Aug. 28, 2026

Steve Grad chops it up E403

Steve Grad chops it up E403

For the first time ever Steve Grad is our guest and we cover sone ground.


Talking Points may include:

*Where it all started.

*Whats in his PC, Favorites and selling.

*Secretary and Clubbie autos-What you need to know.


*Percentage of autos that are fake in the wild.

*Scenario-You see a slabbed auto but you know it's not legit.


*Most Forged?

*Going completely under his own brand.


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WEBVTT

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Sports Card Nation.

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The hobby is the people. Weekly news and interviews. It's

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your number one source.

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Sports Card Nation.

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The hobby is the people. Sports Card Nation. Attention, Sports

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Card Nation viewers.

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What up, kids?

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It's your boy Scott Hanson from NFL Red Zone.

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Oh, we're back. Ball is back. The hobby never ends.

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And before you know it, I'm going to be on

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your screen again, rocking that octobox, knocking the bottom out

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of the witching hour, and announcing seven hours of Red

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Zone football. But as you watch Red Zone, just save

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some time. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, to check

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out John. and Sports Card Nation. Let's have a great season, people.

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What is up, everybody?

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Welcome to episode 403 of Sports Card Nation.

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Happy to be back with you.

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Real quick, I think I just wanted to announce the

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winners of our 400th episode giveaway. I'm only going to

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use first names. Drake won a card package as well

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as Richard. Debbie won a wax box from Upper Deck.

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Travis won a small box, and some slab guards. And

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two Card Ladder Pro yearly memberships went out to Jason

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and Daryl. So those were our 400 episode giveaway winners.

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A lot of entries. We can only, you know, we

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randomized the list and six names came out. And that

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was how it went down. So congrats to those folks.

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But thank you all for listening and entering, and we

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appreciate it. I wish I could just give everyone a prize. Unfortunately,

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that's not how that works. But I do have free

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stickers if anyone, if you ever want a free sticker,

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just reach out to me on social media or email,

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and we could figure out a way to get that

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to you.

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So, all right.

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So let's thank our sponsors, SGC, Iron Sports Cards, Sports

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Collectors Digest, Hobby Hotline, Upper Deck, card ladder and a

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certified trading card association and not necessarily in that order

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that's just how I rattle them off all right first

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time guest this week and next week how that is

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the case I don't know how it's taken this long

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of the show but again that's more on me than

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an indictment on the guest that's an indictment on me

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but as the cliche goes better late than never and

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hopefully have them back on, uh, down the line as well. Uh,

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Steve grad, one of the preeminent autograph, uh, authentication experts, uh,

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that this hobby has ever seen. And, and maybe number one, uh,

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on that list. And we're going to talk about a

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gamut of, of things, you know, uh, the good, the bad,

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and the ugly of autographs and certification and, and all

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that stuff. So, uh, It's not going to all be

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roses and sweet music. It's going to be some, we

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got to talk about the reality of autographs and the

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scandals and the forgeries and the fugazis, right? And we're

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going to talk about the good stuff too. So we're

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going to talk about both sides of the coin, as

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they say. So Steve Grad is our guest. He's branching

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out more on his own. He's always had his own business,

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but sort of flying under his own flag exclusively, which

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I think is very cool and good for him. And

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I got to talk with him some at the National.

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And just a really good dude. Just enjoys what he

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does and is passionate and knowledgeable. And you can't put

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a price on that. So he is our guest this

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week and next. So without further ado, let's get this

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show started. Real excited to have my next guest on

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the Sports Card Nation guest line. Somehow he is a

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hobby stalwart, or somehow we've never had him on this

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podcast yet. And that's probably more me than him. Actually,

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I think it is more me than him. But better

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late than never.

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As we always say. Mr. Steve Grant, welcome to the show.

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Thank you very much. I appreciate it. I love that intro.

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It's intense. It's all downhill.

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I feel like we're going to watch a football game

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or it's a Superbowl.

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Well, I'm a former, former high school football player and

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high school varsity coach. So maybe that has a little something,

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something to do with it. I appreciate it.

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Thank you.

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You know, you've been in the hobby a while. You know,

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you grew up in Chicago for you. When did, when

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did the hobby start again? Many people may know this,

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but this being your first time on this.

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Really about 1980. Went to first baseball card show back

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in Chicago for people who live out in that area.

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They used to have a show. It was at the

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Hillside Holiday Inn. It's right off of 290 and 294 area.

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And for people that head out of the city, it's

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off the Eisenhower. But it's the first time that I

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went to a card show. And I was like, whoa.

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Because I collected cards starting... probably when I was about

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seven and I'm, you know, I had star Wars and

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football and some baseball, but then seeing that show in person,

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it really was like, Oh my God, there's tables filled

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with stuff. There's autographs. Bob Feller was sitting in a

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corner charging like $ 2 an autograph. But that was the

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first time. And then I first went to the national

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in 83. So, and I've gone to 31 or 32,

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something like that of the nationals and, you know, God,

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the Chicago shows in March and November and, and I've

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been to shows all across the country for years. I've

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kind of toned it back though, just because it's the

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grind is pretty hardcore. So, and it's real. So I'm,

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I'm just keep to the national now pretty much.

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Yeah.

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It's the super, I call it the Superbowl of the hobby.

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And I guess if you're going to do one, one,

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that's it.

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Right.

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I mean, the one we circle, all of us are

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majority of us circle that week. The nice thing we

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know it's what week it pretty much is every year.

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I mean, even with myself, I'm a, in the teaching industry.

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So I let my supervisor for summer school. No, I

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won't be here probably these three or four days.

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During the week. And I'll be back on Monday.

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Yeah. It's always a great time to get together and

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see people you haven't seen in, you know, a year

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or two years. And it goes, the thing is, you know,

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you start on a Tuesday, you wrap, I mean, I

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do at least, and then I wrap up on a Sunday,

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but it's like, it goes like that. It goes so fast. And,

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You don't think it does, but you're there from like,

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you know, eight, nine in the morning till six o'clock

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at night. And it seems like it's just a flash.

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I'm usually glad when it's over though, to be honest

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with you.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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And that's just the show hours. And then the events

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in some cases, a post show, right. That we do

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attend occasionally or friends and whatnot. So, you know, for me,

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and I'm sure probably likewise for you, like some days

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you're not getting back to a hotel to 10, 11,

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or perhaps even, later depending on on the event and

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who's involved so yeah you're you're right it goes quick

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and then at the end like you're you're you're just

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you need like a vacation from the show you know.

