Glendale Baseball Cards: A History of America’s Favorite Pastime on Cardboard
Baseball cards are one of the most iconic representations of America’s pastime. Since the late 19th century, companies have been printing images of ballplayers on small pieces of cardboard to be collected and traded. The city of Glendale, California in particular played a major role in the rise of the modern baseball card industry from the mid-20th century onward. Located just north of Los Angeles, Glendale became home to some of the most prominent card manufacturers that shaped how fans experienced and connected with the game.
One of the earliest baseball card companies to call Glendale home was Bowman Gum. Founded in 1929, Bowman began as a subsidiary of the maker of Beech-Nut chewing gum. Their cards were included as incentives inside wax-sealed packs of gum. In the early 1950s, Bowman moved their operations to an 85,000 square foot factory in Glendale. From this facility, they churned out millions of cards featuring the stars of the day like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Sandy Koufax. The Bowman Gum factory was a major employer in Glendale during this era. At its peak, it had over 200 workersproducing cards around the clock.
Another seminal company, Topps Chewing Gum, relocated to Glendale from New York City in 1956. Topps had gained prominence just a few years prior by outbidding Bowman and others for the exclusive rights to include baseball cards in their gum. Their iconic red-backed cards defined the look and feel of the modern baseball card. From their new West Coast headquarters, Topps was able to more effectively distribute cards across the booming Southern California market and beyond. During the1950s and 60s, Topps’ main Glendale factory produced the majority of cards collected by fans.
Beyond just manufacturing facilities, Glendale also became home to innovative new entrants in the baseball card business. In 1969, two brothers named Joel and Alan Shorin founded Sportflics, Inc. in a garage in Glendale. Their idea was to capture players’ swings in motion on 35mm film strips inserted in cardboard packs. While quite avant-garde for their time, Sportflics cards never caught on widely with collectors. The Shorins’ entrepreneurial spirit demonstrated Glendale’s attraction to creative new ventures in the card industry.
Perhaps no other company exemplified Glendale’s central place in the baseball card boom of the 1970s-90s quite like Donruss. Founded in 1980 by Texas businessman Donald Kenneth “Don” Fehr, Donruss located their headquarters in Glendale next to competitors Topps and Fleer. From there, Donruss marketed aggressive and flashy designs to capture growing collector interest in the era of free agency. Their inserts featuring stitched baseball seams and oddball rookie cards of future stars like Cal Ripken Jr. and Wade Boggs helped Donruss battle Topps for card dominance. Thanks to Donruss, Glendale became synonymous with cutting-edge card innovations.
Beyond just manufacturing, Glendale also served as a center for cardboard culture. In the 1970s, the city hosted one of the very first sports card shows. Held annually at the local Glendale Civic Auditorium, early card conventions attracted hundreds of eager collectors and dealers to buy, sell and trade with growing fervor. This further cemented Glendale’s role in cultivating community amongst fans. Major League Baseball itself even commissionedTopps to produce special commemorative sets featuring players from the league’s California teams in the 1970s during spring training in Glendale.
By the 1990s, Glendale was churning out over 5 billion cards annually between Topps, Donruss, Fleer and Score. The unchecked growth of specialized and premium inserts diluted collector interest industry-wide. After a period of contraction, the 2000s saw Glendale’s role in cards diminish. Donruss pulled out of the city in 1992. Fleer went bankrupt in 1981. While Topps soldiered on, international licensing agreements meant less production in Glendale. The city’s other manufacturers also either downsized or closed shop.
Today, Glendale’s legacy in the baseball card world lives on. Sites like the lengthy ‘Baseball Card Alley’ situated along Glendale’s Verdugo Road still house thriving shops purchasing and selling vintage cardboard treasures from the city’s golden era. Current manufacturers like Panini maintain a presence. Each spring, card shows congregate collectors to commemorate Glendale’s influence. More than just a location for factories, Glendale profoundly shaped how fans across generations have connected with players through the tradition of collecting our national pastime in cardboard form. The city deserves its place in the history books as one of baseball cards’ most crucial homes.
