Westmoreland Mall sports card show sees strong turnout as hobby's popularity continues

When the pandemic hit, sports card collector and seller Joe Tucci expected sports cards to dip in popularity.

Instead, the opposite happened.

“We got stimulus checks and everyone jumped in,” said Tucci, from Robinson. “… The hobby exploded.”

Tucci was one of dozens of sellers reaping the benefits of the hobby’s post-pandemic boom Saturday at Hempfield’s Westmoreland Mall, which hosted its annual Sports Cards & Collectibles Show on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The show has been put on for over a decade by Greensburg- based Joe’s Sports Cards & Collectibles.

Collectors of all ages crowded the mall’s Center Court to buy cards and other sports memorabilia.

Tucci, who considers himself to be more of a collector, began selling cards around a decade ago to earn money to buy more cards. He sells on eBay and at shows like this one.

Sales have been up since the pandemic hit, he said.

Jay Knapp, a collector and seller from Moundsville, W.Va., agreed.

Knapp sells older memorabilia, which appeals to an older demographic. Many older people didn’t have much to do when the pandemic hit and couldn’t leave their homes, so they returned to the hobby, Knapp said.

He noted that older collectors often have different reasons for buying cards. While many younger collectors want specific players’ cards, older collectors often want to complete sets, he said.

Knapp, who began collecting cards in 1961 and selling them in 1989, only sells cards at shows like this one. He enjoys reliving sports memories at shows.

“You get to meet different people and tell stories,” he said. “You get guys around my age who tell stories about the ’60 Pirates, ’71 Pirates, ’70 Steelers. Everybody has a story.”

Tucci also enjoys the interactions at shows like this. Though he said sports card popularity is waning after the historic pandemic surge, the pandemic still created many collectors who won’t leave the hobby anytime soon.

Between 2019 and 2020, eBay reported a 142% surge in trading card sales.

Tucci added it’s cool to see kids take interest in sports cards.

Liam McGuire and Anthony Pepe, middle schoolers in the Norwin School District, attended the show for the first time on Saturday. Both boys started collecting cards when they were in elementary school.

McGuire and Pepe both bought cards at the show — though McGuire clarified: “the cheap ones.”