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It is that is nice and i think you know

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i think the thing that is really crazy is i

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see the evolution of the hobby how it's changed and

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you know it's always focused centrally around cards cards cards

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cards cards everything else kind of has its place you

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know But cards have powered it. And when I look

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back and reflect on it after all these years that

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I've been involved in this, I wish I would have

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probably just stayed with cards on some level because of the,

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you know, I kind of scratched my head thinking about

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all the great stuff I had and it's all gone.

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But I wish in a way I would have kind

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of stayed with it. But, you know, it is what

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it is. You know, I grew up in that 80s

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era of cards, which wasn't, as you know, wasn't spectacular.

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So in the 90s either. So. You know, there were

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some good issues and some good cards, but, you know,

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we were growing up, you know, with, you know, 78 tops,

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which was overproduced and 80 tops and, you know, all

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that stuff was just so much of it. You know,

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I took the autograph route, I guess, because I, to me,

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at least in a time, and I still do, I

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find it really fascinating to be involved in that aspect

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of the business. For me, at least that's a, you know,

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it's a passion. And, you know, I collected signed cards

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for years. I've had so many and gotten so many

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in my life signed, but I like it. But the

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autographs is where, you know, that's kind of my calling area.

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And so that's you can correct me if I'm wrong, Steve,

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like getting cards signed, maybe at a ballpark or an event.

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That's where it started for you.

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I mean, obviously, we didn't have like certified autos and

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packs as we do now.

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It's a lot to change, you know, and to get

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them signed. You know, I would go stand, you know,

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inside the ballpark and back in Chicago, there was some

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old school collectors. I mean, there's there's guys that were

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still bringing like, you know, 5000 count boxes of cards,

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you know, for the Texas Rangers. So, you know, these

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guys were out there, hardcore collectors and then the hotels.

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I did all that stuff, too. But it was always cards.

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And then I elevated my game to photos at some point, which,

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you know, in hindsight, it's weird. You've seen the explosion

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of signed cards, what happens. And it's it's it's it's

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at points where I always thought it would kind of

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just stop, you know, like, OK, cards are cool. But

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now it keeps going on and on. I mean, I

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just saw the Jackie Robinson. Maybe it's a 48 or

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49 Bowman's over a million dollars. You know, it's going

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to go for a lot of money in auction. And,

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you know, the 52 tops mantles. And when those hit auction,

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they go crazy. I wish I would have gotten one

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signed here.

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Yeah.

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Does that surprise you? Some of the values we're seeing?

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I obviously I'm a Jackie guy. That's out of my budget. But,

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you know, he died young.

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In October of 72.

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And signing wasn't like it was now. It wasn't as

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big of a deal like we see it now. Do

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the values what some of these cards are bringing on

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the auction block catch you off guard? Or is it

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at this point, it's sort of expected?

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I'm waiting for the next shoe to drop. I mean,

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I think, I'm not sure, but maybe you know better

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than I do. When's the last time a Roos signed

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Gowdy hit the market? But I think there was... three

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years ago, maybe, or it was a, you know, but

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they sold it. Maybe that half million range in there.

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Yeah.

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Um, and I, I think bring more. Yeah.

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I think you're right now. Now how we see how

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things are going and I see how the marketplace is going.

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I think those cards would even, I mean, you, you

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might top a million on that. Same with Garrett.

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Yeah.

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Yeah. No, no doubt.

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And, um, Again, another example of an athlete, unfortunately, that

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passed away at a younger age than they should have. And,

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you know, not to make it about dollar signs or quant,

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but when obviously anyone passes away at a younger age,

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there's more likely less autographs out there in circulation in

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comparison to maybe the opposite end. You know, you mentioned

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Bob Feller, and I kind of chuckled. when you mentioned him,

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I'm in, I'm originally from New York city. I'm here

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in Syracuse center now. So I get the Cooperstown quite

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a bit. And I've been in Syracuse a while.

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And it's funny.

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I'd make three, four or five trips a year. Let's

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say the Cooperstown Steve. And like every time I was there,

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like Bob fellow was like always there just signing away.

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Super nice guy, super friendly, love sharing like stories from

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his career and things like that. But I joke with friends, like,

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00:12:34.419 --> 00:12:37.750
I crossed the street to another block in Cooperstown, and

235
00:12:37.789 --> 00:12:39.929
I had just seen him at the table, and he

236
00:12:39.970 --> 00:12:44.149
was on, like, the next street, too. And obviously, I jest,

237
00:12:44.230 --> 00:12:45.389
but it just.

238
00:12:45.330 --> 00:12:47.070
Seemed like he was working it hard.

239
00:12:47.870 --> 00:12:49.240
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

240
00:12:49.360 --> 00:12:52.460
And so, you know, when you look at that, he's

241
00:12:52.659 --> 00:12:56.549
unfortunately no longer with us either, but No shortage of

242
00:12:56.649 --> 00:12:59.929
Bob Feller autos on the market.

243
00:13:01.409 --> 00:13:03.529
I don't want to stop you. You made me think

244
00:13:03.570 --> 00:13:08.720
of something. You're out in Syracuse. Years ago, when I

245
00:13:08.759 --> 00:13:11.419
worked at Auction, I sourced one of the best signed

246
00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:13.899
card collections that I've ever seen was out of Syracuse.

247
00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:15.860
Syracuse, there you go.

248
00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:17.399
The guy's name was Jeff Morey.

249
00:13:17.779 --> 00:13:20.759
I don't know it. I don't know. I don't know

250
00:13:20.820 --> 00:13:23.000
him by name. I don't know if he's a show guy.

251
00:13:23.379 --> 00:13:25.899
I set up a show, so maybe I've run into

252
00:13:25.919 --> 00:13:28.029
him on a show without knowing his name.

253
00:13:28.070 --> 00:13:31.350
He probably attended shows. He used to write a newsletter

254
00:13:31.669 --> 00:13:34.509
back before the days of the internet, but it was

255
00:13:34.549 --> 00:13:40.080
around in 2001, 2002. It was called The Autograph Report, T-A-R,

256
00:13:40.340 --> 00:13:44.460
and he wrote that. He was based out of Syracuse.

257
00:13:44.500 --> 00:13:47.639
He had Ernie Davis index cards, stuff like that, every

258
00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:51.940
month since Because Munson played in the minors there. But

259
00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:54.299
he had gone to the Hall of Fame every year.

