TimesDispatch.com | Sports card business not what it used to be

"Empty boxes littered shelves, stores popped up everywhere, companies couldn't produce cards fast enough.

It was the early '90s and the sports card industry was thriving like a big-leaguer hitting Little League pitching.
But, like Texas oil in the 1980s and the dot-com companies at the turn of the century, the good times didn't last. By the end of the decade, the card industry crashed hard, leaving behind a wake of bankrupt companies and empty shops.

The only chance for survival was to diversify, adding new products to complement the sports cards. Even that didn't always work; most of the 15 or so companies at the height of the boom are gone."