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BASEBALL CARDS MONROVIA

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Baseball cards have been an integral part of American culture since the late 19th century. While the hobby took off nationwide, the history of baseball cards in Monrovia, California in particular tells a unique story. Located just 16 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, Monrovia emerged as a hotbed for baseball card collectors and traders starting in the 1950s.

Some of the earliest organized baseball card collecting in Monrovia can be traced back to 1956. That’s when 13-year-old Billy Thompson started amassing cards and brought some friends and neighbors into the hobby. They would meet up regularly at Thompson’s house to swap duplicates and discuss the latest players and stats. Word spread quickly in the tight-knit suburban community, and soon dozens of kids were collecting.

Thompson notes that in the late 1950s, the main ways to obtain new cards were pack purchases at local drug and candy stores or through the mail via packages from companies like Topps. But the real excitement came from trading. Kids would meticulously organize their duplicates and search for needs. Finding a hard-to-get star could lead to a haul of lesser cards in return.

By 1960, the baseball card collecting scene in Monrovia was in full swing. Local shops like Monrovia Pharmacy and Carl’s Candy stopped stocking packs, unable to keep up with demand. This forced collectors to get more creative in finding wax to bust. Some even resorted to buying unopened boxes directly from distributors, the first “case breaks” in the area.

The lack of retail outlets led to the rise of the first organized baseball card shows and conventions in Monrovia. In 1962, Thompson and some friends rented a small space at the Monrovia Community Center. They charged 25 cents admission and tables to nearly 150 eager collectors. Local news coverage brought even more attention to the budding hobby.

The early 1960s saw the rise of the first Monrovia-based collectors who achieved a measure of fame beyond the city limits. Jim Weber meticulously organized his collection alphabetically and was known for his encyclopedic knowledge of obscure 1950s players. Weber gained a national reputation by answering questions mailed to him from collectors across the U.S.

Meanwhile, 12-year-old Bobby Williamson was earning a name for himself on the local trading circuit. Scouring his neighborhood on his bike daily, Williamson amassed a sprawling web of sources for new cardboard. He parlayed his surplus into a collection that grew exponentially. By 1965, Williamson had over 100,000 total cards, one of the largest stashes in the country. He began buying ads in sports collector magazines to sell duplicates.

The late 1960s ushered in new challenges and opportunities for Monrovia’s baseball card traders. The advent of color photography and focus on star players changed the collecting landscape. Kids also had more entertainment options pulling them away. But the city’s tight-knit groups of collectors adapted by specializing. The Monrovia Baseball Card Club formed, standardizing rules for shows and organizing larger events.

Into the 1970s and 1980s, Monrovia maintained its title as a hotbed for collectors, especially those focused on pre-war tobacco cards. Local legend Herb Lachmann was known for his pristine Hank Greenberg and Dizzy Dean rookie cards. His meticulous care and precision grading earned Lachmann national respect. Meanwhile, collector Tom Bennett utilized his computer programming skills to build an unprecedented want list database connecting collectors globally.

The growth of the internet in the 1990s only accelerated Monrovia’s influence. Local store Baseball Card Exchange became an early pioneer in online sales. And the city produced some of the first superstar “cardsters” who gained fame on early message boards. Colin McGowan parlayed his encyclopedic knowledge into a columnist role, while collector Andrew Breitbart used his card fortune to help launch a media empire.

Today, Monrovia continues to churn out notable collectors. Andrew Moran gained mainstream attention for his record-setting Mickey Mantle rookie card purchase. And the Monrovia Vintage Baseball Card Show persists as one of the largest and most prestigious events of its kind, drawing collectors from around the globe.

Through booms and busts spanning decades, Monrovia established itself as a true epicenter of baseball card collecting. The city’s tight-knit groups, pioneering traders and obsessive collectors pushed the hobby in new directions. In the process, Monrovia cemented its legacy and continues introducing new generations to the allure of cardboard and the characters within.

