The history of baseball cards dates back over 150 years to the late 1860s, before the first official set was created in 1869. Baseball cards were initially included as advertisements or promotions in cigarette and tobacco products, similar to how toys or trading cards are included in cereal boxes today.
In 1868, the first recognized precursor to modern baseball cards emerged. That year, a lithographed card with a portrait of baseball player Jim Creighton was produced by The Old Judge tobacco brand. It was essentially an advertising card for that tobacco product rather than an actual baseball card set.
The first true set of baseball cards was released in 1869 by the tobacco manufacturer Buckingham Cigarettes. This set included 11 cards featuring individual pictures of baseball players from the current National Association of Base Ball Players on the fronts and ads for the tobacco brand on the backs. Some of the players included were James McDermott, Al Reach, and Bob Ferguson. This is considered the first true set of baseball cards for collecting and trading purposes.
In the late 1880s, many manufacturers began including baseball cards as advertising inserts in their tobacco products. Companies like Goodwin & Company, Allen & Ginter, and Mayo Cut Plug produced some early classic sets. These included the 1882-1887 Allen & Ginter sets as well as 1887 and 1888 Goodwin & Company sets, which are highly valued by collectors today. The cards themselves featured bigger portraits in color on the fronts. By the late 1880s, tobacco companies were producing regular baseball card sets each year as baseball’s popularity grew.
In the 1890s, baseball card manufacturing really took off. Companies like Obak, Mayo Cut Plug, Ayres, and Piedmont all printed cards included in their cigarette and cigar packs. The big three producers were American Tobacco Company’s 1888–1890 sets under the Allen & Ginter brand as well as Goodwin & Company and Old Judge brands, which produced major sets almost yearly in the early 1890s. These represented some of the earliest notable stars of early professional baseball like Cy Young, Walter Johnson, Ty Cobb, and many Hall of Famers.
The golden age of baseball cards is widely considered to span from the late 1890s to the early 1910s, coinciding with baseball’s emerging status as the national pastime and continuing popularity boom of chewing tobacco. Companies used innovative techniques like color lithography to mass produce cards at low costs. Some iconic early T206 and 1909-1911 T205 tobacco era sets emerged from this period, featuring future legends like Babe Ruth, Christy Mathewson and Honus Wagner.
In the early 20th century, candy companies began rivaling tobacco brands by including baseball cards in their products. In 1913, American Caramel Company issued the most complete tobacco-cancer set ever, with 524 cards featuring almost every active major and minor league player. The Goudey Gum Company started producing notable sets in the 1930s like their 1933 card which featured the firstcard of Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth.
World War 2 gum and tobacco shortages led to a decline in baseball card production during the early 1940s. It saw a resurgence later in the decade as the post-war economy boomed and chewing gum became more popular. Bowman Gum and Topps Chewing Gum emerged as the two dominant card manufacturers in 1948 and 1951, respectively. Topps purchased the rights to Bowman in 1956, creating their monopoly that would last for decades.
The postwar period of the 1950s through 1980s represented the golden age of modern baseball card manufacturers Topps, Fleer and others. Each year saw the release of mass-produced complete sets featuring all major league players that were consumed nationwide and cemented the tradition of young collectors accumulating and trading cards. Icons like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, and Nolan Ryan supercharged interest during this era. Technological advances saw plastic coating, color photos and cellophane wrapping becoming standard.
The dawn of the 1990s challenged Topps’ monopoly as new entrants like Score, Leaf and Fleer Ultra started offering competing sets and insert cards. This increased competition and experimentation brought new collector excitement but also devalued the baseball card market during the infamous “Junk Wax Era” of the early 90s. The market crash of the mid-90s caused many manufacturers to go out of business. Major hits like Ken Griffey Jr Upper Deck rookie cards saw massive demand but many commons were overproduced.
The modern era from the late 1990s onward has seen less frequent sets but higher production quality and preserving older cards’ value. Memorabilia relic and autograph cards have been popular. Upper Deck purchased Fleer and Donruss brands in the late 90’s and 2000’s. The introduction of parallel and short print “hits” added game-like randomness. Stricter player union regulations since 2001 have restricted intellectual property usage. Collecting culture remains strong with grassroots organizers keeping the tradition alive amongst new generations of young fans.
Over the past 150+ years baseball cards have evolved from simple cigarette advertising images to become one of America’s most popular and historically significant hobbies. Through booms and busts, they have depicted the icons and stories from baseball’s golden eras while connecting generations of fans to the national pastime. Collections of old tobacco cards showcase both the history of the game and culture of a bygone era in U.S. history.
