The history of baseball cards in Lexington, Kentucky stretches back over a century. Like many American cities, Lexington residents developed a strong passion for the sport of baseball in the late 1800s. As baseball grew in popularity nationwide, so too did the collecting and trading of printed cards featuring players’ photographs and statistics. Some of the earliest documented baseball card collections in Lexington date to the 1890s, coinciding with the founding of the first minor league team in the city.
Lexington’s minor league affiliation began in 1894 with the formation of the Lexington Colts team, a member of the original Kentucky State League. That same year saw the wide distribution of cigarette companies like Allen & Ginter and Old Judge issuing some of the earliest baseball cards included randomly in their tobacco products. Excited Lexington youth began saving and swapping these early cards, marking the start of a cherished hobby that would be passed down through generations.
In the early 1900s, Lexington saw the rise and fall of several minor league circuits featuring home teams like the Lexington Senators, Lexington Colts, and Lexington Lums. The popularity of these squads helped establish baseball as the dominant pastime in the Bluegrass region. As professional sets from manufacturers like T206 White Border and E90 Allen & Ginter gained prominence nationwide in the first decade of the 20th century, dedicated baseball card shops first opened their doors in Lexington’s downtown area to cater to the booming local collector market.
The heyday of minor league baseball and baseball card collecting coincided in Lexington from the 1920s through the 1940s. The Lexington Legends were charter members of the Blue Grass League from 1923-40, producing many future Major Leaguers. This era also saw the golden age of tobacco era sets from companies such as Goudey and Play Ball. Lexington shops like H.L. Lindsey’s 5 & 10 on Main Street and Watson’s Sporting Goods on Limestone became hubs where kids could browse racks of cards, grab packs for a penny, and organize trades.
As the 1950s arrived, Topps gained a monopoly on baseball cards and the advent of the modern glossy format arrived. Lexington native Bill Haber became one of the first collectors to amass complete sets from the early Topps issues that captured the city’s newfound obsession with the Brooklyn and New York Giants. The Lexington White Sox of the Kentucky State League also became a popular minor league attraction during this decade alongside the rise of television broadcasting MLB games into local homes.
The 1960s brought about Topps’ pioneering use of color photography on cards, just as Lexington’s minor league affiliation shifted to the Class A South Atlantic League with the introduction of the Lexington Giants team. The city’s card shops expanded their inventory and organized showcase events to capitalize on the boom in collecting fueled by the likes of Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Sandy Koufax’s most iconic Topps issues. Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Reds’ dominant “Big Red Machine” teams of the 1970s made that club especially popular with Lexington collectors of that era.
In the 1970s and 80s, Lexington saw the rise of the hobby’s magazine periodicals like Sports Collector’s Digest and Beckett Baseball to help collectors track prices and complete their sets. The Lexington White Sox returned to town in 1977 and stadium card and hostess sets featuring the local squad became highly sought after by collectors. The decline of the tobacco industry coincided with waning minor league attendance nationwide. Lexington’s minor league affiliation was dropped after the 1986 season.
This led to a lull in baseball card collecting locally for much of the late 80s and 90s as the city went without a pro team. The boom in interest sparked by the debut of Upper Deck in 1989 and the surge in population of the Lexington metro area kept the city’s remaining card shops afloat. The 2000s saw a renaissance of sorts, with Lexington gaining a new Class A affiliate, the Lexington Legends, in the South Atlantic League. Insert sets, autograph cards and memorabilia of Lexington native stars like Josh Hamilton added new excitement for local collectors.
Today, while the heyday of mom-and-pop baseball card shops has passed, the passion of Lexington collectors remains strong. Online communities like Facebook groups help organize frequent card shows and trade nights that keep the hobby thriving. Meanwhile, the consistent success of the Legends helps maintain baseball’s cherished place in Lexington culture. The multi-generational tradition of collecting that began over a century ago continues to be passed down from grandparents to parents to children throughout the Bluegrass. Baseball cards remain a unique way for Lexingtonians to connect to the national pastime’s history and celebrate the city’s own rich legacy in the minor leagues.
