Yankees merchandise was flying off the shelves before dawn yesterday as fans poured dollars into the city’s economy to celebrate the Bombers’ return to the World Series.
“Everything is selling. Everyone is just grabbing everything,” said Matty Martinez, manager of the Yankee Clubhouse Shop on Fifth Avenue.
Sports Authority stores opened as soon as the Yankees clinched the pennant Sunday night, reopened yesterday at 6 a.m., and had “very brisk” sales through the day.
“We’ve almost sold out the hats,” regional senior vice president Mike White said of the caps with a World Series patch.
At Modell’s Times Square store, Colleen Ormsby, 47, of Wayne, NJ, was buying for her 18-year-old son. She chose two hot sellers, the locker-room T-shirt and cap — emblazoned with the words “Champions” and “2009 American League” — worn by the Yankees as they celebrated their 5-2 victory over the Angels.
“It’s my son’s dream, my dream and his grandma’s dream for him to be a Yankee,” said Ormsby.
Modell’s had four truckloads of Yankee merchandise delivered yesterday morning, CEO Mitchell Modell said.
“We had everything printed as soon as they were 3-1 [in the series], and then we prayed,” he said.
“And we prayed harder at 3-2, and even harder in Game 6. I called Rabbi Shmuley Boteach to say a special blessing for the game last night.”
Additional reporting by Sally Goldenberg and Andy Soltis