Day one technically started in California, where my flight left after midnight. I attempted to sleep but that was a fool’s errand, so by the time I got to Cleveland a little after 10:30 a.m., I was already a bit out of it.

That day was more about wandering the floor with Ken (my friend/YouTube partner-in-crime) and getting a lay of the land, seeing what types of cards were there, what the prices were, and how likely it would be for me to achieve my primary goal: buying a playing-day card of Ty Cobb for under $2,000.

I saw a T205 Gold Border Polar Bear that the dealer was willing to sell for $2,300 and a T202 Hassan Triple Folder that a dealer was willing to sell for $1,800, but because Cobb shared the card with someone else, I wasn’t as motivated to get it, even though I kept both in the back of my mind.

Mostly, I talked to dealers, people at auction houses, and collectors, watched Ken buy an occasional item, including one of his grail cards (which I’m sure he’ll talk about in a future video), and looked at the amazing variety of cards and memorabilia (my photos admittedly have a particular focus).

I also noticed the 1933 Sport Kings Duke Kahanamoku, being sold by the same dealer I had nearly purchased one from at the 2024 National. He actually had two of them, but one was in my budget range, so I kept that in the back of my mind.

By the end of the day, I was spent. I still had all the money I came with, but I was done energy-wise. That meant having to miss the YouTube get-together, which I had wanted to go to, but I also had to be realistic and get a good night’s sleep. Thankfully, I did.

Day Two

Day two was when spending decisions had to be made, because the longer I waited, the greater the risk that any card I wanted would get scooped up. Budgetary considerations were the main things stopping me, but I did want to leave with something on my grail list. When I got into the show, I passed by the dealer with the three-panel card, confirmed it was still there, then kept going, mulling it over.

I did finally make some smallish purchases, filling in some gaps on my Al Kaline run, including a 1955 Bowman. Then, at some point, I finally decided, I should probably look at that three-panel card again and make a call, because I didn’t know if I’d see another Cobb card under two grand (that isn’t a strip card, that is, of which I saw a few).

That was when I learned the lesson I knew all too well: You can only play the waiting game for so long. The card was gone. Ugh.

I convinced myself that it wasn’t meant to be, but it still stung.

Soon after that defeat, I went back to the dealer with the Duke Kahanamoku cards, confirmed the one I wanted was still there, so I asked to see the card again. I looked it over, checked comps, and after he told me how much he was willing to let it go for (and that I could pay with Venmo), I finally decided to buy it.

As someone who grew up in Hawaii and loved sports, I couldn’t do any better than getting a Duke Kahanamoku card, a man who was a legendary surfer and swimmer, and just an awesome person. I’m really proud to add this to my collection.

With that purchase under my belt, I decided to devote some time to set building, so I found a dealer who had binders upon binders of various vintage sets, sat down, and managed to fill out some gaps in my 1973-75 Topps sets.

As I left on day two, through a bit of serendipity, I ran into my cousin, himself a vintage collector who inspired me as a child to get into collecting as much as I did. He still collects and I can only imagine what his collection is like now, because it was incredible when I was a teenager. He’s also friends with a group of collectors, one of whom was having a barbecue that night, so he invited me.

After briefly attending the Strongsville trade night, where I picked up a couple of cards, including a very cool (to me) box-top 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson, I went to the barbecue.

There, I was given a tour of one of the most impressive man caves I’ve ever seen, primarily because it was filled with Detroit Tigers, Lions, Pistons and Red Wings (and Michigan State) memorabilia, along with a closet full of sports card binders that I could’ve spent days going through.

Later, as I was about ready to go, one of the guys remembered me mentioning that I was trying to do a 1970s Topps run, so he steered me toward two monster boxes, one with a bunch of 1971 Topps, another with some 1975 Topps, and told me to take whatever I found that I needed - and helped me as well. Then, when the host heard what I was doing, he pulled out a binder of 1970 Topps and had me do the same thing.

It was so incredibly generous of them to help me like they did (and if any of them are reading this, thank you so much - truly), and I look forward to returning the favor. If any of you are interested in trading vintage cards with other vintage collectors, check out the OBC group. I promise you, you won’t regret it. They’re a truly great group of people.

Day Three

When day three rolled around, I was drained, but there were still cards to look at! I want back to the dealer with the large collection of binders and tackled the 1976 and 1977 Topps binders, managing to get a few hundred cards closer to completing those sets.

Then, I still had Ty Cobb on my mind, so I looked back at the cards that remained, while hoping to see a new Cobb emerge (no such luck). The dealer with a few of the Cobb strip cards was willing to discount them further, but something about them being hand-cut cards and not part of the “T” series cards made me not as inspired to get them.

I went back to the dealer with the T205 Gold Border Cobb, which was still there, and I looked at it again, then some comps, looked at the card even closer and just decided, this wasn’t the one that was meant to be, so I left the show without a Ty Cobb card.

I regret not being able to find one, but based on the dealers I met and ones I already know, I think it’s going to happen this year at some point. One thing I don’t regret is having gone to the show. It was awesome and hope to make it an annual trip.

While the show initially felt overwhelming, it was nowhere near as overwhelming as the National, and its focus on vintage was right up my alley. For those on the fence about attending, I’d recommend trying it at least once.