Baseball cards have been popular collectibles in the United States since the late 19th century. While most associate baseball card collecting with large cities or baseball hotbeds, the hobby took root in many small towns across America as well, including Minot, North Dakota. Minot has a rich history with baseball cards that spans over a century.
Some of the earliest baseball cards collected in Minot date back to the 1880s and 1890s. During this time, cards were included as promotional materials in packages of cigarette and candy. Enterprising young boys in Minot would scour general stores and corner shops hoping to find packs from brands like Allen & Ginter or Old Judge containing cards of star players from the National League and American Association. Complete sets from this era are extremely rare, but a few surviving examples exist in the collections of longtime Minot residents.
In the early 20th century, baseball cards grew more widely available as dedicated production companies like American Tobacco emerged. Drug stores and five-and-dime shops in downtown Minot stocked boxes of cards featuring the latest stars. Popular early sets included T206 White Border and E90-1 Sweet Caporal. Young ballplayers in Minot eagerly traded duplicates with friends at school or the local sandlots, fueling their passion for the game. By the 1920s, the collecting craze was in full swing, with organized youth leagues, card shows, and want lists in newspapers.
During World War II, card production was limited due to rationing of materials. However, Minot youth found creative ways to add to their collections through trades by mail with pen pals across the country. The postwar period saw an explosion in the hobby, led by the iconic 1952 Topps set. Sport card shops opened in Minot to meet growing demand. Events like the annual summer card show at Sertoma Park drew collectors from across North Dakota eager to buy, sell and trade with their peers.
The late 1950s through 1970s represented the golden age of baseball cards in Minot. Topps, Fleer and other manufacturers released colorful, innovative sets year after year that captured the imagination of multiple generations. Kids rode their bikes around the city challenging each other to trade battles and discussing the latest stats. Teenagers organized lucrative businesses buying boxes directly from distributors and breaking them for resale. Card collecting was a true social phenomenon in Minot, helping to foster community and spread baseball’s popularity locally.
In the 1980s, the introduction of sports memorabilia expanded the hobby. Minot collectors could obtain autographed photos and bats alongside their cards. The increase in values also led to greater preservation efforts, as local groups like the Ward County Sports Collectors Club hosted seminars on storage and protection. The 1990s saw challenges as overproduction by manufacturers caused a crash in the secondary market. Many lost interest for a time but a core group kept the tradition alive.
Today, baseball card collecting remains a popular pastime with roots going back over a century in Minot. While the internet has changed the way some buy and sell, the camaraderie and nostalgia intrinsic to the hobby endure. Multi-generational families still bond over organizing collections and discussing the rich history of cards in their community. As long as baseball is played, its cardboard commodities will continue to be cherished in Minot and treasured for the memories they hold of the game’s spread across small-town America.
