EPHRATA — Darren Donoghue said he was 5 years old when he got his first pack of trading cards. He even remembers the truck he was sitting in, his parents’ 1975 Ford F150, when his mom, Jeannine, handed the pack of cards to him.  

“She just wanted (to see) how I was going to respond to it, like if I was going to take it and grasp it," he said. “The weirdest thing was, at that time I was more of a football person as opposed to a basketball person, but she gave me a basketball pack, and there it began."  

The Cardman store on 11th Avenue and Basin Street in Ephrata has been there for three years. Next year, the store will be moving down the street to 11 Basin Street Northwest. As he prepares to make the move, he shares a lot about his time in the card-collecting industry. 

The Cardman, as Donoghue is called, became enveloped in the card collecting industry and has been dedicated for 30 years. His father, Derry Donoghue Sr., would take him to trade shows where he got to meet more people from the industry and began buying and selling cards himself. He said it was intimidating at first, but it did not take him long to become comfortable among other collectors.  

“Here I am, going into a show terrified because these guys are twice my age," Donoghue said. “My first show was like, ‘Wow, this is crazy. I'm able to sell this stuff.’ So, it just began. A lot of people respected me, which was really cool at a young age."  

Donoghue had to pay his dues and earn his way into spots where he could sell higher-valued cards, he said. While doing that, he found a community in the collecting industry. He said it is common for collectors to form bonds over cards.  

Donoghue said sports trading cards can bring back memories. He said when he looks at a Marcus Allen card, a former player for the Raiders, he can remember a highlight play Allen made in the Super Bowl and how Allen ran across the logo on the field that day.  

Collectors often share memories through the cards they collect. When you walk in, you are greeted with several shelves of trading cards. Not all of them are sports-related; many of them are Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh, and tables are lined up for patrons to play Dungeons and Dragons.  

The space seems endless as it continues to the back, where the walls are covered with shelves full of sports cards and other memorabilia. According to Donoghue, in his storage room alone, there are over three million cards. He said there is a lot of preparation going to the store’s eventual move to another building.  

“There's thousands of hours put in to make this store and in this inventory what it is,” he said. The big thing here is the community has rallied around me. There are a lot of people that want to help, they're super excited about the move, and that is a cool feeling.” 

Donoghue said this new adventure of moving store locations is just as scary as it is exciting. He expects to have more room for new features.  

“We're going to feature retro games and comic books. Hopefully, we can get more bins out for comics and get that going, because I have a lot of people that really do like to come in and browse the comic books,” he said.  

An ongoing goal for Donoghue is reaching a younger audience of collectors. He said it has diminished as alternatives like video games have grown in popularity. He never forgot the impact collection stores had on him as a kid. He said customers have sent their family members and kids to his store, too.  

“We love the youth, because the youth is the next generation. So, we want to make sure that in this hobby, in this area, it's going to be super amazing to see these youth grow,” he said.  

    Darren Donoghue, also known as the Cardman, sits among his collection of sports trading cards and memorabilia. One of his favorite items is the Julio Rodriguez signed jersey on the counter, he said.
  

    Shelves at the Cardman store are packed to the brim. The inventory of the sports section ranges across all sports like football, baseball, hockey, and even NASCAR. In his storage room alone, he holds inventory of over three million cards that need sorting, according to owner Darren Donoghue.
  

    An assortment of collectible cards is presented in a case at the Cardman store. The store also holds collectible cards for Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh.
  

    Framed collectibles are displayed on the walls at the Cardman store for display. Outside of cards, the store also holds many other collectible items and memorabilia.
  

    Two signed collectible helmets are stored in a display case at the Cardman store. Several collectible jerseys, balls, and sports equipment are available for customers as well.
  

    A Kevin Griffey Jr pennant is displayed over Darren Donoghue’s desk in the back of his store. Griffey Jr is one of Donoghue’s favorite baseball players.