The history of baseball cards in Delaware dates back over 100 years when the earliest baseball cards first began appearing in the late 1800s. Some of the earliest baseball cards produced featured stars from the National League and American Association, two early professional baseball leagues that were popular in Delaware at the time.

While tobacco companies began inserting baseball cards as incentives in cigarette packs starting in the 1880s, the earliest known stand-alone baseball card set specifically produced for collecting was the 1887 N172 Old Judge tobacco issue. It wasn’t until the 1890s that baseball card collecting really took off across the United States, including in Delaware. Allen & Ginter produced some of the earliest and most iconic baseball card sets in the 1890s that are still highly collectible today, featuring stars such as Pud Galvin, King Kelly, and Buck Ewing.

In the early 1900s, cigarette companies like American Tobacco Company and Imperial Tobacco of Canada really expanded baseball card production and inserted them as incentives in nearly every pack of cigarettes. Brands like T206 White Border, T205 Gold Border, and M101-4 Emerald began featuring the biggest stars in the game at the time like Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, and Babe Ruth. These vintage cards from the early 20th century are some of the most valuable in the entire hobby today due to their rarity, condition, and the star power of the players featured. Many early baseball card collectors in Delaware amassed large collections during this era.

The Goudey Gum Company issued some of the first modern gum-included baseball cards in 1933 and 1934. Featuring bright color portraits with fun facts on the back, the Goudey sets helped popularize baseball card collecting even more. Production was temporarily halted during World War II but picked back up in the post-war 1940s and 1950s with the advent of Topps. Topps became the dominant baseball card producer starting in the 1950s and issued hugely popular and iconic sets each year that were collected across Delaware and the nation. Stars of the era like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron became hugely popular on cardboard as well as the diamond during this time.

Through the 1950s and 1960s, baseball card collecting boomed as a mainstream hobby for both children and adults across the United States, including in Delaware. The rise of youth and adult leagues along with the emergence of Little League Baseball helped contribute to this growth in popularity. Topps continued to be the main producer but was joined by new competitors like Fleer and Bowman in the 1960s who issued competitive but short-lived sets. In the late 1960s, the first major sports card conventions and shows began popping up, with one of the earliest and largest held at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino in Dover, Delaware in 1969.

The 1970s saw the rise of many new sports card companies like Donruss, Kellogg’s, and TCMA challenge Topps’ dominance. More sets with various designs, photography styles, and player inclusion were produced each year to entice collectors. The era also saw a rise in speculation and investment in the hobby as some key rookie cards like a 1975 Nolan Ryan or 1979 Cal Ripken Jr. rose rapidly in value. The sports memorabilia industry crashed in the mid-1980s after being overproduced. Many companies folded but Topps survived and retooled its business model.

Through the 1980s and 1990s, the baseball card industry reinvented and reestablished itself. The rise of independent sports card shops in Delaware and across the country fueled a renewed interest. Expos and conventions drew huge crowds. Key rookie cards of Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, and Griffey Jr. in the late 80s/early 90s saw renewed speculation. In the 90s, inserts, parallels, autographs and memorabilia cards enticed collectors. The industry was rocked in the late 90s over the steroid era in baseball. The baseball memorabilia industry has stabilized in the 2000s with the rise of modern parallels, autographs, and relic cards appealing to a new generation of collectors, including many in Delaware.

The history of baseball cards in Delaware reflects over a century of the hobby’s growth and evolution across the First State. From the earliest tobacco issues to modern autographed jersey cards, Delaware collectors have enjoyed amassing collections of their favorite players throughout the decades. The First State played a role in many industry firsts and developments. Today, baseball card collecting remains a popular pastime for both children and adults across Delaware, keeping alive the rich history and tradition of the hobby that began over 130 years ago.