Baseball cards have long been a popular collectible item for both children and adults alike. Did you know that over the years various police departments across the United States have also produced their own unique baseball card sets featuring local officers? These so-called “baseball cards for police” helped promote community outreach while also serving as a fun memento for officers.
One of the earliest known police baseball card sets came from the Phoenix Police Department in Arizona in the late 1960s. Produced by the local Fraternal Order of Police union, the 1968 Phoenix Police Baseball Cards featured photos and brief bios of over 100 officers from all ranks and specialties within the department. Distributed free of charge at various community events, the cards proved popular with both children and helped boost the public image of police.
Encouraged by the positive reception in Phoenix, other departments began exploring similar baseball card projects in the 1970s. Notable early adopters included the Los Angeles Police Department, Chicago Police Department, and Baltimore Police Department. These early police baseball card sets typically featured 25-100 officers and included uniforms photos along with rank, assignment, and years of service information.
Distribution methods varied but generally involved handing them out at schools, neighborhood block parties, and National Night Out events. This helped foster positive interactions between officers and the public, particularly youth. They also served as a unique memento for officers that many began collecting and swapping amongst themselves. By the late 1970s, an estimated 20-30 police agencies across the U.S. had produced at least one run of custom baseball cards for their departments.
In the 1980s, police baseball cards grew in both scope and production quality. Larger metropolitan areas like New York City and Detroit issued glossy full-color card sets with 100+ officers each. Regional trading card companies also began securing licensing deals with multiple agencies to produce multi-department cards sets covering entire states. This helped standardize sizing and ensure wider distribution to hobby shops. Technology advances also allowed for higher resolution photos and more detailed bios.
One of the most extensive early police baseball card projects was undertaken by Topps Trading Card Company in 1982. Titled “Topps Police”, it featured over 500 officers representing 25 different departments across New York State. Individual agency subsets and rare “superstars” inserts featuring high-ranking officials drove collector interest. Topps would go on to produce several more multi-jurisdictional police trading card sets through the 1980s across other regions.
The 1990s saw the peak popularity of police baseball cards as a community outreach and recruitment tool. Even smaller suburban agencies with only 50 officers were commissioning full-color card sets. Digital photography allowed for sharp uniform and candid action shots. Lengthier bios started including personal anecdotes to offer a more well-rounded view of officers as people beyond just their jobs. Insert cards highlighting K-9 units, SWAT teams, and accomplishments were also common bonuses.
The 9/11 terrorist attacks marked a turning point. In the aftermath of the tragedy, many departments shifted resources toward anti-terrorism efforts and away from community outreach programs like baseball cards. Rising card production costs and distribution challenges also made the projects less financially viable. By the mid-2000s, most police agencies had discontinued custom baseball card sets in favor of more modern social media approaches.
But demand from collectors never fully went away. Today, vintage 1970s-90s police baseball cards remain a popular niche collecting category. Complete agency-themed sets in top condition can sell for hundreds of dollars online. Every few years, a major department may commission a limited retro-themed reissue set as a fundraiser. And some officers still keep personal collections of cards swapped over decades of service. So while large-scale production has faded, the legacy of “baseball cards for police” lives on through devoted hobbyists and memories of community-building outreach efforts from a different era.
