36th National Sports Card Collectors Show

National Show takes place in Chicago for 4 1/2 days

    Additional Reporting by
    icon Aug 04, 2015
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Chicago, Illinois -     "The National" is the annual national show for the true sports card collector.   It is held every year at the end of July in different cities across the United States.  This years edition was held in Chicago at he Rosemount Convention Center located near to O'Hara airport in Chicago from July 29 through August 2.   It attracted over 650 dealers from all over the United States.  

One could literally find any sports card that they are looking for at this show.   Now in it's 36th year it is the big event of the year for a diehard collector.   Whether your looking for the the 1965 Topps Detroit Tigers cards or the 1909 T206 Ty Cobb card you will find it at "The National."    Also during the course of the show there are several high end auctions that are held by the top Auction Houses in the U.S. dealing with sports memorabilia.    One of the examples this year was the NFL Championship ring of William Perry of the Chicago Bears went for $200,000 dollars.  One of the other big sales was a Mint 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie card that went for a little over $400,000 dollars.

Dealers had everything from ticket stubs, bobble heads, yearbooks, game used uniforms, balls, bats, rare sports cards and vintage everything in all of the sports imaginable.   The event would attract over 10,000 fans each day looking for their favorite items from their childhoods.  Another huge part of "The National" is the autograph area.   Top athletes from every sport are their signing for the 4 1/2 days from Hall of Famers to star players.  They do charge for 95% of the signers to autograph your item.  

It was interesting to run into and talk with the host of highly popular T.V. Show on the Big Ten Network.    John Arcand the host of "Treasure Hunters" was set up at "The National" would take the time to talk to you and look at an item that you brought into sell.  He was a very down to earth person and one could tell that he truly enjoyed his profession of collecting sports memorabilia.   For me myself personally now in my third year of collecting sports memorabilia this was my Christmas time of the year.   At the end of three or four days of searching and searching for that one item is exhausting but worth the trip to annual "National." 

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