Baseball cards have a long history in Murray, Kentucky dating back to the early 20th century. Some of the earliest documented baseball cards collected and traded by locals can be found from sets released in the 1910s and 1920s. Like many small towns across America during this time period, the hobby of collecting and trading baseball cards took root in Murray and became a popular pastime for many young people.
One of the first major baseball card collections discovered that originated from Murray dates back to 1922. This extensive collection belonged to Robert “Bobby” Jones and contained over 1,000 unique cards from sets released between 1911-1922. Bobby was an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan and had amassed a sizable collection through trading with friends and purchases at local stores. Many of the cards showed signs of heavy use, with edges worn down from being handled frequently as part of trading sessions at school and neighborhood ball games.
Through the late 1920s and 1930s, the trend of collecting continued strong in Murray. Stores like Belk-Settle Department Store and Turner’s Store began stocking baseball cards in packs and boxes to meet the growing demand. Young collectors would pool their allowance money and visit these stores, hoping to find the rare cards they needed to complete their sets. Turner’s Store owner J.D. Turner even started an informal baseball card trade club for local boys, where they could meet weekly and trade with each other under his supervision.
World War 2 brought collecting to a slowdown as production of non-essential items like trading cards was halted. But interest was reignited after the war ended, with the arrival of the post-war Leaf brand in 1948 being a major event for Murray collectors. Leaf cards featured colorful, eye-catching designs that departed from the simpler look of pre-war cards. They also included the first modern style gum in packs. This helped make collecting fun again for a new generation.
Through the 1950s, the heyday of baseball card collecting in Murray was underway. Popular sets from Bowman, Topps and Fleer were available at drug stores, grocery stores and gas stations all around town. Kids could often be found sorting through their collections and making trades outside Murray High School between classes. Some enterprising young collectors even started a mail-order baseball card business, buying and selling rare cards to collectors around the region.
Two of the biggest names from this era were Gene Landolt and Johnny McCage. As teenagers, they amassed enormous collections by the late 1950s totaling over 10,000 cards each through aggressive trading. Landolt focused on complete vintage sets from the 1920s and 1930s, while McCage specialized in high-grade modern stars. Both were early pioneers in attributing, grading and documenting the conditions and histories of their valuable vintage and star rookie cards.
The 1960s saw new innovations like color photography and multi-player cards introduced. Topps in particular drove the market with their innovative marketing. But the early 1970s brought changes, as the rise of new hobbies and interests led collecting into decline. Stores also stopped stocking cards, making them harder to find. Two of Murray’s largest private collections from the 1960s, belonging to Jim Johnson and Mark Russell, were eventually sold off or donated to local schools.
The baseball card market found new life in the late 1980s fueled by the arrival of stars like Ken Griffey Jr. Nostalgia for the vintage era also grew. Ira Kress, owner of Kress’s Small Engines in Murray, capitalized on this by starting a weekend baseball card show in 1988. Held monthly at the Calloway County Fairgrounds, it drew collectors from across Kentucky and Tennessee looking to buy, sell and trade.
Into the 1990s and 2000s, the shows continued to grow in size. Local dealers like Kress and Jimmy Baker specialized in high-dollar vintage and star rookie cards to serve the growing market. The early 2000s also saw a renewed interest in collecting among younger people. Two local brothers, Tim and Tom Masthay, amassed one of the finest Mickey Mantle collections in the country during this time before donating a large portion to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Today, the baseball card hobby remains alive and well in Murray. While the flea markets and card shows of the past have faded, online groups like the Murray Baseball Card Collectors Club keep the tradition of trading alive through digital means. Vintage local collections can also still be found in the private hands of “card families” whose multi-generational connections to the hobby live on. As a whole, over a century of collecting history in Murray serves as a microcosm for the rise and evolution of baseball cards across small-town America.
