By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – When it comes to seeing the value in collecting special things—whether it be coins, stamps or sports cards—Chris Schayot had no better example than his own father.
Schayot comes from a true-blue New Orleans family, having grown up with three brothers and a sister, all living in New Orleans, after his father grew up next to the old Tulane Stadium.
“Tulane Stadium was practically in our dad’s backyard,” he said. “We would walk to the football games, and even though my dad was a disabled veteran, he walked to the games every week with us.”
But there was something else Emile Schayot did from the time he was a young man and was attending the Sugar Bowl games that originally were held at Green Wave Stadium.
“My dad started collecting every Sugar Bowl program there was, starting from 1935,” Schayot said. “He went to every game and started keeping the programs from a long time back.”
Obviously it put the bug in young Chris Schayot to start doing a little collecting of his own, and he began with baseball cards when he was a youngster, even though he had no idea there was actually money to be had by becoming a serious collector.
By the time he finished college and was into the working world, Schayot was such a serious collector that he became a sports card dealer, especially specializing in vintage football cards of the old stars like Johnny Unitas, Bart Starr, Gayle Sayers and others.
While he loved sports in general and continued to collect cards, Schayot knew he had to start a real business to support his wife and children. To no great surprise, he still found himself in the business of collecting valuable items, opening Chris’ Fine Jewelry & Coins in Metairie, which has been successful for 25 years and is part of the reason he has joined with two of his own sons—Cheston and Craig–to open Sports Center Collectables in Slidell, now buying, selling and trading sports memorabilia at their 1402 Gause Blvd. location.
“There is so much interest in all kinds of things now that are related to sports—helmets, jerseys and of course, cards,” Schayot said. “The hottest thing going now is what they call ‘wax’ cards, although the cards are not made of wax. That’s just what the wrappers used to be made of.”
The ‘wax’ cards come in a box containing anywhere from 10 to 100 cards, but most of the top lines guarantee at least a certain number of cards that are worth big money.
Sports Center Collectables has Topps, Panini, Bowman, Fleer, Score, Retro and other top brands, not to mention National Treasures, Valor, Five Star and Triple Threads.
“One of the most popular cards now include a piece of a jersey, or a piece of a helmet that belonged to the specific player. It’s part of the card,” Schayot explained.
Schayot began accumulating more-and-more cards in his young years, but got in a better position to open a store with his sons when he purchased several large collections from different individuals. He also sought out large collections at pawn shops, therefore giving his store a wide-variety of interesting and unique items.
He said the most popular cards continue to be Hall of Famers and any of the current superstars, but he said it has been interesting to see how the steroid use by athletes has dramatically reduced the value of their cards.
“Mark McGuire’s rookie card had peaked at over $200, but after all the news came out about steroid use, the card is only worth $20 now,” he said.
Schayot’s love for sports began with his dad and brothers when they would attend Tulane games, Jazz basketball games and of course, Saints games.
“I even went to the old ABA Buc games,” he said with a laugh. “We loved sports and had a chance to go to the first Saints game in New Orleans.”
However, he put his love of sports and collections on the side to get serious as a jeweler and coin collector with his Metairie store, and now with 25 years of business success he is passing on his knowledge to two of his sons.
“One of my sons is going to be a doctor and that’s really great,” he said. “But I’m teaching the others about business with this store.”
Sports Collectables opened in June and is quickly become a popular place for any card trading. But Schayot said they also take items on consignment, including large collections.
“Bring your stuff in and we can make a deal to put it out for sale,” he said. “We’re getting a lot of people learning we are here and becoming regulars, so this is a great place to buy, sell or trade.”
For more information, go by at 1402 Gause Blvd. on Friday, Saturday or Sunday from 11 to 7, or call for a private appointment during the week at 985-288-5508 or 504-439-0684.