260
00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:58.559
And starting in, I want to say, 52. And he

261
00:13:58.600 --> 00:14:01.059
started getting the guys back then. And he'd tell me

262
00:14:01.080 --> 00:14:03.950
the stories about it. He did really well in auction.

263
00:14:03.990 --> 00:14:06.769
But this was back in 2001. I can't imagine what

264
00:14:06.809 --> 00:14:09.009
his stuff would go for now. He had just some

265
00:14:09.049 --> 00:14:11.750
amazing cards. A lot of nice ballpoint stuff from the

266
00:14:12.110 --> 00:14:14.509
40s and 50s. It was gorgeous. The cards were beautiful.

267
00:14:14.830 --> 00:14:15.009
Yeah.

268
00:14:15.940 --> 00:14:16.440
There we go.

269
00:14:16.500 --> 00:14:22.250
Syracuse reference and cool, you know, and that shows you right.

270
00:14:22.269 --> 00:14:23.909
The hobby and the autograph hobby.

271
00:14:23.970 --> 00:14:28.029
It's a, it's a worldwide thing in a worldwide.

272
00:14:28.210 --> 00:14:29.509
Oh yeah.

273
00:14:29.879 --> 00:14:31.379
Let's talk a little bit about you.

274
00:14:31.440 --> 00:14:35.399
Like, How many, again, you know, how many autographs would

275
00:14:35.419 --> 00:14:38.080
you say you have in your PC yourself?

276
00:14:38.759 --> 00:14:41.039
You know, it's all dwindled down. It was a high

277
00:14:41.100 --> 00:14:44.750
number at one point because I had specialized really in

278
00:14:44.779 --> 00:14:50.190
Star Wars. And I had the three sets signed from T.O.P.S., 77, 80,

279
00:14:50.190 --> 00:14:53.629
and 83. So for Star Wars, Empire, Jedi, I had

280
00:14:53.669 --> 00:14:56.789
all three of them almost all completed. And in May

281
00:14:56.830 --> 00:14:59.080
of 22, I put them in gold and and got

282
00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:01.440
together with Ken and auctioned off five, just star Wars lots.

283
00:15:01.480 --> 00:15:03.960
And the cards did great. And, um, they went to

284
00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:06.840
a friend of mine. So, uh, a friend bought one

285
00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:08.679
of the, he bought the big star Wars set and

286
00:15:08.700 --> 00:15:10.419
I'd put a lot of time and effort in that.

287
00:15:10.460 --> 00:15:12.639
I worked on it for years, but you know, like

288
00:15:13.039 --> 00:15:15.759
collecting now, I don't really, I'm not, I'm kind of

289
00:15:15.960 --> 00:15:18.340
more on the fringe. I'm not really doing anything anymore. Like,

290
00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:21.799
like John, the thing is I got so crazy intense

291
00:15:21.840 --> 00:15:24.419
about it and leading up until like COVID and it

292
00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:27.500
got to just be too much. And, um, I think

293
00:15:27.539 --> 00:15:29.700
I needed to find a place where I was able

294
00:15:29.720 --> 00:15:32.039
to have a happy medium because too much of it

295
00:15:32.159 --> 00:15:35.059
was just too much. And I do like collecting, but

296
00:15:35.120 --> 00:15:38.519
I think that I would rather just collect the green

297
00:15:38.539 --> 00:15:41.409
dollar bills and put those away now, you know, and listen,

298
00:15:41.450 --> 00:15:45.049
collectibles are awesome. And obviously autographs are, I have to

299
00:15:45.110 --> 00:15:46.990
tell you, it's been my backbone of my life. You know,

300
00:15:47.009 --> 00:15:49.230
it's been my, my, my whole life has been involved

301
00:15:49.269 --> 00:15:51.730
with autographs, but at some point I would rather just

302
00:15:51.789 --> 00:15:54.509
enjoy myself and not worry about getting this guy on

303
00:15:54.529 --> 00:15:56.169
this card and that guy on that card and getting

304
00:15:56.210 --> 00:15:58.070
these photos signed and I need him on my poster.

305
00:15:58.129 --> 00:16:00.820
And that's what it kind of devolved into in terms

306
00:16:00.879 --> 00:16:03.940
of collecting wise, where I was so into it. You know, I'm,

307
00:16:04.019 --> 00:16:07.679
I'm worried about getting like the 17th storm trooper on

308
00:16:07.720 --> 00:16:10.000
my 77 tops cards, you know, like it was just

309
00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:12.879
too much. So I had to just kind of just

310
00:16:13.539 --> 00:16:15.840
draw it. And I still have pieces. I like, yeah,

311
00:16:15.879 --> 00:16:17.679
a lot, you know, I mean, there's stuff that I

312
00:16:17.700 --> 00:16:20.230
wouldn't ever want to get rid of, but, There's some

313
00:16:20.269 --> 00:16:23.009
stuff that I stay goodbye to and I don't mind.

314
00:16:23.049 --> 00:16:24.860
I have no issues with it because I want to

315
00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:26.720
let someone else enjoy it too. And especially with the

316
00:16:26.759 --> 00:16:28.700
Star Wars stuff I had so much of, it was

317
00:16:29.240 --> 00:16:31.139
getting kind of like a sickness. I mean, I was

318
00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:36.019
upwards of four to 600 autographs of Hamill, Ford, and

319
00:16:36.059 --> 00:16:40.710
Fisher each at one time in 2019. So that's too much.

320
00:16:40.909 --> 00:16:43.210
You know, like it got to be way too much.

321
00:16:43.929 --> 00:16:46.470
Obviously the cards have changed values so much. Excuse me,

322
00:16:46.490 --> 00:16:48.980
you know, now they call them, which is crazy. You know,

323
00:16:49.080 --> 00:16:51.519
Mark Hamill signed rookie card. I get a kick out

324
00:16:51.539 --> 00:16:54.970
of that. But those things have gone crazy. And I

325
00:16:55.009 --> 00:16:57.590
really enjoyed collecting all that stuff for years. But at

326
00:16:57.629 --> 00:17:00.090
the end of the day, I'm glad I could do

327
00:17:00.149 --> 00:17:02.850
other stuff, you know, or if I want to quite truthfully,

328
00:17:03.250 --> 00:17:06.119
if I want to do something to my house or

329
00:17:06.150 --> 00:17:07.920
we want to go on a nice vacation, we know

330
00:17:07.960 --> 00:17:10.740
we can. So those things are more important than collecting it.

