It was like the second coming. Not since the Winifred H., with a cargo of 1,100 cases of whiskey came ashore at Napeague during Prohibition has there been such a crowd here. . . .
We’re referring, of course, to Tom Brady’s visit Thursday to East Hampton Village, where he cut the ribbon at the CardVault by Tom Brady store on Newtown Lane and threw footballs from a wide vehicular bandstand into a clamoring throng that almost reached to the Roy Mabery tennis courts opposite the East Hampton Middle School.
“Where are the palm leaves?” one attendee said as village police put up stanchions along the sidewalk leading from Stop & Shop to Herrick Park, effectively keeping the adoring horde at bay. Finally, at about 5 p.m. – he had been at the stucco-fronted store down the way since 3:30, outside of which another bustling group of fans had gathered – he arrived, to cheers, whoops, and resounding applause.
Bounding up to the grandstand, where Mayor Jerry Larsen and the East Hampton High School football team with its coach, Joe McKee, awaited, the seven-time Super Bowl champion vowed that CardVault by Tom Brady – said to be the “premier sports card, trading card, and memorabilia retailer” – would be a winner.
The store here is the fifth that Brady and his partners have opened throughout the United States. “The one they opened at the Meadowlands in March drew more than 11,000 people,” Don Reese, whose elder son, Jack, is one of the store’s managers, said as he and scores of others, of all ages – who may have been similarly awed by the fact that the daylong rain had suddenly given way to bright sunshine – waited for the presumptive “greatest quarterback of all time” to come out.
Asked if he would present Brady with a proclamation, as he had a few days before to East Hampton’s lifeguard guru, “Big John” Ryan, on the occasion of his 90th birthday, the Mayor said, with a smile, “No, he has to prove himself.”
The mood that afternoon was similarly lighthearted. When asked if they’d been sports card collectors in their youth, Don Reese and Evan Larsen said their mothers, having grown tired of the clutter, had thrown their cards out. Another local collector, who prefers anonymity, has said the cards his mother tossed during a house move in the 1950s “would be worth about $500,000 now.” But that was then: Presumably, since prices have soared, mothers no longer are as fastidious.
Judging from the prices affixed to CardVault memorabilia bearing the names of, among others, Brady, Joe Montana, Eli Manning, Bryce Harper, Darryl Strawberry, and Josh Allen, the newly-opened store is no Five and Dime.
A press release says, in part, that “the East Hampton store offers a showroom with an extensive selection ranging from sealed boxes and packs to individual cards and authentic memorabilia from top brands like Topps, Panini, Upper Deck, Pokemon, and Fanatics Authentic. Customers will be able to walk through the store’s signature vault door to find highly sought after signed jerseys and equipment, limited edition CardVault by Tom Brady merchandise, and a specially themed Pokemon experience. . . . Customers can also submit their cards for authentication and grading.”
Ed Kane, a co-founder of CardVault by Tom Brady, has said, according to the release, that “bringing CardVault to East Hampton, a community known for being on the cutting edge of art, culture, and collecting, is an exciting step forward for our brand, collectors, and fans worldwide. . . . This location reflects our continued commitment to making the hobby accessible and engaging for collectors of all levels.”
Would it make it as a year-round store? Some in the crowd thought yes, some thought it certainly would through the summer, and some thought no. “’Scoop du Jour had lines down the sidewalk,” one observer said, “and it didn’t last.”