Dwight Gooden & Neal Anderson to Sign Free Autographs at VIP Reception
Dick Fosbury & Bob Beamon will also sign
The VIP Reception is the Kickoff event for the 34th National. Open to all attendees who have purchased any of the VIP Admission Packages, the Reception is held on Wednesday afternoon, July 31 from 2:30-4:00PM. In addition to receiving their VIP credentials, gift package and VIP autograph tickets, VIPs are treated to a reception with food and beverage. The National also provides several free autograph signers at the Reception. This year we think we've outdone ourselves. Appearing at the VIP Reception will be four big name signers. Previously announced were former Olympic Gold Medalists Dick Fosbury, creator of the "Fosbury Flop" style used by almost every high jumper today and Bob Beamon, who set an unbelievable world record by long jumping over 29' in Mexico City in 1968. Joining these Olympians will be Dwight "Doc" Gooden, 1984 Rookie of the Year and 1985 Cy Young Award Winner and Bears Running Back Neal Anderson. Anderson is a four-time Pro Bowl selection who succeeded Walter Payton and is the second leading rusher in Bears history.
Dwight Gooden burst on the scene in 1984 as a 19 year old fireballer with the New 
York Mets. In July of that season, he became the youngest pitcher ever to start an All Star Game. Gooden went on to win the 1984 NL Rookie of the Year Award. His breakout season came in 1985 when he went 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA and 268 strikeouts and was named Cy Young Award Winner. Gooden was a 4-time All-Star for the Mets and pitched for them through 1994. In 1996 his career took a big lift when he joined the Yankees. Gooden threw a no-hitter for the Yankees and was a member of their 1996 and 2000 World Series Championship teams. "Dr. K", as he was known, ended his career with 194 wins and nearly 2300 career strikeouts.
Neal Anderson received All America mentions in 1984 & 1985, playing for the
University of Florida. A member of the University's Hall of Fame, Neal was the first round pick of the Chicago Bears in the 1986 NFL Draft. Hand picked to succeed Bears All-Time Great Walter Payton, Anderson became the Bears starter in 1987. He put together 3 consecutive 1000 yard rushing season and was named All Pro in 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991. Anderson's career was cut short by injury but he scored 51 career touchdowns and is currently the Bears 2nd leading career rusher trailing only the great Walter Payton.
All four of these great athletes, Gooden, Anderson, Fosbury and Beamon, will be signing at the VIP Reception on Wednesday afternoon open to all attendees who have purchased any one of the VIP Admission Packages for the National.
Tickets and VIP Admission Packages are currently on sale for the 34th National. There are several different VIP Package options. All include admission to all 5 days of the show, a special VIP Reception on Wednesday afternoon, a gift package including promotional items not available elsewhere, free autograph tickets for exclusive VIP signers, use of a VIP Lounge for the week and more. A SuperVIP option this year provides free weeklong parking at the Rosemont Public Garage directly across from the Convention Center. For attendees looking for autograph line privileges and other autograph related perks, there are several All Access packages as well. Details on all the admission options can be found on our "Ticket Information web page.
Click here to purchase and print out your tickets now and avoid standing in ticket lines at the Convention Center. Buying in advance online also saves you money. Box Office ticket prices will be higher.
Tristar Announces Additional Autograph Signers for 34th National
Autograph Tickets on Sale May 24
Tristar Productions, operator of the Autograph Pavilion at the National Sports Collectors Convention, has announced that tickets for autograph guests signing at the 34th National will be on sale through the Tristar web site beginning May 24. Details including schedule and pricing will be posted on Tristar's site. Admission Tickets and VIP Packages for entry to the National are currently on sale through the National's site by clicking the "PURCHASE TICKETS" link at the left on this page or by clicking here.
