Baseball cards have been an integral part of American culture and childhood for over a century. From the early tobacco cards of the late 1800s to the modern trading cards found in packs of gum and candy, baseball cards have captured our fascination with America’s pastime and its legendary players. The story of baseball cards is also deeply intertwined with the history of Overland Park, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City that was once a hotbed for the baseball card industry.
In the early 20th century, Overland Park was still a small farming community located just west of Kansas City, Missouri. After World War II the town began to grow rapidly as families moved to the suburbs seeking more affordable housing away from the city. As Overland Park’s population swelled, several small businesses popped up along Metcalf Avenue to serve the growing community. One such business was the Topps Chewing Gum Company, which established a manufacturing plant and headquarters in Overland Park in the late 1940s.
Topps is best known as the pioneering innovator of the modern baseball card included in wax packs of gum. In the early 1950s, Topps revolutionized the baseball card industry by including a stick of gum with each pack of cards. This new distribution method was a huge success with kids, sparking a surge in demand for baseball cards across the country. From its new Kansas City-area headquarters, Topps quickly grew to dominate the baseball card market. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Topps produced virtually all major league baseball cards found in stores, cementing Overland Park’s status as a hub for the industry.
In addition to Topps, several other smaller baseball card companies set up shop in Overland Park during the postwar boom years. One such firm was Fleer, a Philadelphia-based gum and candy manufacturer. In the late 1950s, Fleer established its first baseball card division, with production facilities located on Metcalf Avenue. Fleer issued its first series of modern gum-included baseball cards in 1959, becoming the first real competitor to challenge Topps’ monopoly. Another baseball card publisher, the Kansas City-based Donruss Company, also operated out of Overland Park for a time in the 1960s.
The baseball card heyday of the 1950s-60s brought great economic prosperity to Overland Park. Topps alone employed over 1,000 workers at its sprawling campus on Metcalf, which included massive warehouses and printing facilities. With several card companies located within city limits, Overland Park truly became the “Baseball Card Capital of the World.” The local economy received a huge boost from the industry, as baseball cards ranked among the top-selling items in stores nationwide every summer. Many families in Overland Park had relatives working in good-paying manufacturing jobs at Topps or the other card firms.
By the late 1960s the baseball card industry in Overland Park began a long, slow decline. As the decade progressed, Topps’ dominance started to slip as Fleer and Donruss gained market share. In 1981, Donruss moved its headquarters out of state. Fleer was acquired by rival Marvel Entertainment in 1992. Meanwhile, the rise of new hobbies and entertainment drew kids’ attention away from collecting cards. Faced with falling demand, Topps downsized dramatically and eventually shuttered its massive Overland Park plant in 1998, laying off over 600 employees. It was the end of an era.
While Overland Park lost its title as the “Baseball Card Capital,” cards have remained an integral part of the local pop culture fabric. The memories of collecting and trading with friends still resonate with generations of alumni from Shawnee Mission schools. Local card shops like Don’s Trading Post thrived for decades, providing a place for collectors old and new to congregate. In recent years, as nostalgia for vintage cards has surged, Overland Park has seen renewed interest in its baseball card history. Places like the Shawnee Mission East alumni museum now showcase exhibits on the city’s pioneering role in the industry’s golden age. Though the factories have long since closed, Overland Park’s legacy as a birthplace of the modern baseball card lives on.
