Baseball cards have been collecting dust in attics, basements, and shoeboxes across America for over 150 years. In the small Long Island town of Lynbrook, New York, baseball cards took on a special significance in the late 20th century that transformed the local community and economy.
Lynbrook had always been a baseball town through and through. Little League was king and come Friday nights in the summer, you could find most of the town packed into the bleachers at Lynbrook High School’s ballfield. It was in the 1970s when two brothers, Harry and Bobby Green, opened the first baseball card shop in Lynbrook that collecting cards exploded in popularity locally.
At a time when the internet did not yet exist and card shows were still in their infancy on Long Island, the Green Brothers Baseball Card Shop became the epicenter of the baseball card universe for Lynbrook’s kids. After school and on weekends, you could always find a crowd of young collectors packing the small store, shuffling through boxes searching for that elusive rookie card or all-star variation to add to their collection.
The Green Brothers helped foster a true baseball card culture in Lynbrook. They sponsored local Little League teams, ran contests among collectors, and even organized the first annual Lynbrook Baseball Card Show in 1978 which brought collectors from all across Nassau County to the high school gymnasium. As word spread about the hot spot for cards on Merrick Road, the Green Brothers shop started attracting customers from as far as Queens, Brooklyn, and even New Jersey on weekends.
In the 1980s, the baseball card boom was in full swing across America. Television deals and lucrative contracts were making players household names and their cardboard collectibles were skyrocketing in value. In Lynbrook, the Green Brothers expanded their small storefront to a warehouse space behind their shop that could hold box after box of the latest shipments. They hired local teenagers to help with organizing inventory and fulfilling online and phone orders as the business boomed.
The success of the Green Brothers inspired other entrepreneurs in Lynbrook. Former collectors themselves opened competing card shops on Sunrise Highway. Stores dedicated solely to selling supplies for collectors like plastic sheets, binders, and price guides popped up next door. The local diner hung sports cards in their front window and offered discounts to card show attendees. Real estate agents advertised properties as being “three blocks from Green Brothers Card Shop.”
By the late 1980s, the economic impact of the baseball card craze was undeniable in Lynbrook. On big card show weekends, the town resembled a mini-Comic Con with collectors dressed in throwback jerseys packing every restaurant and business. Some of the town’s elderly residents grew frustrated with the crowds and commotion. Local leaders saw the potential and worked to promote Lynbrook as the epicenter of Long Island’s booming sports memorabilia market.
The baseball card boom would eventually go bust in the early 1990s due to overproduction and loss of interest from investors. Its impact on Lynbrook’s local economy and culture proved to be long lasting. Even as the storefronts have changed hands or closed down over the decades since, Lynbrook is still known across the New York area as a destination for serious collectors. Its annual card show is one of the largest on the East Coast.
While the internet has connected collectors worldwide, Lynbrook remains a special place for those who came of age hunting through wax packs or browsing the Green Brothers’ boxes. The memories, friendships and community built around baseball cards in this small Long Island town show how even the simplest of hobbies can spark big changes when embraced by a passionate local scene. Baseball cards may come and go, but in Lynbrook they are forever cemented as an iconic part of the community’s history and economy.
