Bricked Baseball Cards: An Overview of the Phenomenon
Baseball cards have been a beloved collectible for over a century, with millions of people amassing vast collections over the years. Storing and organizing large collections of cards can be a challenge. One solution collectors developed was to compress their cards into dense “bricks,” but this practice came with some risks. This article will provide an overview of the history and process of bricking baseball cards as well as some of the potential downsides collectors should be aware of.
The exact origins of bricking baseball cards are unknown, but it likely emerged in the 1960s and 70s as the hobby began to take off. With sets growing larger each year and new cards being printed in the millions, collectors found their collections expanding rapidly. Simply storing loose cards in boxes took up a significant amount of space. Some innovative collectors began experimenting with ways to condense their cards down into smaller, more manageable bricks.
The basic process of bricking is straightforward. Collectors would take a stack of cards, typically several hundred, and place them between two rigid surfaces like wood or Plexiglas panels. Heavy weights like dumbbells or textbooks would then be stacked on top of the panels to apply intense pressure on the cards. Over time, the pressure would cause the cards to compress down into a very dense brick formation. Properly bricked stacks could reduce a large pile of loose cards down to a fraction of the original volume.
For storage and organization purposes, bricking served collectors well by maximizing the number of cards that could fit in a limited space. Bricks allowed collectors to neatly stack and shelve their collections like books. The bricks were also durable and less susceptible to accidental damage compared to loose piles of cards. As baseball cards grew into a multi-million dollar industry in the 1980s and 90s, bricking helped fuel the boom by making vast collections manageable.
Bricking cards also introduced some risks that collectors had to be aware of. Applying excessive pressure for too long a period could damage the fragile cardboard stock that cards are printed on. Over time, the compression could cause creases, wrinkles or indentations in the surfaces. Humidity fluctuations posed another threat, as damp conditions could cause cards to stick together or develop mold. Improperly stored bricks also ran the risk of the cards shifting during compression and becoming misaligned.
More significantly, the act of de-bricking posed its own set of challenges. Separating the tightly compressed stack of cards back into individual pieces without damaging edges or surfaces required patience and care. No matter how gentle the process, some wear and tear was inevitable. Re-bricking and de-bricking cycles repeated over the years also carried a cumulative risk of degrading the cardboard. Valuable vintage cards or those with special significance to a collector were best kept loose rather than bricked.
As collecting techniques evolved, some alternatives to traditional bricking emerged that provided compression benefits with less risk. “Semi-bricking” involved using thin separators like paper or cardboard between card layers during compression. This allowed for easier separation without cards sticking. Collectors also experimented with “soft-bricking” using lighter weights applied for shorter durations. Storage methods like magnetic or screw-top boxes optimized space while protecting loose cards.
In the modern era, as the hobby has embraced protective sleeves, toploaders and binders, bricking has declined significantly among active collectors. While it served collectors well during the growth years, the risks generally outweigh the storage space benefits today. Bricking does provide a unique time capsule view of collecting methods from eras past. Vintage bricks command strong nostalgia value and interest from historians of the hobby. With care taken at all stages of the process, bricking can still be a viable option for organizing large long-term holdings. But for most active collectors, it has become an outdated technique whose risks now exceed the rewards.
Bricking baseball cards provided a solution to managing bulging collections during the hobby’s most explosive years of growth. By maximizing storage density, it helped fuel wider participation. The compression process did pose long-term risks to the physical integrity of the cardboard stock that cards are printed on. While bricking retains nostalgic charm, most collectors today prefer methods that protect cards without compromising surfaces or corners through repeated handling. For archiving large long-box collections, bricking can still serve a purpose when done judiciously. But collectors are wise to carefully weigh the risks versus benefits for their individual needs.
