baseball card

A baseball card is a type of trading card relating to baseball, usually printed on cardboard, silk, or plastic. In the 1950s they came with a stick of gum and a limited number of cards. These cards feature one or more baseball players, teams, stadiums, or celebrities.

Baseball cards are most often found in the contiguous United States but are also common in Puerto Rico or countries such as Canada, Cuba and Japan, where top-level leagues are present with a substantial fan base to support them. Some notable companies producing baseball cards include Topps and Panini.

Previous manufacturers include Fleer (now a brand name owned by Upper Deck), Bowman (now a brand name owned by Topps), and Donruss (now a brand name owned by Panini). Baseball card production peaked in the late 1980s and many collectors left the hobby disenchanted after the 1994-95 MLB strike. However, baseball cards are still one of the most influential collectibles of all time. A 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card (Topps; #311; SGC MT 9.5) was sold for $12.600 million on August 28, 2022.

History

Pre-1900

During the mid-19th century in the United States, baseball and photography were both gaining popularity. As a result, baseball clubs began to pose for group and individual pictures, much like members of other clubs and associations posed. Some of these photographs were printed onto small cards similar to modern wallet photos. The oldest known surviving card shows the Brooklyn Atlantics from around 1860.

As baseball increased in popularity and became a professional sport during the late 1860s, trade cards featuring baseball players appeared. These were used by a variety of companies to promote their business, even if the products being advertised had no connection with baseball. In 1868, Peck and Snyder, a sporting goods store in New York, began producing trade cards featuring baseball teams. Peck and Snyder sold baseball equipment, and the cards were a natural advertising vehicle. The Peck and Snyder cards are sometimes considered the first baseball cards.

Typically, a trade card of the time featured an image on one side and information advertising the business on the other. Advances in color printing increased the appeal of the cards. As a result, cards began to use photographs, either in black-and-white or sepia, or color artwork, which was not necessarily based on photographs. Some early baseball cards could be used as part of a game, which might be either a conventional card game or a simulated baseball game.

By early 1886, images of baseball players were often included on cigarette cards with cigarette packs and other tobacco products. This was partly for promotional purposes and partly because the card helped protect the cigarettes from damage.

As the popularity of baseball spread to other countries, so did baseball cards. By the end of the century, production had spread well beyond the Americas and into the Pacific Isles. Sets appeared in Japan as early as 1898, in Cuba as early as 1909 and in Canada as early as 1912.

1900–1920

By the turn of the century, most baseball cards were produced by confectionery companies and tobacco companies. The first major set of the 20th century was issued by the Breisch-Williams Company in 1903. Breisch-Williams was a confectionery company based in Oxford, Pennsylvania. Soon after, several other companies began to advertise their products with baseball cards. This included, but was not limited to, the American Tobacco Company, the American Caramel Company, the Imperial Tobacco Company of Canada, and Cabañas. a Cuban cigar manufacturer.

The American Tobacco Company decided to introduce baseball advertising cards into their tobacco products with the issue of the T206 White Border Set in 1909. The cards were included in packs of cigarettes and produced over a three-year period until the company was dissolved. The most famous card, and most expensive for the grade, is the Honus Wagner card from this set; Wagner objected, so only a small number were ever distributed. Another famous one, from 1911, is Joe Tinker.

At the same time, many other non-tobacco companies started producing and distributing baseball trade cards to the public. Between 1909 and 1911, The American Caramel Company produced the E90-1 series and 1911 saw the introduction of the 'Zee Nut' card. These sets were produced over a 28-year span by the Collins-McCarthy Company of California. By the mid-teens companies such as ''The Sporting News'' magazine began sponsoring card issues. Caramel companies like Rueckheim Bros. & Eckstein were among the first to put 'prizes' in their boxes. In 1914, they produced the first of two Cracker Jack card issues, which featured players from both major leagues as well as players from the short lived Federal League. As the teens drew to a close, the Chicago-based Boston Store Department company also issued a set.

1920–1930

After the end of World War I in 1918, baseball card production lulled for a few years as foreign markets were not yet developed and the United States' economy was transitioning away from wartime production. This trend would continue until the late 1930s when the effects of the Great depression finally hit. The twenties produced a second influx of caramel cards, a plethora of postcard issues, and a handful of cards from different regions of the world. During the first two years, an influx of strip cards hit the market. These cards were distributed in long strips and often cut by the consumer or the retailer in the store.
The American Caramel Company re-emerged as a producer of baseball cards and started to distribute sets in 1922–1923. Few, if any cards, were produced in the mid-twenties until 1927 when companies like York Caramel of York, Pennsylvania started producing baseball cards. Cards with similar images as the York Caramel set were produced in 1928 for four ice cream companies, Yuengling's, Harrington's, Sweetman and Tharp's.
In 1921, the Exhibit Supply Company of Chicago started to release issues on post card stock. Although they are considered a post card issue, many of the cards had statistics and other biographical information on the back.

1920 saw the emergence of the foreign markets after what was essentially an eight-year hiatus. Canadian products found their way to the market, including products branded by the Peggy Popcorn and Food Products company of Winnipeg, Manitoba from 1920 to 1926, and Willard's Chocolate Company from 1923 to 1924. Other Canadian products came from ice cream manufacturers in 1925 and 1927, from Holland Creameries and Honey Boy, respectively. Billiken Cigars, a.k.a. "Cigarros Billiken", were distributed in Cuba from 1923 to 1924.

1930–1950

In the early 1930s, production soared, starting with the 1932 U.S. Caramel set. The popular 1933 Goudey Gum Co. issue, which included cards of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, best identifies this era. In contrast to the economical designs common in earlier decades, this card set featured bright, hand-colored player photos on the front. Backs provided brief biographies and personal information such as height, weight, and birthplace. The 240-card set, quite large for the time, included current players, former stars, and prominent minor leaguers. Individual cards measured , which Goudey printed on 24-card sheets and distributed throughout the year. The bulk of early National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees appear in this set.

1933 also saw the delivery of the World Wide Gum issue. World Wide Gum Co. was based in Montreal and clearly had a close relationship with the Goudey Gum Company, as each of their four issues closely resembled a Goudey contemporary. Goudey, National Chicle, Delong and a handful of other companies were competitive in the bubble gum and baseball card market until World War II began.

After 1941, cards would not be produced in any significant number until a few years after the end of the war. Wartime production transitioned into the post-war civilian consumer goods, and in 1948 baseball card production resumed in the U.S. with issues by the Bowman Gum and the Leaf Candy Company. At the same time, Topps Gum Company issued their Magic Photos set, four years before they issued their first "traditional" card set. By 1950, Leaf had bowed out of the industry.

Japanese baseball cards became more numerous in 1947 and 1950. The cards were associated with Menko, a Japanese card game. Early baseball menko

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