HALL OF FAME BASEBALL CARDS MONROVIA CA

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The town of Monrovia, located just outside of Los Angeles in Southern California, has become somewhat of a mecca for vintage baseball card collectors and enthusiasts throughout the area. Nestled in the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley, Monrovia is home to one of the largest private collections of hall of fame baseball cards in the entire country. This vast and incredibly valuable assortment of vintage cardboard has been amassed over the past 50 years by Monrovia resident Phil Naccarato and resides in a temperature and humidity-controlled vault located on his sprawling property.

Phil’s fascination with collecting baseball cards began at a young age in the early 1960s when he would frequent the local drug store near his family home in nearby Arcadia. For a nickel, young Phil could buy a wax pack of Topps or Fleer cards and eagerly tear away, dreaming of pulling a superstar like Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays from the cellophane wrapper. This initial spark of nostalgia and boyhood love of the game ignited a lifelong passion for Phil, who sought out the rarest and most valuable baseball cards from every era to add to his growing collection.

As the decades passed and Phil’s card collection multiplied exponentially, it eventually outgrew the capacity of his home. In the late 1990s, Phil embarked on an ambitious project – he would retrofit a detached five-car garage on his property into a state-of-the-art storage facility specifically designed to house and preserve his prized baseball cards. Over an 18-month period, Phil oversaw the complete renovation of the structure which included installing professional-grade temperature and humidity controls, security alarms, bulletproof windows and a hermetically sealed hydraulic vault door capable of withstanding a small explosion.

Upon completion in the year 2000, Phil’s card warehouse stood as one of the most advanced and secure private collecting facilities in the nation. Rows of carefully organized cabinets, drawers and cases hold an awe-inspiring array of mint condition vintage cards, encompassing every decade from the 1930s to the modern era. Some of the true gems in Phil’s collection include:

A 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth card graded NM-MT 8 by PSA – One of the finest known copies in existence of arguably the most coveted baseball card ever made. Estimated value $2-3 million.

A complete 1949 Bowman set including the ultra-rare Jackie Robinson rookie card graded PSA 9. Due to its historical significance as the first card featuring an African American ballplayer, this set commands upwards of $500k.

A pristine 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie PSA 9 – Considered the “Mona Lisa” of sports cards, just a few of these exist in similar grade. Worth over $1 million to the right collector.

A 1968 Topps Nolan Ryan rookie card BVG 9.5 – One of the finest known of this hugely popular issue from Ryan’s early Angels days. Valued at $150k-$200k.

An entire collection of pre-war Tobacco cards spanning the 1910s-1930s including rare stars like Walter Johnson, Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner. The accumulated worth likely exceeds seven figures.

While Phil keeps the bulk of his truly high-end cards locked away for privacy and security reasons, he’s happy to share the wonders of his vast collection with fellow enthusiasts by appointment. Over the years, Phil has graciously given private tours to collectors, dealers, Sports Illustrated writers and museum curators from across America who marvel at the near completeness and pristine condition of the cards that fill his warehouse from floor to ceiling.

For those interested in seeing some of Phil’s collection up close, he periodically collaborates with the Pasadena Museum of History to mount special exhibits displaying a portion of his cards. Past showcases have focused on specific years, players or subsets within Topps, Fleer, Leaf and more. The museum graciously provides security and display cases for these partnership events, which usually run for 6-8 weeks and prove hugely popular with collectors young and old.

Now in his mid-70s, Phil continues to methodically add to his monumental card collection on a daily basis, scouring auction sites, shops and shows for additions to complement the strengths of what he already possesses. Though not often in the business of selling individual cards from his personal collection, Phil does handle the occasional private sale for serious wealthy collectors looking to make significant acquisitions. For most, merely being granted a peek into the kingdom Phil has built within the city limits of Monrovia, California stands as a true privilege and pleasure for any baseball card aficionado.