My pursuit of how to best spend $100 at the National Sports Card Convention in Cleveland

CLEVELAND — The first two things to understand about the National Sports Card Convention , being held at the I-X Center , are as follows: it's really fun, and it can be a bit overwhelming for a sports fan with any money in their pocket.

You want to buy everything. Everything is cool. And there are rows and rows and rows of booths and tables filled with sports cards, autographed items, helmets, baseball bats, old magazines, uniforms and jerseys, framed pictures and on and on and on.

And a lot of it is also pretty expensive, so for most people, you have to be somewhat selective. Restraint is difficult, but important. There are baseball cards for $1, and there's a $30 million Babe Ruth jersey, all in the same giant room.

I went to the first night of the 2024 NSCC at the I-X Center Wednesday. It'll run through Sunday, and the autograph availability list is pretty crazy for any sports nut.

We ranked the most-mind blowing items you can find right now at the convention , along with the top collectibles that can be found for under $50.

I also wanted to see what might be a fun way to spend $100 at the convention for myself, which quite frankly, ended up being pretty overwhelming due to the sheer number of really cool items. There are 10,000 ways to break down $100 at a convention like this, from several items, to even a hundred, to just one for $100. There are unopened boxes of baseball cards you can buy and then dig through at home, bobbleheads, rookie cards, autographed items, full-size football helmets that have been signed, etc.

Now personally, I knew I would probably lean toward one item than a collection of them for the same dollar amount, but you never know. (And one note: many of the vendors only take cash, so bring some with you).

So here we go. While this search will pertain a bit to my personal taste, it might give some insight into the options and thought process of mining through what feels like a million possibilities.

The first thing to note is that this place was overwhelming. It's a maze of cool sports stuff, basically. There were multiple times in which I found something I wanted and made a mental note to remember it, only to completely lose the table where it was later. One helpful note is that there are pillars throughout the area with numbers and letters that can help you find previous booths, which I didn't notice until halfway through the search.

I decided to simply go to the back corner and try to snake my way back through the room, because otherwise it would have resembled more of a labyrinth than anything. And still, I think there were some tables I never made it to during my search.

First potential collectible: Babe Ruth worn uniform

Just kidding. This thing is expected to sell for north of $30 million via Heritage Auctions, and our budget is $100. The search continues, but it was cool to see.

Actual first potential collectible: Willie Mays 1972 Topps baseball card

This one caught my eye immediately. It isn't signed, it's just a very cool card from the 70s of a baseball legend, one who sadly passed away recently . And yes, while it's listed for more than our $100 budget, I was confident I could haggle the price down to $100.

But there's a long way to go and more many more things to see, so we'll keep it in mind for later (although, there's always the risk that by the time we get back here, it's gone).

Second potential collectible: Bob Gibson baseball card

Bob Gibson is a legend and has always been a favorite of mine, so this would be a pretty cool item. And it would leave $50 in the budget for something else.

Third potential collectible: Roberto Clemente 1968 baseball card

This one is a real contender, a Roberto Clemente card from the late '60s that has "Bob" on it. If this was from 1972, his last year in the majors, it might have ended the search early.

At this point, I'm only about 100 yards from my starting point, and we already have a few good options.

I'm really not kidding when I say my head was spinning trying to look at everything.

Fourth potential collectible: Stan Musial baseball card

Stan The Man is a legend, and I could get this card and the Bob Gibson card from earlier as a Cardinals legends collection (sort of by accident).

Fifth potential collectible: Alex Rodriguez rookie card

How often do you find stuff from A-Rod's Mariners days, when he was a shortstop? And this was only $25. Let's keep looking though, I want to keep the entire budget available.

Sixth potential collectible: Ken Griffey Jr. baseball card

This is just an awesome, 90s-style baseball card that is full of nostalgia for me. And who's cooler than Jr?

Seventh potential collectible: Joe DiMaggio card with piece of his bat

This one was a show-stopper level for me. Supposedly, it's a Joe DiMaggio card with a piece of one of his bats cut up, and it's one of 15 cards like this that they made. That's pretty awesome. It was listed for $120, but again, I was confident enough that I could get it for $100, as some items are often marked up a bit expecting some haggling.

Eighth potential collectible: Dwight Gooden signed baseball

A Dwight Gooden signed baseball for $50 seems like a pretty great deal, and a cool item.

Ninth potential collectible: Frank Thomas autographed baseball

This one was another "Oh, that's a good item" type moment. I was a big fan of The Big Hurt as a kid. The first time my Little League team let us choose our numbers, I selected No. 35.

At this point, I went on a search of the entire surrounding area of booths and tables but never found anything under $100 that would be a good option for me, so now it was about remembering the nine finalists and, just as importantly, where they were. If you saw someone walking back and forth, apparently lost, that might have been me.

The winner: Joe DiMaggio card with a piece of his bat

This item was just too cool. An entire bat would been much better, but also more expensive. The card also wasn't in peak condition, which actually was the only reason it was in our budget at all.

An easy, "Would you take $100 for this?" was settled quickly, and the entire $100 was spent in one swing, so to speak.

The difficult part of this convention wasn't finding good items, it was walking away from so many of them.

When is the 2024 National Sports Card Convention at the I-X Center?

The '24 NSCC will be at the IX Center in Cleveland between Wednesday, July 24 and Sunday, July 28.

Tickets for 2024 National Sports Card Convention at the I-X Center

Tickets for the NSCC are available for $30. Early-entry tickets for all five days can be purchased for $149.99.

Parking for National Sports Card Convention at I-X Center

Parking for the NSCC is available for $10.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: My pursuit of how to best spend $100 at the National Sports Card Convention in Cleveland