If you want to get Connor Lyons talking, ask him about football.

Bring up your favorite player. Ask where he went to college. Show Connor a card and ask what makes it interesting. Then settle in, because you may have started a conversation that goes well beyond the name on the front.

I’m Tom Lyons, Connor’s dad and his partner in building Lyons Cards. To me, he’s a walking sports encyclopedia. Watching him share that knowledge is one of my favorite parts of this business, because I know where so much of it came from.

For years, Connor learned about a world he couldn’t always get out and enjoy. Now he gets to be part of it. And I’d like you to meet him.

Before diabetes, Connor played soccer and basketball, and we went to hockey games together. Those childhood photos show us before his diagnosis, enjoying the things we loved.

Connor was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 10. At an age when he should have been thinking about school, friends and the next game, our family was worrying about blood sugar, alarms and whether he would feel well enough to get through the day.

Over time, severe blood sugar swings took more and more of those ordinary experiences away. Soccer and basketball stopped. Hockey games and other outings became difficult. Sometimes even 20 minutes away from home was too much. We could arrive at a card convention excited to spend the day together and have to leave shortly afterward because he felt so awful.

There were days he couldn’t get out of bed. School became a struggle, and he sometimes felt embarrassed or apart from other kids. As his dad, it hurt to see how much he wanted to do and how often diabetes got in the way. Then COVID added another layer of isolation. Through those years at home, his love of sports and cards gave him something to look forward to and a world he wanted to keep learning about.

“We used to enjoy hours together on family cruises. As Connor’s diabetes became harder to manage, sometimes those hours became just 20 minutes before he felt too sick to continue. Photos like this capture the moments we treasured—and remind us why having that time together again means so much.”

— THE LYONS FAMILY

He followed football. He learned the players and their college backgrounds. He studied the cards, the products, the inserts and the details that make one card different from another. One question led to another. Who is this rookie? Where did he play? Which set is this? Why does this version look different?

That is how the knowledge grew: years of curiosity, attention and enjoyment of the hobby. He had something to look forward to, even on difficult days. The cards connected him to players, games and conversations beyond the house.

So when you watch Connor today and wonder how he knows so much, that’s a big part of the answer. You’re hearing the result of years he spent learning because he loved it.

After an islet-cell transplant through a clinical trial led by Dr. Piotr Witkowski at UChicago Medicine, Connor achieved insulin independence. The research is supported by Breakthrough T1D and involves Eledon Pharmaceuticals’ investigational drug tegoprubart. Today, his only anti-rejection medication is tegoprubart, which he receives every three weeks, with ongoing care and monitoring from his clinical team.

These are the donor islet cells Connor received in his transplant.

When I look at this picture, I think about the donor and the family behind this gift. Their generosity is part of every ordinary day we once worried Connor might miss: going to college, sharing his love of cards and making plans for his future.

To Connor’s donor and their family: thank you. You have a lasting place in our family’s story. Every time we say “Hope is real,” we remember that Connor’s next chapter was made possible in part by your gift.

That progress has changed what an ordinary day can look like for him. It has also changed the conversations in our family. We get to talk about his next show, the next shop we want to visit and what he’s learning in college.

After fighting his way through years of disrupted schooling and earning his GED, Connor is now studying sports management at Grand Canyon University and making the honor roll. His dream is to become a sports agent. He’s also building Lyons Cards, putting his knowledge to work in front of an audience.

His story deserves to be told. But I also want you to see what comes after the story: the young man on camera, talking about a player he knows, opening a box and enjoying the conversation.

A live show gives Connor a place to share what he spent so many years learning. It gives collectors a chance to ask questions and talk with someone who cares about the details. And it gives people who are new to cards a way to discover the fun without needing to know all the terminology before they arrive.

We want you to leave knowing a little more than when you arrived. Maybe you’ll recognize an insert you used to overlook. Maybe you’ll understand what a serial number tells you. Maybe you’ll discover a player or a set you want to learn more about. Our product guides on LyonsCards.com give you another way to explore the cards before or after a show.

Connor and I also bring different experience to the table. He brings his sports and card knowledge. I bring years of work in pricing and revenue management. Together, we can look at a card from more than one direction: the player and the product, the supply available, the recent sales and the asking price.

And yes, a father and son are going to debate a few things along the way. You can decide whose argument you like better.

We’re taking those conversations on the road, too. The Lyons Edge Roadshow is about visiting card shops, meeting collectors and hearing the stories behind their cards. We talk about what catches our attention, what makes a card interesting and how we think about its price.

For viewers, it’s a chance to discover shops and learn alongside us. For me, the opportunities to do this with Connor have another meaning: I get to spend that time with my son. After so many outings cut short and days spent at home, I don’t take it for granted.

Recently, Connor and I were invited to share our experience with Breakthrough T1D donors and supporters in Chicago. My wife, Stacy, asked me to say something on behalf of our family. I told them:

“And to everyone in this room: you didn’t just fund research. You helped give our son back his independence, his future, and his life.

“If you ever wonder whether what you do matters—Connor is sitting right here.”

TOM LYONS, SPEAKING TO BREAKTHROUGH T1D DONORS AND SUPPORTERS IN CHICAGO.

That gratitude will always be part of Lyons Cards. We are preparing to celebrate Connor’s Insulin Independence Day in October and will share more about our plans to give back through the business. There is still so much work ahead for families waiting for their own breakthrough.

Right now, there’s a simple way to be part of Connor’s next chapter: come meet him.

Follow Lyons Cards. Join a live show. Ask a question, talk about your team or share the video with someone who would enjoy getting to know him. If a card catches your eye, explore the shop. Every person who returns for another conversation helps us build the kind of community we want this company to be.

For years, I watched Connor study the hobby from home and wished he could enjoy more of it. Now I get to watch him welcome other people into it.