Asheville has a rich history with baseball cards dating back to the late 19th century. Some of the earliest baseball cards produced featured players that spent time in the minor leagues in Asheville. While the city was never home to a major league team, it played an important role in the development of many future MLB stars through its minor league affiliates.
One of the first baseball card sets to feature Asheville players was issued in 1887 by Goodwin & Company, a tobacco manufacturer based in New York. This set included 48 cards showing players from various minor and independent professional teams of the time. Included were cards for three players that spent the 1886 season with the Asheville Mountaineers – a minor league team that played in the original Southern League. Shortstop Billy Clifford, pitcher Bill Holbert and outfielder Ed Cushman were among the first Asheville players immortalized on cardboard.
Through the 1890s and into the early 20th century, Asheville was home to teams in various low-level minor leagues. Sets from the time occasionally featured stars from the Asheville teams, keeping the city’s baseball tradition alive on cards even when they didn’t have a professional franchise at the time. In 1909, the city gained an entry in the Class D North Carolina State League known as the Asheville Moonshiners. This sparked more baseball card coverage of Asheville’s local players.
One of the most famous early Asheville cards comes from the 1909-11 series issued by Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. This iconic set included a card for pitcher Grover Lowdermilk, who starred for the 1909 Moonshiners. Lowdermilk went on to have a successful 10-year MLB career after leaving Asheville. His minor league origins in the city were acknowledged on this pioneering tobacco card issue. Other Moonshiners like catcher Bill Killefer also gained card recognition in sets of this period like those by Batter Up and Hassan.
In the 1920s, Asheville was home to teams in the Class C Western Carolina League. Topps, which had just begun producing modern style baseball cards, featured several Asheville players over the decade. Stars like pitcher Clarence “Pants” Rowland, who tossed four seasons for Asheville clubs from 1922-1925, received Topps cards while playing in the city. The increased national distribution and popularity of Topps kept the Asheville baseball tradition in the spotlight during this era.
Asheville had its longest continuous run as a minor league city from 1937-1960, when it was home to affiliates of various major league teams in the Class A and Class B South Atlantic League. This period coincided with the golden age of baseball cards, so Asheville players gained wide distribution. Future MLB all-stars like Early Wynn, Don Newcombe, and Luis Aparicio honed their skills in Asheville before moving up. They received card coverage from the many sets of this time like Play Ball, Bowman and Topps.
Into the 1950s and 60s, Asheville players were staples in the annual Topps and Bowman sets that dominated the market. Future Hall of Famers like Willie McCovey, Billy Williams and Bob Gibson spent time in the city and had their minor league days acknowledged on cardboard. Asheville’s long baseball tradition and role in player development was cemented during this post-war peak of the sport’s popularity.
Even after Asheville lost its minor league franchise in 1960, the city maintained a connection to baseball cards. Former Asheville players who made the majors continued to receive retro and career accomplishment cards in later-era issues. Meanwhile, the vintage cards from Asheville’s heyday as a minor league city gained popularity with collectors. Regional hobby shops and sports memorabilia stores in Asheville did a brisk business in the city’s classic cardboard. The cards kept the legacy of Asheville baseball alive for future generations of fans.
Today, Asheville has rejoined the minors as the home of the Class A Asheville Tourists since 1997. A new generation of future MLB stars has played in the city and gained card coverage. Meanwhile, the vintage Asheville cards from the early 20th century minor league era remain prized collectibles. While the city no longer fields a professional baseball team, its rich baseball card history endures as both a commercial product and reminder of Asheville’s important role in the sport’s development. The cards preserve the names and faces of the players who represented Asheville on the diamond for over a century.
