Yesterday it was reported that Toys 'R Us has filed for bankruptcy. According to this article over 1,600 stores will remain open, but with crippling debt and the decline of brick-and-mortar retailers it feels inevitable that Toys 'R Us stores will soon become extinct.
I don't often have an opinion on corporate bankruptcies, but TRU was such an essential part of my youth that if it does go under I'll miss it a heck of a lot more than Bradlees or Blockbuster Video. I've bought (or been gifted) countless action figures, video games and accessories from their stores.. and even some baseball cards, like these oversized Master Photo cards from 1993:
I don't remember much about these, other than a faint recollection of a corresponding regular-sized card set that is long gone from my collection. I'm not sure how (or why) I managed to hold on to these Master Photos, or if this is the complete set (I doubt it) but it's a good mix of Hall of Famers:
Borderline Hall of Famers:
And All-Stars of the 90's. I scanned the back of one next to this Baerga card, so you can see that there's nothing to see on the back of these.
There's also a few "Young Stars" that never made much of an impact:
Some of the corners on these are pretty dinged up. I haven't handled them all that much but I have moved them around a few times since bringing these back from my childhood home in Connecticut.
I do have a handful of appropriately sized binder pages, but they're being used by all my box topper cards, so I've had to store them in a graded card box with some other oddballs - like my collection of 1964 Topps Giants cards, and these:
I have three others, but these are my favorites. How cool is that Hull?
Do you have any oddball sets from retailers like Toys 'R Us, K-Mart, Bradlees, etc.?
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You're right, the photograph on that Hull card is fantastic!
ReplyDeleteStadium Club photography at its finest. Man, I wish Topps still made hockey cards.
DeleteOuch - right in the childhood! Back in the day, Toys R Us and Kaybee Toys were the best places to go and spend my Christmas money. I have a few of the regular-sized Toys R Us set, but I've never picked up any of the master photos... mostly for the same problem that you've come across - storage. Big stuff just doesn't gel with my storage options, at the present. Nevertheless, they sure are wonderful to look at!
ReplyDeleteNext time I'm at a card shop/show I'll have to get some odd-sized holders or pages, not just for these but for all the mini inserts that have popped out of packs over the past few years. I dont collect A&G for this reason - but I get some in trades.
DeleteNever had a Toys R Us near me when I grew up.. Finally went into one in Whitby as an adult.
ReplyDeleteI dated a girl from Whitby back in the day. Spent some time there. Nice town. I dont remember where the TRU would have been but there was a card shop there and when I came in the guy said he was closing for the day (a half hour early). My gf told him where I was from, and so he let me stay. I shuffled through one pile of cards and left. I don't stay where I'm not wanted.
DeleteI was always a bit scared to go in a TRU in December. I bought a bunch of Peanuts cards and Pogs there when I was collecting them. Does seem sad to me. BTW that Hull is mega cool.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely, it was still pretty wild in there the last time I shopped for Xmas gifts - but that was a couple years ago.
DeleteDude, do I have department store oddballs?? If only I had more!
ReplyDeleteThe departure of Bradlees made me sad as I worked there in college. Good times.
Toys R Us was elusive in our area, always too far away. I have bad memories of Kaybee Toys, mostly from being an adult and trying to negotiate the narrow aisles with other adults during the Christmas rush, looking for kids toys. Claustrophobic.
Kaybee was definitely too small. I worked there one holiday season. It was an adventure. Some of my friends worked at Bradlees, I do have some good memories of that place (mostly of buying Starting Lineup figures as a kid) but I cant say I miss it that much because there's Target. If I had worked there I'd probably miss it. Seemed like a good place for a first/second job.
DeleteThat sucks. Another childhood fixture is set to disappear. Hopefully they'll stay online. As for those Master Photos... they're pretty cool. I have a few myself. Nothing like oversized oddballs.
ReplyDelete