The exact origins of baseball cards are unknown, but most historians agree that cigarette manufacturers helped popularize the modern baseball card during the late 1800s. Some key events in the history and invention of baseball cards include:
In the 1850s, lithographed cards containing baseball players’ photos started appearing as promotions for tobacco products. These early cards generally did not include any player statistics or biographical information. They were essentially advertisements used to market tobacco brands. Some experts believe this was the first widespread usage of small printed cards featuring baseball players. Collecting complete sets of specific players was not really possible yet since the cards were promotional items inserted randomly into tobacco products.
In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first fully professional baseball team. As the sport grew in popularity during the post-Civil War era, tobacco companies saw an opportunity to capitalize. In 1869, a company called Goodwin & Company included lithographed trade cards of baseball stars Buck Ewing and Jim Tyng in packages of their tobacco products. These cards are considered among the earliest known baseball cards produced specifically for collection purposes.
In the 1870s, the American Tobacco Company and Allen & Ginter Tobacco Company began heavily featuring baseball players on their trade, lithographed cards inserted in cigarette and tobacco packs. These early cards became highly collectible and tradable among children and adult fans. The cards helped promote both the tobacco brands and professional baseball as a new national pastime. Sets issued by companies like Allen & Ginter in the 1880s are now extremely rare and valuable.
In 1887, an entrepreneur named Donnelley & Sons tried selling sets of entire teams of larger, card stock baseball cards apart from tobacco products. These were the first concerted effort to mass produce and sell baseball cards as a stand-alone collectible product. The concept was ahead of its time and did not gain much commercial traction. Cigarette companies remained the dominant force in mass-producing baseball cards through the late 19th century.
In 1909, the American Tobacco Company issued what is considered the first modern baseball card set with decipherable player stats and team logos – the infamous T206 set. Produced through 1913, these valuable tobacco era cards helped cement baseball cards as a beloved childhood collectible during baseball’s Deadball Era. Companies like American Caramel took over baseball card production after the Tobacco Trust was broken up in 1911 due to antitrust laws.
Through the 1920s-1950s, many regional candy and gum manufacturers issued beautiful regional sets that helped popularize card collecting nationwide. In 1938, the Goudey Gum Company issued the first redesigned baseball card set since the tobacco era. In 1952, Topps gained dominance after outbidding competitors for a license to produce cards featuring all major league players. Their iconic design became the standard template for baseball cards through the modern era.
While lithographed tobacco inserts and trade cards in the 1850-80s exposed the promotional potential of baseball players, it was not until the turn of the 20th century that cigarette companies truly invented the modern baseball card. By systematically inserting ornate cards into tobacco products starting in the 1880s-1910s, companies like Allen & Ginter, American Tobacco, and others successfully wedded baseball to childhood collecting. They sparked a craze that became an enduring American pastime, creating the first model for the baseball card that is still seen today.
