Collectors Seek Future in the Cards

Eleven-year-old David Nadler plunked down $32 Saturday to get an autograph of baseball star Rickey Henderson.

If that sounds like a lot of money to pay for the signature of a man with a flattop haircut out of “Dick Tracy” who makes his living by stealing, the Simi Valley boy had no doubts about his investment at a baseball-card show at the Hyatt Westlake Plaza in Westlake Village.

“I already have Mike Scioscia,” David said, referring to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ catcher. But sorry, Mike--when asked to identify his favorite player, David didn’t hesitate: “Rickey Henderson.”

Once a modest hobby indulged in by youngsters who often pinned the cards to the spokes of their bicycles, baseball-card collecting has become big business in the ‘80s. Despite the stiff price being charged by the Oakland A’s base-stealing star, hundreds of youngsters and adults lined up for autographs Saturday.

There was talk a few months ago that the sputtering national economy was going to turn the baseball-card boom into a bust. Dealers said Saturday that interest did flatten out a few months back. But judging by the crowd--estimated at 2,500--that elbowed its way into a ballroom at the hotel for the first day of a two-day event, sports memorabilia is again as hot as a September pennant race.

“It’s just exploded. At times, it looks like it’s out of control,” said dealer Matt Biros, 35, of West Los Angeles. He started as a collector himself, but then his collection grew too large. He started a business called Collectors Choice and began renting table space at card shows, including a huge show in Anaheim on July 4, which he said drew 70,000 people.

Saturday’s event, sponsored by a company called No. 1 Baseball Card Shows, featured dozens of tables containing glass cases. Inside the cases were the treasures, including old standbys such as the cards of Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle, Henry Aaron and Willie Mays. There were also the hot cards of the moment, such as Cal Ripken Jr., whose 1982 rookie of the year card--when it could be found--was selling for $90.

Ripken is considered a good investment because he is trying to break Lou Gehrig’s record of playing in 2,130 consecutive games.

Biros said record-setters keep the hobby hot. This season, for instance, Nolan Ryan pitched a record seventh no-hitter and Henderson broke Lou Brock’s record for most stolen bases in a career.

Henderson’s feat is one reason hundreds lined up outside the hotel under the hot August sun to buy tickets enabling them to stand in another line for the autographs. Casually dressed in an open-throated sports shirt, Henderson sat patiently behind a table guarded by security people and signed his name with a thick pen. He usually offered a handshake to the signees, but some were too overwhelmed to accept it.

The arrangements surrounding the appearances of stars such as Henderson at card shows can be as detailed as those enforced during a visit by a head of state. Doug Cornett, 41, of Lexington, Ky., who helped promote the show, said organizers drove to Anaheim on Friday night to pick up Henderson, where he had just appeared with the A’s in a game against the California Angels.

The player was driven to the Westlake Village hotel, where he registered under a false name and stayed up until 3 a.m. signing autographs for mail-order customers.

Also staying in the hotel, but under his true name, was 6-year-old Chris Isham, one of Henderson’s smallest fans, in terms of size, and one of the biggest, in terms of ardor.

“We’ve had the reservation since May,” a relative said. The Ishams live in Simi Valley, only a few miles from the hotel, but Chris didn’t want to take a chance on missing his idol.

After getting the treasured autograph he still could not explain his obsession with the player. “It’s just that I like him.”

Some attendees complained that a mercenary element has taken the fun out of collecting. And it was true that more than a few of the preteens weaving their way through the stacks of cards sounded like Wall Street traders. Several boys huddled around a flyer advertising an upcoming card show at the fairgrounds in Ventura. Rookie sensation Frank Thomas of the Chicago White Sox would be there.

“I want to get Frank Thomas’ autograph,” one boy said excitedly, “because that will be a good investment.”

There were as many adults in the crowd as children. Some were collectors, others were chaperoning their children, and still others filed past the colorful pieces of cardboard and dreamed of what might have been.

“When I was a kid, I was a big collector,” said Dave Gottschalt, 44, of Moorpark. “My mother threw everything away when I was in the service.”

He estimates that today his collection would be worth $300,000. Now he is trying to slowly build his collection back up to turn over to his 6-year-old son, David, who hovered nearby.

Some adults, however, seemed worn out after receiving one too many elbows in the groin from a youngster going after a Ramon Martinez or Dave Justice card.

Several people lay prone on couches in the lobby. Eleven-year-old Casey Clark’s mother avoided the throng altogether, preferring to sit in her car and read until her son exhausted his $25 stake.

“My mom says she can’t understand why a piece of paper is worth money,” added Ryan Filowicz, 12, who, along with his friend Casey, is from Ventura.

Ryan and Casey, and a third friend, Spencer Noren, 11, smiled condescendingly at the depth of parental ignorance.

“Baseball cards are better than clothes,” Ryan said.