The earliest baseball cards date back to the late 1800s when cigarettes and tobacco companies began including collectible lithographed cards featuring famous ballplayers as promotions in their products. These vintage baseball cards from the 1890s kicked off what would become America’s longest running and most popular hobby – collecting trading cards and building baseball card sets.
Tobacco companies viewed including sports cards as a savvy marketing tactic to attract new customers, especially young boys who were the target demographic for their products. In 1886, Bucks Cigarettes became the first tobacco brand to insert tobacco premium cards into packages featuring notable athletes from various professional sports. The most iconic early sports cards were produced between 1888-1891 by the Allen & Ginter tobacco company of Richmond, Virginia. Their “N291” series cards promoted their most popular cigarette brand and were printed using the highest quality lithography techniques of the era.
Some of the first baseball stars to have their likenesses mass produced on tobacco premium cards included notable players like Mike “King” Kelly, Jim O’Rourke, and “Smiling Mickey” Welch. Early cards tended to be crudely drawn in basic grayscale without any protective glossing or coating. Information printed on the back was sparse, usually just listing the player’s name, position, and the team they played for. Production values improved throughout the 1890s as tobacco companies realized the promotional value of sports cards in attracting new customers.
In 1890, another Richmond tobacco company named American Tobacco Company began issuing sets of cards inserted into their cigarette and candy products under the brand name of “Old Judge.” This helped popularize the concept of assembling complete baseball card sets by collecting and swapping duplicate cards with friends. The most complete and pristine “Old Judge” baseball card sets from 1890 are among the most valuable items in sports collecting today, often fetching millions of dollars at auction.
Perhaps the most iconic set of 1890s baseball cards were produced between 1891-1893 by Goodwin & Company, another prominent tobacco manufacturer. Their 54-card “Rainbow Collection” set showcased both the men’s and women’s professional baseball leagues that were active in the late 19th century. Notable players featured included the first black professionals such as Charlie Grant and “Bud” Fowler, as well as superstars like Buck Ewing and Pud Galvin. The ornate lithographed designs, vibrant colors, and information rich bios on the back of cards made the Goodwin set a true collector’s item even in the 1890s. Today, finding a complete randomized Goodwin set in mint condition is considered the holy grail for dedicated baseball card collectors and historians.
Outside of tobacco premiums, some early baseball stars also had commercially produced illustrated cabinet cards and larger lithographic prints made that could be purchased individually. This helped spread the popularity of collecting baseball memorabilia beyond just kids seeking trading cards in cigarette packs. Well known photographers like Charles Conlon produced individual portrait cards of star players that are now among the rarest collectibles from the 1890s. Color tinting, hand embellishments, and unique autographs take already rare vintage baseball cards to a whole new level of value when found in pristine condition today.
As the 1890s came to a close, baseball was cementing its status as America’s pastime. The tobacco companies had proven baseball cards were an ingenious promotional tool to get customers, especially young boys, hooked on collecting complete sets of their favorite players. This proved to be the beginning of a 130+ year phenomenon that has brought untold joy to generations and built the multi-billion dollar modern sports memorabilia industry. While low production standards mean few survive intact, original 1890s tobacco baseball cards remain some of the most valuable collectibles in the hobby for any lucky fan that finds a piece of sports history preserved from the earliest days of America’s favorite pastime.
