Dean’s Baseball Cards: A Ohio Institution
Dean’s Baseball Cards is an Ohio institution that has been collecting and trading baseball cards for over 50 years. What started as a small hobby shop in Akron, Ohio in the 1960s has grown into one of the largest and most well-known baseball card retailers in the state. Dean’s Baseball Cards has been a staple of the Ohio baseball card scene for generations of collectors.
Dean’s was founded in 1968 by Dean Smith, an avid baseball fan and collector from a young age. Dean started collecting cards as a boy in the 1950s and was one of the early adopters of the growing baseball card hobby. In his teenage years and young adulthood, Dean organized informal card swaps and trade days with other local collectors. Seeing the enthusiasm of others, Dean decided to turn his passion into a business and opened his first storefront in Akron.
Those early years saw Dean’s Baseball Cards catering to the burgeoning youth market. Kids throughout Northeast Ohio would flock to Dean’s to buy packs of the latest baseball cards to add to their collections. The store quickly became a gathering place where young collectors could trade, talk shop, and look through the bins sorting out their duplicate cards. Dean’s grew its inventory beyond just the latest packs, building an extensive back stock of older and rare cards to serve the evolving collector base.
By the 1970s, Dean’s had outgrown its original Akron shop and opened a much larger location in nearby Cuyahoga Falls. This new store gave Dean’s the space needed to expand its inventory and develop into a true destination for collectors. In addition to carrying all the latest baseball card releases, Dean’s built an impressive selection of vintage cards dating back to the earliest days of the hobby in the late 1800s. Serious adult collectors now made up a significant portion of Dean’s customer base, coming to search for that elusive find to complete a set or add a key piece to their collection.
The 1980s saw two major developments that cemented Dean’s status as an Ohio institution – the opening of additional stores and the arrival of the modern sports card boom. In 1981, Dean’s opened its third location in Canton, bringing its brand of card shop to another major Northeast Ohio city. Then in 1985, Dean’s made the bold move of opening its flagship store in suburban Columbus. Located near the intersection of two major highways, this new Dean’s location became the epicenter of the central Ohio card scene.
Meanwhile, the entire sports card industry was exploding in popularity thanks to the rise of the modern era in the mid-1980s. New technologies like color printing on cards and the introduction of sports stars like Ken Griffey Jr. attracted a whole new youth audience. Dean’s was perfectly positioned to capitalize, stocking shelves with every new release from Topps, Fleer, and Donruss. The Columbus superstore became a required pilgrimage for collectors throughout Ohio and the surrounding region.
By the 1990s, Dean’s Baseball Cards had grown to include six total locations across Northeast and Central Ohio. In addition to the original Akron shop and stores in Cuyahoga Falls, Canton, and Columbus, Dean’s opened new branches in Massillon and Mansfield. This coverage allowed Dean’s to truly dominate the Ohio baseball card market. The stores hosted frequent card shows, autograph signings, and other collector events that brought people from all over the state. Dean’s also started an ambitious mail order business to reach customers nationwide.
The over-expansion and 1990s sports card crash forced some difficult changes. The Akron, Canton, and Massillon locations were shuttered in the late 1990s. But Dean’s remained committed to their flagship stores and restructured their business model. Into the 2000s and beyond, Dean’s has continued to thrive with locations in Cuyahoga Falls, Columbus, and Mansfield. They have adapted to changes in the hobby, from the rise of online retailers to the introduction of new card games. Dean’s still holds regular public card shows and special events.
Today, Dean’s Baseball Cards carries on Dean Smith’s original vision of providing a place where all collectors feel welcome. Spanning generations, Dean’s is still a favorite local shop of many Ohioans. Whether you’re a kid buying your first packs or a dedicated vintage collector, Dean’s vast selection and knowledgeable staff aim to please. As one of the longest continually running card stores in the country, Dean’s is truly an institution and a landmark of Ohio’s vibrant baseball card community.
