobby, we still communicate regularly, on a variety of subjects. I still have the custom t-shirts that he designed and sent me. Its unfortunate that Mike was victimized by numerous individuals over the years, and surprising that he still carries a very positive attitude towards life and others. I'm not sure how many others that have walked in his shoes could display the same attitude.

[marzoumanian]

Amen, Mark, Amen. Very well said. Thanks for saying it.
Peace, and again, I say to all reading this, small acts of kindness each day do matter, now more so than ever.

[rjackson44]

With all the sadness lately ,,terrific story.

[Hankphenom]

Love this story. I've long thought that kindness is the most underrated human virtue of them all, in fact all the others flow from it.

[MikeGarcia]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Love this story. I've long thought that kindness is the most underrated human virtue of them all, in fact all the others flow from it.

..Other baseball card collectors trump stuff..Even cardboard stuff.

..

[maddux31]

I had the pleasure of dealing with Mike around 6 years ago when I purchased a 1987 Classic board game from him. I can't remember the circumstances in our conversation, but we discussed the 1978 Family Fun Center set that he has. Thinking nothing of it, I then see that he added me to the listing where he thanked me for the help. He made a big impression on me and hope to meet him one day.

A big thank you goes out to my friend Jason Carter for his help and advice on what is a fair price to ask for the set because of the Ozzie Smith card.

http://www.preciouspaper.com/ItemDetail.aspx?ID=761

[Leon]

I also bought something from Mike several years back and the transaction was fine. If he only had Wags back

.

[marzoumanian]

I thought you would enjoy reading this from Mint Condition by Dave Jamieson (p. 38). It makes me think about the dream of owning something rare/expensive, owning it, and then reality hits:
"Gidwitz enjoyed the reputation given him by his purchase, but the card itself was another matter. Indeed, owning it was a lot like dealing with a $1 million bill. In his postauction rapture, he posed for a few giddy photos with the two-and-a-half-inch piece of cardboard, but then he had to figure out what to do with it. The card is almost too small to be displayed safely...
"He put it in a safety-deposit box, where it sat for nearly four years, until the time felt right and he sold it."

I believe I read recently that Mr. Kendrick, the current PSA 8 Wagner owner, could get $10 million for it. However, he has made it clear that he has NO interest in selling it. My point? If I had the money and could buy ANY PSA-graded Wagner I would be scared to death of keeping it in my condo. I'd have to do what Mike did: Put it in a bank vault and hope that no one ever breaks into it. Imagine thieves robbing the bank (with their COVID-19 masks on, of course) and saying to the president: We don't want any money. Just tell us which safe deposit box holds the Wagner that Mark owns!
Stay healthy.

[jsq]

Mike Gidwitz,

a nice guy. wife and i were heading to india and needed visas so we were going to be in downtown chicago.

we contacted mike ahead of time for our chicago visa run and we visited with him at a private space of his with lots of great original artwork and other cool stuff.

later we sent him a few matchbooks or matchboxes from india and he collected some of them, wish i had found more for him as he was quite a kind host to let us tour some pretty fun stuff.

mike, all the best,

jsq