Baseball Cards in Yonkers: A History on Central Avenue
Central Avenue in Yonkers, New York holds a special place in the history of baseball cards. For over 50 years in the 20th century, Central Avenue was home to numerous shops that dealt in the collecting and trading of baseball cards, helping to fuel the growing hobby and connect local card collectors. While the shops have since closed, their legacy lives on as Central Avenue gained fame throughout the baseball card collecting world.
One of the earliest shops to deal in baseball cards along Central Avenue was Eddie’s Sport Cards, which opened in the 1940s. Eddie’s offered the latest packs and boxes of cards from Topps, Bowman, and other manufacturers of the time. They also had boxes full of loose, individual cards that collectors could rummage through to find ones they needed to complete their sets. Eddie himself was an avid collector and could often be found behind the counter talking baseball and trading stories with customers.
Through the 1950s, other shops began to pop up on Central Avenue as the baseball card hobby started to take off nationally. Places like Sam’s Cards and Collectibles and Andy’s Sport Shop joined Eddie’s in offering the newest releases as well as supplies for collectors like albums, sheets, and plastic sleeves. With several options along a multi-block stretch, Central Avenue became a destination for tri-state area collectors to visit on weekends, making trades and hanging out to talk cards.
Into the 1960s, the shops continued to expand their inventory to meet growing demand. In addition to stocking the latest card issues, more emphasis was placed on carrying vintage cards from the pre-war era through the 1950s to serve collectors looking to complete sets from earlier years. Shops would purchase collections and lots directly from collectors, then sort and price individual cards to sell. This helped fuel the growing interest in vintage cards and series completion.
By the 1970s, the shops had become institutions along Central Avenue. Major new ones like Mike’s Sport Cards and Baseball Memorabilia and Joe’s Sports Collectibles joined the fray. These larger shops carried thousands of individual vintage cards in boxes sorted by player, team and year. They also stocked related collectibles like autographed photos, balls, bats and uniforms to appeal to a broader collector base. On weekend afternoons, the sidewalks outside would be packed with collectors of all ages browsing, trading and socializing.
The 1980s saw Central Avenue achieve national fame within baseball card collecting circles. Articles in sports card magazines routinely mentioned making a trip to Yonkers to visit the shops. Places like Mike’s, Joe’s and newcomer Steve’s Sportscards had become destinations that serious collectors added to their “must visit” lists. In addition to carrying the latest and largest card issues to date, the shops amassed impressive stocks of pre-war tobacco cards and vintage sets, drawing collectors from across the region and beyond.
As the baseball card boom continued through the 1990s, Central Avenue remained the epicenter of the hobby in the New York City area. By this point, virtually all of the half dozen or so card shops had been in business for decades and had become deeply embedded in the local collecting community. In the pre-internet era, they were hubs that connected collectors and helped spread information about the hobby. While shows and flea markets grew in popularity on weekends, Central Avenue was the place to go for the biggest and best selection all week long.
Entering the 2000s, the shops had seen three generations of collectors come through their doors. Changing times were on the horizon. Online selling grew rapidly, taking business away from brick-and-mortar outlets. The shops worked to adapt, listing inventory on eBay and building websites. But one by one over the next 15 years, the longstanding institutions closed as multi-decade owners retired. Mike’s Sport Cards lasted until 2015 as the lone holdout, shutting its doors and taking with it a local piece of baseball card history.
While the shops are now gone, Central Avenue indelibly shaped the development of baseball card collecting. For over 50 years, it served as a social hub and marketplace that connected collectors and helped grow the hobby. Its legacy lives on in the stories of collectors who made lifelong memories browsing its shops. And it remains etched in the history books as one of the most famous streets in the sport for its vibrant baseball card scene from the 1940s through 2000s. Though the shops are closed, the spirit of Central Avenue lives on for those who experienced its glory days.
