THE HOBBY LOST TWO OF ITS BEST IN THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS, AND I WANT TO TELL YOU ABOUT THEM. Paul Howard was a football collector with an incredible eye for beautiful, high-grade cards from the 1960s. He was also one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. I met him on the CU message boards in the early 2000s; his handle was “Wolfbear” because his daughter told him that he looked like a combination of a wolf and a bear (which he did). Wolfie was a tall guy, maybe even taller than me, with a passion for music (specifically Pearl Jam), and a devotion to his family. And boy, did he make me laugh. He made everybody laugh, actually, we would sit in the hotel lobby bar at the National each year and just talk, and by the end of the night we’d all be exhausted from laughter. I can’t really tell you any of Wolfie’s one-liners, many aren’t appropriate for mixed company and the ones that are require so much setup that you wouldn’t get it. Suffice to say that the longer you hung out with Wolfie, the harder you’d laugh. George Leveilee was a collector of 1967 Topps baseball, and also of T206. Though he was building a nice T206 set, condition wasn’t that important to him; he was happy to be part of the hobby and enjoyed the camaraderie that comes with it. He was a sweet, gentle guy, and he was crazy about his family, especially his daughter. Once, I was set up at the White Plains show, and George came over to say hello. We were chatting about our families - my son was about to go off to college, and George’s daughter was in the midst of some great academic achievements. We were simultaneously bragging about our kids and talking about how much we were going to miss them when they went away. Pretty soon, the two of us were standing there in the middle of a card show, surrounded by collectors, tears streaming down our faces.
with each of them, talking and laughing. I have years of memories of both of them, which I will treasure more than any piece of sports memorabilia I will ever own. I’m going to miss them both terribly. You’re holding in your hands an auction catalog that is filled with unique pieces. With each auction, Love of the Game continues to assert itself as a leading source for esoteric, unique and seldom-seen items. And that’s great, I’m proud to own a company that can deliver that kind of material to hobbyists in an ethical, trustworthy way. But more importantly, I hope that your love of this kind of material draws you to other folks that you can call your “chosen family.” Those hobby relationships, they’re worth more than all the triple logomen put together. And that is the kind of “white whale” that’s worth tracking down.
Which, of course, made us both laugh. There’s a lot to love about our hobby, especially recently. Sale prices are through the roof because there are so many new collectors learning about the vintage end of the hobby. The increase in sale prices are resulting in new collections and discoveries revealing themselves, helping hobbyists find their “white whales.” The renewed interest in the hobby has resulted in a host of new businesses and service providers that are providing lots of new resources that we previously never had. Grading companies have become better funded and are beginning to remedy longstanding operational shortcomings. The hobby is in a pretty good place. But the most important part of the hobby will always be people . If it wasn’t for the hobby, I would have never met Wolfie and George. My life is so much better because I did. I never bought a card from either guy, or made a trade with them. We didn’t even collect the same things. But I spent hours
Warmest wishes, Al Crisafulli Auction Director
SUMMER 2023 PREMIER AUCTION − CLOSES AUGUST 19, 2023 1
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