I Had a Blast at the 2025 National Sports Collectors Convention

I Met Great People & Got Some Great Cards, Too! 

About six weeks ago, I was disappointed to learn that my usual booth space at the National Sports Collectors Convention would no longer be available. With the show only weeks away, there was zero chance for me to get a booth for the 2025 convention. 

So, once I got over the initial disappointment, I decided that I would go to the National as a fan. I purchased a 5-Day VIP pass and updated my want list. 

And boy, did I have fun! 

This year, I had time to hang out with friends at the show, including Puck Junk Podcast co-hosts Tim Parish and Clemente Lisi, who have a knack for helping me find things I am looking for. I got to talk with many listeners of the podcast, as well as readers of the Puck Junk newsletter and blog. 

I also had tons of time to look around and find new treasures for my personal collection. This is pretty much impossible to do when I am tied (figuratively speaking) to a booth at the National. Instead, I got to roam freely around, get a few autographs, and buy some great hockey cards. 

Here are some of my best pickups from the 2025 National Sports Collectors Convention. 

Although he retired before I was even born, Gump Worsley is my favorite player from the Original Six Era. I’ve read his autobiography many times. So, when I saw Gumper’s 1953-54 Parkhurst rookie card at a price I could afford, I grabbed it. I am actively building the 1953-54 Parkhurst set and wanted a Worsley RC, so this card checks two boxes for me. I also purchased another 12 cards from that set and am down to needing 19 of the 100 cards, plus a few variants. 

I purchased 13 different 1970-71 Topps Sticker Stamps inserts. I thought I had completed my set, but I accidentally bought a second Jacques Lemaire by mistake, when I actually needed Jacques Laperriere. Still, I finally tracked down Gordie Howe and Bobby Orr, two of the touger stamps to find. 

The 1954-55 Parkhurst Doug Harvey card is in phenomenal condition. I’m not actively building the ’54-55 Parkies set, but I could not pass this card up. Harvey is one of the greatest NHL defensemen of all-time.

The 1955-56 Parkhurst Gerry McNeil card was more of an impulse buy for me. Ironically, McNeill did not play for the Canadiens that season, as he was relegated to the minors.

The 1959-60 Parkhurst Punch Imlach card is considered his “rookie card.” While he didn’t play in the NHL, Imlach did coach for 14 seasons with Toronto and Buffalo and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Frank Mahovlich was one of the biggest stars of the 1950s and 1960s and is also in the HHOF. He played 18 seasons in the NHL and another 4 in the WHA.

I added two more cards towards completing my 1960-61 Topps Hockey set and now have 35 out of 66 cards. 

I was hoping to find many of the 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Team Canada inserts – a.k.a., the “Floating Heads” cards. But the only one I easily found was the one of Stan Mikita. I still need many to finish this set, but collecting is a lifelong pursuit that takes years.

However, I did happen to stumble upon a complete set of 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Player Crests inserts. The cards were in great shape, and the price was too good to pass up. I didn’t have any of these, so finding the whole set at once and getting a deal on it was awesome. 

At first glance, I thought this was a 1961-62 Topps card, as the Black Hawks – then spelled as two words – won the Stanley Cup in 1961. But this is actually a card from the 1963-64 Topps Hockey set.

Topps probably used an outdated photo to save a few bucks on its production costs – but using a photo that implies the team won the championship the previous year seems egregious to me. And yeah, the red in the ‘Hawks sweaters appears to be desaturated on purpose, as every copy of the card I find online looks this way. 

I don’t own many cards from the 1966-67 Topps Hockey set – and may never own the Bobby Orr rookie card – but I got this card of Henri “The Pocket Rocket” Richard for a good price.

I got an 8″ x 10″ photo, a puck, and several cards autographed by Ben Eager, who was a member of the Chicago Blackhawks when they won the Stanley Cup in 2010.

I will admit that this was another impulse buy. A dealer had a bunch of signed photos, and I spotted this one of Dave Bolland scoring the game-winning goal in Game Six of the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals. This is when the Blackhawks made their famous 17-second comeback against the Bruins to win the Cup. This is THE moment that Bolland scored the game-winning – and series-clinching – goal.

When mascots attack! I met Chance, the mascot for the Vegas Golden Knights. Initially, Chance agreed to give me a fist bump for my photo op with him. However, the devious mascot has other intentions and tried to eat me! They don’t call them Gila Monsters for nothing!

Eventually, Chance decided that I didn’t taste so good, so he let me go and gave me an autographed 5″ x 7″ card to make up for it.

I got this great autograph of Johnny Bower – a.k.a. “The China Wall” – from my friends Diane and Paul from Ohio. They specialize in hockey cards and always have such cool hockey stuff at their booth.

My last purchase on the last day of the National were these three Diamond Matchbook covers from the mid-1930s. I tried to talk myself out of buying any of these, but they were in such excellent condition…and the price fit my budget.

Since I could not find any pre-World War 2 hockey cards that I really wanted, these matchbook covers were the next-best thing.

Plus, I don’t have any cards or collectibles of Lorne Chabot, Harold “Mush” March, or Mike Karakas, who were Black Hawks stars from the 1930s.

Of course, I got many other hockey cards, too, but these are the highlights from my five days at the National.

Regardless of whether I will be able to set up as a vendor, or if I will attend as a “fan,” I am already looking forward to the National in 2026. 

Did you go to the 2025 National? What did you get? I’d love to hear about your great finds at the show. 

Note: This article is an updated version of an editorial that originally appeared in Volume 3 – Issue 32 of the Puck Junk Newsletter. For stories like these, plus news and updates about hockey cards and collectibles, subscribe to the newsletter here.

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