Lion & Cub will become Rally House
- Thread starter Tom McAndrew
- Start date
I suppose I’d be sad, but… I have no memory of Lion & Cub 
This, despite The Collegian and The CDT saying it has been there since 1975.
Looking at its location on the map, I’m thinking I remember it being called something like “University Book Center” in the late 80s/early 90s? And that metal framework above the door and windows in the photos had, like, a blue awning stretched over it back then?
Am I thinking of the right place? Maybe the same owner all that time, but he changed the name from UBC to L&C at some point?
Orrrrr am I drunker than that time I was chasing rabbits around the Old Main Lawn at 3 AM?
This, despite The Collegian and The CDT saying it has been there since 1975.
Looking at its location on the map, I’m thinking I remember it being called something like “University Book Center” in the late 80s/early 90s? And that metal framework above the door and windows in the photos had, like, a blue awning stretched over it back then?
Am I thinking of the right place? Maybe the same owner all that time, but he changed the name from UBC to L&C at some point?
Orrrrr am I drunker than that time I was chasing rabbits around the Old Main Lawn at 3 AM?
I suppose I’d be sad, but… I have no memory of Lion & Cub
This, despite The Collegian and The CDT saying it has been there since 1975.
Looking at its location on the map, I’m thinking I remember it being called something like “University Book Center” in the late 80s/early 90s? And that metal framework above the door and windows in the photos had, like, a blue awning stretched over it back then?
Am I thinking of the right place? Maybe the same owner all that time, but he changed the name from UBC to L&C at some point?
Orrrrr am I drunker than that time I was chasing rabbits around the Old Main Lawn at 3 AM?
I remember UBC well. Lion & Cub doesn’t register.
Yes, the UBC...BUY a book for $100....sell it for $5.
Yeah I’m really thinking it’s the same business and it just underwent a name change at some point.
And as old as we are, that could’ve been like three decades ago and L&C still wouldn’t register :/
All the bookstores were like that, weren’t they?
On another note… I was assuming good old Nittany Notes (they of the dark red non-photocopiable paper) had bitten the dust long ago. A quick Google search indicated that at least around two years ago they still were hanging on, and would provide you with a secure PDF that couldn’t be printed. Technology marches on.
Kids today… remember back when you didn’t get off your arse to go to class but still had to get off it to go downtown to buy your crimson crib sheets? Now they can just download that shite. Not a moment of raising one’s arse from the couch needed.
As a student from the mid-80s, UBC sounds familiar to me as well. I have no recollection of Lion & Cub, so I looked at old views on Google Maps Streetview....I suppose I’d be sad, but… I have no memory of Lion & Cub
This, despite The Collegian and The CDT saying it has been there since 1975.
Looking at its location on the map, I’m thinking I remember it being called something like “University Book Center” in the late 80s/early 90s? And that metal framework above the door and windows in the photos had, like, a blue awning stretched over it back then?
Am I thinking of the right place? Maybe the same owner all that time, but he changed the name from UBC to L&C at some point?
Orrrrr am I drunker than that time I was chasing rabbits around the Old Main Lawn at 3 AM?
Aug. 2009 - Got-Used Bookstore
June 2012 - Neebo Complete College Outfitter. "Used Textbook Specialists" painted above the entrance.
Aug. 2018 (and onward) - The first time Lion & Cub can be seen displayed on the window. No branding on the awning. No indication of being a textbook dealer.
Businesses evolve. Great location on College Ave. though. Also a rear door off Calder Way to the left the building which houses the Shandygaff.
Does UBC stand for U’ve Ben Cheated?
I was really impressed by the Rally House in Ann Arbour.....except for all of the Michigan apparel!
I suppose I’d be sad, but… I have no memory of Lion & Cub
This, despite The Collegian and The CDT saying it has been there since 1975.
Looking at its location on the map, I’m thinking I remember it being called something like “University Book Center” in the late 80s/early 90s? And that metal framework above the door and windows in the photos had, like, a blue awning stretched over it back then?
Am I thinking of the right place? Maybe the same owner all that time, but he changed the name from UBC to L&C at some point?
Orrrrr am I drunker than that time I was chasing rabbits around the Old Main Lawn at 3 AM?
I remember it as the USB as well, notable in my time as the least rip-off textbook place in town. Then it became Got Used Books, and I lost track after that. Don't know if the owner mentioned was behind the changes over the years or if Lion & Cub was located somewhere else.
The store in Michigan had a lot of name brand stuff. It also had a lot of collectibles which were cool to see but were also really expensive.Does Rally House have nice stuff? They are a chain and cover manyschoolsteams (), so I wonder if they just have cheap, unofficial crap.
Thanks. There was a Rally House near me when I lived in Michigan some years ago, but I never went in for fear of drowning in wolverine and spartan sh|t.
Those of you who watch the Phillies on NBC Sports Philadelphia probably hear this in your sleep.
Does Rally House have nice stuff? They are a chain and cover manyschoolsteams (
Usually the opposite -- quality stuff, officially licensed, lots of sizes and styles, etc. I have never been to a Rally House located on a college campus, so it's possible that they tweak things a bit on campus locations.
