Baseball cards have a long history in Dover, Delaware dating back to the late 19th century. Some of the earliest baseball cards produced featured players from Dover’s minor league teams that were popular in the area. Dover has a rich tradition of baseball and the collecting and trading of baseball cards was a big part of local baseball fandom for over a century.
Dover first got its own minor league baseball team in 1886 when the Dover Senators joined the Eastern Shore Baseball League. The Senators played at Woodside Park, one of the earliest ballparks in Dover. In their inaugural season, cigarette manufacturers started including promotional baseball cards of Senators players inside packs as a marketing gimmick. This helped spark interest in collecting cards of Dover players among local fans. The Senators disbanded after the 1891 season but left behind some of the first baseball cards specifically featuring Dover athletes.
In 1901, Dover was granted a franchise in the Class D Kent County Baseball League called the Dover Boosters. They played at Boosters Park into the 1920s. During this time, tobacco companies began mass producing sets of cards that could be found in cigarettes, candy, or gum. Dover Boosters players started regularly appearing in these early sets from companies like T206 and E95. Kids in Dover would eagerly search packs, hoping to find cards of their hometown heroes. Trading and discussing cards became a popular pastime on the playground.
In the 1920s, the Dover Boosters were renamed the Dover Senators and shifted between various minor leagues over the next few decades. The 1930s and 1940s saw the rise of the modern baseball card era as companies like Goudey and Topps began printing cards exclusively for the confection market. Dover players were staples in these regional and national sets that could be found all over town. Local drug stores and corner stores carried boxes of cards that kept the collecting hobby alive.
The 1950s brought about the “Golden Age” of baseball cards as color printing arrived. Topps secured the exclusive rights to produce cards and included Dover players in their flagship sets each year from 1952-1956 when the Senators were members of the Eastern Shore League. These cards featuring the home team were highly sought after by collectors in Dover. Meanwhile, the city’s youth would trade, swap, and track down Dover players’ rookie cards to complete their sets.
In the late 1950s, Topps lost its monopoly and new competitors like Fleer and Bowman entered the market. However, Dover’s minor league team folded after the 1956 season, ending their run of having local heroes featured on cards. Still, the people of Dover maintained their passion for collecting and many switched to accumulating sets featuring the major league stars of that era like Mantle, Mays, and Aaron.
In the 1960s, the card collecting boom continued as Topps, Fleer, and others issued larger sets with improved photography and statistics on the back. While Dover was without its own team, the city’s shops and card shows kept the hobby thriving. In the 1970s, the rise of specialized publications further fueled interest among collectors. Dover even got its own card shop, “Ace of Cards,” which opened in 1972 and remains a staple in the community today.
The 1980s saw unprecedented growth in the sport card market as speculation and investment took hold. Dover native Barry Larkin’s rookie card from 1981 sold for big money and local collectors eagerly tracked his Hall of Fame career. Meanwhile, Ace of Cards was doing record business supplying the demand. The overproduction of the late 80s crash cooled the frenzy but Dover collectors maintained their traditions.
Into the 1990s and 2000s, the internet boosted card collecting’s popularity by connecting enthusiasts globally. While minor league ball never returned to Dover, the city’s legacy in the hobby endured. Local groups like the Dover Card Collectors Club carried on the social aspects and Ace of Cards stayed strong. Today, cards remain a popular link to Dover’s baseball history as collectors young and old seek out pieces of the past to preserve the memories of America’s pastime in their community. Whether finding an old Senators card in the attic or hunting a rare pull at a card show, the tradition stays alive.
