Baseball cards have been collected by fans for over 130 years and the hobby of baseball card collecting has deep roots in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Some of the earliest organized baseball card collecting occurred in Fort Smith during the late 19th century as kids would swap and trade cards depicting their favorite players and teams.
The earliest baseball cards date back to the late 1800s during the time when cigarette and tobacco companies would include cards in their products as a marketing tactic. Companies like Allen & Ginter, Goodwin & Company, and American Tobacco Company produced some of the very first baseball cards starting in the 1880s. These original cards were considered novel collectibles and trading items among young baseball fans in Fort Smith.
While the early tobacco era cards from the 1880s-1890s are extremely rare today, Fort Smith did have its share of collectors during that pioneering period of baseball cards. Many of the earliest documented baseball card collectors in Fort Smith were young boys and teenagers who would swap and trade the cards they received in cigarette packs. The hobby began simply as kids amassing collections of players and trying to acquire cards they didn’t have.
In the early 1900s, candy companies like American Caramel took over baseball card production and included them in candy wrappers and packs. These tobacco-era successors helped popularize collecting even more among Fort Smith youth. Stores in Fort Smith also started stocking baseball cards and kept them in bubblegum, allowing kids to purchase packs directly. This helped turn baseball cards into a true collectibles craze locally.
During the 1930s-1950s, the golden age of baseball cards arrived. More companies than ever were mass producing high quality cards that featured colorful illustrations and snapshots of the day’s biggest stars. Goudey, Play Ball, and Topps became the dominant manufacturers. Fort Smith saw a boom in card collecting during this time period as well. Local card shops opened to cater to the growing collector base and kids traded avidly on playgrounds, ballfields, and in neighborhood streets.
One iconic Fort Smith card shop from this era was Bill’s Sport Cards, which opened in 1937 and helped turn the city into a true hotbed for the hobby. Bill’s Sport Cards supplied the latest packs and singles to collectors and also organized many of the earliest card shows and conventions in the region. They helped cultivate a real baseball card culture and community in Fort Smith through the 1940s-1950s.
Topps greatly expanded the industry in the post-World War II period after taking over production. Their innovative design and larger card sizes resonated with collectors. Fort Smith native Bobby Garrett actually had one of the very first rookie cards ever issued by Topps in 1951. Garrett went on to play 6 seasons in the majors and his rookie card is now one of the key early Topps issues coveted by collectors with Fort Smith connections.
The 1960s saw the rise of the modern baseball card era. Color photography arrived, cards featured more statistics and biographies, and inserts became popular. Fort Smith collectors embraced these new developments as the city’s love affair with baseball cards only intensified. Teenage collectors from Fort Smith like Mark Koenig and the late Joe Stout were early adopters of the burgeoning hobby in the 1960s. They amassed huge collections and became knowledgeable about the emerging market values.
In the 1970s, the arrival of high numbers series, oddball issues, and special promotions by Topps, Fleer, and Donruss maintained baseball card collecting’s popularity in Fort Smith. Local card shops like Whitaker’s Sport Cards and The Baseball Card Shop helped drive interest through running tournaments, organizing group breaks of unopened wax packs, and hosting card shows. Some of the best Fort Smith collectors from this era were Ronnie Tackett, Butch Martin, and the late Steve Womack, who all had collections envied across Arkansas.
The modern era of the 1980s-present has seen stratospheric price increases for vintage cards, especially for those depicting Fort Smith natives and players who called the city home for a time. Fort Smith’s baseball card collecting roots have remained strong as multi-generation families continue passing down the hobby. Today, Fort Smith boasts several active card collecting clubs, shops like All Star Cards, and an annual card show that draws collectors from around the region each spring.
In the over 130 years since the dawn of the baseball card era, no city in Arkansas has embraced and supported the hobby quite like Fort Smith. From those first swaps of 1880s tobacco cards between neighborhood kids up through today’s thriving card collecting community, baseball cards remain an integral part of the sports landscape and culture in Fort Smith. The history of cards in Fort Smith is one intertwined with the growth of the hobby nationwide and the city’s own identity as a hotbed for America’s pastime.
