The history of baseball cards in Cedar Rapids, Iowa stretches back over 100 years. Like many other American cities, the collecting and trading of baseball cards became a popular pastime for children and adults alike in Cedar Rapids beginning in the late 19th century as the sport of baseball grew in popularity across the United States.
Some of the earliest baseball cards produced in the late 1800s and early 1900s featured players from teams based in larger Midwestern cities like Chicago, St. Louis, and Cincinnati. It didn’t take long for local interest to grow in players and teams closer to home in Iowa. In the early 20th century, minor league baseball teams began popping up across the state, including the Cedar Rapids Bunnies who played from 1907-1910 as part of the Class D Illinois–Iowa League. Cards featuring Bunnies players like pitcher Bill Wambsganss, who would later go on to play in Major League Baseball, began circulating among early collectors in Cedar Rapids during this time period.
As baseball card manufacturing became more widespread starting in the 1910s thanks to companies like American Caramel, Cedar Rapids residents had growing access to cards depicting both major and minor league players. Sets from this era like T206 and T205 included stars located all across the country. Local interest was highest for any cards showing players with an Iowa connection, whether they were originally from the state or playing for one of Iowa’s minor league teams. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the Cedar Rapids Bunnies and later the Cedar Rapids Raiders of the Three-I League kept local collectors interested in adding regional cards to their collections.
World War II marked a decline in minor league baseball across the United States as many leagues were suspended to support the war effort. This included the Three-I League, leaving Cedar Rapids without a home team for several years. Interest in baseball cards remained strong locally among both children and veterans returning from the war. The postwar period of the late 1940s and 1950s saw an explosion in baseball card popularity across America as new sets from Topps and other companies flooded the market. This surge in interest was also felt in Cedar Rapids, where stores saw strong sales of wax packs containing the newest baseball cards to hit the market.
In the 1950s, minor league baseball returned to Cedar Rapids with the formation of the Cedar Rapids Cardinals, a Class A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. Having a home team once again to root for sparked renewed local interest in collecting cards showing players on their way up through the Cardinals’ farm system. Many future major leaguers spent time in Cedar Rapids during these years, making their early minor league cards highly sought after by collectors in the area. Stores in Cedar Rapids did brisk business selling packs of Topps and other cards that might contain a future star that currently played for the local team.
The 1960s saw Cedar Rapids go through a rollercoaster period of minor league teams coming and going. The Cardinals left after 1960, replaced by the Cedar Rapids Giants and later the Cedar Rapids Reds and Cedar Rapids Cubs through the latter half of the decade. Interest in collecting never really waned. The rise of card shows and conventions in larger cities like Des Moines began drawing collectors from Cedar Rapids looking to expand their collections and find those elusive local players they needed. Stores in Cedar Rapids also hosted smaller card shows to meet local demand.
Into the 1970s and 1980s, the Cedar Rapids Cardinals returned for a second stint, keeping the area’s baseball card collecting tradition alive for another generation. By this era, the hobby had exploded into a multimillion-dollar industry. Cedar Rapids shops did a booming business carrying the latest releases, and local card shows only continued growing. Iowans were among the nation’s most avid collectors per capita. The rise of independent sports card shops and dedicated hobby stores in larger Iowa cities pulled collectors away from general retailers. Cedar Rapids was no exception, with its own dedicated card shops emerging like The Sports Exchange.
Today, baseball card collecting remains a popular pastime among both longtime and new enthusiasts in Cedar Rapids. While the local minor league team has changed names and affiliations over the years, currently known as the Cedar Rapids Kernels, the area continues to produce passionate collectors. Local card shops like The Sports Exchange have thrived for decades. Cedar Rapids also draws collectors from across Eastern Iowa to its larger annual card shows. And residents both young and old still take pride in finding those elusive cards of former Kernels players who went on to stardom in Major League Baseball. Over 100 years since the earliest Bunnies cards, baseball cards remain an integral part of the sports culture and memories of Cedar Rapids.
