Sports Card Show
General Information
Ephrata Lions Club’s 45th Annual Sports Card Show and Auction
Saturday, March 29, 2025
8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Autograph session 11:00 to 1:00, featuring Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter, the Big Ten Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year.
Silent auction starts at 8:30 and closes at 1:30.
Live sports memorabilia auction begins at approximately 2:30.
A separate online auction will be available from March 24 to April 4.
Admission:
- $7.00 for Adults.
- $2.00 for students 10 and under.
Ephrata Recreation Center
130 South Academy Drive, Ephrata, PA 17522
(near the intersection of routes US 322 and PA 272)
with overflow parking at the Ephrata Middle School.


Show Details
This project was first held in 1979, began having sports celebrities to sign autographs the following year, and has grown steadily through the years. It is now known as one of the largest and longest-running one-day sports card show on the east coast.
The show features over seventy (70) vendor tables, where attendees may buy, sell, and trade baseball cards, memorabilia, and other sports-related items. (All available vendor tables are currently sold, but a waiting list is available for future years.)
Proceeds benefit Ephrata youth sports programs and the Ephrata Recreation Center, in addition to Ephrata youth education, counseling, and support organizations. The show provides funds to various Ephrata area boys and girls sports programs. The event also enables the Lions Club to sponsor the U17 Ephrata Lions baseball team and several elementary school teams.
The card show also supports the Mountaineers’ Table (community food program) and the Samaritan Counseling Center’s TeenHope program (for the Ephrata Area School District). In addition, exceptional Ephrata High School students are recognized via the Club’s Senior Service Award and a sponsorship for the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Seminar). It also funds community youth projects like the Easter egg hunt and Toyland activities at Santa’s arrival & tree lighting.
Autograph Policies
- Autographs are $25 each for flats and mini-helmets (cards, photographs, programs, etc.), and $35 each for all other items.
- Cash, credit cards (3% fee), PayPal (3% fee), Venmo (3% fee), or local checks (with proper government-issued photo ID) accepted.
- Only 250 autograph tickets will be sold, and are only available to purchase in person on the day of the show.
- Autograph ticket sales stop at 12:30, and all ticket buyers must be in the autograph line by 12:45.
- No mail orders accepted. No advanced sales. No exceptions.
- Ticket buyers may bring their own items to be autographed, or items may be purchased from the Ephrata Lions Club or from other vendors at the show.
- The Ephrata Lions Club reserves the right to limit an individual to 5 autographs initially, so everyone has an opportunity to purchase an autograph. If someone wants more than 5 autographs, additional autographs (if available) may be purchased at 12:30.
The Ephrata Lions Club will have items for sale (quantities limited) at the show, such as photos, photo sleeves, and mini-helmets.
Sports Memorabilia Auction
- Quality auction will begin at approximately 2:30 p.m., featuring individual cards, complete card sets, sports publications, photographs, bobbin’ heads, figurines, baseballs, souvenirs, and other sports memorabilia.
- Auction includes autographs by various past and present professional athletes and sports stars.
- Bidders must register before bidding.
- IMPORTANT: Live auction only. Bidders must be present to bid. No telephone or proxy bids accepted.
- Payment terms are cash, credit cards (3% fee), PayPal (3% fee), Venmo (3% fee), and local checks (with proper government-issued photo ID).
- No reserves, no buyers’ premium.
- Donation or consignment items for the auction will be accepted through November 30 of the previous year. Please contact Jack Forney (see below).
- Auctioneer, David F. Birmingham, AU-2127-L.
On-Line Only Auction
We also have a separate online-only auction of sports memorabilia, run by Pannebecker and Wolf Auctioneers, Inc. at https://pannebeckerwolf.hibid.com. The online auction will run from Monday March 24 until Friday April 4. All details will be posted on the Pannebecker and Wolf auction site.
Silent Auction
In addition to our memorabilia auction, a smaller silent auction runs from the beginning of the card show until 1:30. The silent auction features items like autographed photos and game tickets. Winning bidder (or a proxy) must be present at 1:30 to claim their item(s). More details can be found on the auction web page.
Vendor Information
- Cost is $100 per table (or $150 if not received by December 31). Table reservations are forfeited if payment is not received by January 31.
- Requests for tables will be granted only if availability exists.Currently all tables have been reserved (sold out). Contact us to be placed on the waiting list in case of cancellations and/or for future shows (usually the last Saturday of March). Currently, the waiting list has about 30 names on it.
- Pennsylvania Sales Tax numbers are required of all vendors.
- Vendor table pooling is not permitted.
Future Shows
March 28, 2026
March 20, 2027 (NOT the last Friday in March due to Easter)
Contact us about being a future-year sponsor.
Other Information
In addition to our sponsors, the Ephrata Lions Club wants to thank the following local businesses for their donations/hospitality/promotions during recent shows:
- Akron Lions Club
- Blue Ridge Communications
- Ensinger Printing
- Ephrata Area Varsity Co-ed Rifle Team Booster Club
- Ephrata Baseball Association
- Ephrata Recreation Center
- The Ephrata Review
- The Historic Smithton Inn
- Lancaster Luxury Limousines
- Pannebecker Wolf Auctioneers
- The Shopping News
Card Show Contacts
- Jack Forney, telephone 717-314-0962 (primary contact for the auction)
- Brad Lauderman, telephone 717-471-3968, e-mail cardshow@ephratalions.org (primary contact for other aspects of the card show)