Getting That Last Autograph At The Philly Card Show
I’ve come to learn that you never know what exciting discovery will happen at a card show. Sometimes it may be finding that one card you really need for your collection, but every once in a while it’s something entirely different. This is the story of how Scott Greenwald completed his collector journey at the Philly Show thanks to an autograph from Eagles quarterback, Jalen Hurts.
I always try to identify at least one interesting story at each show I attend, but I never imagined it would land in my lap as quickly or abruptly as it did at this most recent Philly Show.
Anyone that knows Scott knows that he’s both a true collector and a die-hard Eagles fan - you can easily tell just by looking in his card case. We happened to meet through a friend at the entrance of the show minutes before the doors opened. During the exchange, he happened to share how special this show would be due to his story surrounding it. I was immediately invested and knew I needed to be there to watch it all unfold.
He shuffled through his case looking for a specific card. A couple of years earlier he’d purchased a quad patch that included four famous Eagles quarterbacks: Jalen Hurts, Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb, and Randall Cunningham - four quarterbacks he had watched with his dad growing up. While the card alone could have served as a memorable relic of those fond memories, Scott had spent the past two years trying to get it signed by each of those four players.
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He’d gotten Michael Vick’s autograph early on thanks to a shop appearance Vick made in New Jersey. The McNabb and Cunningham autographs came shortly thereafter thanks to an assist from a friend. Each year the pair do a gift exchange during the holidays and that particular year Scott had received tickets for autograph signings at an earlier Philly Show. That left him three down with just one to go.
This Philly Show was going to be particularly special because he’d been one of the lucky fans to get an autograph ticket for Jalen Hurts before they eventually sold out. This was it, he would finally be getting the last autograph he needed to complete the card and journey.
Doing content for the show meant I had a chance to be there when it all happened. Hurts came out for his signings and I strategically placed myself somewhere I’d be able to film while keeping an eye on the line. Between each picture I anxiously checked over my shoulder to make sure I didn’t miss Scott. I can admit that at this point I was getting more and more invested as the time went by.
I finally saw him appear - with autograph ticket in one hand and the card in the other he slowly moved up the line. When it was his turn, Scott approached Jalen’s table and was fortunate enough to get both an autograph and have a brief exchange. When he turned I could see the excitement in his eyes to show me the card. Weaving through the crowd he held out the card. What once was missing an autograph was now complete both with that last autograph but also the story surrounding it.
This story was a reminder to cherish the journey of collecting. While I’m constantly looking for certain cards to improve my collection, it’s stories like this that remind me of why I go to shows to begin with.
