The Heroes Baseball Card Company and Riverside, California
Based in Riverside, California from the late 1960s through the early 1980s, Heroes Baseball Cards produced some memorable and highly collectible sets that captured the essence of many baseball greats from that era. Founded by Perry Spanos and Nick Cafarelli Sr., Heroes helped fuel the booming baseball card craze of the time by creating unique designs and focusing on star players that other larger companies overlooked. While they only operated for around 15 years, Heroes left an indelible mark on the hobby and helped bring excitement to card collectors in Southern California and beyond.
Riverside was an ideal location for Heroes to set up shop, situated about 50 miles east of Los Angeles in an area with a strong baseball tradition and fanbase. The climate was also perfect for storing and distributing cards year-round. Spanos and Cafarelli assembled a small but dedicated staff that took pride in crafting high quality cardboard products with creative graphic designs hand cut by local artists. One of their earliest and most iconic releases was the 1968 Topps Masters set featuring borders trimmed in team colors around photos of legends like Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner.
Through the late 1960s and 1970s, Heroes concentrated on sets spotlighting the biggest MLB stars of the day like Hank Aaron, Reggie Jackson, Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver. Many of these players were underrepresented in the flagship Topps issues of the time but found new fans thanks to Heroes memorable closeups and stat centered bios on the back. With distribution mainly focused in Southern California shops and card shows, some Heroes releases developed quite a mystique and still command high prices today from collectors chasing their childhood favorites.
One of the most storied Heroes releases remains the 1976 set dedicated entirely to hometown hero Nolan Ryan of the California Angels. Lavishly produced on thick stock featuring a dozen different action photos capturing the flamethrower’s intensity on the mound, it’s considered one of the most attractive single player cards sets ever created. Especially rare are the prototypical version cards showcasing possible Front designs that never made the final cut. Heroes provided a platform for Ryan fans to proudly display their favorite at a time when larger sets still didn’t utilize his star power potential.
Beyond highlighting big league talent, Heroes also left its mark preserving the history ofNegro League baseball with landmark releases. Issued in 1970, their 125 card “Black Diamonds” set spotlighted legends like Josh Gibson, Buck O’Neil and James “Cool Papa” Bell. Not only did it attract attention to the skilled players denied a chance in the majors due to segregation, it educated a whole new generation of fans of the proud tradition of black ball clubs. This important piece of card history helped lay the groundwork for Negro League commemoratives released by Topps and others in later decades.
While the 1981 Donruss set signified the rise of the sports card industry boom era driven by novel concepts like oddball parallels and refractors, Heroes’ days as a Southern California regional player were numbered. After producing some final sets in the early 1980s focusing on players for the San Diego Padres and Angels, operational challenges led Nick Cafarelli Jr. to cease production. Some posthumous Heroes inserts were later produced by other companies in the 2000s attempting to capitalize on the nostalgia for their innovative older sets from the 1960s and 1970s heyday.
Today, the Heroes legacy lives on through passionate collectors chasing their elusive vintage releases at card shows, auctions and online marketplaces. Original 1968 Topps Masters, 1970 Black Diamonds, as well as 1973, 1974 and 1976 Nolan Ryan singles have maintained strong demand and appreciation amongst aficionados. Cities like Riverside that once hosted active sports card factories now commemorate them through collector groups and social media pages dedicated to cataloging the rich history of regional producers that helped fuel America’s love for the cardboard culture. Nearly forty years after their final set, Heroes Baseball Cards remain synonymous with creativity, craftsmanship and capturing the stars, stories and spirit of vintage baseball.
