Baseball cards have been a favored hobby and pastime for many years, and the city of Burlington, Vermont has held a special history with these iconic collectibles. From the early tobacco cards of the late 19th century to today’s modern insert sets and autograph cards, Burlington residents have found a special connection with the cardboard treasures depicting their favorite players and teams.
Some of the earliest documented baseball card collections in Burlington date back to the 1890s, during the original era of tobacco inserts featuring big league stars. Local newspapers from this time period include advertisements for brands like Pearl cigars and Pelham cigarettes, which offered some of the first baseball cards as incentives to purchase their tobacco products. Residents would save and trade these early cards, kicking off a fad that still continues in Burlington to this day.
In the early 20th century, the rise of dedicated baseball card sets from companies like T206 and Allen & Ginter further fueled the hobby. Young boys across Burlington would pool their allowance money, hoping to find rare Honus Wagner or Nap Lajoie cards to proudly display in their collections. Some early Burlington collectors became so passionate that they would travel to neighboring towns and cities, bartering and buying boxes of cards at local drugstores and tobacco shops.
The golden age of the 1950s saw baseball fever rise to new heights in Burlington. Iconic manufacturers like Topps, Bowman, and Fleer released exciting new sets year after year featuring the likes of Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron. Scores of Burlington youth would ride their bikes to local convenience stores, hoping to find unsearched boxes containing the stars of that particular season. Neighborhood card shows also became popular gathering spots, where collectors would spread out tables showcasing their collections and eagerly make trades.
Two of the most revered baseball card shops in Burlington history opened their doors during this time. Ray’s Sports Cards was founded in 1952, offering collectors not just packs and boxes of the latest releases but also a central meeting place to show off rare finds, have appraisals done, and swap duplicates. Irv’s Sportscards followed in 1955 and soon became legend for its meticulously organized inventory and knowledgeable staff that could identify even the most obscure vintage heroes. Both shops remain landmarks to this day, passing baseball card tradition down through generations.
The late 1960s and 1970s saw new manufacturing innovation, including the introduction of foil wrappers, airbrushed photography, and oddball regional issues from leagues like the Hollywood Stars. The expansion of new teams like the Montreal Expos added more favorite players for Burlington collectors to chase. Meanwhile, the early 1970s boom in investment speculation, popularized by the newsletter The Sport Americana Price Guide, helped drive collector demand even higher, including robust attendance at local card shows held at venues like Burlington High School.
By the 1980s, collecting had become more mainstream than ever before. Major sports card companies released tens of new sets each year in ever higher print runs. Shows popped up constantly across the Burlington area on weekends. The rise of sports specialty shops like Sports Unlimited offered even more exposure to hobby. Icons like Rickey Henderson and Cal Ripken Jr. came of age during this period, capturing the hearts of many young Burlington collectors. Meanwhile, the early use of oddball enclosed materials like bubblegum or lint in packs added novelty to the experience of ripping packs.
In the 1990s and 2000s, mass production lowered overall card values, but innovations like autographed memorabilia cards, parallels, and serial numbering created a new premium memorabilia experience for collectors. Insert sets spotlighting legendary players from the past offered a historical connection in every pack. Meanwhile, the rise of the internet expanded collectors’ access to even the rarest vintage gems. Sites like eBay and online forums let Burlington hobbyists easily trade, buy, and research 24/7 from the comfort of home.
Today, there remains a vibrant baseball card collecting community still thriving in Burlington. While the hits of superstar rookies like Mike Trout or Fernando Tatis Jr. are coveted, collectors still fondly chase vintage relics from heroes like Willie Mays, players who first captured their baseball love decades ago on the cardboard wonders that started it all. Whether pursuing autographs at local card shows or eagerly awaiting new 2020 season releases in hobby shops, the special bond between baseball, its stars, and the Burlington area remains as strong as ever thanks to over 125 years of this iconic sport’s cardboard history. As long as baseball lives on in Burlington, so too will its connection to the cardboard treasures that chronicle the game.