331
00:17:10.940 --> 00:17:13.640
Yeah. And we're probably, I might be a little bit

332
00:17:13.740 --> 00:17:15.859
older than you. I get that. It makes a lot

333
00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:16.259
of sense.

334
00:17:16.359 --> 00:17:20.049
I think a lot of people, probably nodding right there.

335
00:17:20.170 --> 00:17:22.529
Time to hear from one of our great sponsors, but

336
00:17:22.549 --> 00:17:26.710
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337
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338
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340
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341
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342
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343
00:17:44.740 --> 00:17:48.099
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344
00:17:48.400 --> 00:17:53.380
at 1-877-IRON-PSA. Rob's got you covered.

345
00:17:54.940 --> 00:17:55.500
Let's go!

346
00:17:55.619 --> 00:17:59.240
You are listening to the Sports Card Nation podcast.

347
00:18:01.480 --> 00:18:05.369
It's like asking a parent, you know, who's your favorite

348
00:18:05.400 --> 00:18:07.869
kid if they have multiple kids, obviously.

349
00:18:08.049 --> 00:18:10.210
But do you have something in your collection?

350
00:18:10.250 --> 00:18:12.500
Like, do you have one thing that, like, You know,

351
00:18:12.539 --> 00:18:14.599
people always ask me, John, if you could only keep

352
00:18:14.839 --> 00:18:18.509
one card, who is it? Speaking of Jackie Robinson, it

353
00:18:18.549 --> 00:18:21.890
would be my Jackie Leaf rookie. I don't want to

354
00:18:21.930 --> 00:18:24.230
just keep that one card, but, you know, to answer

355
00:18:24.250 --> 00:18:28.150
the question, is there a piece you own that, like, you,

356
00:18:28.349 --> 00:18:30.869
you know, and I guess it's a tough question, but

357
00:18:30.930 --> 00:18:34.269
is there one piece that, like, that's your sort of

358
00:18:34.309 --> 00:18:36.579
showcase or centerpiece for you?

359
00:18:37.019 --> 00:18:40.420
For whatever reason, maybe the first one or just one that,

360
00:18:40.440 --> 00:18:40.640
you know.

361
00:18:41.579 --> 00:18:43.740
I think that the one piece I would want to

362
00:18:43.789 --> 00:18:45.809
just keep, if I could, I probably can't, it's not

363
00:18:45.829 --> 00:18:49.609
even that big of a deal, but it was a

364
00:18:49.730 --> 00:18:52.289
funny story when it happened. It was cool. But my

365
00:18:52.329 --> 00:18:55.910
favorite player growing up was Carlton Fisk. So I loved him.

366
00:18:56.299 --> 00:18:58.299
And he was a great player, obviously, for the Red

367
00:18:58.319 --> 00:19:01.099
Sox and White Sox. But I think in spring training

368
00:19:01.579 --> 00:19:04.599
of 90, I went down there and the White Sox

369
00:19:04.680 --> 00:19:07.109
were currently going from like, they had this old rickety

370
00:19:07.140 --> 00:19:10.460
stadium in downtown. It's called Ed Smith. stadium, but they

371
00:19:10.509 --> 00:19:13.190
moved to this new stadium in Sarasota and it was

372
00:19:13.230 --> 00:19:15.150
much nicer, but they had to change at the old

373
00:19:15.190 --> 00:19:17.410
stadium and then drive to the new stadium. So I'm

374
00:19:17.450 --> 00:19:19.690
at the old stadium waiting for players. I see Fisk

375
00:19:19.710 --> 00:19:21.369
and I say, Hey, I got to, and I knew him,

376
00:19:21.730 --> 00:19:24.490
you know, we'd known each other. I, I don't know

377
00:19:24.529 --> 00:19:26.400
if it's creepy or stalker ish, but you know, I

378
00:19:26.410 --> 00:19:27.720
used to go see him in the off season. He

379
00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:28.819
lived right by where I lived.

380
00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:33.859
I'm going to stick up for you. That's your guy, right? Like,

381
00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:35.779
so yeah, I get that.

382
00:19:35.819 --> 00:19:37.960
Yeah. I'd gotten to know him and you know, I

383
00:19:38.019 --> 00:19:40.380
saw him, he goes, Hey, Follow me to the other ballpark.

384
00:19:40.680 --> 00:19:43.039
Let's talk over there. So I followed him, go through

385
00:19:43.079 --> 00:19:45.240
this neighborhood, a couple of neighborhoods, like four or five miles.

386
00:19:45.289 --> 00:19:47.630
We get to the new ballpark. He parks. I park

387
00:19:47.690 --> 00:19:49.329
right next to him and I pull out this bat

388
00:19:49.730 --> 00:19:51.670
and he goes, man, where'd you get this bat? That

389
00:19:51.710 --> 00:19:53.710
that that's a game ready. That's out of my locker.

390
00:19:53.950 --> 00:19:55.529
And I had bought it at a show for like

391
00:19:55.529 --> 00:19:57.599
50 bucks. You know, it was at a dealer table.

392
00:19:58.269 --> 00:20:00.109
and um i said i just bought it a show

393
00:20:00.329 --> 00:20:01.849
and he goes oh he's like i'll tell you what

394
00:20:02.259 --> 00:20:04.740
i'll give you a gamer for that one right now

395
00:20:04.940 --> 00:20:07.740
let's swap because he wanted to use it so he

396
00:20:07.779 --> 00:20:09.200
gave me a he gave me a game used bat

397
00:20:09.220 --> 00:20:11.059
which he signed to me which i like it's not

398
00:20:11.319 --> 00:20:13.480
about the value i've owned his jerseys before and i've

399
00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:16.000
had his rookie bat and you know tons of stuff

400
00:20:16.019 --> 00:20:18.259
signed by him but just probably that piece would be

401
00:20:18.319 --> 00:20:21.549
it and maybe something harrison ford maybe the first harrison

402
00:20:21.569 --> 00:20:23.250
ford autograph i got maybe that would be about it

403
00:20:23.450 --> 00:20:26.250
but other than that um and my wife's happy to

404
00:20:26.289 --> 00:20:28.130
hear it all be gone. And so she, it makes

405
00:20:28.150 --> 00:20:28.329
her happy.

406
00:20:29.730 --> 00:20:31.349
I hear you. I have one of those too.

407
00:20:31.450 --> 00:20:36.730
So is there, you know, you talk about meeting athletes and, and,

408
00:20:36.990 --> 00:20:40.240
you know, obviously you get to know them in certain circumstances.

