Baseball cards have been an integral part of American culture for over a century. Philadelphia has played an important role in the history and development of baseball cards dating back to the late 1800s. Some of the earliest baseball cards were produced in Philadelphia, helping to popularize collecting and build excitement for the growing sport of professional baseball.
One of the first major sets of baseball cards was produced in Philadelphia in the late 1880s by the American Tobacco Company. Known as the Old Judge cigarette cards, these early cards featured individual baseball players on the front and short biographies on the back. They helped drive sales of Old Judge cigarettes while also serving as an early form of baseball memorabilia collecting. Over the next few decades, many major cigarette companies based in Philadelphia like Goodwin & Company and Fleer Chewing Gum Company began inserting baseball cards in their packs and boxes.
In the early 1900s, Philadelphia was home to several pioneering baseball card companies. The Penn Card Company, based in Philadelphia, produced some of the earliest stand-alone baseball cards not associated with tobacco products in 1909. Their cards were sold directly to consumers in sets and helped establish the model for modern baseball card production independent of cigarettes. Another Philadelphia company, Nut Products, produced early baseball cards in the teens and 1920s that were inserted in Cracker Jack boxes, helping popularize baseball cards among youth.
During the 1930s and 1940s, Philadelphia native and sports card entrepreneur Gum Inc. dominated the baseball card market. Based in Philadelphia, Gum Inc. produced some of the most iconic and valuable baseball card sets of the early 20th century including the famous 1933 Goudey Gum and 1939 Play Ball issues. Their innovative color photography on cards was ahead of its time and helped drive interest in card collecting nationwide. In the post-war era, Bowman Gum and Topps, both based in Philadelphia for periods in the 1940s-1950s, produced hugely popular sets that featured the stars of that era like Mickey Mantle and Jackie Robinson.
Throughout the 1950s, 1960s and into the 1970s, Philadelphia native Sy Berger and his company Topps dominated the baseball card market. Based in Duryea, Pennsylvania just outside Philadelphia, Topps produced innovative sets year after year that captured the biggest stars and moments in baseball. Their iconic 1952, 1957, and 1969 Topps issues are considered some of the most collectible in the hobby. Topps also produced the first modern rookie cards of legends like Roberto Clemente, Sandy Koufax, and Reggie Jackson. They helped turn baseball cards into a billion dollar industry.
In the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, Philadelphia native Allen & Ginter and Fleer were two of the biggest challengers to Topps for the baseball card license. Both companies were based in Philadelphia for periods and helped drive competition and innovation. Allen & Ginter produced some of the earliest tobacco-era “player collection” sets. Fleer was famous for signing contracts with stars to produce “fleer firsts” rookie cards outside of Topps’ monopoly. Their 1983 set included the famed Michael Jordan rookie card.
Today, Philadelphia continues to play a role in the baseball card industry. In the northern suburbs, Leaf Trading Cards is one of the largest and most innovative manufacturers. They produce high-end, licensed sets for the autograph and memorabilia market. The Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show is one of the biggest and oldest card shows in the country, drawing collectors annually since the 1970s. Local shops like Beckett’s Cards & Collectibles in Glenside are hubs for the Philadelphia card collecting community. The rich history of baseball card production in Philadelphia helped drive interest that still exists today among collectors around the world. Philadelphia’s early innovators and companies truly helped establish baseball cards as one of America’s oldest hobbies.
Over the past 150 years Philadelphia has been an epicenter for the production of baseball cards. From the earliest tobacco insert sets to pioneering stand-alone issues and the companies that dominated the post-war boom, Philadelphia left an indelible mark. Iconic brands like Goudey, Bowman, Topps, Allen & Ginter and Fleer all called Philadelphia home at some point. The city’s entrepreneurs, manufacturers and collectors helped grow baseball cards from a novelty insert to a multi-billion dollar industry. Today, Philadelphia maintains a vibrant collecting scene and the legacy of its early innovators lives on through some of the most valuable and iconic cards in the hobby.
