Mantle, Mays and more

Ed Stephens wasn't an avid baseball card collector when he was a kid.

That came later. Several decades later.

"I started growing up when I was about 40," he said with a laugh.

"My mother told him to get a hobby one day," added his son, David. "He came home with box upon box of cards. It was my mother's way of keeping him out of her hair for a while. He got all of us kids doing it."

Father and son still haven't stopped adding to their collection, and those husband and wife disputes linger on, too.

"There's a constant strife between me and my wife and my collection," David said with a smile.

But the men have turned their hobbies into a business as they recently purchased, All Star Sports Cards at 1735 Kathleen Ave.

It's filled with plenty of baseball, basketball and football cards carefully displayed behind the glass counter. Hanging on the walls and sitting on shelves are black and white photos of the greats like Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle. There are baseballs signed by the likes of Detroit Tigers pitcher Mickey Lolich and football helmets signed by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana.

There are jerseys, plaques, mini-helmets, figurines and old newspaper clippings protected in glass frames. The names of Ali, Bird, West, Unitas, Ruth, DiMaggio and Jordan are all around.

At the centerpiece of it all, the conversion starter, the masterpiece of this store, are the sports cards.

Ed likes to chat cards as he points to some in his display case.

"Willie Davis was a pretty good player with the Dodgers."

Then, there's Don Larsen, the Yankee who pitched the only World Series perfect game in 1956.

"He's a neighbor of ours," Ed said. "He lives in Hayden Lake."

Sports cards can be a good investment, Ed said. In his days, there was just Topps that made cards. Then Fleer, Donruss and Score came on the scene after Fleer sued to break the monopoly Topps had on baseball cards.

In the 1980s and '90s, the market was overflowing with baseball cards, Ed Stephens said.

"There were so many cards, you just wouldn't believe it," he said.

Today, manufacturers have backed off.

"Now, we have the right amount. It helps us out," Ed said. "Then we don't have to worry about depreciation."

Ed said kids are key to any sports card shop's success.

"When kids come in, then dad's got to come in," he said.

He tries to keep prices low for the younger crowd and offer cards that aren't too costly. Most range from a few bucks to under $50.

"Not real expensive, but they're expensive enough it attracts people," he said. "Kids can't afford the $30, $40 Mannings, so I keep inexpensive ones here."

If you'd rather trade, you can do that, too.

On the first Saturday of every month, All Star Sports Cards has a traders night. Ed and David provide the pizza and pop, and customers stop in to check out collections.

"This is going to be a fun shop for everybody," Ed Stephens said.

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Ed Stephens had a card shop on Northwest Boulevard about seven years ago. He never stopped collecting cards, pictures and autographed baseballs, and decided he missed it too much. The chance to return with his son brought him back to the business.

"We wanted something he could do, I can come down and help him out," David said. "It gives us a chance to spend more time together, too."

David oversees sales of the Magic and Pokemon cards. They also have supplies like plastic sheets and binders to protect cards.

Taking care of cards is critical in this field.

Ed points to a John Elway rookie card in the glass case.

"If it's like this one, then it's worth $60. If the kid carried it around in his pocket and it got crumpled up, then it's worthless," he said.

David said sports cards and memorabilia are holding their value, despite the ailing economy

"People strangely enough like to flock to something they consider safe. We've seen an increase in the last couple years of people coming in and buying expensive cards," David said.

Ed said he's seen people give up their collections as they struggle to keep up with rising debt.

"I try to give them a good price so they can pay their bills," he said.

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Ed loves the shop for one very big reason. He loves to talk sports. Always has, always will. What could be better than being in the midst of kids and cards?

"I've been a sports person since I was a kid," he said.

He recalls that when he was younger, he attended San Diego Padres games with his grandmother, and they always sat near the third baseline.

"I remember one time watching eight games in 10 days," Ed said. "She was right beside me. It's a lot of fond memories."

There was also a game when the Cincinnati Reds came to town with a lineup that included Frank Robinson, Vada Pinson and Pete Rose.

Ed Stephens smiles big as he recounts what happened.

"There was a kid named Billy McCool and he was just 21 years old and he struck out 15 of those guys, at least 3 times, each one of them. It was a phenomenal thing," he said. "It's probably one of those games you'd never forget in your life."

He later saw Hall of Famers like Tony Gwynn and Dave Winfield come to the plate and deliver singles, doubles and home runs.

"We watched some pretty nice players maturing," Ed said.

"I have very few memories that don't revolve around sports or sports card collecting," David said.

Ed Stephens does have one regret when he looks back on his collecting career. It doesn't have anything to do with cards or autographs or pictures.

"I never got a foul ball."

Information: 765-4666