Back in the days before malls became the new wave for shoppers, there was the good ol' shopping center. Clusters of stores and restaurants would get grouped together to entice people to stop in one place and take care of several errands at once. In the case of East Hills, the different buildings were named after Presidents and the parking lots had the names of players on the Pirates, in order to help patrons remember where they'd parked.
In 1966, several stores in the East Hills shopping center distributed cards on Pirates players as a promotion to get people to circulate more. The blank-backed cards were skip-numbered; in fact, the card numbers corresponded with the uniform numbers of the player pictured. There were 25 cards in all.
In 1969, a mall opened in nearby Monroeville. As that mall gained popularity, many of the stores at East Hills shut down. Then, rising crime and vandalism in the neighborhood took care of the rest. Eventually, East Hills closed down for good, and a wrecking ball knocked it down in 2001. However, collectors have the 1966 East Hill Pirates to serve as a time capsule of a period where it was a thriving business canter.
I've just bought a set. The paper stock isn't the same as 2 singles I bought. How can I identify real from fake?
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