In Conn?
Hi Jeff,
Yes, I remember this publicity stunt very well. I believe the dealer was from the CT area here in New England although I did not know him at all.
My take on the whole strike dilemna was very different than most fans and collectors. At the time I was a year or so into owning and operating my first card shop and I was around 20 years old. I had a plan!
We printed up T-shirts that said I survived the strike and X amount of days w/o BB, etc.., Our customers bought them for cost of a few dollars and LOVED them. I even made big sizes for guys like me and kids sizes, too.
We held all kinds of promotions, events and sales to help as a survival guide to no baseball! There were several collectors clubs meeting at the shop such as Ashland Jr High Club, Framingham South HS day and Framingham North HS day, and we even had a Senior Club. Basically everyone complained about the strike and bought cards with a special 25% off sale. Now, in the early 80's ANYTHING off CPU prices was un-heard of at the time! Happy collectors survived the strike, bought cards, ate free food, drank free soda and we all became close friends as we shared our grief and survived the strike! To this day my customers remember these events and we are very close to virtually every customer decades later.
Thank you so very much for posting this article. It brought back all good memories! Was that year called a strike or a lock out? Not that it matters because no BB is simply TERRIBLE!
In closing my old man ramblings ( I remember back in 1981....lol), I want to say that we tried something similar in the 90's fiasco. However, it was a different atmosphere. Everyone was simply too negative and only saw doom and gloom. It was a shame because I honestly believe that the 90's strike has left the hobby with deep scars that have yet to heal.
Share your strike/lock out memories with the board. I'd love to hear your stories about how you related to the events!
Thanks,
Bill Hedin
|