This & That Sports Owner Works to Give Back to the Community
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| The sports card shop has expanded to include other collectible cards, like Pokemon, and celebrity autographs. |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. —This & That Sports owner Reggie Davis and his wife, Crystal Davis, have been working the past two years to be part of improving the community he loves.
The sports card store, located at 128 Fenn St., does this through its programming and community relations.
This year, they are continuing one of their promotions that they started just a month after opening on Nov. 1, 2020. It provides kids between the ages of 2 and 14 with a free $10 gift card to Walmart so they are able to get a toy.
Parents are encouraged to bring their children into the shop to register and return a couple days before Christmas to pick the card up.
The first year there were about 75 participants. The tradition is growing in popularity with a little more than 100 people participating last year. This year they are expecting to have at least 150 participants.
The business also hosted its second annual golf tournament in September to benefit the Berkshire Humane Society. They participate in a variety of other community events, including Toys for Tots and Downtown Pittsfield Inc.'s food drive.
"I want it to go to a good cause and that's why we do a lot of our fundraising for children and animals. These are people and animals that can't help themselves so we need to help them," Reggie Davis said.
The store has an extensive collection of sports cards and memorabilia that range from $20 to a couple thousand.
What makes the store different from similar shops is that it does not primarily focus on sports but has a collection that anyone would be interested in, including signed memorabilia of celebrities, Davis said.
The store has an autograph picture wall featuring autographs from celebrities including Jason Mamoa ("Game of Thrones," "Aquaman"), Adam Copeland (actor, professional wrestler), Michael Winslow (actor, comedian), Linda Blair ("The Exorcist"), and many more.
One thing that he learned with autograph signings is to make them as unique as possible so they do inscriptions, or have the celebrities autograph something that not everyone has.
Examples of this include "Police Academy" memorabilia signed and inscribed by Winslow, known for making sound effects. Winslow inscribed "Jones" on a megaphone bullhorn.
They also have jerseys signed by actors Thomas Ian Nicholas and Chevy Chase that references their movies "Rookie of the Year" and "National Lampoon's Vacation."
Davis wants to make his collection accessible to anyone interested so he is also holding a $10 Mystery Packs promotion to give people a chance to win prizes
Some of the remaining big chase prizes include a 1958 PSA graded Mickey Mantle card valued at about $100, a graded Rookie Tom Brady card valued at about $500, an autographed Larry Bird jersey valued at about $300.
There are also lower valued prizes that are priced over $20, so it is worth spending $10, Reggie said.
They started with 1,000 mystery packs and only have 275 left with only 11 Big Chase items left.
This & That was originally a destination for sports memorabilia and autographs but has expanded to include Pokemon cards, Squish mellows, Funko Pops, and toys.
It was important to Davis that he make the space open and welcoming to as many people as possible. When he noticed that children often found themselves bored while their parents browsed, he created a children's section.
The change is drastic, he said. The kids immediately bolt toward that section.
There are not a lot of sports card places in the area so although he knew it was going to be tough, especially amidst a pandemic, he felt the urge to open the store, he said. "We're trying to bring the hobby of collecting back to Berkshire County. That's what I would like to do."
Dozens of people a day call or stop by the store looking to have their collections they built over a number of years purchased or appraised because of the lack of places to do so in the area, he said.
The shop provides a space for people to gather to share in their interest and put a smile on peoples faces.
Some events he has done in the past include Berkshire sports cards and collectible shows, an autograph signing featuring New England Patriots player Joe Andruzzi, and trade nights.
For the last 14 months, they have been having trade nights in the vacant space next door. Participants can bring any of their cards, whether sports or Pokemon, to trade. They plan to continue this event every Wednesday from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
Since opening, the store has developed a strong clientele of close to 50 people who visit on a weekly or monthly basis, Davis said.
This shared passion has helped develop long lasting friendships.
"We've created friends, not just customers … I'm going to be 49 years old. We have friends that we go out to dinner with that are in their 20s. We have friends we go out to dinner with that are in their 60s," Davis said
"So we've definitely not only embraced customers, but they're embracing us and they're happy for what we're doing as well."
