Ryne Sandberg’s legacy looms large over nation’s biggest sports collectors convention in Rosemont

ROSEMONT, Ill. - Many people at the National Sports Collectors Convention are saying the same thing on Tuesday.

Thousands of sports fans and sports memorabilia dealers from all over the country are gathering in Rosemont for the start of the biggest sports collectible convention in the country.

What they're saying:

Hanging heavy over the show was the passing of Chicago Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg, who had made many appearances at the convention in the past.

"Always one of the longest lines, and one reason was because he would sit and talk to everybody. He wanted to know about you. That was important to him," said Jeff Rosenberg of Tristar Productions.

Rosenberg says he first met Sandberg getting his autograph 40 years ago, and for the past two decades his company has represented Sandberg at autograph signings all over the country.

Rosenberg says unlike some athletes who are simply looking to make a buck, it was all about interacting with the fans.

"He as much as anybody I’ve ever seen absolutely loved people reminding him about his playing days. And I can’t tell you how many people came through and said their name is Ryne, or they named their kid Ryne. That’s the legacy that he leaves," Rosenberg said.

Baltimore-area card dealer Ryan Brady says even though he grew up on the East Coast, his dad wanted to name him after Sandberg— but his mom insisted on a more traditional spelling.

"He was just always popular. He was a popular card to collect, to have his rookie cards and stuff like that. It just seems like when I started collecting Sandberg was a bigger name. He was a popular guy," Brady said.

More than 600 vendors from all over the world are in Rosemont for the 45th national sports collectors convention, the Super Bowl of sports collecting, with millions of cards and thousands of collectibles.

Even though he retired nearly 30 years ago, Sandberg memorabilia still sells big.

"So many people connected with him just because of the way he played the game," said convention organizer Joe Drelich. "Because of the respect his teammates had for him. No one has ever said or mention a bad word about Ryno. He’s a huge loss."

Memorabilia dealer B.A. Murry showed us just a portion of the Sandberg collection he brought with him from Carbondale, including dozens and dozens of baseball cards.

"A Sandberg collector has to have 1,200 to 1,500 items now if he’s got a real Sandberg collection. There’s a lot of material," Murry said. "He was just the right guy at the right time for the Cub nation."

Organizers say when they were planning this show over a year ago, they were hoping Sandberg would be at the convention as he has been in the past to meet with fans and sign autographs, but that wasn't to be. However, there is a lot of Sandberg memorabilia on the floor of the convention this weekend.