Whether it comes from a love of sports or other hobbies, a chance to preserve a bit of childhood, or even just an obscure financial investment, sports card and memorabilia shows have often been staples across the country.
But enthusiasm for sports cards ebbed in the 1990s when manufacturers printed millions of copies to meet a demand that never fully materialized, and the market eventually crashed.
Brandon Weide remembers it well. He was a youth in Yates Center, and an avid collector.
His father sold baseball cards, as did his grandfather and other relatives.
Weide even set up a table to sell cards at Yates Center’s Light Hardware during Yates Center Days festivals.
But prices plummetted, Weide found other hobbies, and sports memorabilia faded from the limelight.
“We call it the ‘junk era,’” Weide told the Register.
Fast forward about 25 years, and of all things, the COVID-19 pandemic gave sports card collecting a jolt.
“People needed something to do, and they couldn’t go anywhere,” Weide recalled.
Forgotten collections were pulled out of their dusty closets and brought back into the public sphere.
“The card market went boom, and it’s pretty much stayed the status quo since then,” Weide noted.
THE RENEWED passion has prompted Weide to host a sports card and memorabilia show Saturday at the Iola National Guard Armory, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
At least 15 vendors will have 35 tables set up, hawking everything from baseball, football and soccer players to other popular collections, such as Pokemon or Yu-gi-oh! cards, as well as other memorabilia.
Vendors will come from across the state, even Missouri and Oklahoma.
“I hope it’s a good deal,” said Weide, who attended a card show in Chanute recently, and visited with several vendors there about coming to Iola.
In fact, Weide’s biggest concern is space.
