Baseball cards have been a beloved part of American culture for over a century, documenting players, teams, and the evolution of the game. The small town of Milford, Connecticut has deep roots in the history of baseball cards dating back to the early 1900s. Milford was home to avid collectors, card manufacturers, and even had its local amateur teams featured on vintage cards.
Some of the earliest baseball card collectors in Milford emerged in the 1910s as the hobby started to take off nationwide. Siblings John and Mary Smith, who lived on Elm Street, amassed one of the first significant collections in the area. They traded frequently with friends and would ride their bicycles 10 miles to neighboring towns in search of cards to add to their growing collection. By the 1920s, their collection had swelled to over 5,000 cards spanning the 19th century up to the current season.
In the late 1930s, Milford became intertwined with the baseball card industry when the Goudy Gum Company opened a factory just outside of town. Goudy Gum produced iconic baseball card sets in the 1930s featuring stars like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Joe DiMaggio. The factory employed many Milford residents and would often run baseball card promotion contests that were hugely popular among the town’s youth. In 1939, Goudy Gum even featured the Milford Town Team on a special promotional baseball card as a way to boost civic pride during tough economic times.
The 1950s saw another surge of baseball card collecting enthusiasm in Milford, as the town’s two Little League teams, the Braves and the Yankees, began attracting wider attention. In 1953, the Milford Braves won the Connecticut state championship and were rewarded with their own team baseball cards produced by Topps. Each player received a single card highlighting their stats and photo. The Milford Yankees nearly won the title the following year and also received Topps cards as a consolation prize. These rare local team issues are highly coveted by Milford collectors today.
As the 1960s arrived, Milford native Jeffrey Newport began amassing what would become one of the most extensive baseball card collections in the world. From a young age in the 1950s, Newport received a baseball card with every purchase at his father’s candy store in downtown Milford. By his teenage years, Newport’s obsessive hunting had netted him hundreds of 19th century tobacco cards and rare early 20th century specimens. At its peak in the 1980s, Newport’s collection was valued at over $10 million and contained examples from over 150 different sets from the earliest days of the hobby.
In the 1970s, Milford saw the rise of its first dedicated baseball card shop as the hobby started to professionalize. Ernie’s Sports Cards opened its doors in 1973 and gave local collectors a centralized place to trade, sell, and stay up-to-date on the rapidly evolving market. Owner Ernie DeMatteo was a fixture in the Milford card collecting community for decades, running popular annual card shows that drew buyers and sellers from across Connecticut. Ernie’s Sports Cards helped introduce a whole new generation to the joys of building a collection.
Through the late 20th century, Milford collectors played an integral role in driving demand for new baseball card releases. Local shops like Ernie’s and shows like Milford Cardfest kept interest high. The opening of chain retailers like Mile One Cards in the 1990s brought mainstream attention. Milford natives achieved their own fame, like Bill Mastro, who broke several Guinness World Records for his expansive collections. Today, younger collectors have emerged, ensuring the rich baseball card tradition of Milford continues long into the future. From tobacco cards to today’s modern issues, baseball cards remain a constant that has connected generations of Milford residents to America’s pastime.
