anyone on here know much about these two before they started 4sc?
olb31
Posts: 4,238 ✭✭✭✭✭
You're right that the complete radio silence on what Stan House and Roger Rumsey did for work before ~2003 is unusual and raises eyebrows. Most people their age (likely in their 40s-50s now) have some traceable employment history, even if brief. Searches across LinkedIn, old forums, interviews, news, and public records turn up nothing — no previous employers, professions, or careers mentioned anywhere. They are only ever described as "lifelong collectors and childhood friends" from the Massachusetts area who turned their hobby into the business in 2003.
We all collect a lot of cards. starting with essentially no background and buying millions of dollars of cards and paying $50 million in grading fees seems a little out there to me. The dudes near me that have shops etc. all had other jobs their whole life.
Comments
Those are made up names!
Have you read your own sigline lately?
no have you read yours?
Huh?
Ok, so what's not to believe about a couple guys stockpiling cards and turning it into a business when economics allowed it to happen. They were wise enough to make something out of their abilities and now they have a stranglehold on card distribution in the current environment. They're not the only people whom you've described having no background or prior work history in that they were quite young when they started. One of the most popular card stores here locally was opened in the halcyon days by a guy who did the same thing just hoarding cards and pursuing his passion for sports by making it his business. Look up Beverly Hills Baseball Cards.
No idea what Stan and Roger did before 2003, but I do have good memories of building raw sets from the "newenglandsportscards" lots that they sold on eBay. Sure, these were off-centered commons, but they were vending fresh cards and better than most of the raw cards on eBay back then.
buying O-Pee-Chee (OPC) baseball cards
also collecting Canadian silver coins
I grew up in that area of Mass. Was heavy in the show scene and had my first store from 1987-1998. While I had probably had 1 of the largest true hobby shops in the area, nobody had the inventory Rotman Collectibles had. They had the operation in the warehouse of their furniture store. The sports card show room was very small but always had amazing things displayed. The thing I remember most, in order to get in to the showroom, you had to walk partly through the warehouse. Pallets of inventory. Hoards of everything you can think of.
When it comes to 4SC, this in my mind always had some connection to Rotmans. Just a guess. Maybe the inventory was sold off? Hard to imagine 4SC not having some connection to the Rotman warehouse from back in the day
Man I'd not heard the name "Rotman Collectibles" in decades. I recall picking up several 1989 Score Football factory sets from them via SCD ad. That would have been early in 1990
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972)
Not even a minute do I buy the whole buh buh buh I'm a man-child japery - Me (2025)
Me too!
I still have an unopened 1993 Topps Finest Basketball wax - paid $135. I also did really well with their auctions of raw star cards.
And their customer service was really good - picked up 10 Red Back packs which were obviously no good and they trusted me and gave me a full refund - I thought for sure I was eating them.
I went to Rotman's all the time it was just a 45-50 minute drive from Vernon CT. Back then the BC High shows and Shriners were booming. I was there in 2003-4 when we were paying 5 bucks a pop and complaining about how 4SC were getting theirs for like 2.50.. Go back on here and check it out! The Nolan Ryan Thread was the best place to hang out.. Steady banter...... Tom we definitely crossed paths. Where was your store?
ON ITS WAY TO NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92658
My store was open from 1987-1998 in Framingham on Route 9.
I remember the BC High shows. Also the Rootin Tootin Newton shows every month. Dedham shows and Billy Hedin shows every month the late 80’s in Westboro were great
What Happened to It The card business closed sometime in the early-to-mid 2000s (reports from 2012 place it out of business for at least 10–12 years by then, with the last noted visits around 2003). The exact reason isn't well-documented publicly, but it appears to have wound down as the broader card shop landscape changed and the family focused on the main furniture business.
The main Rotmans Furniture store (a Worcester landmark for decades) continued much longer. It was majority-owned by Vystar Corp. in later years and held a going-out-of-business sale/liquidation in late 2022 as CEO Steve Rotman retired.
Steven Rotman (president/CEO of Rotmans) was a major collector of Central Massachusetts/Worcester historical memorabilia for ~70 years. In 2022, he auctioned off a large personal collection of artifacts, trade cards, postcards, photos, and other items through Central Mass Auctions.
Ownership The Rotman family owned it, with Steven Rotman as the key figure in both the furniture business and the card operation/collecting side. Other family members (e.g., brothers Barry and Bernie) were involved in the furniture side. The card business was essentially a family-run sideline or division tied to the main store.
It was a notable name in East Coast card dealing/supply circles in its heyday, alongside figures like Mr. Mint and Renata Galasso. Today, old Rotman plastic sheets and miswrapped products still turn up in collections. The furniture store is now closed, and the card shop has been gone for 20+ years.
Tom may have hit on where all the cards came from. Steve Sold to the 4SC dude's? but that purchase would have been a quite large amount I'm guessing.
Rotman's closed in 2003
4SC opened in 2003.