Baseball cards have been an integral part of American popular culture for over a century. From the earliest tobacco cards of the late 1800s to the modern era of highly collectible sports cards, fans both young and old have enjoyed amassing and trading collections of their favorite players. The small northern California city of Eureka played an important role in the early history of baseball cards and the rise of the collectibles industry.
Eureka was once home to the Eureka Baseball Card Company, one of the pioneering manufacturers of baseball cards in the early 20th century. Founded in 1909 by local businessman Hiram C. Blaisdell, the Eureka Baseball Card Company sought to capitalize on the growing nationwide popularity of collecting baseball memorabilia. Blaisdell recognized that many small towns across America did not have local cigarette or candy companies producing baseball cards like the bigger firms in cities such as Chicago and New York. He aimed to fill this niche and give fans in smaller markets access to quality baseball cards featuring the latest players and teams.
The Eureka Baseball Card Company’s first series was released in 1910 and included cards highlighting stars from the previous season like Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, and Walter Johnson. Each card measured approximately 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches and featured a black-and-white player portrait on the front with basic stats and a small biography on the back. Unlike many contemporary baseball cards which were included in tobacco products, the Eureka cards were sold loose in packs of 5 cards for 5 cents or in complete sets. They gained popularity among the youth of Eureka and surrounding Humboldt County as an affordable way to start a baseball collection.
In its early years of operation, the Eureka Baseball Card Company produced new series each season focused on the current year’s players and teams. In addition to individuals cards, they also issued sets highlighting specific leagues, teams, and tournaments. One of their most collectible early releases was a 24-card set from 1912 commemorating the first modern Olympic Games in Stockholm, which featured a baseball demonstration tournament won by the United States. They also produced sets spotlighting the minor leagues, Negro Leagues, and early 20th century women’s professional baseball teams—subject matter that was ahead of its time.
Throughout the 1910s and 1920s, the Eureka Baseball Card Company established itself as one of the most prolific regional baseball card manufacturers. Their cards could be found in drug stores, tobacco shops, candy stores, and five-and-dime shops up and down the Pacific coast. The company’s small staff of designers, photographers and printers worked tirelessly to issue timely new releases each season. In their heyday, the Eureka Baseball Card Company employed a dozen local residents and had an estimated customer base of over 10,000 collectors on the West Coast.
The Great Depression of the 1930s hit the Eureka area especially hard due to its reliance on timber and fishing industries. The local economy suffered greatly and consumers had little discretionary income for non-essential purchases like baseball cards. Facing declining sales, the high costs of production and distribution, as well as increased competition from larger national companies, the Eureka Baseball Card Company was forced to cease operations in 1933 after 24 years in business. It marked the end of an era for the small company that had played such a pioneering role in the development of baseball cards and sports collectibles on the West Coast.
Despite its untimely demise during the Depression, the legacy and impact of the Eureka Baseball Card Company lives on today among vintage baseball card collectors. Their early 20th century issues documenting the evolution of the game are highly prized, with some individual cards fetching thousands of dollars at auction. In the 1980s, a local historian organized efforts to preserve the company’s business records, photographs and sample cards. This archival collection is now housed at the Humboldt County Library in Eureka, allowing modern fans to research the unique role this small town manufacturer played in popularizing baseball card collecting nationwide.
While Eureka may no longer be a hub for baseball card production, the pioneering spirit shown by entrepreneurs like Hiram Blaisdell over a century ago helped grow the collectibles industry into a multibillion-dollar business. The legacy of the scrappy Eureka Baseball Card Company serves as a reminder of how even a small, regional firm in a remote Northern California town could make a big impact on the popular culture of early 20th century America. Their cards documenting the early years of the game continue to be prized by collectors around the world today.
