Leon McCorkle proudly displays his expansive card collection at the VT. E. Sims Recreation Ctnter's cards and
collectible show.
William "Rock" Hitting with a rare treasure ? a Lew Alcindor rookie card worth StJOO. Bitting has a card
collection that includes cards dose to 25 yean old.
Collectors Show Off Rare Sports
Cards and Novelties at Sims Center
' By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Chronicle Sports Wnier
When a child comes up to card
collector William "Rock" Bitting
and asks him for the price of a card.
Bitting doesn't give them an answer
except one.
'Th^fe's no price for it because
; it's not for sale." Bitting tells the
youngster. Shaking his head, the
young man goes to another vendor.
- hoping for another buy.
The reason Bitting is so
adamant and protective of his col
lection is because of the amount of
itime he has put into finding and
purchasing his cards. It goes into his
?philosophy of having a connection
:with the ideasjn his life.
"The reason I'm into collecting
-is because I can relate to those
things." Bitting said during a card
and collection show at the W.E.
Sims Recreational Center. Holding
up a rare Lew Alcindor rookie card
; valued at SI. 200. Bitting says.
; *vMost kids ask me as soon as they
. it is. 'How much is that worth?'
' ; That shows me that they're thinking
: about the monetary value and not
__ 1 what the card means to me."..
. # 1 Collectors from various parts
1 of Winston-Salem were showing off
samples of the inventory they have
stored and preserved over time.
Each collector looks at his cards as
a look into the inner sanctum of
their passions, which ranged from
comic books to rare record record
ings. But the majority of the collec
4prs on hand showed off vintage
basketball and football cards.
^ Bitting began his card collec
tion 25 years ago, growing up as an
<uid sports fan. When National
football League and Minnesota
Viking great and former Happy
tyiils resident Carl Eller reached the
KfL. Bitting felt a connection and
wanted to grab a piece of Eller's
fame. That's when the collection
bug bit him.
"I credit my father for getting
me interesting into sports, so that's
how my collecting cards evolved
into a hobby." Bitting said. "When
(former Winston-Salem natives)
Herb Gilliam and Billy McCoy
went to the San Francisco 49ers and
Harold Hairston to the Los Angeles
Lakers, that just added to my inter
est."
Another collector who spoke
on supply and demand is Craig
- Johnson, who became interested in
collecting when Sprague Street
Recreational Director Brain Manns
told him to keep some of his cards.
Now Johnson is a collector on his
-own. specializing in rookie cards.
"I try to get those things that
are and .going to be rare." Johnson
said. "When Michael Jordan retired.
1 ran out and bought a Sports Illus
trated magazine that named him
"Sportsman of the Year" a couple of
years ago. Now the price went up to "
more than twice its worth."
While the potential value of a
certain card is an enticing aspect of
collecting, each collector agrees that
their item has a certain intrinsic
value than can not be bought nor
sold. Bitting said that if he knows ~
that a child is a collector and will
take care of his collection, he will
give them a card.
The most important thing is
to take care of them: if not. you
don't have a collection, you have an
accumulation." Manns said. "I
bought this rare Shaquille O'Neal
card from a kid that he just bent up. -
The card is worth SI 5 already in
mint condition. But he bent it up
and now it's practically worthless."
Manns said the most impor
tant thing about starting a collection
is to buy what is valuable to the
consumer. Manns is an avid Julius
Erving fan. and has cards ranging
from his days in the American Bas
ketball Association with the New
Jersey Nets to his days with the
Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA to
his specially-made retirement cards.
Manns' personal favorite is a 24
karat card made in honor of Erving
before his retirement.
Not all the cards deal directly
with sports. Greg Goode showed off
the fruits of collection, a row of
card sprinted last year on famous
murders Charles Manson, Wayne
Williams, Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard
Ramirez and the obscure Kevin
Christianson. the "Hot Sauce" killer
in Texas.
"When people look at these
cards, they think I'm crazy," Goode
said. "But when I look at them, I'm
looking at the information. A lot of
people look at the cards and don't
read about that person, what makes
them tick. I look at it as a chance to
learn something."
Probably the most impressive
showing belonged to Leon
McCorkle, a 13-year-old who has
nearly one thousand basketball
cards. McCorkle started two years
ago and has bought cards through
sales or at Season Ticket Sport Col
lectibles, located at the Parkway
Plaza. McCorkle became interested
in cards because he followed former
NBA great Michael Jordan and
nearly one-half of his collection is
of Jordan.
But Bitting warns future col
lectors of trying to follow trends.
"Every kid wants a Shaquille
or Jordan card because they're hot.
But because of so many are being
made of these players, it's flooding
the market," Bitting said. "The few
that are in real demand will have a
sky- rocket price."
1 try to tell kids not to collect
what's hot but what do you like. If
you're only in it for the investment,
you'll want to quit after a few
years,'' Bitting said. "I bought my
Alcindor card for only 25 cents.
Now it's worth over Sli(X) dollars.
But it means even more to me than
that because of what I get out of it."
WINN
DIXIE
1~ 5'= j-" ?93
v. r ? E
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