As I mentioned here yesterday, Beanie Wells was having a signing at the Beverly Hills Card Shop last night, and I was fortunate enough to be there. First off, the event was very well done, with pizza and prizes there for those in attendance, and of course, free autographs.
I brought a football with the understanding that they would have photos like last year, mainly because I couldn’t find mini helmets for sale anywhere near where I work. I got to the shop and was welcomed by Matt and Zack, the owners of the shop and we chatted for a while while we waited for Beanie to show up. While we waited, they gave each attendee a bag of stuff that was put together by the shop, something I thought was great. As I looked through the bag, I found an unexpected surprise, a pack of the yet to be released Bowman Draft picks. I was excited to see the cards, and from the looks of it, so was everyone else. As people started opening, you could hear the audible oohs and ahhs coming from the kids in the room. I managed to pull Beanie’s card out of my pack, so I decided to get it signed along with the Football.
One child there, Matthew, was the luckiest of the night, as he pulled a Mark Sanchez manupatch auto /25, something he could sell for quite a bit if posted now. He was nice enough to pose for a picture, thanks to him and his mom for letting us get a shot of the card.
Bowman Draft was nice, as most low end Topps products are, which was cool to see in action. Within minutes, Beanie showed up, and I managed to be near the front of the line for my autograph. One of the guys I met at the show traded a picture of me for a picture of him, and I want to thank him here personally. He had stumbled upon SCU during Razor gate, and was my go to guy during the signing. Thanks Jake, you are awesome.
Beanie looked like a mini sherman tank, making me think that if that was coming at me full speed, I may need to change my pants. He signed a few things for everyone and posed for pictures, a very, very nice guy. I don’t think he could have done a better job, and I am looking forward to his stuff this year, as well as his first season with the Cardinals. He may be a new target of mine after meeting him yesterday, definitely exceeding my expectations.
I also had a chance to talk with Matt and Zack, Matt who has owned the shop since 1983, my interview with him will be posted later. Also, just in case you were wondering, Beanie did collect cards as a kid, though he does not collect now – too busy. He was pretty interested to see his first Bowman card as I put it in front of him and explained, said it was a good pic of him mid-juke (my term, not his).
With that I want to thank the Beverly Hills Card Shop for their amazing event, it could not have been more fun. The shop is amazing, please go check it out on Robertson near Pico in LA. If you are a vintage collector, this is your temple. They have more amazing pieces than I have ever seen in person, maybe you will find something you like, I encourage you to go if you can.
Lastly, as part of another giveaway, I got a few more packs of Bowman, and managed to pull some nice cards including a Matthew Stafford Orange Parallel, which is now swimming in the eBay along with the other nicer cards. Here are the links, don’t ask about the eBay name, it has outgrown itself.
Ill have more tonight!
