Baseball cards have been collected by fans for over 130 years and Portland, Oregon has a rich history with the hobby. Some of the earliest baseball cards were produced in the late 1880s by companies based in Maine and Massachusetts, giving baseball card collecting its roots on the East Coast. It didn’t take long for the passion to spread across the country to cities like Portland.
By the early 1900s, tobacco companies like Allen & Ginter, American Tobacco Company, and Goodwin & Company began inserting baseball cards as premiums inside cigarette packs and chewing tobacco tins. As baseball grew in popularity nationwide, so did collecting its cards. Portland residents were no exception and began amassing cards of their favorite players and teams. Some of the earliest complete baseball card sets produced included the 1909-1911 T206 and 1911-1913 T207 tobacco issues that featured stars of that era like Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and Honus Wagner. Finding high-grade examples of these vintage cards in attics in Portland would be a dream come true for any collector today.
In the 1920s and 1930s, baseball card production ramped up significantly with the Goudey Gum Company leading the way. Their 1933 release is considered one of the most iconic in the hobby’s history. Other notable pre-World War II issues collectors in Portland sought included cards from Play Ball (1934-1941), Diamond Stars (1936-1941), and Leaf (1930-1947). World events put a pause on baseball card production during the 1940s, but the hobby remained strong in Portland through trading and growing family collections.
After the war, the ‘golden age’ of baseball cards was underway thanks to the entrance of Topps. Their 1952 release reinvigorated the market and was the first true ‘modern’ set that collected in Portland recognized. In the 1950s, Topps had the market cornered, releasing highly collectible and iconic sets on an annual basis that Portlandians added to their collections like the 1954, 1955, 1956, and 1957 issues. Finding unopened wax packs of those early Topps releases in basements in Portland would be an incredible thrill for collectors today.
The 1960s saw Topps continue to dominate but competition also began to emerge. Fleer started producing rival sets in 1961 that collectors in Portland enjoyed adding to their collections to obtain a more complete representation of the players and teams of the era. Some other notable 1960s issues collected in Portland included Topps’ 1968 high-number subset and the 1967 Bazooka mini cards. In the late 1960s, Portland also saw the rise of the first serious baseball card conventions that helped fuel even greater interest in the hobby.
Entering the 1970s, the baseball card boom was in full swing in Portland and around the country. Topps remained the 800-pound gorilla of the industry but Fleer and new competitor Donruss began making bigger strides. Some of the most iconic and valuable 1970s issues collected in Portland included the 1975 and 1976 SSPC sets, the 1972 and 1975 Topps Traded sets, and the infamous error-filled 1979 Donruss Rolf Nilsen card. Expos games were also televised locally fueling interest in Montreal stars like Andre Dawson whose rookie card from 1977 was a big hit with collectors in Portland.
In the 1980s, card collecting in Portland reached new heights. The city was home to several large card shops that fueled the boom, including Portland Card Shop, Stadium Card Shop, and Showcase Cards. Production exploded with Topps, Donruss, and Fleer all releasing multiple sets annually that collectors scrambled to find in stores. The arrival of upper-deck in 1989 with its state-of-the-art production and premium cards shook the industry. Rookie cards of Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, and Ken Griffey Jr. from this era are still widely collected in Portland today.
The speculative bubble of the early 1990s that gripped Portland and other cities eventually burst, but card collecting remained strong locally. In the 2000s and 2010s, the rise of the internet allowed Portland collectors to easily buy, sell and trade online. The city also became home to large national and regional card shows that drew collectors from around the Northwest. Newer companies like Leaf, Score, and Playoff joined the scene alongside the big three of Topps, Donruss, and Fleer. Portland collectors today enjoy pursuing both vintage and modern cardboard featuring stars like Ichiro Suzuki, Felix Hernandez, and current Blazers in their collections.
Whether pursuing vintage tobacco cards or the latest Topps release, baseball card collecting has been a cherished hobby for generations of Portland residents. The city’s collectors look forward to what the next 100+ years may bring and hope to find that one elusive, valuable card still waiting to be discovered in a forgotten collection. Baseball cards are now as much a part of Portland’s history as the game itself.