409
00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:44.779
Is there an athlete that, that sort of make, you know,

410
00:20:44.799 --> 00:20:47.079
I I've gotten asked this question cause I've, I've met

411
00:20:47.140 --> 00:20:49.400
quite a bit myself, uh, even though I'm not you,

412
00:20:49.720 --> 00:20:53.529
is there an athlete that, um, you're still in all of,

413
00:20:53.630 --> 00:20:55.670
or you get a little like tongue tied or, or

414
00:20:55.710 --> 00:20:56.970
not at this point?

415
00:20:57.529 --> 00:21:01.079
Um, if it was maybe, maybe, yeah, maybe, maybe Harrison Ford,

416
00:21:01.119 --> 00:21:03.640
but probably Michael Jordan, you know, always. And I had met,

417
00:21:03.759 --> 00:21:06.880
I probably met Jordan, uh, 30 or 40 times, maybe,

418
00:21:07.140 --> 00:21:09.200
maybe more than that, maybe 50. And I worked in

419
00:21:09.220 --> 00:21:10.940
the media. So I used to see him all the time.

420
00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:13.599
I worked in Chicago media, but probably those guys. And

421
00:21:13.619 --> 00:21:15.579
it was all, I always got a charge getting both

422
00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:18.569
those autographs when I got them in person. It was really, even,

423
00:21:18.589 --> 00:21:22.339
you know, getting Jordan going back to like 87, 88, 89, 90,

424
00:21:22.339 --> 00:21:24.029
getting him in those years was, it was always a

425
00:21:24.039 --> 00:21:24.230
great time.

426
00:21:24.299 --> 00:21:24.480
Yeah.

427
00:21:24.500 --> 00:21:25.880
Would you, would you agree?

428
00:21:25.900 --> 00:21:30.339
I mean, it's probably, I'll, I'll, I'll ask to your expertise, Steve,

429
00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:36.200
Jordan or Mano. What's the most forged athlete in the industry?

430
00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:36.680
Okay.

431
00:21:36.700 --> 00:21:39.539
So I, okay. If you ask me, if you asked

432
00:21:39.559 --> 00:21:41.740
me like, maybe like three years ago, I would say mantle,

433
00:21:41.960 --> 00:21:45.460
but I have a feeling Jordan's certain. I really do.

434
00:21:46.079 --> 00:21:49.029
Just based on what I see in the marketplace and

435
00:21:49.269 --> 00:21:53.549
the insane, insane volume of him. And he's always been forged, okay? So,

436
00:21:53.890 --> 00:21:56.950
you know, they had guys forging him in Chicago for years. But,

437
00:21:57.150 --> 00:22:00.130
you know, anytime a player gets to that level, they're

438
00:22:00.150 --> 00:22:02.109
going to forge him like crazy. And in Jordan's case,

439
00:22:02.309 --> 00:22:06.210
I always like to say, John, that I think that mantle,

440
00:22:06.410 --> 00:22:09.069
there's more fake mantles than real mantles, which I still believe.

441
00:22:09.470 --> 00:22:11.930
But Jordan's getting up there. And now, you know, we're

442
00:22:11.950 --> 00:22:15.349
looking now I would call most of the forgeries of him,

443
00:22:15.390 --> 00:22:17.589
by the way, I just call them kind of amateur forgeries.

444
00:22:17.829 --> 00:22:21.650
They're by people who really aren't skilled, but the stuff

445
00:22:21.849 --> 00:22:24.210
we've seen now, the fake upper deck stuff they're doing,

446
00:22:24.730 --> 00:22:26.359
not all of it, but a lot of it is

447
00:22:26.380 --> 00:22:29.420
done very well. And especially on the cards there, they

448
00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:31.819
have got him down really good. And he's, it's very

449
00:22:31.880 --> 00:22:34.880
tough to discern, like, are these actually good or bad?

450
00:22:35.079 --> 00:22:37.180
You know what I mean? It's like, that close with Jordan.

451
00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:40.799
It's to the point where I'm blown away about the

452
00:22:40.839 --> 00:22:41.500
amount of fakes on it.

453
00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:41.960
Yeah.

454
00:22:42.079 --> 00:22:46.900
And we've had, as you know, numerous name scandals, including

455
00:22:46.990 --> 00:22:51.569
a big one even more recently in Indiana as well,

456
00:22:51.589 --> 00:22:55.269
which led to a person killing themselves rather than facing

457
00:22:55.829 --> 00:22:58.920
the music of prosecution. I mean, that's how serious this

458
00:22:58.960 --> 00:23:02.130
stuff is and get it. I read an article, again,

459
00:23:02.269 --> 00:23:04.730
I'm going to ask you is here. I heard you

460
00:23:04.750 --> 00:23:07.289
say the mantle, you know, there might be more mantle

461
00:23:07.670 --> 00:23:11.160
fakes than actual ones. And he did a lot of

462
00:23:11.200 --> 00:23:14.920
stuff after his career, like shows and fantasy camps and

463
00:23:15.180 --> 00:23:19.279
different things like that. I read an article where the FBI,

464
00:23:19.380 --> 00:23:22.200
I don't know the exact agent or, you know, but

465
00:23:22.579 --> 00:23:26.579
a person from the FBI says they believe that 50%

466
00:23:26.579 --> 00:23:30.930
of the autographs that are in circulation are are fugazi and.

467
00:23:30.869 --> 00:23:34.089
Not the genuine real mccoy.

468
00:23:34.119 --> 00:23:36.759
Uh and hearing you say that with the mantle that's

469
00:23:36.819 --> 00:23:40.279
what led me to remember reading that um do you

470
00:23:40.339 --> 00:23:43.819
agree with that assessment is the number lower higher is it.

471
00:23:44.119 --> 00:23:46.539
Or is it fairly accurate in your opinion.

472
00:23:46.440 --> 00:23:48.599
I think it's i think it's in that ballpark and

473
00:23:48.619 --> 00:23:50.960
i think maybe tim fitzsimmons said that years ago after

474
00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:53.720
operation bullpen which he was involved in i think he

475
00:23:53.759 --> 00:23:55.619
came out with that number and i think they further

476
00:23:55.789 --> 00:23:59.809
reinforce that through the years that I wouldn't be surprised. Okay. So, okay.

477
00:23:59.869 --> 00:24:02.730
Let's say if we were talking about in the sports realm,

478
00:24:03.029 --> 00:24:06.089
you know, solely, I'd say fraud is running about that high.

