Tristar collectors show: Days 2&3

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The first day of the Tristar show consists mostly of dealers setting up their tables and everyone attending giving the place a once over.  The next two days are when the magic tends to happen.  Saturday was a full schedule and included two names part of the Heavy Weight VIP package that was for sale; Buster Douglas and Mike Tyson.  Other notable athletes were Dennis Rodman and MLB Hall of Famer, Barry Larkin.

The sentiment that was given from those who were in line for Mike Tyson was that he was more than gracious and was willing to take photos and have a quick chat with anyone who asked.  It’s definitely refreshing when a big-name athlete goes the extra mile, especially when collectors aren’t always as friendly back.  Dennis Rodman arrived in a t-shirt, but still had his (trademark?) boa around his neck.  I think people would’ve been disappointed if he arrived in anything less.

Day two was a short day because of the Astros fanfest, but was still able to see a lot of good items been bought and sold on the show floor.

Day three was to be the big baseball day.  Already mentioned was the fact Jim Palmer cancelled to be with the family of recently passed Earl Weaver, so no one was scoffing at that fact.  The big names to be featured on Sunday were, HOF’er Ernie Banks, Fergie Jenkins, and so close Craig Biggio.  Also included were four of the top prospects in the Astros organization; George Springer, Jonathan Singleton, Delino DeSheilds Jr., and Carlos Correa.

Just as a side note- if you can afford the VIP pass and you’re getting a lot of signatures then do it.  It definitely saves a lot of time especially on a day like today where there were a lot of good people to get.  Also, keep in mind on Sunday everyone is ready to leave (or leave way early) and a lot of dealers don’t want to take more than they’d like to home with them, so it’s a great opportunity to bargain a little harder and get that great item.

All of the Astros players were great including Craig Biggio.  A great moment occured when Ernie Banks, who was signing in table next to him, came up and had a lengthy conversations with Biggio.  One Hall of Famer and a future HOF’er talking to each other and catching up on each other’s lives.  Two legends together being friendly.  It’s easy to forget that some players just want to show up and do their job on the field.  They forget what other responsibilities they have as humans, to each other.

The interesting part of the autograph line was Jose Canseco and his personality.  If you follow him on Twitter you know he’s quite entertaining.  That didn’t go away in person.  I’m quite delighted that he was a little silly- it made up for the fact that Fergie Jenkins seemed to be completely uninterested in being there.  Everyone has a bad day, so it’s no big deal.

One final note about the Tristar show- The VIP passes needed to be a little more secure.  There is no hologram or watermark or anything that would prevent someone with a little time from going to Kinko’s and printing up another one.  Oh well.

Thanks for reading the recap and please let us know if you have any questions are want to share your experience from the show.