Baseball cards have been collected by fans for over a century, chronicling the players, teams and history of America’s pastime. While many think of baseball card collecting hubs in large cities like New York or Los Angeles, the small suburb of Clive, Iowa has developed an unlikely reputation as a hotbed for baseball card collectors and memorabilia enthusiasts over the past few decades.
Clive is located just west of Des Moines, with a population of around 17,000 residents. On the surface, it seems an unlikely place for serious baseball card collectors to congregate. Beginning in the 1970s a few avid collectors began holding informal meetups to trade and discuss their collections. Word quickly spread through collector circles and before long, collectors from all over Iowa and even bordering states like Nebraska and Missouri began making the trip to Clive on a regular basis.
One of the pioneers of the Clive baseball card scene was a man named Fred Johnson. In 1973, Johnson had amassed one of the largest and most valuable baseball card collections in the Midwest. Seeking others to share his passion with, Johnson began placing small ads in collector publications announcing monthly meetups at a local diner in Clive. Dozens of collectors showed up to Johnson’s first few gatherings, and he was surprised by the enthusiasm. Johnson lobbied the city to set aside space at the public library for larger collector events, helping turn Clive into a destination.
Through the 1970s and 80s, the Clive baseball card shows grew exponentially. Collectors appreciated the laidback Midwestern vibe and lack of competitiveness compared to bigger city shows. Vendors also took note – they could rent tables for less cost and interact with customers one-on-one without massive crowds. By the late 80s, the bimonthly Clive shows were regularly drawing over 1,000 collectors and becoming a staple on the Midwest circuit. National memorabilia companies soon set up permanent brick-and-mortar shops in Clive to cater to the local collector base.
The 1990s saw unprecedented growth in the popularity and value of vintage baseball cards. Fueled by superstar rookie cards like Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Bonds, the entire collecting hobby boomed. Clive’s shows grew into huge weekend-long extravaganzas held in the high school fieldhouse, with collectors coming from all over the world. National memorabilia auctions were regularly held, and rare vintage cards changed hands in Clive for six figure sums. The economic impact of the card shows on the town was immense.
As baseball card values peaked in the late 90s, the collectibles industry began struggling with overproduction and loss of consumer interest. The large national companies pulled out of Clive as the market crashed. But local collectors refused to let their hobby die. Smaller “Super Swap Meets” continued on a monthly basis, and a dedicated core group kept the Clive tradition alive through the 2000s. Younger collectors also began joining as interest in vintage cards renewed.
Today, Clive remains one of the top destinations in the region for serious collectors. Quarterly mega-shows still draw thousands, while weekly swap meets keep the local scene buzzing. A historic baseball card store from the 90s boom was converted into the Clive Baseball Card Museum, preserving the town’s memorabilia legacy. Though the values and sizes of past shows can never be matched, the tight-knit Midwestern collector community that Fred Johnson first fostered in Clive over 50 years ago continues to pass a love of the hobby between generations.
