2023 National Sports Collectors Convention Coverage

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THE 2023 NATIONAL

By Carlton Hendricks

he 2023 National Sports Collectors Convention took place July 26th-30th at the Donald Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont ILL. A good many regulars I recognize were there. Corey Leiby of AntiqueAthlete.com, Brett Lowman of PlayOkAntiques.com, Jon English of VintageSportsAntiques.com, Bob McCann, Daryl O'Mary, brothers Kevin and Chris Bronson, Paul Referson, Matt Hart, John Kanuit, Jeff White, John Liffman, Dave Perry, Bill Kopperund, Bill Rayburn, Pat Armstrong, Jeff Mann, Pat Nester, Randy Johnson, Mark Steinberg, Sal Dichiera, Mark Mcrea, Tom Boblitt, Bob Seedhouse, and Paul Montesano ...to name some...Sadly I missed seeing National regular Mike Brockman who passed away in 2020...This was my first National since 2019...And it's nice to be back...

Keith Javic of AntiqueSportShop.com did not attend this year....which much affected the show as far as I was concerned as he always comes with a formidable arsenal... He's one the top dealers of the National for our kind of stuff. And the three Bills'n Dave room was in full swing at the Embassy Suites across from the convention center...which just adds shine to the show... Also there was Doug and Diane McElwain of Sport & Spool Antiques. Doug and Diane's booth is always thrilling....they really have the eye for a great stuff. When you put the booths of Corey Leiby, Keith Javic, Kevin Bronson, and Doug and Diane McElwain, plus all the others, in one building (plus the Three Bills room across the street)...you are seeing the very best concentration of sports antiques for sale anywhere in the world...So for those hesitant to make the financial commitment to come...factor that in...

60" x 30"

All that said...I would say the show was a bit thin for antique relics...Nevertheless the Lord blessed me and I did great!!...I made some excellent finds!...proof above....my top pick-up from the show...Best basketball sign I've ever seen...I was probably about 20 yards away when I spotted it. Jon English had it hanging on the outside his booth. I made my way to it like a heat seeking missal... Jon was asking $3,500.00 but I didn't have that much ...Once I concluded there was no way I could afford it right then...I told Jon if he didn't sell it and ended up taking it home I would try to raise the money when I got home... The show lasted till Sunday...I left Thursday...Late Sunday afternoon I called him to see if he sold it....BLAM...no didn't sell it... Ok let me see what I can do I said....within a few days I raked it up and made the deal...It could use some restoration...it's got tears and holes...and even stains...but it looks good enough to display as is...I don't like antiques too perfect anyway because you're not sure if it's a reproduction. I asked Jon where he got it...Madison-Bouckville he said...the giant 2000 plus dealer outdoor show in Up-State New York near Syracuse I always wanted to go to...But the story goes on...a very interesting thing happened...which you can read about in the Carlton's Pickups page...

You may be wondering what took so long to get this years National story posted...I tried to implement some design changes but could never get the bugs worked out...I'm no techie web designer...I work a full time job and this site is just a hobby/one man show...So instead of monkeying around I'm gonna just get it out there the way I've always done it...

I would say this years story is lacking in wow photos...One dealer who's prowess I greatly respect, graciously asked me not to photograph and publish photos of his things. He was kind enough to explain his marketing rational...I pleaded but to no avail...So there went a chunk of wow-factor...as this particular dealer is one of the most prolific dealers in the country...the world for that matter...for sports display antiques. And as usual he had killer stuff! Then of course...as already mentioned Keith Javic took a powder this year...so more wow-factor cuts...Nevertheless let's get on with it...

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