Topps Factory in Duryea (Scranton, Avoca: live, prices, manufactured)

[Bondurant]

I lived in NEPA, outside of Scranton, for 18 months and never knew the area produced the cards I opened and gum I ate as a kid. It is my understanding that cards were manufactured in Duryea from the mid-60s to late 90's and the factory had been long closed by the time I moved to the area.

Anyone here on C-D work there or have family that did? A few years back a treasure trove of unopened Topps cards from the 70s was sold, I believe to Baseball Card Exchange, that a former Topps employee held onto for years. Smart move.

Currently reading The Wax Pack by Brad Balukjian and the prologue is about a woman that manufactured the gum and loaded the packs to be sealed.

Curious if anyone has stories about Topps. Must have been an insane job when baseball cards blew up in the late 80s.

[Avoca resident]

Both my father and worked there, my father still works at the Scranton plant which makes ring pops. I have many unopened sets of baseball and football cards from the mid 80’s though the mid 90’s. Don’t think they are worth a lot now, because they were over produced, but maybe someday.
I do remember going there and taste testing new products and getting paid $20.

[Bondurant]

Originally Posted by Avoca resident

Both my father and worked there, my father still works at the Scranton plant which makes ring pops. I have many unopened sets of baseball and football cards from the mid 80’s though the mid 90’s. Don’t think they are worth a lot now, because they were over produced, but maybe someday.
I do remember going there and taste testing new products and getting paid $20.

Definitely hold onto anything '85 and earlier or look into selling if you have multiples. COVID has caused a boom in card prices. A hobby box of '83 Topps Baseball was $350 a year ago. Now it goes for $925.

[theatergypsy]

Back in the early 70s, word leaked that Willie Mays was going to be at Topps. I don't think that was supposed to be general knowledge but my neighbor and I, both all-boy Moms, decided to take our kids to see the legendary Say Hey Kid.

We made signs and packed up the kids and went to Duryea. The line was long and it was hot but we were indefatigable. (I did mention that we were all-boy Moms, didn't I?)

Ultimately, Willie appeared, appearing unhappy, and handed each child a box of bubble gum.

Some years later, the youngest boy, unborn at the time of Willie's visit to Topps, discovered the box and chewed the last souvenir piece of bubble gum in the box.