The 34th National Sports Collectors Convention will run from Wednesday July 31 through Sunday August 4 at the Donald E Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL
Additional National Autograph Guests
The guest list for the 34th
National Sports Collectors Convention, July 31-August 4 
at the Donald E
Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont continues to grow. Future Hall of Fame
catcher Mike Piazza will be making a rare appearance at the National. Piazza, a
likely first ballot Hall of Famer, was the 1993 NL Rookie of the Year and a
12-time All Star. Mike has a career .308 BA and 427 career home runs. Joining
him will be "The Rocket" Roger Clemens. Clemens is a 7-time Cy Young Award
Winner with over 300 wins and 4000 strikeouts. In addition to these greats,
Former White Sox Hall of Fame Shortstop Luis Aparicio and Cubs right-hander
Ferguson Jenkins have been added to the 34th National Autograph
List. Piazza's godfather, Hall of Fame Manager Tommy Lasorda will be on hand as
well.
2011 NBA Hall of Fame Inductee
Chris Mullin joins the growing list of signers. Mullin
was a 3-Time Big East
Player of the Year played on 2 Olympic Teams. Playing most of his 17 year NBA career with
the Golden State Warriors, Chris was a 5-time NBA All Star. He is currently an
ESPN Analyst. NFL Hall of Fame Coach Marv Levy has been added to the 34th
National lineup. Levy coached the Buffalo Bills to 4 consecutive Super Bowl
appearances in the early 1990's.
Three additional signers have
been added to the VIP Program. Hockey fans will remember Eddie Olczyk, former
Chicago Black Hawk Center who had a 16 year NHL career. Olczyk was a member of
the 1994-95 Stanley Cup Champion New York Rangers team. He tallied 342 career goals and coached the
Pittsburgh Penguins before becoming a member of the Blackhawks broadcast team. Joining
Olczyk will be former Hawks goaltender Murray Bannerman. Bannerman was an NHL
All Star and currently ranks 5th among all Chicago Goaltenders in
career wins. Robbie Bull, the Bulls 1st round draft pick in 1962
after a great college career at Baylor will be a VIP signer. Bull was named the
NFC Rookie of the Year in 1962. He retired after a 10 year NFL career and was
named to the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
Tickets and VIP Packages for the
34th National Sports Collectors Convention are now on sale through this
web site. VIPs will receive entry to all 5 days of the National, July 31-August
4, as well as a special reception on July 31. VIPs will also receive a gift
package of promotional items available only at the National and autograph tickets for VIP
signers. For complete details, please visit our ticket page by clicking here or using the "Purchase Tickets" link on the left side of this page.
Tristar Productions just keeps adding great names to the Autograph Pavilion at the 34th National Sports Collectors Convention, scheduled for July 31-August 4 at the 
Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Chicago. Among the latest additions are two Champion Boxers who will join the already announced "Sugar" Ray Leonard. Thomas "The Hit Man" Hearns and "Sugar" Shane Mosley will make a rare appearance to sign at the
National. Notre Dame fans will be thrilled to learn that 1988 National Championship Coach Lou Holtz will be an autograph guest. Also Hall of Famer Jim Palmer has been added.
Also announced are five of the greatest jockeys of all time. Steve Cauthen, who piloted Affirmed to the Triple Crown in 1978 to become the youngest Triple Crown rider in history will sign. Cauthen will be joined by the Legendary Ron 
Turcotte who won the Triple Crown in 1973 aboard Secretariat. Jean Cruguet, who won the 1977 Triple Crown riding Seattle Slew will be at the National. These three greats will be joined by Racing Hall of Famers Jorge Velasquez and Pat Day.
Several additional VIP signers have been added as well. Former Reds All Star and member of the 30-30 Club Eric Davis, 1967 Heisman Trophy winner Gary Beban, NFL Hall of Famer and 2-time Super Bowl Champion Mel Renfro as well as 1963 AL Rookie of the Year Gary Peters have been added to the list of VIP signers. For a complete list of VIP signers and to purchase tickets, visit our ticket page by clicking on the link at the left of this page.
