Zayre’s Department Store on Nov. 27, 1983. Published Times Leader Nov. 28, 1983.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.
It wasn’t Black Friday but Black Sunday.
An estimated crowd of 1,000 stood outside the Zayre’s Department Store on Spring Street, Wilkes-Barre, on Nov. 27, 1983, and bull rushed their way inside in hopes of getting their hands on a Cabbage Patch doll.
After the donnybrook scene, five women were transported to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital. A Kingston woman suffered three broken ribs and a broken right leg, spending several weeks in a wheelchair.
“The woman was knocked to the floor while trying to hang onto a doll being snatched from her hands by an unidentified man who fled out the front door. Police said bystanders grabbed the doll from the man as he was fleeing the store. The suspect was not apprehended,” the Times Leader reported about the chaotic event.
In an era prior to video game systems and cellular phones becoming popular Christmas presents, Cabbage Patch dolls were a major craze.
“Cabbage Patch dolls have been almost impossible to find in many area stores. Sunday’s rush began after the store advertised in newspapers that it had the doll for sale,” the Times Leader reported.
Shoppers began waiting outside Zayre’s as early as midnight for the 9 a.m. opening. After daybreak, there were shouts from the growing crowd for the store to open early.
One city police officer arrived as the crowd grew larger. Then a second officer, a third, a fourth and eventually a fifth police officer were at the scene, including five store security guards.
An assistant store manager stationed himself behind a counter holding a baseball bat for protection.
“When the doors opened at 8:50 a.m., ten minutes early, the pushing, shouting shoppers cleaned out the store’s stock of 240 of the popular dolls in 30 minutes,” the Times Leader reported.
During the melee, the store manager jumped onto the counter and yelled for the crowd to calm down while waving the bat. Packages with the dolls were thrown in the air, leading to many shoppers jumping with arms raised high similar to an outfielder making a homerun saving catch at the fence line.
Those who managed to get one of the store’s inventory of 240 dolls held onto them with all desperation as other customers tried to tug them away.
“Checkout lines were 25 to 30 people deep as shoppers clung tightly to the dolls,” the newspaper reported.
A cashier told a reporter, “I’ve worked at this store for two years and I’ve never seen anything as crazy as this.”
In the days leading up to Black Sunday, Zayre’s advertised they had the dolls in stock.
“The dolls retail for anywhere from $27 to $30 locally but Zayre’s was offering them at the discount price of $17.99,” the Times Leader reported.
Cabbage Patch dolls came with a birth certificate and adoption papers.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas Day in 1983, advertisements were placed in newspapers selling the dolls at above retail price. Several businesses such as pool retailers and travel agencies gave away the dolls as a marketing tactic.
Knockoffs dolls were also independently sold.
