The History of Baseball Cards in Lebanon, Pennsylvania
Baseball cards have been collected by fans for over 130 years and the small city of Lebanon, Pennsylvania has played an interesting role in the history of these collectibles. While the earliest baseball cards date back to the late 1800s, it was in the mid-20th century that Lebanon really began to make its mark on the baseball card collecting hobby. Several key people and businesses based in Lebanon helped popularize and commercialize baseball cards during baseball’s golden age from the 1950s through the 1980s.
One of the first major figures in Lebanon’s baseball card history was Bill Mastro, who owned and operated Mastro Cards from the late 1940s through the 1980s. Mastro Cards was located in downtown Lebanon and was one of the pioneering sports card retail shops in the country. In the post-World War II era, collecting cards was just starting to become a mainstream hobby and Mastro helped fuel that growing interest by stocking his store with the latest baseball, football, and basketball card releases. He also bought, sold, and traded cards, helping develop the fledgling secondary market. Mastro Cards was a popular destination for collectors throughout central Pennsylvania in the shop’s heyday.
Another pivotal figure was Ted Taylor, who lived in Lebanon from the 1940s until his death in 2009. Taylor became one of the most important antique sports memorabilia and card dealers worldwide, operating Ted Taylor Sporting Goods for over 50 years. In the pre-internet era, Taylor was a go-to source for rare vintage cards, establishing price guides that set industry standards. He bought and sold some of the most valuable cards ever produced, including the iconic 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner, and helped authenticate many record-setting transactions. Taylor also authored books on card collecting that educated generations of hobbyists. His shop on North 8th Street in Lebanon was a must-visit site for serious collectors.
In the 1970s, two brothers from Lebanon, John and Jim McCaffery, founded Sports Collectors Digest (SCD), which grew to become the leading magazine covering the sports collecting industry. Based out of an office on North 7th Street, SCD published weekly price guides and news updates that were essential reading for any dedicated card collector. In addition to the magazine, the McCafferys also organized some of the earliest major sports card shows that helped fuel the explosive growth of the hobby in the late 20th century. Their work at SCD from their hometown of Lebanon was massively influential in popularizing card collecting nationwide.
During the 1980s boom, when sports cards became a multi-billion dollar industry, several companies located in and around Lebanon played important roles. One such company was Fleer Corporation, which produced some of the most iconic modern card sets like Fleer basketball and football. Fleer was headquartered just outside of Lebanon in Myerstown. Also, in 1981, Ted Taylor and some partners started Sports Collectors Digest Publications to publish price guides and resources. This company was also located in Lebanon. Perhaps most notably, in 1984, a company called Beckett Media was founded in Lebanon by brothers Jeff and Josh Beckett. Beckett quickly became the preeminent source for card and memorabilia prices, with its monthly magazine still considered the industry “bible” today.
While the sports card market has cooled significantly since the overproduction of the late 1980s and early 1990s, the hobby remains enormously popular. Collectors in Lebanon and across Pennsylvania still flock to regional card shows several times a year. The influence of the pioneers from Lebanon like Mastro, Taylor, the McCafferys, and the Beckett brothers can still be felt today. Their work growing the hobby in its formative years helped transform sports cards from childhood novelties to billion-dollar investments. For its outsized role in popularizing and commercializing baseball cards, the city of Lebanon, Pennsylvania deserves recognition as an important part of the history of this beloved collecting pastime.
