My day(s) at the National

mccardguy1

I posted this on the Net54 boards but thought I would post here as well.

I had a chance to go back to the National today and took a few pictures of items I was just blown away by. These are not cards but items that should be found in a museum for all to see and not locked away in a private collection somewhere....but that is a conversation for another day. There are not allot of pictures but these were significant items that I saw.

The first item I was taken with was Johnny Evers Cubs jersey that was found in the Mears booth. This jersey looked like it was in great shape and my mind started to wander as to where this item has been for the last century.

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The second item was a full White Sox jersey but dumb ass me forgot to take a picture of the details of this item. I will have to check out the Mears site to find out who this belonged to. Next to this vintage Sox Jersey is a Ernie Banks gamer.

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My wife is a huge fan of the movie *61 and she really enjoyed seeing this next item. This is Roger Maris' MVP award as well as a signed game used hat. It was cool to be standing within inches of this award knowing the history of it.

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The next picture is a Jackie Robinson game used Jacket. Nothing more needs to be said.

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This is by far and away the item that just captured my attention. This is the Jesse Owens gold medal that he won in the Berlin Olympics in 1938. What made it more special is that the gentleman behind the SCP counter walked over, took the medal out of the glass case and placed it right on the counter for me to see and touch. For a history lover like me...this was as close to being in the moment where Jesse Owens received this from Hitler as I could come. I feel like I touched history.

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While hanging around the SCP booth I noticed a guy sitting behind, talking to a few of the workers in the booth and recognized him instantly. It seemed nobody else figured out who he was and when he exited the booth he looked right at me and said "do you want a picture?" Of course I said yes and put his arm around me and we had someone snap this shot. He could not have been friendlier and took the time to talk to a friend of mine when he asked him about his days on Chicago's South Side.

I had mentioned to Mr. Gossage that he played for the Cubs when I worked there and I remember him being taller and more intimidating and he looked me dead in the eye, smiled and said..."steroids....lots of them". With that...he laughed, said thank you to me and walked away.

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It was a great show and far more museum-type items than I remember in the past but, after 12 Nationals this might have been the best one. I wanted to get a picture of something that I had seen on Thursday but I could not locate it. There was a full Lou Gehrig bat that had a inscription on it and I was struck by the size of it. It was larger than any bat players of the modern age would use and I had hoped to get a photo.

I did get a chance to meet our resident artist Graig Kreindler who was out walking the show and he is just as nice in person as one would think he would be. Also on Thursday I walked into the lobby with Lawrence Taylor who apparently was lost as his limo dropped him off at the main entrance and not the proper entrance for guest signers. There was nobody there but us and he kinda grunted at me when I said hello.

Sorry I didn't get any pics of cards and other items but hopefully others got more.

doog71

Wow, so cool running into the Goose. Thanks for the terrific pics.

jmmiller777

Dude, these are sooo cool. Thanks for taking the time...

grote15

That Owens medal is stunning. Thanks for sharing!

Dboneesq

Andrew ... thanks for sharing. Glad you had an enjoyable time.

MBMiller25

Great stuff, I saw that Jackie Robinson jacket as well. That was a great piece. I spent a couple moments just thinking about what that jacket might have been through. We are all so fortunate to be able to view these historical pieces.