479
00:24:06.549 --> 00:24:10.069
If you jump into entertainment, which includes music, I would

480
00:24:10.130 --> 00:24:14.210
say you're getting closer to 65, 70. And, and, you know,

481
00:24:14.259 --> 00:24:16.500
unfortunately a lot of that stuff is in the big

482
00:24:16.539 --> 00:24:20.210
marketplace out there, eBay. And they are taking great steps

483
00:24:20.289 --> 00:24:23.710
to improve the site. And a lot of people see it.

484
00:24:23.750 --> 00:24:26.549
They're not sure yet, but eBay is making moves to

485
00:24:26.589 --> 00:24:29.750
make it a better marketplace. They know they've had a

486
00:24:29.789 --> 00:24:31.970
lot of flack from people through the years. And I

487
00:24:32.039 --> 00:24:34.039
used to work with them and their trust and safety

488
00:24:34.490 --> 00:24:37.180
department when I was at PSA years ago, going back

489
00:24:37.859 --> 00:24:41.819
almost 20 years. So they've actually made some recent steps

490
00:24:42.259 --> 00:24:44.839
to improve. And now they're moving forward with even more

491
00:24:45.319 --> 00:24:47.740
drastic steps, which I think they're going to implement in

492
00:24:47.769 --> 00:24:50.250
the next probably six to eight months. But they want

493
00:24:50.269 --> 00:24:52.369
to clean that site up and they want to make

494
00:24:52.390 --> 00:24:55.509
it a safer environment. And autograph people have always complained

495
00:24:55.549 --> 00:24:57.690
about it. And you know what, me as a seller

496
00:24:57.750 --> 00:24:59.539
on there too, I look at it and I'm like, man,

497
00:24:59.880 --> 00:25:02.660
you know, I see this guy selling Harrison Ford 8x10s

498
00:25:02.819 --> 00:25:05.440
all day long for 80 bucks. And I'd like to

499
00:25:05.480 --> 00:25:08.440
think that those are uneducated buyers. Those are a one-time buyer.

500
00:25:08.950 --> 00:25:11.390
Someone doesn't know what they're doing there. Maybe someone's looking

501
00:25:11.450 --> 00:25:14.630
at like, oh, your photos, 1800, but this one's 80 bucks.

502
00:25:14.809 --> 00:25:16.410
Same thing. I'm going to buy that one. They don't

503
00:25:16.430 --> 00:25:18.380
know any different. And I think the thing that I

504
00:25:18.380 --> 00:25:22.420
always push towards is education, education and letting the public,

505
00:25:22.579 --> 00:25:24.900
you know, and listen, I look at it this way.

506
00:25:25.160 --> 00:25:27.819
We are in, you and I are in this sphere

507
00:25:27.839 --> 00:25:30.299
of this industry we're in right here, right? This is us.

508
00:25:30.619 --> 00:25:32.779
But we want to get to all these other people too,

509
00:25:32.819 --> 00:25:34.339
because there's a lot of other people out here who

510
00:25:34.400 --> 00:25:37.480
love collecting. I think truthfully, I think Fanatics Fest has

511
00:25:37.509 --> 00:25:40.190
done a good job of that. And they've brought in

512
00:25:40.289 --> 00:25:43.950
people that you would normally never see in the collectible sphere.

513
00:25:43.990 --> 00:25:47.049
They're in there because let's be honest, it really wasn't cool.

514
00:25:47.470 --> 00:25:50.049
It was never cool for any kind of athlete to say,

515
00:25:50.069 --> 00:25:51.769
Oh yeah, I'm going to go crack some wax. Cause they,

516
00:25:52.049 --> 00:25:54.170
it wasn't cool to do or a celebrity like, Oh,

517
00:25:54.210 --> 00:25:56.190
you collect baseball cards. What are you 10 years old?

518
00:25:56.529 --> 00:25:59.009
But now it's the thing to do, you know? And

519
00:25:59.029 --> 00:26:02.069
I think, yeah, yeah. And it is nuts, man, because

520
00:26:02.269 --> 00:26:04.490
I could, I still look back. I, The thing is

521
00:26:04.529 --> 00:26:06.589
I've known celebrities that have collected, but they've all done

522
00:26:06.609 --> 00:26:08.430
it on the down low. It's not like they're going to,

523
00:26:08.569 --> 00:26:10.309
you know, they're, they're going to tell somebody on a

524
00:26:10.349 --> 00:26:13.849
movie set. He's like, Oh yeah, I'm collecting autographs. What?

525
00:26:14.269 --> 00:26:16.269
You know, who was one of the biggest celebrity autograph

526
00:26:16.309 --> 00:26:20.509
collectors of all time was Johnny. And you know, Johnny

527
00:26:20.529 --> 00:26:23.369
would go to card shows. Johnny would go, you know,

528
00:26:23.390 --> 00:26:25.769
he used to go to shows in New York, California,

529
00:26:26.109 --> 00:26:28.170
but I went to Johnny's house in 2001 with some

530
00:26:28.210 --> 00:26:33.150
people and I, sitting on a table and Johnny's passed

531
00:26:33.230 --> 00:26:35.190
now a long time ago, but it's like a stack

532
00:26:35.230 --> 00:26:37.430
of envelopes like this. And I'm like, what are those?

533
00:26:37.839 --> 00:26:39.039
He's like, oh, it's the stuff I sent out in

534
00:26:39.059 --> 00:26:41.220
the mail. Cause he would write the guy's console to

535
00:26:41.240 --> 00:26:43.559
get autographs. You know, he, you know, meanwhile, we're up

536
00:26:43.599 --> 00:26:45.920
in the Hollywood Hills. He has like an $ 8 million

537
00:26:45.960 --> 00:26:49.279
house and he's writing to like Larry, Larry Yount. Cause

538
00:26:49.299 --> 00:26:51.599
he played him one game, Robin Yount's brother. That's the

539
00:26:51.619 --> 00:26:53.599
type of thing he was doing. So he, he was

540
00:26:53.640 --> 00:26:56.970
a completist. He wanted a photo signed of, of every

541
00:26:57.019 --> 00:27:00.140
player who ever played baseball, even one game. So he

542
00:27:00.160 --> 00:27:02.140
had gone to great lengths to do that. And he

543
00:27:02.160 --> 00:27:04.660
had collected for years, but then once he found out

544
00:27:04.700 --> 00:27:06.980
he was basically, you know, he's going to die of cancer,

545
00:27:07.039 --> 00:27:09.000
he ended up selling it all and get rid of it. So,

546
00:27:09.440 --> 00:27:13.329
but people wouldn't know that stuff because, you know, Oh,

547
00:27:13.730 --> 00:27:15.210
he didn't really talk about it a lot. It's not

548
00:27:15.230 --> 00:27:17.390
like he was talking with his bandmates about going to

549
00:27:17.410 --> 00:27:20.490
get autographs or going to a show. Cause he needed money, Irvin,

550
00:27:20.509 --> 00:27:22.950
you know, I mean, it was for him, he just

551
00:27:22.990 --> 00:27:24.970
kind of kept it on the down low and, but

552
00:27:25.029 --> 00:27:26.910
now it's cool to do it. It's very strange.