34th National VIP Packages and General Admission Tickets Now On Sale
VIP Packages and General Admission Tickets for the 34th National at the Donald E Stephens Center in Rosemont, IL, July 31-August 4, 2013, are now on sale through this web site. The format for the National is similar to that in recent years. A Sneak Peek (open to all attendees) is slated for Wednesday 7/31 from 4-8 PM. All exhibitor booths will be open and ready for business. In addition, several free autograph guests will be on hand to sign for Sneak Peek attendees. The show continues Thursday-Saturday with show hours of 10AM-6PM and on Sunday from 10AM-5PM. A General Admission Ticket provides entrance on any one of the show dates.
VIP Packages provide admission to all 5 days of the National (attendees are admitted one-half hour earlier than the general public). In addition, VIP Attendees are invited to a special reception prior to the Sneak Peek on Wednesday with refreshments and free autograph guests. VIP Packages provide selected free VIP Autograph signers throughout the week, along with a special gift package of promotional items not available elsewhere. There is also a SuperVIP Package which includes weeklong free parking at the Rosemont Public Garage across from the entrance to the Convention Center.
Details about all VIP, SuperVIP and Tristar All Access Packages are explained on our ticketing page by clicking this link. Once again, you will be able to print your tickets immediately online and save money and avoid waiting in line at the Convention Center. BUY TICKETS NOW.
Initial Autograph Guest List for 34th National Announced
Future Hall of Famers Scheduled to Appear
The initial group of autograph guests for the 2013 National at the Donald E Stephens Convention Center, July 31-August 4, 2013, has been announced by Tristar Productions.
Baseball is well represented with appearances
confirmed by Hall of Famers including Roberto Alomar, Johnny Bench, Dennis Eckersley, Carlton Fisk, Bob Gibson, Tony Gwynn, Rickey Henderson, Reggie Jackson, Paul Molitor, Eddie Murray, Tony Perez, Jim Rice, Cal Ripken Jr and Ozzie Smith. Plus, special appearances will be made by Future Hall of Famers including Chipper Jones, Pedro Martinez and Chicago's own Frank Thomas. Recent retirees Jermaine Dye and David Justice will be signing as well.
Football stars scheduled to appear include Hall of Famers Bart Starr, Dan Fouts, Bears Great Dan Hampton, the original "LT" Lawrence Taylor and Bob Griese.
Making a rare appearances will be Boxing Legend "Sugar" Ray Leonard and NBA Hall of Famer Jerry Lucas. Many more players to be announced, including big name football stars in the
coming weeks!
Admission tickets
and VIP Packages for the 33rd National will go on sale on the National's
website in early March. More information coming soon. Autograph tickets will go on sale on the TRISTAR website
in late May / early June. Click here to visit Tristar's National Autograph page.
The first three of eighteen total VIP Signers have been named. Joining us to sign 
for 34th National VIP attendees will be former Dallas Cowboy Super Bowl XXX MVP Larry Brown. Playing on three Super Bowl Championship teams, Brown is making his first ever National appearance. Joining him are a couple of former MLB greats. Jeff Reardon "The Terminator" was one of baseball's all time great closers. Pitching for the 1987 World Series Champion Twins, Jeff compiled 367 career saves and was a four-time All Star. Also appearing as a VIP signer will be Ralph Garr. Garr won the 1974 NL Batting Title and played several years with the White Sox. He compiled a .306 career BA. Additional VIP signers will be announced as they are confirmed.
Olympic Pavilion Returns for 34th National in Chicago
The organizers of the 34th National Sports Collectors Convention are pleased to announce that the 2013 event will welcome the return of a pavilion dedicated solely to collectibles from the Olympic Games. The 2011 National in Chicago marked the first appearance of an Olympic Pavilion and both attendees and exhibitors alike were extremely pleased.
Collectors were exposed to a totally new experience and were able to see and purchase items including Olympic medals, pins, torches and many other items associated with the Olympic Games. Olympin Club organizers were not able to participate in 2012 since the dates of the National conflicted with the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Exhibitors are excited to be back at the National and are looking forward to the event in August. Additional details will be posted as they become available. The 34th National is scheduled forJuly 31-August 4, 2013 at the Donald E Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL
