The history of baseball cards spans over 150 years and what started as a promotional marketing tool has evolved into a beloved hobby and billion dollar industry. Some of the earliest known baseball cards date back to the late 1860s when cigarette and tobacco companies would include illustrated baseball cards or lithographs in their packs and tins as a way to promote their brands. These early cards featured individual players and were collected but not traded like modern cards. In the late 1880s, companies began mass-producing baseball cards as inserts in cigarettes.
The modern era of baseball cards is generally considered to have begun in 1909 when the American Tobacco Company started including cards in packs of cigarettes featuring players from the National League. These cards, known as the “T206” set, featured stars of the day like Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb and Christy Mathewson. The inclusion of multiple cards per pack allowed for trading and collecting sets for the first time. Several other tobacco brands soon followed with their own card sets further popularizing the hobby. In the 1920s and 1930s, many regional sets were also produced by candy and gum companies as premiums.
The golden age of baseball cards is considered to be the 1950s. In 1948, Bowman Gum began the first modern design of cards printed on gummed backs that could be peeled off and stuck to bicycle spokes or any other spinning object, an activity kids loved. Their 1948 set featured players from the American and National Leagues on color photos and was the first true “modern” design. Bowman dominated the 1950s along with Topps, who began issuing annual sets in 1951. Topps is still the dominant baseball card company today. The 1950s saw incredible growth in the hobby as kids traded and collected with their friends and the cards captured the exciting stars of the day like Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays.
The 1960s brought about some innovation as Topps introduced the first modern foil cards in 1961 with their “Postcards” subset. In 1965, Topps broke new ground by putting statistics on the back of each card, allowing collectors to compare players. The late 1960s saw the rise of the “wax pack era” as cards were now sealed in waxed paper instead of gum. The 1970s saw the introduction of team issue and league leader subset cards by Topps. In the late 1970s, Donruss entered the market as the first competitor to Topps in decades. Their 1979 set helped reinvigorate the hobby.
The 1980s experienced an explosion in the hobby as collecting became mainstream. Companies like Fleer and Score entered the market creating competition for Topps. The influx of new sets increased interest and card values. The arrival of stars like Nolan Ryan, Cal Ripken Jr., and Kirby Puckett brought new fans to the hobby. In 1987, the infamous “Junk Wax Era” began as overproduction of cards by numerous companies glutted the market with hundreds of new sets released annually. While it burst the speculative bubble, it brought many new collectors into the fold.
In the 1990s, the hobby adjusted to the post-junk wax landscape. Manufacturers consolidated and fewer high-end sets were produced. The arrival of stars like Ken Griffey Jr. and players’ strike shortened seasons kept interest high. In 1994, Upper Deck debuted as the first serious competitor to the “Big 3” of Topps, Fleer and Score in over a decade. They signed exclusive deals with many star players and pioneered the use of innovative materials like metal and acetate cards. The 1990s also saw the rise of autograph and memorabilia cards inserting new collecting angles. The financial boom of the decade also fueled increased speculation.
The modern era has brought about many new developments since 2000. Manufacturers have continued to innovate with the introduction of new materials, short printed cards, serially numbered relics, and autographs of today’s stars. New companies like Leaf and Panini have entered the market. The rise of direct internet sales through companies like eBay has made collecting accessible to anyone with a computer. Graded cards have become mainstream and vintage cards from the T206 era through the 1950s have reached record prices at auction. New subsets like Topps Project 2020 focusing on current events have kept the hobby fresh.
Through over 150 years, the business of baseball cards has evolved from simple promotional inserts to a multi-billion dollar international industry. Along the way, it has brought joy to generations of collectors by preserving the history of the national pastime and fueling memories, friendships and newfound passions. While the players, designs and delivery methods have changed, the hobby remains as popular as ever and continues to bring people together through their shared love of America’s favorite pastime captured on a little rectangle of cardboard.