553
00:27:27.230 --> 00:27:27.470
Yeah.

554
00:27:27.890 --> 00:27:32.039
They've done a 180. And that's crazy. Right here, he's

555
00:27:32.099 --> 00:27:36.599
a celebrity himself. And he's, like you said, he's doing

556
00:27:36.740 --> 00:27:38.440
the TTM, right? Through the mail.

557
00:27:38.500 --> 00:27:39.440
He's writing through the mail.

558
00:27:39.460 --> 00:27:41.599
I mean, I'm like, I'm scratching my head. I'm like,

559
00:27:41.640 --> 00:27:45.059
wait a minute. Your biggest punk rock band of all time.

560
00:27:45.099 --> 00:27:48.180
One of the most influential punk rock bands ever. Period.

561
00:27:48.299 --> 00:27:51.420
You can't debate it. It is factual. And you're writing

562
00:27:51.799 --> 00:27:56.369
to a guy who played one game. I'm, okay. Yeah. Cool.

563
00:27:56.529 --> 00:27:57.109
Mind blown.

564
00:27:57.509 --> 00:27:57.730
Yeah.

565
00:27:58.109 --> 00:28:00.549
So you you're not you don't think that number is

566
00:28:00.609 --> 00:28:04.299
far off. You think it's fairly even and maybe worse

567
00:28:04.359 --> 00:28:07.339
today with like I just think the technology right has

568
00:28:07.400 --> 00:28:09.700
gotten better with time as well.

569
00:28:10.140 --> 00:28:12.680
Well, what they're you know, the thing the thing. OK,

570
00:28:12.700 --> 00:28:15.180
so you mentioned auto pen writer. OK, but what they're doing, too,

571
00:28:15.269 --> 00:28:18.750
is like I see it like crazy. The fake search

572
00:28:18.930 --> 00:28:23.220
that are getting knocked off of Beckett. PSA, JSA, Fanatics, Steiner.

573
00:28:24.440 --> 00:28:26.640
You can keep going on TriStar. They've all gotten hit.

574
00:28:27.059 --> 00:28:30.519
But the Beckett ones, I've seen on a lot of photos.

575
00:28:30.720 --> 00:28:34.609
And then the PSA ones, what they do is that,

576
00:28:34.650 --> 00:28:37.470
just to give an example. So back in 2002, I

577
00:28:37.509 --> 00:28:39.369
was out in New Jersey. I got asked to go

578
00:28:39.390 --> 00:28:42.029
out there when I was with PSA. They have 15,000

579
00:28:42.029 --> 00:28:45.009
Kobe Bryant autographs to certify. This company did. So what

580
00:28:45.029 --> 00:28:46.990
they had done is bought all those in the scoreboard

581
00:28:47.029 --> 00:28:50.029
bankruptcy sale. And they had to get them all certified.

582
00:28:50.089 --> 00:28:52.289
So we went out there as a first time, actually

583
00:28:52.329 --> 00:28:55.059
at PSA, we ever did a small cert card and

584
00:28:55.079 --> 00:28:58.400
a sticker that matched. That was the first time. And

585
00:28:59.039 --> 00:29:01.480
we did the Kobe's, but there was no photos of him.

586
00:29:01.700 --> 00:29:03.940
So the website didn't have backup, you know, just said

587
00:29:03.960 --> 00:29:07.019
Kobe Bryant signed jersey. So now what they do is

588
00:29:07.059 --> 00:29:09.240
they go in there, they find those numbers or they

589
00:29:09.269 --> 00:29:10.910
just know them because they could find them on eBay,

590
00:29:10.970 --> 00:29:13.779
real ones. And then they reproduce the number. the sticker,

591
00:29:14.019 --> 00:29:16.319
they fake the autograph and put it out there. And

592
00:29:16.480 --> 00:29:19.319
I've tried my best to educate people about that stuff nonstop.

593
00:29:19.359 --> 00:29:21.680
Like I have, you know, my YouTube channel, I've got

594
00:29:22.119 --> 00:29:23.869
a whole video, a whole video I did about the

595
00:29:23.900 --> 00:29:27.329
whole thing because I'm quite truthfully mortified by it, you know,

596
00:29:27.589 --> 00:29:29.430
and I want people to know what to look for.

597
00:29:29.509 --> 00:29:31.589
Here's what you look for with Kobe Bryant. Look for

598
00:29:31.630 --> 00:29:33.789
this on these jerseys. If you're getting this, it's no good.

599
00:29:33.970 --> 00:29:34.809
So be very careful.

600
00:29:35.210 --> 00:29:35.450
Yeah.

601
00:29:35.589 --> 00:29:35.710
Yeah.

602
00:29:35.750 --> 00:29:37.869
That's one thing I love about you too, Steve. I'm

603
00:29:37.890 --> 00:29:39.769
not just saying this because I'm talking to you. I'm

604
00:29:39.789 --> 00:29:41.359
saying it because it's how I really feel.

605
00:29:41.420 --> 00:29:44.480
It's accurate. It's like you said, the education, right?

606
00:29:44.920 --> 00:29:48.039
Like this is your business, but you also want people to,

607
00:29:48.440 --> 00:29:51.799
you're teaching them and you're hoping they learn so that

608
00:29:51.839 --> 00:29:56.269
they don't get burned or go down a pratfall that

609
00:29:56.549 --> 00:29:59.109
can cost them money and then they don't actually have

610
00:29:59.569 --> 00:30:01.190
what they think they have.

611
00:30:01.630 --> 00:30:02.930
It's bad for the business.

612
00:30:02.630 --> 00:30:03.269
Anyway, isn't it?

