Baseball Trading Cards
Baseball trading cards are credited with being the first subject for such cards. Today there are more than eight million trading cards on the market in a wide range of subjects. Baseball cards were originally designed to be mementos of the games. In the 1860’s baseball cards were printed up to use as advertisements for games. On the front of the card was a picture of a team or a player. On the back was an advertisement by one of the team sponsors.
The baseball cards sold well and were very profitable. Soon other subjects were added to trading cards including presidents, animals, and comics. Many of these earlier baseball cards have been damaged because the collecting of the cards turned many to placing them into scrapbooks to keep them from being damaged.
Tobacco companies offered trading cards with the purchase of their products in the early 1900’s. The government broke up the tobacco monopoly, and the various companies were scrambling to find ways to sell their product over the competitions. As a result the period from 1909 to 1915 resulted in the highest quality baseball cards being produced. Many of them are worth thousands of dollars today if they are in mint condition. Tobacco companies stopped offering baseball cards with their products because of World War I.
A gum company from Boston picked up the idea in the 1930’s. They produced the cards with Lou Gehrig. His cards from 1933, 1934, and 1938 are the rarest and most sought after by real collectors. This company also produced the cards featuring Babe Ruth. This company stopped making them in 1941 because paper had become scarce due to World War II.
In 1951, Topps began making trading cards and packaging them to sell as cards only. This was the first time they were not included in another product as a promotional item. Today the 1952 Mickey Mantel #311 card is the most valuable in the world. Topps remained the best selling baseball cards from 1951 to 1980. In 1980, a court ruled Topps had monopolized the market. Other sellers including Fleet began to emerge into the market.
Baseball cards continue to be very popular today. Both the older cards to collect and the new cards of today’s best baseball players. So many types of cards are available now that it can be difficult to decide which type to collect.
