D’s offers a world of sports and entertainment collectibles
It seems as if most of the greats from the world of sports are represented.
Photos and autographs of Joe DiMaggio, Ernie Banks and Nolan Ryan from baseball.
Earl Campbell, Gale Sayers, and Mean Joe Greene from football.
Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods from golf.
They are all there – and many more as well – covering walls and filling tables and display cases at D’s Cards & Memorabilia, 120 53rd Ave. W., Suite B2.
Now wrapping up its second year of business, D’s is all about sports, but also sells an eclectic mix of collectibles from the entertainment world.
One space includes entertainers who likely would never share the same stage, such as Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan, German rock band the Scorpions and country star Alan Jackson.
Paul Warner, a sports-loving retired school teacher from Odessa, Texas, manages the business for his friend Dee Witt, with whom he has worked for a decade.
Warner and his wife, Frances, moved to the Bradenton area in 2015 to be closer to their children and grandchildren, and soon began scouting the area for a new card and memorabilia store.
In high school, Paul Warner played football, baseball and basketball, and ran track. He is a long-time collector of memorabilia.
Paul Warner makes the store. It’s his personality that keeps people coming back.
Willie Mark
store associate“I have collected most everything, but today I am more into vintage football from the 1960s and earlier,” Warner said.
D’s customers run the gamut from 14-year-olds to 80 somethings.
Sports card companies over-produced product in the 1990s, sending the value of cards plummeting, but the market has corrected itself and emerged with a new look.
Topps and Panini are now the dominant forces, with Panini buying up Donruss, Fleer, Leaf and other companies.
“Topps and Panini have limited their output, which has brought prices back up,” Warner said.
The two companies also continue to release limited-edition numbered cards, which have proven popular with collectors.
“Collectors want the autographed cards, cards which have a piece of jersey embedded in them, helmets, jerseys and autographed balls. The demand has stayed pretty steady through the years,” Warner said.
Even when Warner was teaching economics and government in Odessa, Texas, he kept his hands in sports by running the scoreboard for the Midland Rockhounds, the minor league affiliate of the Oakland A’s. Eventually, Frances Warner became front office manager for the Rockhounds.
One of the highlights of the business for Warner is getting to know and talk to his customers.
“They don’t have to buy anything. I enjoy when they come by just to talk,” he said.
Willie Mark was one of those customers.
“I am a guy who walked into the store one day and started looking around and talking to Paul,” said Mark, a teacher who now works part-time at the store. “Paul makes the store. It’s his personality that keeps people coming back.”
Even though D’s has a large inventory, it also selectively buys and trades memorabilia.
D’s is open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. The store is closed Sundays.
For more information, visit dscardsnmemorabilia.com or call 941-405-4124.
James A. Jones Jr.: 941-745-7053, @jajones1
This story was originally published December 22, 2017 at 11:40 AM with the headline "D’s offers a world of sports and entertainment collectibles."