The city of Clearwater, Florida has a rich history with baseball cards dating back over 100 years. Some of the earliest baseball cards produced featured players who spent time in Clearwater for spring training. Located along the Gulf Coast with a warm climate, Clearwater became a haven for major league teams to hold their spring camps starting in the early 1900s.
One of the first teams to train in Clearwater was the Boston Red Sox in 1917. That same year, the American Caramel Company released its famous “Caramel Card” set which included future Hall of Famers Babe Ruth and Tris Speaker, who were in Clearwater with the Red Sox that spring. While the cards did not specifically mention Clearwater, they helped connect the city to the rise of baseball cards as a collectible.
In the following decades, more teams flocked to Clearwater for spring training each year, including the Philadelphia Phillies who made the city their official training site starting in 1923. This helped Clearwater become synonymous with the beginning of a new baseball season. Card companies soon realized the potential to feature players from Clearwater-based spring training squads.
In the 1930s and 1940s, sets from Goudey, Play Ball, and Leaf featured many players who were training in Clearwater each March and April. Stars of the day like Chuck Klein, Dolph Camilli, and Bill Dickey had their likenesses preserved on cardboard while preparing for the season along Florida’s West Coast. Fans could collect cards of their favorite players even during the offseason months.
As baseball cards grew in popularity through the 1950s, Clearwater’s spring training connection remained strong. Topps released its iconic 1951 set during spring training, which included soon-to-be Hall of Famers like Stan Musial and Ted Williams, both of whom trained in Clearwater that year with the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox, respectively.
Topps and other companies continued referencing Clearwater in subsequent card issues by directly mentioning players’ spring training locations. Sets from 1953 on would note Clearwater alongside names of Phillies and other Grapefruit League alums. This helped further develop the city’s identity as a baseball hotbed, inextricably linking it to the business of sports cards.
Into the 1960s, ’70s, and beyond, Clearwater was featured prominently in the early-season photo shoots for Topps and other brands as they captured shots of players before packed spring bleachers. Homegrown stars like Jimmy Piersall, Dick Allen, and George Bell had their rookie cards made during Clearwater tenure with the Red Sox, Phillies, and Blue Jays.
In 1987, Topps issued a special “Clearwater Cubs” subset within its flagship set to commemorate the Chicago Cubs’ spring training in the city that year. This nod to Clearwater’s spring hosting role showed how integral it remained to the annual baseball card release cycle decades after its spring training origins.
As 21st century card companies like Upper Deck emerged, Clearwater maintained its presence in their photoshoot itineraries and subsequent issues as well. Hometown heroes David Price and Ryan Howard had some of their best-known cards made during Clearwater spring stints earlier in their careers.
Today, in addition to hosting the Phillies each spring, Clearwater is home to the Clearwater Threshers minor league club, affiliate of the Phillies. Their players regularly receive card treatments from brands like Topps, Bowman, and Leaf to keep the city’s baseball card tradition alive.
With over 100 years of spring training history and card connection, Clearwater has cemented its place in the collectible universe. Its warm climate, fan base, and accommodations make it an ideal spot for card companies to capture the first photos and memories of each new season – memories that get preserved and exchanged by fans all over in the form of baseball cards.
