DJ’s Baseball Cards: A Legacy of Collecting America’s Pastime

Baseball card collecting is an integral part of American culture and fandom of our national pastime. For over 50 years, DJ’s Baseball Cards has been a staple in communities across the country, providing generations of fans a place to share their love of the game. What started as a small shop in a Midwest town has grown into a national institution, helping to fuel the hobby and preserve the history of baseball.

The store was founded in 1968 by Daniel “DJ” Johnson in Wichita, Kansas. A lifelong baseball enthusiast, DJ began amassing his own collection as a young boy in the 1950s. He would spend afternoons poring over his cards, learning about the players and reliving favorite moments from that season. As he got older, DJ realized there was a budding community of collectors in his town. He decided to open a shop where fans could trade, buy and sell with others who shared their passion.

DJ started small, operating out of the spare room in his house. Word quickly spread of the new card shop in town. On weekends, the makeshift store would be packed with collectors of all ages browsing through boxes of cards. DJ bought and sold collections, helping others grow their rosters while curating his own. The shop became a popular weekend destination, where people could not only find rare cards but discuss the latest games and players.

Within a few years, DJ’s collection and business outgrew the space in his home. In 1972, he secured funding to open a true retail location in downtown Wichita. The expanded shop allowed DJ to carry a much larger inventory of new releases as well as vintage cards to serve the growing collector base. He also added memorabilia like signed balls and bats to the offerings. On opening day, there was a line down the block of eager customers ready to peruse the new digs.

The 1970s proved to be a booming time for the hobby. More and more people were getting into collecting cards of their favorite stars like Hank Aaron, Reggie Jackson and Nolan Ryan. DJ worked hard to get boxes of the hottest new sets, keeping his shelves fully stocked. He also traveled to card shows around the region to build his business. The success of DJ’s Baseball Cards in those early years set the stage for it to become a multi-location retailer.

In the 1980s, DJ’s expanded with additional shops in Kansas City and Oklahoma City. This allowed the company to better serve collectors in surrounding states. They also opened a warehouse and distribution center to more efficiently keep products flowing to the stores. By then, DJ had passed day-to-day operations to his son Dan but remained heavily involved in buying collections and advising on the business. The explosive growth of the hobby during the era of Donruss, Topps and Fleer ensured DJ’s continued prosperity.

The 1990s saw DJ’s enter the world of online retail as well. They launched one of the first e-commerce sites dedicated to sports cards and memorabilia. This allowed them to reach a national audience of collectors for the first time. The company also opened several new brick-and-mortar locations in other parts of the Midwest and South to complement their thriving web store. Under Dan’s leadership, DJ’s had firmly cemented its place as one of the nation’s premier card shops.

In the 2000s, DJ’s continued innovating and finding new ways to reach customers old and new. They started organizing large card shows across the country, helping fuel the hobby on a local level. The company also began offering services like grading and authentication of valuable vintage cards. Meanwhile, their online presence grew dramatically with enhancements like live inventory, auctions and community features. When Dan decided to step back in the late 2000s, his sons David and Daniel Johnson III took over the family business.

Today, DJ’s Baseball Cards is a multi-million dollar international company with over a dozen retail locations, a vast online storefront and thousands of wholesale accounts. The third generation of Johnsons still runs the business with the same passion and dedication to collectors that DJ instilled over half a century ago. While the industry and players have changed greatly, DJ’s commitment to quality service and growing the hobby remains stronger than ever. They also run one of the largest private collections in the world.

For millions of fans, DJ’s holds a special nostalgia. It’s where many got their start in the card-collecting world and formed lifelong memories. Even in the digital age, their stores are still popular weekend destinations—a place to not only find the latest releases but chat with others who share a love of the game. Most importantly, DJ’s has played an integral role in preserving baseball history and passing down the tradition from one generation of fans to the next. They will surely continue to do so for many more years to come.