The National Sports Collectors Convention (https://nsccshow.com) is an annual summer gathering of collectors/dealers who have a passion for trading cards, autographs, and any other kind of memorabilia that you can think of. First formed in 1980, it is now the premier collectibles industry event that attracts a majority of the licensing agencies from around the professional sports world. The 42nd “National” will be held during the final week of July at the Atlantic City Convention Center, and next summer it will head back to the Midwest in Chicago. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel is unable to attend this year’s event in person so instead he will be interviewing as many of the dealers who will be there as possible. We commence our coverage with Jon English and his magnificent college basketball merchandise.
1. Vintage basketball display case: this is the 8’ X 5’ showcase that Jon uses in his shop and everything that you see is for sale, most people have never seen laced-up basketballs before since they have not been used since the 1950s, you can also see some Converse tennis shoes and Spalding trophies, most of the basketballs are priced at $300-500 (and you can double the price if they are still in their original boxes)
2. Original 1949-50 Holy Cross basketball schedule featuring Bob Cousy: the Crusaders went 27-4 in Cousy’s final college season, he scored a career-high 19.4 PPG and was a consensus 1st-team All-American just 3 years after winning the 1947 NCAA title as a freshman, the schedule is in the shape of a basketball, on the front are photos of the entire team including the captain (Cousy) at the top, on the back is some heavy paper with that season’s schedule (half with the scores included, half with the scores not included, and a few scores printed in ink), it is priced around $300
3. Production booklet from the city of Los Angeles to the NCAA as part of a pitch to host the NCAA tourney around 1966 at the LA Memorial Sports Arena: the pitch did not work out for the Arena, although the NCAA tourney did make its 1st-ever appearance in Los Angeles in 1966 when Pauley Pavilion hosted the West regional rounds, these file copies were discovered when the NCAA moved its headquarters from its longtime home in Kansas City to Indianapolis in 1999, this item has not been priced yet but if you are a fan of LA history from the mid-1960s then you will find this fascinating
4. 200+ black and white NCAA tourney photos: these photos were taken during the late-1960s/early 1970s and include tons of famous names such as Lew Alcindor/Bill Walton/Larry Finch/Fly Williams/etc., there also plenty of other great UCLA players like 1975 All-American Dave Meyers, prices range from $10 for the non-stars to $200 for Hall of Famers like Alcindor/Walton, the photographer stamp on the back of each makes these 1-of-a-kind-items
5. Press kit from the 1973 Final 4 (UCLA/Memphis/Indiana/Providence): this Final 4 produced the legendary UCLA-Memphis title game where Hall of Famer Bill Walton set a record that still stands with 44 PTS/21-22 FG, 1973 also marked the 1st NCAA tourney appearance for Bob Knight as coach at Indiana, the media covering the games were given these press kits consisting of game stats and mimeographed sheets of blue ink, for college basketball historians the John Wooden era remains 1 of the best ever, Wooden finished this season 30-0 and stretched his winning streak to 75 in a row
6. 1913 Randolph Macon basketball pennant: the team went 8-5 in just its 3rd year of existence, it is very difficult to find basketball pennants that are dated…from a small school…in the early 20th century, so if this is not a 1-of-a-kind item it is still extremely rare, there is no price listed but if you want to buy it let’s just say, “It would have to be a really good offer!”
For those who want to visit Jon’s shop, it is located in Shelbyville, TN.
For those who cannot make it in person, his website is: https://vintagesportsantiques.com