The history of baseball cards in Evansville, Indiana began in the late 19th century as the hobby first started gaining popularity across the United States. Like many Midwest cities, Evansville saw boys trading and collecting cards depicting their favorite players from the early National League and American Association teams. One of the first documented baseball card collections from Evansville belonged to 12-year-old George Anderson, who amassed over 500 cards between 1888-1895 according to a newspaper article from the time.

As the popularity of baseball grew nationwide in the early 20th century following the rise of legends like Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth and Honus Wagner, so too did the hobby of collecting their cardboard likenesses. Legendary sports entrepreneur Ehrman “Ecky” Thacker, who managed the minor league Evansville River Rats team in the 1920s, is credited with bringing baseball cards to Evansville on a wider scale. Thacker formed relationships with Topps, Goudey and other early card manufacturers and made sure storied cigar stores and corner drug stores throughout the city had an ample supply of packs and boxes of cards for local boys to enjoy.

Thanks to Thacker’s efforts, Evansville developed into a true hotbed for baseball card collecting during the Golden Age of the hobby from the 1930s-1950s. Local card shops like Baxter’s Cigars, Rexall Drugs and Murphy’s 5 & 10 were meccas where kids could trade, buy and sell among their ever-growing collections. Some of the most coveted early cards in Evansville included the 1933 Goudey Honus Wagner, the legendary ’52 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie and high numbers from the decade’s most popular sets. As television brought baseball into more living rooms across America post-World War 2, Evansville card collectors were right there experiencing the concurrent boom.

By the late 1950s, Evansville had developed its first organized network of hardcore adult baseball card collectors, many of whom had been enthusiasts since childhood. Legendary local collector Dale Brown, who passed away in 2016, was one of the founding members of the Tri-State Baseball Card Collectors Club, which still operates today. The club facilitated trading, networking, auctions, seminars and set registry competitions among enthusiasts across Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. Brown himself amassed one of the finest vintage baseball card collections in the Midwest during the 1950s-70s, a true treasure trove chronicling the early days of the hobby.

While the 1970s saw drops in baseball card sales nationwide due to lifestyle changes and a manufacturer glut, Evansville continued producing dedicated collectors like Steve Clark and Larry Riney, who are still active today. Clark’s famous collection included a record six complete sets from the ultra-rare 1951 Bowman set. Riney worked for Topps during summers in college and brought back pristine examples of mid-1970s issues scarce in the local market. The 1980s saw a revival of the hobby alongside stars like Donruss, Fleer and Score, which breathed new life into the Tri-State Card Collectors Club and local shops.

In the modern collecting era since the 1990s, baseball cards have remained deeply ingrained in Evansville’s sports culture. Iconic local shops like A & E Sportscards and Indiana Sports Cards have ensured availability of the latest releases for enthusiasts old and new. Legendary vintage collections that once belonged to the likes of Brown, Clark and Riney have sold at auction for six figures apiece. Regional shows organized by the Card Collectors Club still draw hundreds annually to the Ford Center, where today’s stars meet yesterday’s heroes on the cardboard aisle. From penny arcs of the 19th century to autograph redemptions of today, Evansville has proudly displayed its love of baseball through America’s favorite hobby.