Lexington, Kentucky has a rich history with America’s favorite pastime of baseball and the collectible baseball cards that immortalized players on the field. Some of the earliest baseball cards featuring Lexington’s minor league teams and players date back over 100 years ago. While the city has never had a Major League franchise, several notable professional players over the decades cut their teeth in the minors through Lexington’s various teams, appearing on vintage cards that are highly sought after today by collectors.
One of the first sets to feature Lexington players was issued in 1909 by Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. These rectangular cards highlighted players from minor leagues across the country, including several representing the Lexington Colts farm club in the class-D Blue Grass League. Names like Harry Weihing, Harry Haywood and Doc Dougherty appeared on these scarce tobacco era cards, offering early glimpses of the Lexington minor league scene.
In the following decades, Lexington was represented in sets issued by Topps, Bowman and other prominent manufacturers. The Lexington Colts became a staple of many regional minor league issues through the 1930s-50s. Notable Lexington alums like Archie Reynolds, Eddie Haas and Fred Hatfield gained wider exposure appearing in these sets during their tenures in the low minors. Upper Deck even paid tribute to Lexington’s baseball history by including reproduced Colts cards in their 1990 set.
The 1950s saw Lexington’s franchise renamed to the Athletics to reflect their affiliation with the Philadelphia A’s major league club. Stars of tomorrow like Dave Hamilton, Don Larsen and Jim Umbricht had their first cardboard appearances in Lexington uniforms. This was also when the city’s minor league park, Patterson Stadium, began to take shape. Its unique outfield dimensions would challenge hitters for decades in Lexington and become embedded in the community’s baseball identity.
In the 1960s, Grit Lithograph & Card Company produced a beautiful Lexington Athletics 1965 team set highlighting that year’s squad. Individual graded gems from this ultra-regional issue can demand over $1000 today. Topps continued giving Lexington exposure with cards of players like Dick Simpson and Gary Bell in their annual minor league sets of the 1960s-70s.
The 1970s brought a new phase for Lexington baseball. A name change to the Lexington Red Birds tied their fortunes to the St. Louis Cardinals’ farm system. Notable Red Birds like Keith Hernandez, Willie McGee and Ozzie Smith had early cardboard moments in Lexington before ascending to the major league ranks. The ’70s also saw sportscard manufacturers issue dedicated Lexington/Red Birds releases beyond generic minor league cards of past eras.
Topps produced Lexington Red Birds team sets spanning 1974-1977 that gave an annual snapshot of that franchise. In 1978, a significant Lexington-centric release arrived when Model Products issued the massive “400 Card Lexington Red Birds Team” boxed set. Listing every player, coach and game from that season in stunning hometown detail, it became an instant holy grail for collectors. Beyond dedicated sets, Lexington’s Red Birds received annual representation in Topps’Traded and Rookies series of the late ’70s, spreading the team’s brand further.
The 1980s saw Lexington’s baseball identity fully entrenched as the Red Birds, producing hometown heroes like future Cardinals Tommy Herr and Turk Wendell. Marquee Lexington stars received dedicated rookie cards during this decade from manufacturers like Donruss and Fleer. In 1989, the Red Birds became the A’s affiliation once again with a name change back. Pacific produced the Lexington Legends team set covering that transitional season.
Into the 1990s and 2000s, Lexington minor league baseball carried on strongly despite other market fluctuations. Upper Deck captured the Lexington Leones 1995 season in cards. However, Donruss was the leading chronicler of Lexington players during the modern factory-era through team/individual issues. Stars like Khalil Greene and Dontrelle Willis gained some of their earliest cardboard notability in Lexington uniforms during this period before ascending to The Show.
Today, Lexington’s baseball tradition continues with the Lexington Legends as a Class A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. While the city has lacked a big league franchise of its own, generations of players, coaches and fans have experienced America’s pastime in Central Kentucky at the minor league level. The collectible baseball cards issued over the decades commemorating Lexington’s teams and ballplayers are a unique connection to both the city’s sports history and worldwide growth of the hobby. Lexington’s contributions to the rich tapestry of minor league and vintage baseball are firmly embedded in cardboard for fans and collectors to enjoy.
