August 10, 2013 Charlotte Card Show Recap

I think I did really well at the recent card show I attended in Charlotte while visiting the in-laws.  I was able to knock off a lot of needs from my wishlist (which will be updated following this post).  Most surprisingly, I was able to find two 1948 Bowmans for only $13.50.  They usually run that much a piece, so I was happy to be able to get two of them that cheaply.  The above '48 Bowman is of former Braves pitcher, Johnny Sain.  You know, Spahn and Sain and pray for rain...

I am sensing a Richie Ashburn theme for this card show.  The Ashburn was in a 75% off bin, so they guy sold it to me 75% off the BV of $30, or $7.50.  I got 14 total 1959 Topps cards and spent less than $20 on them, so I feel like I did really well there, too.

Finally, I knocked out 9 total 1971 Topps cards.  These were a bit more expensive since I need high numbers and the majority of these were Hall of Famers.  I was able to get: Frank Robinson, Billy Williams, Rollie Fingers, Mets team card, Jim Bunning, Tony Perez, Jim Fairey, Ken Rudolph and Dave McNally.  I would really love to finish off 1971 by the end of the year.  I think it can be done pretty easily, I just need to spend a little money on those high numbers.

Hall of Fame Signed Baseball - Richie Ashburn

I'm going to be skipping around quite a bit now to try to catch up on some long overdue posts, but first, I wanted to show what I picked up this past Saturday at the Charlotte card show.  I had no idea that there was a card show scheduled to be in Charlotte the very same time that I was heading that way to visit the in-laws, but as luck would have it, there was, indeed a show scheduled.

So, Saturday, my wife and I decided to kill some time (and some money) by spending a few hours at the show while Chris hung out with his grandfather.  I found a good bit of stuff at the show for my set needs, which I will show off in a subsequent post.  I also saw the above signed baseball for only $59 at a table of a vendor who I usually buy from.  I bought Duke Snider from him a long time ago and I was really happy to be able to get this Richie Ashburn ball from him as well.

Ashburn's signed baseballs typically run around $150 on ebay, so getting this one for $59 is a steal.  The ball isn't authenticated, but I trust the seller and after looking at several Ashburn autos over the years, I have a good feeling that it is legit.

Ashburn (b. 1927 - d. 1997) played in the majors from 1948 to 1962 for the Phillies, Cubs and Mets.  He had 2,574 hits, 29 home runs and a .308 lifetime batting average.  He had more than 200 hits in 3 seasons and won the NL batting title in 1955 and 1958.  He was a part of the Phillies 'Whiz Kids' team that lost in 4 games to the Yankees in the 1950 World Series.

Ashburn is my 91st Hall of Fame signed baseball.  100 seems to be creeping up on me.  Gee, I wonder who #100 will be...??