ROSEMONT, Illinois — I took a ton of steps at The National Sports Collectors Convention, and, after five days, I think I found my way to every table.
There were so many cards, boxes and mystery packs, but there also were several incredible pieces of memorabilia that stood out.
Here are the Top 10 things that caught my eye.
1. Texas State University autographed helmet
In the private autograph room, there was a lot of the same. Heisman-signed helmets and Hall of Fame items were everywhere.
But at cllct, we appreciate the true one of ones.
Autograph dealer Matt Powers was helping a collector get Jim Kelly's autograph on a Texas State Armadillos helmet. Some of you might be too young for this, but TSU was the fictional team in the 1991 movie "Unnecessary Roughness."
The helmet already had signatures from many of the players who had cameos in the film, including Ed "Too Tall" Jones, Jerry Rice and Dick Butkus. Impressively, Rob Schneider signed with a "Fumbalaya Fumblerooski" inscription. The only ones missing now? Swimsuit model Kathy Ireland and actor/comedian Sinbad!
2. 1973 Wacky Packages
I always stop by Baseball Card Exchange's booth to see what unopened boxes they are selling — all still in their original wrapped plastic.
This year, the most expensive box at the booth was a 1979-80 Hockey box for $165,000. But the one that caught my eye was a box of Series 2 of Wacky Packages. Originally sold in 1973 for $2.80 for the entire box, this unopened box was going for $40,000.
3. The Greek feet
The National was Giannis Antetokounmpo's first major autograph signing, and collectors were ready.
There must have been 500 pair of sneakers waiting backstage for the Milwaukee Bucks star to sign. All were size 17, and many were player exclusives.
4. An Elvis Presley pill bottle
I held off on a number of major purchases at The National, but I got closest to buying one of Elvis Presley's used pill bottles from the Rockhurst Auctions booth.
Most Elvis pills were prescribed at Memphis pharmacies. Love that this one was for weight loss for his Vegas shows.
5. Rolling Stones ticket
Out of all the ticket submissions coming into The National, my friend Barry Slotnick had one of the coolest to be slabbed. Slotnick submitted a stub and a full ticket from the Rolling Stones' first concert on American soil (June 1964).
PSA has never graded either a stub or a full from the concert.
6. Piedmont Cigarettes package
On the first day of the show, I spotted a legitimate Piedmont Cigarette box, which could have once held a T206 Honus Wagner card in it.
The opened box was listed for $600, and I meant to pick it up, but felt like I needed to walk around more. When I came back, it was gone, of course.
The logo's wide range of use makes it impossible to know if there was a baseball card inside.
7. "Johnny Kilroy" Type 1 photos
You never know what you are going to see at the table with Rich Albersheim and Ryan Friedman — other than there will be some serious slabbed Type 1 photos.
The most unique? Friedman had 23 Type 1 photos from Nike's "Popcorn Tape" commercial, featuring a disguised Michael Jordan, that ran once during the Super Bowl in 1994 and never again.
Nike hired Steve Martin to be the narrator, but Martin's contract stipulated the spot could only run once. Even still, my generation loves Johnny Kilroy!
8. Program from Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game
I rarely go for a program over a ticket, but this program from Wilt's 100-point game is just as good as the ticket.
The $48,000 price seemed a tad high, so I passed. I'm sure many are wondering whether PSA now grading comics and magazines will lead to a lot more people submitting programs.
9. An unused, unopened Mickey Mantle signature glove
It's one thing to see a signature glove from the 1950s, it's another story to see a glove still inside a box. When I saw the Mickey Mantle glove in its original packaging from the 1950s, it proved to be a showstopper.
10. Murray Henderson's double-sided painting of Michael Jordan's foul-line dunk
We here at cllct love artist Murray Henderson, who specializes in abstract realism.
Our favorite piece at this show was Murray's rendition of Jordan's 1988 foul-line dunk, which had a front and back!!!
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectibles market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.