The Atlanta Braves are one of the most historic franchises in Major League Baseball. Founded in 1871 as the Boston Red Stockings, the team has called three different cities home throughout its long history. When the franchise relocated from Milwaukee to Atlanta in 1966, it introduced Braves baseball cards to a new generation of fans in the South. Since their arrival in Georgia, the Braves have been featured on numerous team sets issued by the major card companies.
Some of the earliest Braves team cards after the move to Atlanta came in the late 1960s from Topps. In 1967, Topps issued its first Atlanta Braves team card as part of the regular baseball card release. This marked the first time the franchise had been pictured as the Braves on a team card rather than as the Milwaukee Braves. Topps would continue producing Atlanta Braves team cards almost annually for the next several decades. Many of these sets from the late 1960s and 1970s featured simple designs with a group photo of the players on the front and roster or stats on the back.
In 1971, Topps broke the mold by issuing a Braves team card with individual player photos rather than a group shot. This set showed each member of the roster with their picture and stats. Topps released similar team sets in subsequent years, sometimes varying the front design between a collage of players or single photos with a team logo overlay. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the Braves were a mainstay in the annual Topps team card offerings. These issues helped Braves fans in Atlanta and beyond collect photos and information on their favorite players and teams.
While Topps dominated the baseball card market for much of the 20th century, other companies also produced Atlanta Braves team sets over the years. In 1975 and 1976, Fleer issued Braves cards as part of their team leader and All-Star subsets. These featured some of the Braves’ top players at the time like Hank Aaron and Dusty Baker. In the late 1970s and 1980s, Donruss started including Atlanta Braves cards in many of its team sets as well. Donruss often took creative liberties with its designs, sometimes featuring action shots, headshots on a team color background, or collages of multiple players.
When the baseball card boom of the late 1980s and early 1990s heated up, numerous companies entered the market with new Braves team cards. Score issued numerous sets in the late 1980s and 1990s showing the Braves’ star players and World Series teams of that era like Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Chipper Jones. Upper Deck also got in on the action when they debuted in 1989, producing high-quality Braves cards through the 1990s. Other short-lived companies like Stadium Club and Leaf produced beautiful Braves cards during the height of the junk wax era. Pinnacle Brands issued memorable refractors and parallels of Braves stars in the mid-1990s as well.
Entering the modern era, the Braves have continued to be featured prominently in team sets from the leading card manufacturers. Starting in the 2000s, Topps Heritage has paid homage to classic designs with retro-style Atlanta Braves cards showing players like Greg Maddux and Andruw Jones. Upper Deck has produced autographed memorabilia cards of franchise icons like Hank Aaron. Panini has issued prizm parallels and Donruss optics parallels of current Braves stars Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, and Austin Riley in their modern on-card autograph and memorabilia formats.
Throughout their history in Atlanta spanning over 50 years, the Braves franchise has been a staple in the team sets produced by baseball card companies. Collectors can trace the evolution of the team’s designs and players over the decades by assembling a complete run of Braves cards. With a rich tradition and passionate fanbase, the Atlanta Braves will surely continue to be featured prominently on team cards for years to come as one of baseball’s most storied franchises.
