Baseball cards from the 1940s represent a unique period in the history of the hobby. Following the Great Depression of the 1930s, the United States was emerging from economic hardship and slowly beginning to recover. World War II would engulf the world later in the decade, but 1940 offered a final moment of relative calm before the war reached America’s shores. It was also a transitional time for the baseball card industry.
The 1930s had seen the peak of tobacco cards included in cigarette and candy packages as incentives to purchase the products. Rising concerns about promoting smoking to minors led to the Tobacco Merchandising Acts of 1934 and 1938 that cracked down on these schemes. Manufacturers responded by shifting to non-sport cards and standalone baseball card packs without tobacco products. 1940 thus saw both the last examples of tobacco era cards as well as the gradual move to the modern model of dedicated baseball card sets released independently of smokes.
The most prominent tobacco issue of 1940 was Play Ball from American Tobacco’s Apple cigarette brand. It featured 336 player cards with 19 additional manager/owner portraits. Noteworthy rookies included Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox and Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians. Star players like Joe DiMaggio of the Yankees and Stan Musial of the Cardinals were also highlighted. While tobacco included, the set moved away from product advertising seen in earlier decades. Cards had uniform borders and back text praising players rather than pushing cigarettes.
Bowman Gum followed the shift away from coupling cards to confections started in 1939. Their 1940 set featured 272 player cards across 13 teams. It would be the final year of the early design before adopting colorful photo fronts in 1948. Rookies in the set included future Hall of Famers Warren Spahn and Early Wynn. The Goudey Gum Company also issued a 172 card set as they transitioned towards standalone packs the following year. Both Bowman and Goudey sets had simple pulp board stock rather than the thicker cardboard of tobacco issues.
While tobacco cards faded, the 1940 season saw two of the most noteworthy standalone releases of the era. The National Chicle Company issued its first long running baseball card series as an accompaniment to package of gum already popular nationwide. Their 1940 set featured player portraits on the front and biographies on the reverse. Highlighting stars like Joe DiMaggio, Hank Greenberg, and Bob Feller, the 381 card National Chicle issue kicked off one of the most iconic runs in the industry.
The Leaf Candy Company debuted its ambitious 600 card Master set starring all 16 major league teams. Called “the most comprehensive set of the time”, it remain one of the rarest and most valuable vintage issues. Produced in a large landscape format on high quality stock, the Leaf Master set showcased not just star players but entire lineups, bullpens and benches of each franchise. Beyond the immense scope of coverage, the cards had intricate colored borders, back images and stats that elevated production values. Examples could frequently be found in vending machines alongside the company’s popular caffeinated gum.
As the 1941 season loomed with the U.S. expected to soon join the spreading World War, the baseball card market reflected both the tensions abroad and innovations at home. The last great tobacco issues arrived from Play Ball and Red Man, while Bowman and Goudey sets continued portraying the national pastime with child-like innocence that could not last. National Chicle and Topps’ test sets in 1939/1940 demonstrated the potential for dedicated runs of packs sold independently in shops. The stage was set for baseball’s golden age of cards to blossom through the dark war years as a symbol of hope and normalcy for collectors at home following the growing exploits of heroes depicted on the cardboard. 1940 remained a pivotal transition point between eras as manufacturers adjusted to societal and legal pressures while beginning to focus purely on collectors new and old.
1940 baseball cards represent an important transition period between the golden age of tobacco era issues and the dawn of the modern model of dedicated trading card sets released independently from other products. Sets from American Tobacco, Bowman, Goudey, National Chicle, and the pioneering Leaf Master issue all offered fans and collectors glimpses of the stars and franchises of that season during a time of change for the country on the eve of U.S. entry into World War II. While tobacco’s influence receded, the foundations were being laid for decades of baseball on cardboard to come by innovators welcoming a new generation of children and their allowance money straight to the card aisle. 1940 cards remain both the last major hurrah of tobacco’s grand run and the crucible experience pushing the industry towards its ultimate form.
