Baseball cards have long held a special place in American popular culture as collectibles that connect fans of all ages to the national pastime. In Tempe, Arizona, located just east of Phoenix in Maricopa County, the history of baseball cards reflects both the local passion for America’s favorite sport as well as broader trends across the collecting hobby.
Some of the earliest baseball cards produced and collected in Tempe date back to the late 19th century when cigarette companies like Allen & Ginter and Goodwin & Company began inserting memorabilia-style cards in their packs and tins. While production of these early tobacco cards had waned by the early 1900s, the nostalgia they evoked for baseball’s earliest eras remained strong in Tempe. Local collectors would trade, swap and discuss their antique collections for decades to come.
In the post-World War II economic boom of the 1950s, the modern baseball card era began in earnest. Bowman, Topps and other companies mass produced colorful cardboard cards featuring the biggest stars of Major League Baseball. In Tempe, young fans could be found trading these increasingly coveted cards on playgrounds and schoolyards. Local card shops also started to emerge to meet the growing demand, like Tempe Sports Cards which opened in 1953 and is still in business today.
During the 1960s, parallel to baseball’s cultural dominance in America, the hobby of collecting cards truly took off in Tempe. Kids spent summer afternoons cycling through neighborhoods, hoping to find another kid with cards to trade. Teenagers and adults also joined the frenzy, often collecting not just for the sport but to complete full sets which could be resold or handed down. This was also when the first organized youth leagues started in Tempe, further fueling local passion.
In the 1970s, as baseball card values started appreciating significantly, a new class of serious adult collectors emerged in Tempe. With disposable income and nostalgia for their childhood pastimes, these “grownup collectors” began searching garage sales, flea markets and antique stores for vintage gems. Meanwhile, the rise of superstar players like Reggie Jackson kept pack-ripping a popular activity even for teenagers less focused on monetary worth. During this period, the first collector’s clubs and conventions also took shape in greater Phoenix.
The speculative boom and bust of the 1980s had a major impact on the baseball card market in Tempe. As investors drove up prices of star rookies and rare vintage cards, the potential for profit attracted many new collectors who cared less about the sport itself. This led to overproduction by card companies and a subsequent crash. The nostalgia factor kept many dedicated Tempe collectors involved through local hobby shops and clubs. The crash also made actual baseball fans the primary driving force once more.
In the 1990s, fueled by renewed interest in collecting driven by cable TV shows and the internet, the baseball card market in Tempe entered another golden age. Iconic rookie cards of future Hall of Famers like Ken Griffey Jr. and Chipper Jones sold for thousands. The rise of player autograph and memorabilia cards also changed the nature of the hobby. Local shows attracted collectors from across the Southwest in search of one-of-a-kind treasures. Card shops in Tempe catered to both casual fans and high-end investors alike.
Today, while the baseball card market in Tempe has matured, it remains a vibrant part of the local sports and collecting communities. With the rise of online sales, local brick-and-mortar shops have adapted by also focusing more on events, autograph signings and community building. Meanwhile, card collecting is still a popular hobby among Tempe youth, whether chasing the latest Stars of MLB or rebuilding childhood collections. The history and legacy of baseball cards also lives on through local card clubs and museums celebrating the sport’s memorabilia.
Over a century since its beginnings, baseball card collecting has been an integral part of Tempe’s cultural fabric. As both a connection to baseball’s history and a nostalgia-driven hobby, cards continue bringing generations of Coyote fans together around their shared love of America’s pastime. The many ups and downs of the wider collecting market have also left an indelible mark on the city’s hobby shops and passionate local collectors.
