Sports Card Shows are BACK

By: Daniel Beals, WPTA 21

ALLEN COUNTY, Ind. (WPTA21) – Activity is buzzing once again, at the Allen County Fairgrounds.

Saturday, the first sports card show of 2021 was held.

Organizer Greg Mayne, of MCS Cards, said meetings in January and February were canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.

This month, there were 65 tables and dealers, but Mayne expects that to double in size in April, as the show will be open to two buildings on the fairgrounds instead of one.

“It’s brought all the families back out to doing stuff together since they were at home for the last year,” he said, “you’ll see a lot of father and sons – my daughter actually helps me promote the show and run the show as well.”

Signage shared the show’s focus on baseball cards, but memorabilia of football, basketball and hockey were also welcomed.

Customers browsed massive collections spanning decades of sports, even trying to sell some of their cards, to other sellers.

J.D. Heckathorn, of Card Kingdom, traveled from Rochester with his son and wife.

“There’s big money in cards now, and it can be as some people look at it as a commodity, but it is still fun. You can look at people who go golfing on weekends and spend their money that way. These people are just spending all their money to be a child again and buy baseball cards,” Heckathorn told us, “I’ve been a collector since I was a kid. My needs and wants get kind of expensive. My wife doesn’t like me spending that kind of money this helps support my habit.”

Remaining sports card shows at the fairgrounds will take place between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Scheduled dates are April 17, May 15, June 19, July 10, August 14, September 11, October 9, November 13, and December 11.

Daniel Beals

Daniel Beals is the producer of the ABC21 feature franchise “21Country”. He is constantly on the lookout for ideas that capture the “people, places, things, and history” that makes Northeast Indiana unique. Feel free to reach out: dbeals@wpta21.com.