Big League Chew baseball card reprints have been delighting bubble gum baseball fans since the late 1970s. The idea to include baseball cards with bubble gum was hatched by Rob Nelson, founder of the Nelson Candy Company. Nelson knew that baseball cards were hugely popular with kids and wanted to capitalize on that enthusiasm by combining them with his new bubble gum product.
The first Big League Chew cards were issued in 1978 and featured current major league players. Nelson licensed images and stats directly from the MLB Players Association. The cards measured roughly 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches, smaller than standard baseball cards of the time. They were made of thin cardboard stock and printed in black and white. Each pack of Big League Chew gum came with 2 or 3 assorted cards.
Initially, the cards were not hugely popular. Many kids were used to collecting full-size, colorful cards and weren’t that interested in the smaller, simpler Big League Chew versions. However, Nelson noticed that some kids were keeping the cards and swapping or trading them, just like the bigger cards. He realized there was potential there if he could make the cards more desirable.
In 1981, Nelson decided to issue reprints of vintage cards featuring players from the 1950s and 1960s on the Big League Chew cards. This was a revolutionary idea, as reprints of old cards were unheard of at the time. Fans of a certain age became nostalgic for the players of their childhood when they saw names like Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Sandy Koufax on the gum cards. Younger kids also found the vintage players interesting to learn about.
The vintage reprints were an immediate hit. Suddenly, Big League Chew cards had real collector value. Kids started not just keeping them but actively pursuing complete sets from each year. To keep up with demand, Nelson worked with photographers to painstakingly recreate the original card designs and images as accurately as possible given the smaller size. Stats on the back were also reprinted verbatim.
In the 1980s, Big League Chew issued reprint sets spanning the 1950s through 1970s, featuring the biggest stars from each era. Mickey Mantle, Roberto Clemente, and Nolan Ryan cards were particularly popular. By now, the company was including 4-5 cards per pack instead of just 2-3. Card quality also improved with the adoption of glossier stock paper and sharper color printing.
As the baseball card market exploded in the late 80s, Big League Chew cards faced more competition. The company tried gimmicks like hologram cards, puzzle cards, and oddball promotions to stay relevant. They also expanded the reprint sets further back in time with pre-1950 players. Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and Honus Wagner cards brought even more nostalgia and interest.
In the 1990s, as lawsuits drove many card manufacturers out of business, Big League Chew cards remained a steady, affordable alternative for collectors. Reprint sets from the Deadball Era through the 1960s kept the vintage players available. Ex-Major leaguers also began endorsing the product, happy for continued exposure to new generations of fans.
The baseball card bubble burst in the late 90s took its toll. By the 2000s, Big League Chew de-emphasized the cards to focus on gum sales. Reprints became less comprehensive, often skipping multiple seasons. A dedicated collector base still sought out the classic reprints available only through Big League Chew.
Today, Big League Chew produces fewer baseball cards but the reprints live on. Now issued in color on higher quality stock paper, they still feature the same iconic vintage players and designs that first sparked the interest of collectors in the 1980s. For many lifelong fans, Big League Chew cards trigger fond memories and keep the history of the game accessible to young players. Their simple yet innovative reprint concept helped popularize vintage cards and preserves baseball’s past for modern bubble gum chewers.
Big League Chew baseball card reprints were a stroke of genius that took the hobby in a new direction. By leveraging nostalgia and making vintage players available in an affordable format, they helped collectors appreciate baseball history while keeping the brand relevant for decades. As one of the longest-running baseball card issuers, Big League Chew reprints remain a unique link between baseball’s past and its future generations of fans.
