Paul Skenes Joins Young Hobbyists in Pittsburgh for Topps Rip Event

It was a morning to remember for approximately a hundred kids in the Pittsburgh area who were chosen to participate in a Topps Rip event at the Dick’s House of Sport in Ross Park, Pennsylvania. This venue may sound familiar as it is the home of the famous Paul Skenes 1/1 Debut Patch card, which was bought at auction for $1.11 million dollars, and unveiled back in May of this year.

It was evident that excitement was in the air for the next generation of card collectors. The children selected for this event are all a part of youth sports organizations across the greater Pittsburgh area who also take part in the growing hobby of card collecting. When asked how a young collector got into the hobby, he responded with, “I saw Youtubers collecting sports cards and it looked like a lot of fun.” It is no secret that the hobby has turned into one of the largest industries in the world, and polarizing figures like Youtubers, content creators, and now Paul Skenes are the face of it.

The event also happened at a perfect time, where House of Sport has recently launched their brand new Collector’s Clubhouse. Before the event, I had the chance to ask Skenes who he collected as a kid since there were so many kids eagerly awaiting his entrance and to open packs with him. In response he said, “I collected probably when I was 7 or 8 years old. The one for me would’ve been Mike Trout, but I stopped collecting before the time he debuted. Off the top of my head, other than collecting Ohtani’s card, growing up an Angels fan I think collecting them would’ve been really cool…I pretty much collected just to collect as many cards as possible, I wasn’t looking for names or anything like that. I think I still have them somewhere.”

Afterward, Skenes was then met with a roaring group of children who each had a chance to participate in “pack wars” for different pieces of memorabilia, collectibles, and unopened card products. The venue and the event was not only exciting for the kids, but it was exciting for Skenes to witness the store and his 1/1 card for the first time in person. Skenes said to the media, “This is the first time I’ve seen the exhibit. It’s really cool. Cool to keep it in the city of Pittsburgh, and, you know, kind of keep it in the family, if you will.”

All signs lead to growth as Friday morning was another step in the positive direction for the sports card industry. As professional athletes continue to be involved in the hobby, so will older collectors who once chased every card like Skenes did. More importantly, the new generation of collectors will continue to rise as kids see their role models opening packs and visiting their million dollar, one-of-one card.