capsfan30
Verified Trader,
So, in the DC area, we have one large show, three times a year, generally mid/late March, Mid July, and Mid October. They get a bunch of current and past sports stars, entertainment personalities, and a huge card show all in the Expo Center in Chantilly. This year they had the likes of Troy Aikmen, Michael Irvin, and a ton of other former football players signing autos. I did not get any of them. The only person I would have even considered waiting in a ridiculous line and getting an auto of was Mike Tyson, but they weren't cheap and I decided against it.
I met up with the few of my hockey fellows (most of whom are not on the boards, despite my insistence they join up). I picked up a few odds and ends for my PC (some 97-98 BD triple diamonds, a 93-94 Topps Finest Turgeon insert, a 92-93 Ultra All-Star Gretzky, and a 13-14 Select Update Prizm Jayson Megna for my Caps RC PC). Also picked up the Caps 18-19 Series 2 Canvas inserts, and the Upper Deck arena giveaway, which portrayed a number of Caps when they won the Cup last July. A few other things not really worth mentioning.
Anyways, I was wearing my Sandlot "You're Killing Me Smalls" shirt, which received a number of compliments. It's a huge baseball/football show, so that wasn't surprising. I spent a few minutes talking to people like Robert Henson, a retired football players who spent 3 years with the Redskins from 2009-2011. He was at a small table in the back, with no one around, so I talked to him for like 10 minutes. I spoke with a gentleman named Frank Racy, who organized the Game Used Jersey show I wrote about a few weeks ago.
Then, I stopped by the booth of a gentleman named Paul Madden. For those of you who hadn't heard of him (as I hadn't before yesterday), he's a painter who does portraits of sports and entertainment stars, and has done so for many decades. I stood there for about 45 minutes listening to stories of players like Gordie Howe, Mario Lemieux, Pat Lafontaine, and many many more, that he's had the opportunity to work with, and become friends with, over his career.
What led me over to his booth in the first place was a HHOF jersey he had, autographed by 114(!!!) members of the HHOF, and authenticated by JSA. He wanted $4500 for it, which, if I had that kind of disposable income, I would have snapped up in a heartbeat. However, the SECOND piece he had there which caught my eye, was a Gordie Howe-style stick (not game used, unfortunately), autographed by 22 of the 500 Goal Scorers of all time. Some of the autos were a bit faded, as it had been displayed but not protected by UV glass, but it was beautiful. And now, it's mine.
Gordie Howe, Maurice Richard, Bobby Hull, Phil Esposito, Steve Yzerman
Guy Lafleur, Jarri Kurri, Gilbert Perreault, Either Mario Lemieux or Marcel Dionne (any help?), Michel Goulet
Michel Goulet (same one, not a different one), Jean Beliveau, Johny Bucyk,
Stan Mikita, Dino Ciccarelli, Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier, Lanny McDonald, Frank Mahovlich
Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille, Keith Tkachuk, Dale Hawerchuk
The pictures do not do it justice.
Now, I'm no expert, but I've seen enough of these guys autos to know that this is either legit, or an amazing forgery. For the price I got it for, it is worth the risk. Now, to get a case with UV glass and find out where some of the rest will be signing autos...
I met up with the few of my hockey fellows (most of whom are not on the boards, despite my insistence they join up). I picked up a few odds and ends for my PC (some 97-98 BD triple diamonds, a 93-94 Topps Finest Turgeon insert, a 92-93 Ultra All-Star Gretzky, and a 13-14 Select Update Prizm Jayson Megna for my Caps RC PC). Also picked up the Caps 18-19 Series 2 Canvas inserts, and the Upper Deck arena giveaway, which portrayed a number of Caps when they won the Cup last July. A few other things not really worth mentioning.
Anyways, I was wearing my Sandlot "You're Killing Me Smalls" shirt, which received a number of compliments. It's a huge baseball/football show, so that wasn't surprising. I spent a few minutes talking to people like Robert Henson, a retired football players who spent 3 years with the Redskins from 2009-2011. He was at a small table in the back, with no one around, so I talked to him for like 10 minutes. I spoke with a gentleman named Frank Racy, who organized the Game Used Jersey show I wrote about a few weeks ago.
Then, I stopped by the booth of a gentleman named Paul Madden. For those of you who hadn't heard of him (as I hadn't before yesterday), he's a painter who does portraits of sports and entertainment stars, and has done so for many decades. I stood there for about 45 minutes listening to stories of players like Gordie Howe, Mario Lemieux, Pat Lafontaine, and many many more, that he's had the opportunity to work with, and become friends with, over his career.
What led me over to his booth in the first place was a HHOF jersey he had, autographed by 114(!!!) members of the HHOF, and authenticated by JSA. He wanted $4500 for it, which, if I had that kind of disposable income, I would have snapped up in a heartbeat. However, the SECOND piece he had there which caught my eye, was a Gordie Howe-style stick (not game used, unfortunately), autographed by 22 of the 500 Goal Scorers of all time. Some of the autos were a bit faded, as it had been displayed but not protected by UV glass, but it was beautiful. And now, it's mine.
Gordie Howe, Maurice Richard, Bobby Hull, Phil Esposito, Steve Yzerman
Guy Lafleur, Jarri Kurri, Gilbert Perreault, Either Mario Lemieux or Marcel Dionne (any help?), Michel Goulet
Michel Goulet (same one, not a different one), Jean Beliveau, Johny Bucyk,
Stan Mikita, Dino Ciccarelli, Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier, Lanny McDonald, Frank Mahovlich
Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille, Keith Tkachuk, Dale Hawerchuk
The pictures do not do it justice.
Now, I'm no expert, but I've seen enough of these guys autos to know that this is either legit, or an amazing forgery. For the price I got it for, it is worth the risk. Now, to get a case with UV glass and find out where some of the rest will be signing autos...
