The early history of baseball cards dates back to the late 1800s as the sporrt of baseball was rapidly growing in popularity in both the United States and Canada. Some of the earliest recognized baseball cards were issued in the late 1860s with images of star players from that era such as Candy Cummings, Cap Anson, and Al Spalding. These earliest baseball cards were not issued by trading card companies and instead appeared as promotional items or in publications related to the sport.
The first true baseball card series is widely regarded to be the Goodwin Champions cigarette cards issued in 1887. Produced as a premium inside cigarette packs, the 1887 Goodwin Champions series featured 29 different players from teams throughout North America. Stars of the time like King Kelly, Jim O’Rourke, and Tim Keefe were all included in this pioneering baseball card release. Goodwin & Company would go on to produce additional baseball card sets in 1888 and 1889 as the cigarette premium insert quickly grew into a popular novelty item.
During the early 1890s, several manufacturers began mass producing baseball cards as standalone products instead of cigarette pack inserts. Allen & Ginter was a tobacco company that issued memorable baseball cards sets in 1890 and 1893. Their ornate cardboard lithographed cards featured many of the game’s important figures at the time like Pud Galvin, Clarkson, and Charlie Bennett. In 1891, another tobacco producer in Mayo Cut Plug issued their own baseball card set highlighting players from both major leagues.
The earliest decades of baseball in the 1800s were dominated by regional leagues before the establishment of the National League in 1876 and American Association in 1882. As a result, many of the earliest baseball cards accurately depicted this era’s focus on individual star players instead of full team rosters. Cards would feature close-up portrait images of standout ballplayers accompanied by basic stats and career highlights. Production values were still quite basic in the late 19th century with most cards consisting of simple paper stock material.
In 1892, the American Tobacco Company began producing colorful baseball cards as part of their collection called Old Judge and Gypsy Queen tobacco cards. Their cabinet card stock sets introduced chromolithography which allowed for higher quality multicolor printing on thicker cardboard. Stars like Buck Ewing, Hugh Duffy, and Kid Nichols received beautifully detailed baseball cards in these sets that are now highly collectible among vintage card aficionados. Other tobacco brands followed suit that same decade with sets released by Leaf, Mayo Cut Plug, and Imperial among others.
The decade of the 1890s saw American interest and participation in baseball truly explode on a national scale. As the National League and American Association began operating as major leagues, regional minor leagues proliferated across small town America. With the sport’s immense growth came continued increased demand for baseball cards as an affordable collectible novelty item. By the late 1890s, baseball cards had firmly cemented themselves as a mainstream commercial product closely linked to the identity and promotion of professional baseball in North America. Though small in size and production values, the early baseball cards of the 1800s established important groundwork that would develop into the immense modern trading card industry.
While the elementary baseball cards produced prior to the 20th century possess far less sophisticated printing techniques than their modern successors, they retain immense historical value for documenting the earliest professional players and era of American baseball history. Images of baseball’s pioneering figures like Mickey Welch, Dan Brouthers, and Arlie Latham transported on simple cardboard stock provide a unique nostalgic glimpse back to the adventurous founding period when baseball first captured the nation’s sporting passions. The genesis of baseball cards during the 1800s helped spread interest in the rising sport while preserving memories of the game’s formative superstars for generations of future baseball fans to enjoy through the enduring collecting hobby.
