Nice IP auto experiences this weekend

yankeeno7 · June 17, 2008 1:08PM

Well, there was a show in Albany, NY where Ralph Kiner, Jerry Grote, and Ed Kranepool were signing. Ralph Kiner was great! Very nice guy. He has such a great, recognizable voice especially since I used to listen to him commentary Mets games. A real class guy. Jerry Grote was very personable, love to talk and joke. Really enjoyed a small chat with him. Kranepool was a nice guy but seemed like he had a bit of ADD. This was Saturday.

Then on Sunday, Fergie Jenkins and Ron Swoboda were signing in Albany. I didnt go but left a couple of cards with a friend. A Jenkins rookie and my Mets Maulers card that I already had Kranepool sign for Swoboda.

Then on to Cooperstown, NY for the HOF game which unforunately was a rain out

It was so beautiful the day before and beautiful that morning. Was a real disappointment. Anyway, Fergie Jenkins ALWAYS signs at that game. I wasnt going to get an auto then I found out he was only charging 10 bucks to sign my own card...uggh, wish I would have known then I would have only paid 10 instead of 25 for my rookie to be signed. Oh well.

Then, a nice surprise...Lee Smith sat next to Jenkins and was signing also! Unfortunately I had no 1982 rookies so I pulled out a 1984 Topps for him to sign. Lee Smith was probably the most friendly player I have ever met. What a cool guy! He loved to talk and joke. Shook my hand with what seemed like the size of a Grizzley bear paw. Awesome guy for sure!

I'd like to thank Steve(Winpitcher) for the 1954 Bowman Kiner and David(Eyebone) for the Jenkins rookie. Both cards are GREAT!

Now...here are some pics...I'll have pics of the Mets Maulers double auto and the Jenkins rookie probably sometime this week or next week....

bobbybakeriv · June 17, 2008 1:14PM

That is great to hear. Good for you, nice work.

justmichael · June 17, 2008 1:25PM

Barry I wonder how I missed you.I was there both days.Kranepool was a douche.Swoboda was a riot and Jenkins was extremely friendly as always.Grote was great to talk to and thanked everyone for showing up.Kiner looked alot better than he did last summer.The 54 looks great.I couldn't come up with a Kiner card in time so I had him sign a book and a bat.I had Jenkins sign his rookie and a 73 Topps.I had the 3 Mets sign a few balls and Swoboda sign his 66 topps.Good show overall expect the scumbag in the corner with the blatently fake Wright and Arod autos that he has been peddling for years.I can't wait for Gooden in Sep.

Yes I am the king of a run-on paragraph.

OAKESY25 · June 17, 2008 1:28PM

Lee Smith truly has the largest hands of any human being I have ever seen

yankeeno7 · June 17, 2008 1:36PM

Mike, I saw you there but I was in line otherwise I would have gone up to you to say hello. The line was quite long at that time so I didnt want to get out because I was trying to get back on the road to get to Cooperstown. I didnt see you around after that.

I was not real impressed with the dealers there. Heard a couple guys complain that people didnt spend money. Of course the worst complainer had the most outrageous prices and a table that was in total disarray. Who wants to rubble through a pile of overpriced garbage?

Was that guy with the fake Wright and ARod autos from Vermont by any chance? Other than Fig, of course there was only one other guy I was able to wheel and deal with a little bit. Kind of felt bad because I only ended up spending 30 bucks at his table. Other than that, I wasnt too impressed.

I noticed that there were only a couple of guys that also Ed Keetz shows. I heard that Ed had threatened that if he knew of anyone who did those shows, they would not be allowed to do his anymore. I dont know if there is any truth to that. I was still hoping to run into Kevin Moon at that show because that POS stole from me. Unfortunately he wasnt there. Ive been waiting about a year to run into him again.

I'll be looking to get an 84 Topps Traded and 84 Fleer Update Gooden for September.

It's real nice seeing some autograph guests in Albany again. Ive really missed that.

yankeeno7 · June 17, 2008 1:44PM

Here is what I ended up with from the show...always wanted a couple of Orr cards in my collection..

Goot · June 17, 2008 2:37PM

Jenkins is a really nice guy. I met him at a Rays game last year and picked up an auto 8x10 of him for $10. Looks like he's still in great shape and he had one of the firmest handshakes I've ever felt!

MooseDog · June 18, 2008 9:10AM

<< <i>Jerry Grote was very personable, love to talk and joke. Really enjoyed a small chat with him. >>

Boy, he must have mellowed with age...Grote used to be considered one of the toughest living baseball players autographs to get and was a first class jerk to us kids getting autographs in the 1970s.

justmichael · June 18, 2008 11:13AM

Barry I didn't stick around to long because the I had to go to the Mets game(which of course was rained out).Fig and I were just saying tonight that there were not enough card dealers.Alot of the guys were junk peddlers.I don't know the truth about the Keetz thing but I tend to believe because I did not see one of his regulars at the show.I thought for sure I would atleast see Genero buying.The guy selling the fakes was the black guy in the corner by Justin Priddy(sp?).He was not very happy when I loudly let him know that his stuff was fake wen he tried to sell me a Eli Manning autographed photo.

I don't think you will see to many more Burke shows.The lack of actual card dealers really hurt the attendance and the amount of money spent.It doesn't help that Burke has a bad name for some things he had done a few years back.It is a damn same to because as you said it has been a long time since we had some real signers around here.

Tvac897 · June 18, 2008 11:18AM

Great pick ups!

yankeeno7 · June 18, 2008 12:27PM

<< <i>Barry I didn't stick around to long because the I had to go to the Mets game(which of course was rained out).Fig and I were just saying tonight that there were not enough card dealers.Alot of the guys were junk peddlers.I don't know the truth about the Keetz thing but I tend to believe because I did not see one of his regulars at the show.I thought for sure I would atleast see Genero buying.The guy selling the fakes was the black guy in the corner by Justin Priddy(sp?).He was not very happy when I loudly let him know that his stuff was fake wen he tried to sell me a Eli Manning autographed photo.

I don't think you will see to many more Burke shows.The lack of actual card dealers really hurt the attendance and the amount of money spent.It doesn't help that Burke has a bad name for some things he had done a few years back.It is a damn same to because as you said it has been a long time since we had some real signers around here. >>

Yeah, junk peddlers is a good description of what was there. Out of 25-30? dealers there, seems like there were only 5-7 who were legitimate card dealers. A lot of autographed memorabilia, of course 90% unauthenticated. Who's touching that stuff?

I think I know who you mean with the fake autos. He used to do Keetz shows but havent seen him in quite some time. Other than Fig, it appears that only the husband and wife team that sell NASCAR were the only other ones that do Keetz shows. No Genero, no Randy from Vermont, no Ken Berg, and a couple of other guys that I dont know their names. I dont think Keetz would try and pull that with Fig because Keetz is smart enough to know that Fig doesnt need him to be in this business like most of the others....or so they seem to think.

Well, I think as far as Burke shows, I'll hit them for the IP autos. I dont know anything about him otherwise and dont know anything about his past. If I get the chance, I'll still try and hit a show here and there...can still pick up deals from desperate sellers. Would probably be a great place to set up to buy. Sure, you'll offend a lot of people but then you'll get plenty to sell!

justmichael · June 18, 2008 2:17PM

I am pretty sure I am going to set up at the next one primarily to buy.

Nice IP auto experiences this weekend

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