The history of baseball cards in Eugene, Oregon stretches back over a century. Some of the earliest baseball cards produced featured players from Eugene’s minor league teams in the early 1900s. While Eugene was never home to a Major League Baseball franchise, the city had a rich tradition of minor league baseball for decades.
One of Eugene’s earliest minor league teams was the Eugene Emeralds, who played from 1906 to 1937 in the short-season Northwest League. In their heyday in the 1920s, the Emeralds drew large crowds to Hayward Field and helped spark interest in baseball card collecting in Eugene. Kids would eagerly await new shipments of cards featuring Emeralds players at local drugstores and candy shops.
During the 1930s and 1940s, Eugene was also home to the Eugene Larks and Eugene Peaches minor league clubs who played in the West Coast League. Baseball cards from sets like Goudey and Play Ball from this era sometimes included players who spent time with Eugene’s minor league teams. Local drugstores like Rexall and drugstore chains like Pay’n Takit helped distribute these early baseball cards to Eugene youth.
As baseball card manufacturing became more widespread after World War II, Eugene kids had growing access to cards showing the city’s minor league stars. In the post-war era of the 1940s and 1950s, Eugene was represented by the Eugene Emeralds of the Northwest League and later the PCL’s Eugene Emeralds, drawing fans to historic Civic Stadium. Kids swapped and traded these cards on the playground, cementing baseball card collecting as a popular pastime among Eugene youth.
During the 1950s, Topps gained dominance in the baseball card market and frequently included Eugene Emeralds players in their yearly sets. This helped raise the profile of Eugene’s minor league squads on baseball cards nationwide. With each new season, local card shops like Don’s Hobby Shop and Ace Novelty eagerly awaited their shipments of the new Topps sets to sell.
The 1960s saw the rise of the modern baseball card boom, fueled by the arrival of the first bubble gum cards from Topps in 1938. In Eugene, kids flocked to card shows held at the Lane County Fairgrounds, hoping to add to their collections. The city’s minor league Emeralds were still chronicled in annual Topps releases as well. By the late 1960s, specialty card shops opened in Eugene to cater to the booming market.
In the 1970s, Eugene kids had growing options to collect cards showing their hometown Emeralds players. Along with yearly Topps sets, the rise of companies like Fleer and Donruss meant more card designs and more players featured each season. Eugene shops like All-Star Cards and Collectibles helped kids build complete sets featuring Emeralds stars. The city’s minor league team even produced their own team sets in the 1970s sold at Civic Stadium.
The 1980s saw Eugene’s baseball card collecting scene thrive with the continued success of the Eugene Emeralds. Popular annual releases from Topps, Donruss, and Fleer ensured Emeralds players had representation. Eugene also became home to large baseball card shows that drew collectors from around Oregon. Stores like A&E Sports Cards and Northwest Sportscards catered to the growing hobby.
In the 1990s, the baseball card boom continued unabated in Eugene. Popular sets from Upper Deck joined the traditional manufacturers. Internet commerce began to reshape the hobby as online retailers sold cards featuring Emeralds alumni. The city’s long minor league tradition also saw representation in specialty sets released by companies. Stores like Great American Sports Cards helped collectors build their collections.
Today, Eugene maintains an active baseball card collecting community, despite losing its minor league franchise in 2010. Local card shops like All Star Cards and Northwest Sportscards host trading events and sell new releases featuring University of Oregon Ducks baseball players and alumni of Eugene’s minor league teams. Online groups like Eugene Sports Collectors Club meet regularly and share their passion. Eugene’s rich baseball past lives on through the cardboard classics chronicling over a century of the city’s ties to America’s pastime.
