Question for former brick & mortar card shop owners from the '80s

[Jay Wolt]

Originally Posted by rats60

What crash?

It was over when I felt like retiring.

Same here, I opened a full time shop in early 1987 & closed when someone offered to buy all the contents in late '98
I then sold the property & moved w/ the wife & kids 150 miles away to our current location
& have been selling online ever since

Here's a shot of the counter in '88
w/ auth uniforms of Nolan Ryan (Rainbow), Dave Winfield (Padres), Rod Carew, Fergie Jenkins etc..

[Brent G.]

That’s beautiful, Jay! Love that rainbow of Topps Traded on the shelf. It was amazing as a 10-year-old to have the hottest card on the planet — the Gooden in that ‘84 set.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Jay,

Whose jersey was that gorgeous A's?

[Jay Wolt]

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

Jay,

Whose jersey was that gorgeous A's?

Would love to say Roger Maris, but I believe it was Lou Klimchock from '59 or '60

[SteveWhite]

This is a great topic. I am from Grove City, Ohio and the year I graduated high school, 1988, not one but two card shops opens within 500 yards on the main way through town. One was Home Run Hobbies ran by a man named Dana and the second was by a group of guys, and it was called Jake's Comics.

[Brent G.]

Originally Posted by SteveWhite

This is a great topic. I am from Grove City, Ohio and the year I graduated high school, 1988, not one but two card shops opens within 500 yards on the main way through town. One was Home Run Hobbies ran by a man named Dana and the second was by a group of guys, and it was called Jake's Comics.

How’d the Grove City Card War turn out, Steve — who survived the longest??

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by Jay Wolt

Would love to say Roger Maris, but I believe it was Lou Klimchock from '59 or '60

I'm likely part of the minority, but I've always been more fond of jerseys and bats that belonged to lesser-known players. I say that never having owned a single jersey and no more than a few bats, but still.

I should have asked who that nice Phillies jersey belonged to as well! It was a great display you had. Glad you took that photo.

[sreader3]

I could hardly believe my good luck when Sports Gem baseball cards opened in Upland, California in 1981. Fleer and Donruss were introducing sets to rival Topps. Fernando Valenzuela and Tim Raines rookies were all the rage. A remarkable $3 for “Nando” rookies. I got to know the owners and they put me to work in the back room sorting sets into numerical order. They let me pick out a few cards from the display cabinets at the end of the day as compensation. I probably got paid about $2 an hour, at inflated prices. But I loved it. They were out of business by about 1986 when they ran out of inventory.

[SteveWhite]

Homerun Hobbies lasted the longest between the two shops. Jake's Comics had another shop in Groveport, about 20 minutes away. Homerun Hobbies, I think lasted into the 2000's. Jake and his partners, I think still do the Hilliard Sports Card Show in Central Ohio and set up at the National.

[Leon]

Cool pic!

Originally Posted by Jay Wolt

Same here, I opened a full time shop in early 1987 & closed when someone offered to buy all the contents in late '98
I then sold the property & moved w/ the wife & kids 150 miles away to our current location
& have been selling online ever since

Here's a shot of the counter in '88
w/ auth uniforms of Nolan Ryan (Rainbow), Dave Winfield (Padres), Rod Carew, Fergie Jenkins etc..

[Jay Wolt]

Thanks Leon
The other day I saw that I still had the signed Jerry Reuss photo thanking me for donating to his charity
& for buying his uniform, though I don't remember what happened to the uniform