Are You Going to the National Sports Collectors Convention?

It's been more than 30 years since the first National Sports Collectors Convention was held in Anaheim, CA. The event is still going strong, although it's really more of a giant card show these days. Gone are the days of seminars, outings and other events the organizers used to put together.

This year's show is back in Baltimore, where it set up for the first time just a couple of years ago. That convention scored high and promoters have hopes that this one will be even better, but who knows? There's no doubt that no matter when you attend, you'll find something to buy. Hundreds of dealers, large and small, are set up because this is one show that many of the most dedicated collectors in North America attend, no matter where it's held.

The show runs from August 1-5, with the first day being just being a late afternoon and evening event. There will be a lot of 'dealer to dealer' sales during the opening hours as the big boys look for cards they can re-sell to their best customers.

The autograph guest list is a big one, with a Baltimore flavor, although you'll also see Emmitt Smith, Joe Montana and other superstars.

We wish the show had some of its original concepts in place such as seminars, trade sessions and other things to make it a true convention rather than what it has become. If you want a flavor of how things used to be, here's a good read by Rich Klein.

However, every National is mind boggling in terms of the scope and size. You literally can't see every booth unless you're there for two full days and even then you'll have to keep a steady pace, stopping only for no more than 20 minutes or so at any one spot.

Feel free to post a blog here about your own National Sports Collectors Convention experiences or tell us how much you're looking forward to this year's show.

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