A collection of baseball cards, approximately 30,000 of them, will be up for grabs at a Swampscott Little League fundraiser. The goal is to raise $ 10,000 through small donations of $ 10, $ 20 and $ 30.
The fundraising was the brainchild of Swampscott resident Bruce Golomb, who is a retired teacher and former Little League coach. Vincent and Joe Fazzolari donated space in their hair salon, Rosa Brothers at 202 Humphrey Street, for Golomb to set up displays and organize fundraising on days when the store is closed.
30,000 cards… how did it go? It all started when Golomb was 10 and, of course, a baseball fan.
“I was a little kid – and I grew up in Malden – and you could go to the drugstore and buy baseball cards, packs of cards, for a dime, a dime, whatever,” Golomb said.
He started teaching at Malden in 1973 – he worked at Belmont and Beebe schools – and three years later opened a confectionery there, while continuing to teach. The store was originally called The Sweet Shop, then became Pudge’s Slush, and it eventually opened a store in downtown Rockport.
Golomb said that in the late 1970s and early 1980s when he went to buy wholesale candy, vendors also had baseball cards. He decided to buy them too and include a small section for them in his shop.
Over time, he started to do sets. A standard pack contains 15 cards, but a full set for one year would be 700 cards. People would come in and say they needed certain cards to complete a set.
“The cards themselves, just because they’re old,” he said, “they’re relatively more valuable than what you could buy today.”
They may be old, he said, but they are in perfect condition. He begins to name them: “Nolan Ryan 1988, Mike Schmidt Hall of Famer …”
Golomb has owned the collection for a long time and would now like to see other people appreciate the cards. The whole idea of fundraising is that people come to help a good cause and get something in return.
“They are getting something of value,” he said.
He hopes people will come with their kids who are playing baseball or softball and show them the baseball cards. Collecting, he says, can be a fun, intergenerational hobby.
“I just saw a guy at the cafe,” Golomb said. “He said, ‘Oh, grandson, yeah, I’m going to buy some cards, and when he’s old enough to know who’s playing for the Red Sox right now, I can tell him about these guys.’ “
How it will work
Rosa Brothers Hair Salon is closed on Sundays and Mondays. Golomb will host the fundraiser there from December 12 to 13 and December 26 to 27. You can stop between noon and 4 p.m. to make a donation and receive baseball cards:
- For a $ 10 donation, you will receive a sheet of nine cards.
- For a $ 20 donation, you will receive two sheets of nine cards, plus an additional and more valuable Superstar or Rookie card that could be worth between $ 5 and $ 75.
- A $ 30 donation earns three sheets and two of the most valuable cards.
Golomb plans to continue fundraising through the winter months and into April.
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