I just purchased a hat earlier this week from their on-line store. If anybody is familiar with my stomping grounds in the West Hills of Pittsburgh, there are locations now in the Robinson Mall and Settlers Ridge, which are maybe three miles away from each other and which I frankly don't understand.Does Rally House have nice stuff? They are a chain and cover manyschoolsteams (
SportsNet Pittsburgh has a commercial for Pittsburgh sports as well.
My wife and I go to Rally House every time we're in Pittsburgh, we're never disappointed. They always have great stuff.Does Rally House have nice stuff? They are a chain and cover manyschoolsteams (
Except in Pittsburgh, Rally House sells more formal wear for the theater than sports gear.
This thread also got me thinking about The Family Clothesline, and how it has grown and evolved over the years.
Who remembers when it was a small hole-in-the-wall kind of place, barely wedged into a spot there on College Avenue?
If you ventured down into the basement, they had tables of cheap folded t-shirts of the Nittany Chipmunk logo on lots of background colors you wouldn’t expect — I can picture them in neon pink, neon green, sky blue, camo…. It looked like whatever crate of blank shirts had fallen off a truck somewhere had been scooped up and quickly screen printed with PSU and laid out at literal bargain basement prices.
Now that place is MUCH bigger, and similar to the mention above, stretches back to a back door on Calder Way. I assume they absorbed Playland’s space when it went under? (RIP
)
And the merch is higher-end branded stuff now, from what I’ve observed anyway.
They still have the basement too, don’t they? I don’t think I’ve ventured down there since way back in the day. What do they stock down there these days?
Who remembers when it was a small hole-in-the-wall kind of place, barely wedged into a spot there on College Avenue?
If you ventured down into the basement, they had tables of cheap folded t-shirts of the Nittany Chipmunk logo on lots of background colors you wouldn’t expect — I can picture them in neon pink, neon green, sky blue, camo…. It looked like whatever crate of blank shirts had fallen off a truck somewhere had been scooped up and quickly screen printed with PSU and laid out at literal bargain basement prices.
Now that place is MUCH bigger, and similar to the mention above, stretches back to a back door on Calder Way. I assume they absorbed Playland’s space when it went under? (RIP
)And the merch is higher-end branded stuff now, from what I’ve observed anyway.
They still have the basement too, don’t they? I don’t think I’ve ventured down there since way back in the day. What do they stock down there these days?
It was a joke, founded upon “Pitt football games have crappy attendance because people would rather go to the opera or the theater.” It’s an old old joke here, basically our “Why do firemen wear red suspenders?”
I saw one for first time just off the Cincinnati campus when I was there for my nephew's graduation. It was all UC Bearcats stuff.
@BobPSU92 was confused.
Sports gear and formal wear are synonyms in Pittsburghese. He is not a fluent speaker.
I imagine it takes a while to get used to the various idiosyncrasies you encounter on this board. Hope you keep on posting.
yep known as UBC for along time, if you recall they had that woodcarving of the lion on display, but prior to that on football weekends the dude that carved it would be right outside the shop, chipping away at it....I think it took him like 3 seasons to complete it.
Over the years, I’ve mainly shopped at Lions Pride and Family Clothesline. Quality gear, including the official Nike stuff.
Now, I have closets and drawers full of Nike gear that I need to replace with Adidas to be fashionably correct.
Yes Family Clothesline certainly has grown. As a student, I used to play pick up basketball in the IM building at lunch with a bunch of faculty and some community guys. The owner, John Gummo, was one of them. Not sure if he ever played baseball beyond PSU, but he and I spent an hour or so down in that basement office of his talking about the expos potentially giving me a look since he knew someone in their scouting dept.This thread also got me thinking about The Family Clothesline, and how it has grown and evolved over the years.
Who remembers when it was a small hole-in-the-wall kind of place, barely wedged into a spot there on College Avenue?
If you ventured down into the basement, they had tables of cheap folded t-shirts of the Nittany Chipmunk logo on lots of background colors you wouldn’t expect — I can picture them in neon pink, neon green, sky blue, camo…. It looked like whatever crate of blank shirts had fallen off a truck somewhere had been scooped up and quickly screen printed with PSU and laid out at literal bargain basement prices.
Now that place is MUCH bigger, and similar to the mention above, stretches back to a back door on Calder Way. I assume they absorbed Playland’s space when it went under? (RIP
And the merch is higher-end branded stuff now, from what I’ve observed anyway.
They still have the basement too, don’t they? I don’t think I’ve ventured down there since way back in the day. What do they stock down there these days?
Was a really good guy, he passed about 10 years ago. Glad his sons have been able to take what he did and keep it going. Its the best apparel store in downtown.
John B. Gummo Obituary September 27, 2017 - Richard H. Searer Funeral Home, Inc.
View John B. Gummo's obituary, send flowers, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.
www.searerfuneralhomeinc.com
Based on @NittPicker ’s post above, it sounds like it has probably had the Lion & Cub name for a little less than 10 years.
For me, in that timeframe I’ve tended to almost always be in the area of the stadium or at places on North or South Atherton when I’ve been in town. I may have walked just a portion of College Avenue perhaps twice in that decade. So that explains why I wasn’t aware of it. (The only reason I had recent knowledge of The Family Clothesline is there have been a few gamedays when some of us got dropped at their Calder Way door while one person stayed in the car with the hazards on or cruised around the block a few times.)
Shame on me, though. This fall I really need to make a point of taking in the game day experience up and down College and Calder once again.