Baseball Cards in Fairfield, Connecticut: A Rich History of Collecting
Fairfield County, Connecticut has long been a hotbed for baseball card collecting. Situated between New York City and Boston, Fairfield was exposed to Major League Baseball from an early age. Children in Fairfield would collect cards of their favorite New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox players. This helped spark a passion for the hobby that still burns bright today.
Some of the earliest baseball cards were produced in the late 1800s as promotional inserts in cigarette and candy packages. In the early 1900s, companies like American Tobacco began mass producing cards as the hobby started to take off nationwide. Fairfield kids would eagerly await the arrival of the latest shipments to local corner stores and candy shops, hoping to find cards of Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, or other superstars of the era.
By the mid-20th century, the modern baseball card industry was in full swing. Major manufacturers like Topps, Bowman, and Fleer were cranking out new sets on a regular basis. Kids in Fairfield would trade, swap, and compete to complete full sets from the recent season. Some enterprising young collectors even started their own baseball card businesses, buying and selling via newspaper ads or their lemonade stands. The hobby flourished throughout postwar America, with Fairfield fully embracing baseball cards.
One of the most famous early card shops in Fairfield County was Fairfield Sport Cards, which opened its doors in 1962. Owned and operated by local legend Jack Murphy, the small storefront on Post Road became an instant hotspot. Kids would flock there on release days, hoping to snag the rare rookie cards that could someday be worth a fortune. Murphy educated customers on the ins and outs of the hobby, from grading standards to the secondary market. He also organized some of the earliest baseball card shows in the region. Fairfield Sport Cards helped turn the entire town of Fairfield into avid collectors.
By the 1970s, the speculator boom was in full swing. Rumors of certain rookie cards being worth “a million dollars someday” had collectors on a frenzy. In Fairfield, entire neighborhoods would get together for “wax pack wars,” eagerly searching packs for the elusive stars. Some enterprising local collectors even started their own publications, like the Fairfield Card Trader newspaper, to facilitate trades and build the local community. Shows at the local VFW and American Legion halls regularly drew hundreds. The rise of sports card investing was in full force.
Two major events cemented Fairfield’s place as a baseball card epicenter. In 1979, the first annual Fairfield County Sports Collectors Show debuted, drawing over 1,000 attendees to the local Holiday Inn. It immediately became one of the largest and most prestigious shows in the Northeast. Then in 1980, Fairfield native James Beckett published the first edition of his Price Guide, which would become the definitive source for card values worldwide. Both occurrences helped raise the profile of collecting locally and nationwide.
Through the 1980s and 90s, Fairfield saw card shops proliferate up and down Post Road and in nearby towns like Trumbull and Stratford. Major retailers like Commons Trading Post and The Great American Card Company did a booming business. Shows continued to grow, with the annual Fairfield County event regularly hosting over 3,000 collectors. Rumors swirled of local “whales” with million-dollar collections. Sports cards were big business, and Fairfield was at the center of it all.
Today, the hobby remains deeply ingrained in Fairfield’s culture. While the internet has facilitated nationwide and global trading, local shops like Northstar Collectibles and shows keep the community thriving. Multi-generational families still bond over cards together. Some of the earliest collectors from the 1960s are still extremely active. And each new release day remains an event, whether chasing the latest rookie phenoms or nostalgic reprints. Through bull and bear markets, natural disasters, and global pandemics, Fairfield’s love for the hobby has proven resilient. Its place as a baseball card Mecca is secure for generations to come.