613
00:30:03.380 --> 00:30:04.059
I mean, it's bad.

614
00:30:04.319 --> 00:30:06.440
I mean, listen, we don't want to scare people away, right?

615
00:30:06.859 --> 00:30:08.769
We want people to come in and spend money and

616
00:30:09.049 --> 00:30:12.210
enjoy it and collect and, not be scared away by

617
00:30:12.269 --> 00:30:15.210
buying bad autographs or getting burned on Kobe or Jordan.

618
00:30:15.549 --> 00:30:17.450
You know, we don't want that. So let's try and

619
00:30:17.509 --> 00:30:19.750
educate them as much as possible and get the good

620
00:30:19.849 --> 00:30:22.450
info out there so they can actually see it for themselves.

621
00:30:22.490 --> 00:30:24.400
I mean, Kobe's a great example of that. You know,

622
00:30:25.299 --> 00:30:27.599
those are a great example. The Jordan stuff, the fake

623
00:30:27.640 --> 00:30:30.539
Beckett certs, the fake PSA certs, the fake JSA certs

624
00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:32.960
that are out there. You know, I feel like I've

625
00:30:33.000 --> 00:30:36.180
been in the epicenter of all these big things that

626
00:30:36.200 --> 00:30:38.170
have happened. You know, the forgery guys, the guys who

627
00:30:38.190 --> 00:30:41.500
have been busted, I just recently filmed for a documentary

628
00:30:41.559 --> 00:30:46.089
about Cliff, Cliff Panovich, who is in Ohio operation stolen base.

629
00:30:46.470 --> 00:30:49.089
And I sat down with the crew this past week

630
00:30:49.369 --> 00:30:52.829
in Las Vegas or just recently, basically. And we just

631
00:30:52.890 --> 00:30:55.079
talked about it for seem like forever, but they're putting

632
00:30:55.099 --> 00:30:58.400
them together a documentary about him. And he, he is

633
00:30:58.519 --> 00:31:01.339
so cocky and arrogant. He said that he knows that

634
00:31:01.380 --> 00:31:03.839
he could come back and do it again. And no

635
00:31:03.900 --> 00:31:05.849
one would even know. And I'm like, Here's the thing

636
00:31:05.910 --> 00:31:08.490
people would know. His forgeries were really bad anyway. They

637
00:31:08.529 --> 00:31:11.789
were hideous. But at the same time, you can't flood

638
00:31:11.809 --> 00:31:15.019
the marketplace with that volume of bad stuff without it

639
00:31:15.059 --> 00:31:18.119
getting picked off by people on eBay or people calling

640
00:31:18.160 --> 00:31:20.359
it out on Facebook. He would get called out and

641
00:31:20.380 --> 00:31:22.420
it would be over with. So, you know, I mean,

642
00:31:22.519 --> 00:31:24.769
it's been enjoyable, though, to educate. I keep doing it.

643
00:31:24.900 --> 00:31:27.319
I do videos all the time about, you know, whether

644
00:31:27.339 --> 00:31:30.400
it's Roberto Clemente or Muhammad Ali or James Hetfield or

645
00:31:30.440 --> 00:31:33.809
Harrison Ford or Heath Ledger. I want to educate people

646
00:31:34.009 --> 00:31:36.329
on what to look for. And what to stay away from.

647
00:31:36.470 --> 00:31:38.430
And that's what I've been trying to do for a

648
00:31:38.450 --> 00:31:40.930
long time. Now I have more of a voice to

649
00:31:40.970 --> 00:31:43.839
do it. Before I worked for PSA and Beckett, they

650
00:31:43.859 --> 00:31:45.759
wanted to control more of that stuff. But now I

651
00:31:46.019 --> 00:31:47.240
can get out there and do it on my own.

652
00:31:47.259 --> 00:31:49.259
And I'm enjoying it. It's good to educate.

653
00:31:49.799 --> 00:31:53.740
And you're the CEO. I'm sure your wife's on the

654
00:31:53.759 --> 00:31:54.609
board of directors.

655
00:31:54.660 --> 00:31:58.170
No, she's the CEO. My wife is the CEO. I

656
00:31:58.190 --> 00:32:02.269
take a back seat. There's only two of us. That's it.

657
00:32:02.329 --> 00:32:05.009
Grad Collection has two people. That's it. Just my wife

658
00:32:05.069 --> 00:32:05.289
and myself.

659
00:32:05.349 --> 00:32:08.049
As long as they're both on the same page, you

660
00:32:08.089 --> 00:32:10.430
kind of do what you really want to do and

661
00:32:10.450 --> 00:32:11.930
what you're passionate about.

662
00:32:12.009 --> 00:32:14.470
For sure. That was Steve Grad.

663
00:32:14.509 --> 00:32:16.940
Happy to have him on for, like I said in

664
00:32:16.980 --> 00:32:20.480
the intro, for the first time. He will be back

665
00:32:20.519 --> 00:32:24.859
for part two next Friday as well. So part one

666
00:32:24.900 --> 00:32:28.640
and part two. And, you know, I always appreciate guests

667
00:32:28.680 --> 00:32:31.839
when they say like, hey, You know, you can ask

668
00:32:31.880 --> 00:32:36.000
me anything you want. Steve's one of those type of guys.

669
00:32:36.039 --> 00:32:40.619
So we really appreciate his time and making some time

670
00:32:40.660 --> 00:32:44.809
for us here. Check back in next week for the

671
00:32:44.849 --> 00:32:49.490
conclusion of our great conversation, if I may be so bold.

672
00:32:50.009 --> 00:32:50.309
All right.

673
00:32:50.390 --> 00:32:53.230
Some closing thoughts and notes. And we're going to wrap

674
00:32:53.349 --> 00:32:55.049
up this week's episode.

675
00:32:56.289 --> 00:33:00.109
Time for our hobby is the people. Announcer of the week.

676
00:33:03.549 --> 00:33:05.589
Hey, this is Herman from Personal Rips and Hobby Chat

677
00:33:05.730 --> 00:33:09.660
on YouTube and Twitter at 3BCollection, reminding you to always remember,

678
00:33:10.240 --> 00:33:11.519
the hobby is the people.

679
00:33:12.299 --> 00:33:14.500
If you'd like to be the Hobby is the People

680
00:33:14.539 --> 00:33:18.039
announcer of the week, do a WAV or MP3 file

681
00:33:18.259 --> 00:33:22.599
and send it to sportscardnationpc at gmail.com.