BY TROY KIRK
The internet has made it possible to explore vague memories from my youth. As a card collecting kid in the 1960s, I was aware that most of my cards came from a company called Topps. Imagine my surprise when one day my mom pulled up to shop at a store called Topps!
I was very excited to go shopping with my mom. It was one of the indignities you suffered when you were eight years old and not old enough to stay home alone. But when I saw the name of this store, I immediately perked up.
At the drug store near my house, Topps trading cards would show up whenever they felt like it. One day there might be some Batman cards, then the next visit they would be gone. Baseball cards were usually around, but the non-sport cards came and went in a flash.
But an actual store named Topps. Imagine what could be inside this store. Maybe there were boxes and boxes of baseball cards, Batman cards, and dozens of other titles of cards I had never even heard of. My mind was racing as we got out of the car and headed inside.
The Topps store was a big department store. There were a lot of things for sale, but no trading cards in sight. I quickly separated myself from my mom and methodically checked every aisle of that store. No cards. Then I went back and double-checked. Still no cards.
I don’t know if the Topps store ever carried any Topps trading cards, but they certainly didn’t have any that day. It seemed like a lost opportunity to me, not to capitalize on their name and sell a few trading cards because of it.
There are sites on the internet that memorialize the old department stores that have disappeared to changing times. The first Topps store opened in 1956 in Hartford, Connecticut, and quickly turned into a chain of stores, numbering 60 stores by 1968. By 1974, the department store landscape had changed, with Topps parent company in bankruptcy and all the Topps stores out of business or soon to be closed.
• • • • • •
• Originally Published June 11, 2017 in “The Wrapper” •
THIS ARTICLE FROM “THE WRAPPER” MAGAZINE IS REPRINTED WITH THE PERMISSION OF
BOTH THE EDITOR/PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR. IT HAS BEEN RETYPED, BUT NO CONTENT
HAS BEEN CHANGED (EXCEPT FOR CHANGES TO GRAPHICS). COMMENTS OR INFORMATION
IN THE ARTICLE MAY BE OUT-OF-DATE.
• • •
“THE WRAPPER” MAGAZINE:
The Wrapper has been serving non-sports card collectors since 1978. It is full of articles mostly concentrating on classic non-sports sets, plus interviews and profiles of hobbyists. In addition, there are variety of ads in each bi-monthly issue that offer collectors a chance to obtain cards for their collections.
Click Link Here
BaseballCardFun.com 