For Jason Dambach, baseball has been an integral part of his life.
After leaving the professional sports world, Dambach opened sports memorabilia store Nittany Cards Plus in State College.
Dambach’s sports career journey began almost 20 years ago with the Altoona Curve as a broadcaster and media relations director. He then eventually moved on to become the general manager of the State College Spikes.
His love for the sport only continued to grow as he moved to Dallas, Texas, to be the general manager of the Frisco Roughriders, an affiliate of the Texas Rangers, from 2015 to 2018.
But Dambach, a Central Pennsylvania native, left Texas after a few years for his hometown. He established roots once again and began a family with his wife, Penn State women’s soccer head coach Erica Dambach.
He then got the idea about two years ago for the memorabilia shop. The gap for the market was huge in State College, and Dambach got to work providing it for the sports fans of Centre County.
“There was a huge void in our community for something like this,” Dambach said. “State College has not had a dedicated sports card or memorabilia shop.”
After months of hard work, the storefront opened in January.
“As somebody who was looking to own a business and work for myself, I think selfishly this sort of fit,” Dambach said. “It fit our lifestyle, and it was something that, if we are going to own a business, let’s have a fun business and something where I can interact with people.”
The shop, located at 1631 S. Atherton St. Suite 103, contains a wide range of products from cards to signed jerseys from an array of teams.
“We have a little bit of something for everybody,” Dambach said. “We [have] $1 cards all the way up to $1,000 dollar cards.”
Perhaps the most popular spot of the store is the case dedicated to Penn State. It includes signed cards from Sean Clifford, Nick Singleton, Jahan Dotson, Olu Fashanu and more.
“As soon as [Name, Image and Likeness] kicked in, and players were able to officially sign a deal with Fanatics, Topps or Panini, you knew that there was going to be an avalanche in the industry,” Dambach said.
For those who aren’t as inclined to trading and collecting, the shop will have upcoming autograph signings and a basketball hoop and putting green to make it a hangout spot for anyone.
“We just want to make sure the experience in our shop is exciting and gets them to keep coming back,” Dambach said.
While the doors have only been open for a little over a month, Dambach has plans to continue to expand the collectibles into the worlds of UFC, WWE and more.
The State College community has been thankful for this new opportunity in the sports world, Dambach said, and he now acts as a hub for members of the State College and Centre County trading and memorabilia community.
“The No. 1 comment I have gotten from folks is, ‘Thank god I don’t have to drive to Altoona or Harrisburg; now I can come in here,’” he said.
Nittany Cards Plus is a shared family experience, and Dambach encouraged anyone to come to the store and enjoy all it has to offer. The shop is open Monday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and is closed on Sunday.
