My Pleasant Encounter with Rob Gough
I was standing in front of veteran card dealer Levi Bleam’s booth at the recently-held National Sports Collectors Convention (NSCC) in Chicago. I just wanted to say hello and thank him for his help over many years.
He said hello to me but then pointed his finger at a guy walking up to his booth and with a big smile on his face said, “You have my Mantle! You have my Mantle!”
I didn’t know what was happening until I turned to my left and immediately recognized who he was pointing at. It was Rob Gough, CEO of streetwear brand Dope, which he bought four years ago and then sold last year to Swedish company Ridestore AB. And yes, he was wearing that black hat. Last January, Gough purchased a Topps 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card, graded PSA 9, for a record $5.2 million.
The next day I asked Bleam why he said what he said to Gough. He told me that he had owned this card a number of years ago and had decided to sell it. It then had a couple of other owners (including former NFL player Evan Mathis) before it was sold in 2018 for $2.88 million and ended up in PWCC’s vault in Portland, Ore.
Anyway, I shook Gough’s hand and congratulated him on his purchase. I found him to be friendly and down to earth; nothing standoffish. I stood back and next to a friend that was with him as Bleam talked to him and took his picture with him. Gough then talked to Bleam’s wife for a few minutes before he turned back to me and began asking me questions about my baseball card collecting experiences. I was a bit surprised that he was taking any interest in my story, which centered around my current phase of slowly auctioning off my collection. I told him and his friend how I went about prepping my sets for auction and my experiences with different auction houses. I also informed him that I had my most satisfying dealings with REA. When his friend asked which auction house I didn’t endorse I quickly responded PWCC. However, I made it clear it was not because of poor customer service or poor auction results, but all about the scandal PWCC finds itself in right now. It is believed the company worked with alleged card doctor Gary Moser to boost the value of vintage, PSA-graded cards.
I didn’t know it at the time I was talking to Gough and his friend but (again the next day) I learned that friend was real estate mogul Kurt Rappaport. He’s co-founder and CEO of Westside Estate Agency in Los Angeles. He has represented Larry Ellison, Ellen DeGeneres, Seam Combs, David Geffen, and Tom Ford, among others. Why would he be at the National? It turns out that in December 2020 he purchased through Heritage Auctions a 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner tobacco baseball card for $3.7 million. It’s graded a PSA 3.
While he’s not as addicted to baseball card collecting as Gough, he’s a huge baseball fan who in the recent past has expressed an interest in buying an MLB team.
Let’s be honest. Both men could have easily blown me off with a “We’ve got to go” or a “We’ve got an appointment.” But they conversed with me for about 10 minutes and took a sincere interest in what I had to share with them.
These aren’t the only people I bumped into at this most recent National. While walking out of a men’s room I saw and said hello to James Beckett, author, editor and the founder of Beckett Baseball Card Monthly. He’s an icon for any veteran baseball card collector because of his key role in establishing an authoritative price guide. I thanked him for his contributions to the hobby and his integrity. I mentioned that I enjoyed his podcasts and he told me conducting them gave him a lot of pleasure.
And what about the National as a whole? It hadn’t been held in two years so I wasn’t surprised to find packed aisles. At times if I didn’t stop walking I would have bumped into the guy walking in front of me. Of course, it was great to see and chat with many of the dealers I had bought cards from over the years.
I always enjoy stopping by Heritage Auctions’ corporate booth because it contains some amazing baseball artifacts that you would expect to find only at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. And the auction house didn’t disappoint this time with displays featuring Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig signed baseballs, a Ruth bat, and a 1932 Ruth signed contract. In addition, dozens of vintage baseball cards (the Turkey Reds were beautiful) could be seen behind glass cases.
On Friday afternoon I sat down for a couple of hours and watched a taping of the GR8 American Collectibles Radio Show. Highlights included listening to a few auction house executives discuss the state of the hobby, PSA President Steve Sloan reviewing how the grading company is handling its current card grading backlog, and winning a free t-shirt for answering a trivia question correctly. Finally, Steve Lane, a New Orleans attorney, talked about his extensive Mickey Mantle collection and revealed a Mantle contract he just purchased at the show.
Did I buy any baseball cards for my collection while at the National? No, my collecting days are over. In fact, last year I cleaned out my closet and instead sold extra Topps cards I found from 1965, 1967 and 1968.
Two full days at the National were enough for me. I made certain I paced myself by taking small breaks. But even so, walking on uncarpeted floors takes its toll on the legs when you’re in your 60s. Will I attend next year’s NSCC in Atlantic City? No. But when it comes back to Chicago in 2023, I assure you I’ll be there, walking the aisles and taking in all the amazing sights.