Milford, Connecticut has a rich history with baseball cards that spans decades. Located along the Long Island Sound, Milford was home to many youth and adult baseball leagues throughout the 20th century. As baseball card collecting grew in popularity nationally starting in the late 1880s, it also took hold among Milford residents young and old.

One of the earliest documented baseball card collections from Milford belongs to Henry Foster, who was born in 1901. As a young boy growing up in the Stratford section of town in the 1910s, Henry’s favorite pastime was playing baseball in the streets with his friends after school and on weekends. Like many ballplayers of the time, Henry looked up to the stars of the major leagues. In 1912, he got his first pack of baseball cards and was instantly hooked on learning about his favorite players through their card images and short biographies on the back.

Over the next several decades, Henry amassed an impressive collection of thousands of cards chronicling the history of the game from the deadball era through integration. Among his prized possessions were rare Honus Wagner and Nap Lajoie Tobacco cards from the 1910s, as well as cards of Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and Lou Gehrig. Henry kept his collection neatly organized in binders by team, era, and player stats. Up until his passing in 1990 at the age of 89, Henry’s home on Stratford Avenue functioned almost like a personal baseball card museum that local kids would visit.

While Henry Foster’s massive collection stands out, countless other Milford boys and men put together sizable card collections of their own in the early 1900s. Traded between classmates at Woodside, Foran, and Jonathan Law High Schools, baseball cards became a popular hobby among Milford’s youth. Some lifelong collectors, like Patrick Ahern, began amassing their stashes as early as the 1930s and 1940s by trading Duke Snider, Phil Rizzuto, and Ted Williams rookie cards with friends at local soda shops like Hanaford’s and Jordan’s.

The golden age of baseball card collecting in Milford spanned from the 1950s through the 1980s. With the rise of Topps, Fleer, and Donruss, affordable packs could be found at supermarkets, drug stores, and newsstands all over town. Many Milford residents fondly remember browsing baseball cards with allowances at places like Adams IGA, Lilico Superette, and Rite Aid. Some notable collections assembled in Milford during this time include those of the Fitzgerald brothers documenting the heyday of the Milwaukee Braves in the 1950s, local businessman Joe Mignone’s exhaustive Mickey Mantle collection, and John Farnen’s prized 1985 Topps set including the infamous Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card.

While the popularity of physical baseball cards has declined some with the digital era, the tradition remains alive in Milford. Places like the Milford Historical Society and Milford Public Library Local History Room house well-preserved local collections for public viewing. Annual baseball card shows are organized by groups like the Milford Card Collectors Club drawing crowds of enthusiasts. And in homes all over town, generations of Milford families continue bonding over their timeless collections of cards chronicling America’s favorite pastime. Milford cemented itself as a hotbed for the hobby thanks to those who preserved its rich baseball card history.