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With the Philadelphia team preparing for Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday night, local sporting goods retailers say they can't keep anything bearing that signature "P" on their store shelves for very long.
"The Phillies are doing very well for us right now," said Stephen Ward, manager of Sports Authority in Red Rose Commons shopping center. "It's been building. It started off slow, but as they went further and further in the playoffs, things really took off."
The Phillies on Wednesday night won the right to make the franchise's first appearance in the World Series since 1993 by beating the Los Angeles Dodgers four games to one in the National League Championship Series.
The team celebrated Wednesday's 5-1 victory wearing special T-shirts and hats heralding the Phillies as the National League champions.
On Thursday, 48 replicas of those T-shirts were delivered to Shenk & Tittle in Park City Center.
"We sold out in no time," said store manager Scott Anderson.
A regional manager for the company drove to a distributor in New Jersey on Friday to pick up more for several Shenk & Tittle stores in the area, including the one at Park City.
Anderson said he received 96 T-shirts "and they've been flying off the shelves.""It's been crazy in here," he said. "We've had some deep lines all day."
Ward agreed that the "National League Champions" T-shirts and hats were the hottest sellers Thursday and Friday, but he said sales of player jerseys have been strong at The Sports Authority for weeks.
"(Ryan) Howard and (Shane) Victorino are the big ones everybody wants," he said. "I had a guy come in here the day after" Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, when Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda threw a pitch over Victorino's head. Victorino and Kuroda exchanged words, prompting both teams to spill onto the field, but no punches were thrown and no one was ejected.
"(The customer) said, 'I gotta have Victorino's jersey. He's awesome.' "
Ward said he expects a spike in jersey sales at Shenk & Tittle on Monday or Tuesday, when the official World Series jerseys arrive.
Those look just like the regular-season jerseys, except they have a World Series patch on the sleeve.
"I know a lot of people are waiting for them to come out," he said.
Local retailers aren't the only ones cashing in on the Phillies' success this season.
(785) (165) (138) (55) (47) (42) (37) (21) (18) (3)The Highland Mint of Melbourne, Fla., is offering a photo plaque commemorating the Phillies winning the NL pennant.
The plaque features two gold-plated coins, one of which the company says has embedded in its center dirt taken from the infield at the Phillies' home stadium — Citizens Bank Park.
The plaque can be yours for only $89.95.
E-mail: preilly@lnpnews.com
