XX MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY APRIL 11-17, 2024 www.montereycountyweekly.com 831 Each morning, Anthony Catania arranges cards in a showcase at his little shop in Pacific Grove. The colors are vivid and the names they carry are legendary. Dizzy Dean, Ralph Kiner, Al Kaline and others stare back, looking out of the cards from past to present. “I put a lot of the big boys out so kids can see Jackie Robinson and Mickey Mantle,” he explains. “The 1956 Topps Ted Williams is my personal favorite.” But each day another set of eyes watches over Catania and his selection of sports cards and memorabilia. They belong to another Anthony—unseen, yet always present for the owner of Sharp Corners Cards and Collectibles. In the fall of 2022, Catania’s wife was pregnant with the couple’s second child. A checkup revealed that the unborn boy had a serious heart condition. They flew to a specialist in Houston to seek a solution, then traveled to another at Stanford. Little Anthony was born March 24, 2023, welcomed to the world by immediate heart surgery. Two days later, on March 26 during a second procedure, the infant died. Catania had worked in produce sales, glass installation and as a hotel manager. On the trip to Houston, worried about the future and what might become of the child, the couple managed to get through a late dinner at the hotel. During the meal, Catania told his wife he wanted to open a sports card shop—something he could share with his son. “He lives through the store,” Catania says on a Tuesday morning, the oneyear anniversary of the boy’s death. He honors Anthony by giving young customers a free mystery pack of cards on the 24th and 26th. “It’s one gesture,” Catania adds. “That’s what keeps the hobby alive—the kids.” The market worth of cards representing modern players are like stocks, climbing or dropping depending upon how well the athlete performed that day. While soaring prices may bring the promise of big ticket sales to dealers, Catania worries that speculation by adult collectors in it for the value will drive young people away. Sharp Corners stocks vintage and current cards—baseball, football, hockey and more. Catania is a San Francisco 49ers and football fan first, but appreciates all sports, as well as the associated cards. Mostly he enjoys watching children as they open a new pack. “They get excited—‘This is my favorite player,’” he says. “When I was a kid, I was the same way.” While the shop features a selection of mint condition cards from the 1930s through the 1960s, Catania distinguishes himself from other dealers and collectors. He pulls a rough Mickey Mantle card from a case. Its corners are frayed and a patch has been torn from the back. “To your eyes it’s a damaged card,” he says, speaking of the high-end hobbyists. “To mine it tells a story. The kid was playing with this card. Maybe he had it tacked above his bed.” What means more to Catania are the memories customers share. They talk about the joy of watching Stan Musial or Sandy Koufax play, the tragedy of returning home from college to find their mother had tossed out their collections and more. As a result, he says, “Sports means more to me now than when I was a kid.” And the shop means everything. Sharp Corners had been a Monterey fixture when it was owned by Royce Turpin—“He’s a living legend in the card world,” Catania points out. After his son passed, he purchased some of Turpin’s stock and began renovating a tiny storefront in Pacific Grove, with his wife, daughter and father pitching in. “It kept my mind busy, helped us look forward to something,” he says. “It was healing.” Catania recalls receiving the first shipment of new cards as he was getting ready to unlock the doors in August of 2023. “I opened my first box and thought, ‘Wow, this is real,’” he says. “It was emotional. This shop saved myself and saved my family.” And it also shares with young customers the memory of an infant boy. Sharp Corners Cards and Collectibles, 205 Cypress Ave., Pacific Grove. 521-5264, sharpcornerscardsandcollectibles.com. Card Stock A little sports card shop in Pacific Grove is also a saving grace for its owner. By Dave Faries Sharp Corners Cards and Collectibles owner Anthony Catania says everyone has their own way to collect sports cards. “There is no right way to collect cards—there isn’t,” he says. “You do your collection the way you want to do it.” “Sports mean more to me now than when I was a kid.” TALES FROM THE AREA CODE DANIEL DREIFUSS
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