Santa To Make Rare Appearance At Sports Collectibles Show

At this week’s National Sports Collectors Convention show in Rosemont, collectors will wait in line for the autograph of Hall-of-Fame outfielder Ricky Henderson, baseball’s all-time stolen-base leader known for sliding headfirst into third base and wrapping his arms around the bag.

They’ll wait, too, for the autograph of former Pittsburgh Steeler Jack Ham who played for four Super Bowl champions, was selected to eight Pro Bowls, and, as one of football’s all-time great outside linebackers, was no stranger to the quarterback sack.

Many of those same autograph seekers also will make their way over to former Chicago Bull Artis Gilmore. Nicknamed “The A-Train”, the 7-foot, 2-inch Hall-of-Fame center ranks fourth among pro basketball’s career leaders in blocks.

Many more former and current athletes are scheduled to attend the National Sports Collectors Convention from Aug. 3 to Aug. 7. But the most popular autograph at the show could be that of someone who isn’t a professional athlete but nonetheless knows a little something about wrapping, has his own collection of sacks, and has handed out toy trains that are as long as The A-Train. 

He is, of course, Santa Claus, and he’ll be making his first-ever appearance at the National Sports Collectors Convention, thanks to Huntley resident Doug Cataldo and others.

“For two hours on Kids Day, Santa is going to be signing autographs,” Cataldo said. “Kids Day is Sunday, Aug. 7, and he’s going to be at our booth (# 659) from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.”

Santa’s autograph is free as is general admission for children 12 and under. Single-day, general admission tickets for adults start at $18 each in advance, $20 at the door.

“I’m sure he will be a big hit for people attending the National,” wrote John Broggi in an email to The Huntley Patch. “We believe he is a very tough autograph. We’re told he doesn’t sign bats. We are very excited by Santa’s appearance. People are certainly going to do a double-take as he enters Doug’s booth. Ho! Ho! Ho!”

The plan to have Santa attend began by accident last year when Cataldo, Rob Bertrand, Russ Cohen and former major league player Dmitri Young, were broadcasting their weekly sports card and memorabilia internet radio show, The Cardboard Connection, from the National Sports Collectors Convention in Baltimore.

“We were giving away some of the top Santa Claus box sets and, I’m going to be honest with you, we were poking fun of it,” said Cataldo, noting the event can be found on You Tube. “People started coming up and telling us, ‘No, no, no. Santa Claus has a big market. People are paying big bucks.’ So we had to go back and do our homework. And we knew the cards were selling, just not to that dedication.”

However, it was while discussing Santa trading cards that, Cataldo says, the question of ‘How come the Easter Bunny doesn’t have cards?’ was raised.

“Russ is Jewish so of course his question was, ‘Where are the Hanukah Harry cards?’ ” Cataldo said.

Cataldo, who works in the IT and public relations department at the Huntley Public Library, says one idea then led to another and before long their campaign to bring Santa to the National Sports Collectors Convention was on.

“We decided we were going to put in a call to the North Pole and see if we can get this guy to come down here and sign some cards,” he said.

That Santa is making his first appearance at the National Sports Collectors Convention is somewhat of a surprise given the popularity of his trading cards.

“Topps, Panini, Upper Deck, Press Pass, nearly every manufacturer of trading cards has made a Santa card of some sort over the years,” said Cataldo, who also writes for the website The Cardboard Connection.com. “Topps, last year, actually produced a set that in addition to (an autographed card), had a piece of his Christmas-worn outfit, which is attune to what they do with the players with event-worn jerseys or game-worn jerseys.”

Topps also issued Santa trading cards that incorporate the same design and look of some of its most-recognizable cards such as Mickey Mantle’s 1952 rookie card. But it’s just not the ’52 card that is popular with collectors. A quick check on the Internet of sports collectibles sites showed a wide variety of Santa trading cards on the market. Prices for graded cards ranged from $10 to $20 per card; complete Santa sets ranged from $5 to $30.

Of course the packaging of Santa trading cards only begs the question: Is that really a piece of Santa’s red coat and, more importantly, just who’s signing those “autographed” cards?

“Santa,” Cataldo said. “You can ask until you’re blue in the face and the answer you’re going to get is Santa.”