Fred Bolte of Ankeny began buying baseball cards as a kid just to chew the gum. He hung onto them, and as an adult discovered that those cards had value.
“No one tells you when you’re a kid that you’re actually collecting cards. The cards were put in gum packets in order to sell the gum — that’s why they created the baseball card. They date back to the 1800s with the tobacco card. Eventually, it changed from selling gum to selling the cards,” said Bolte, 73. “I bought mine for three cents a pack when I was a kid.”
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Bolte used to travel across the country attending trade shows. When he retired from working full-time at John Deere, he opened Who’s on First. Last summer, he closed the Uptown Ankeny storefront and relocated his business to his home.
“I still get calls every single day from people wanting to look at cards or show me cards. It’s just more convenient for me to do it out of my home,” Bolte said. “I’ve had some customers for 30 years. I even take cards to shut-ins.”
Bolte spoke with The Des Moines Register about his business.
Q: Who are your customers?
A: I work with everyone, but primarily those who have passion for collecting cards, from 5 to 95. One older gentleman had his Mickey Mantle card stolen and I’ve been helping him try to replace it.
Q: What are some bonuses to introducing kids to collecting cards?
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A: It teaches them to read figures, numbers like stats and RBIs, etc. I have some kids who thoroughly read the cards and can tell you every detail on them. It’s crazy. But it’s such a neat passion.
Q: What type of cards do you have?
A: I carry mainstream sports cards. When we had the store, we had autographed memorabilia, like helmets and jerseys from players, but we don’t have room for that with the move.
Q: What’s the most popular cards?
A: Baseball is the biggest seller, followed by football then basketball. We don’t carry the oddball sports cards.
Q: Where were the shows you attended?
A: The shows were across the country and was one of the best experiences of my life. You meet so many different people. It was so much fun.
Q: What can you tell us about people you’ve met over the years?
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A: The people are wonderful and the kids are fantastic. We have cards that people cannot get locally, so we work with people all across the country.
Q: Where do you obtain your cards?
A: We buy from the companies that manufacture the cards and from distributors. In the past, we’ve done a lot of trading and buying cards, but right now we’re only trading and buying cards from the ’50s.
Who’s on First
LOCATED AT: Ankeny
HOURS: By appointment
OWNER: Fred Bolte
BUSINESS HISTORY: Bolte started the business in 1993.
CONTACT: 965-8638
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHO
