Exhibitors Report Theft at Collectors Convention

ANAHEIM —  Two exhibitors at the National Sports Collectors Convention reported that baseball cards totaling about $500,000 were missing Thursday morning from their booth at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Police said the two unidentified exhibitors were sharing a booth at the show and made the theft report to authorities Thursday morning after finding that several hundred of their cards were missing.

“It was a terrible shock to them,” said Mike Berkus, convention business manager, adding that a pair of New York Yankee great Lou Gehrig cards might have been among those taken. “There was nothing we could do. “We turned it over to the authorities as quickly as possible.”

One of the dealers reported that items totaling about $200,000 were missing from a collection, while a second dealer reported a loss at nearly $300,000.

Berkus said the dealers apparently had left their exhibits unattended late Wednesday afternoon while a number of convention exhibitors were still arranging their collections.

“I must have happened sometime between 5:45 p.m. Wednesday and when we opened at 8:15 a.m. Thursday,” Berkus said. “We searched all the restrooms and any place where somebody could get some privacy. Somebody would have needed a truck to get those cases out.”

Authorities said the incident was being investigated as a possible grand theft.

The show, which features appearances by athletes from virtually all walks of sport, opened Thursday and is scheduled to run through Sunday.