The history of baseball cards in Midland, Texas dates back to the late 19th century when the hobby first began gaining popularity across America. Some of the earliest baseball cards produced featured players from West Texas amateur and minor leagues of the time. While Midland was still a small frontier town in those early years, local general stores and drug stores would stock regional baseball cards as a novelty item for kids.
As the oil boom transformed Midland into a bustling city in the 1920s-30s, the hobby of collecting baseball cards truly took hold among young residents. Many of the oil field roughnecks and wildcatters had grown up playing baseball themselves in small Texas towns. They passed along their love of the game and card collecting to their sons. The expansion of the local minor leagues further fueled interest, with the original Midland Cowboys team joining the West Texas–New Mexico League in 1929. Their cards could be found in local 5-and-dime stores and drug stores alongside those of major leaguers.
By the late 1930s, Midland had several shops that specialized in the sale of baseball cards, usually as part of a larger hobby store or newsstand. Places like Sam’s Sporting Goods and the Midland News Depot were pioneers in catering to the growing collector scene. They stocked complete sets from the biggest manufacturers of the era like Goudey and Play Ball. Kids would spend their Saturday afternoons sorting through boxes of loose cards, hoping to find rare stars or complete sets to trade with friends.
World War 2 saw many of Midland’s young men ship off to serve overseas, temporarily slowing the growth of the card collecting hobby. But soldiers brought their passion for the pastime with them. Baseball cards were traded and swapped in foxholes and barracks rooms across Europe and the Pacific. This helped spread awareness of the hobby even further. Many returning GIs came back determined to pass on their love of the national pastime to a new generation of kids in their hometown.
The post-war years of the late 1940s and 1950s were the golden age of baseball cards in Midland, as it was nationwide. Iconic sets from Bowman, Topps, and others flooded the market and every drug store had racks full of wax packs for just a few pennies. The minor league Midland Rockhounds debuted in 1958 and further fueled the local collector scene. Shops like Hobby House and Ernie’s Sportscards stayed busy supplying kids with the cards that documented the latest exploits of stars like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron.
The oil boom years of the 1970s were another renaissance period for Midland’s baseball card collectors. Rising incomes meant kids had more money to spend on cards. New shops like The Baseball Card Exchange and Sportstown USA catered to collectors of all ages. The rise of the hobby’s “secondary” market also took hold, with collectors seeking out high-grade vintage cards to add to their collections. Shows began popping up across West Texas where collectors could buy, sell and trade with other enthusiasts.
The bust that followed the oil boom years hit Midland’s card shops hard. Many were forced to close by the early 1980s recession. But the passion of local collectors kept the hobby alive. Places like Sportstown soldiered on and newer shops like Great American Card Company filled the void. The rise of sports memorabilia also broadened the collecting base. And just as the oil industry would periodically boom again, so too did interest in baseball cards among Midland’s youth.
In the 1990s, the sports card industry experienced massive growth thanks to the rise of ultra-modern inserts and parallels from manufacturers like Upper Deck. For a time, Midland was home to one of the largest card shops in the state at Card Kingdom. But the overproduction of modern cards would eventually lead to a bust. The shop closed and hobby interest waned by the late 90s.
In the 2000s, a renewed appreciation for vintage cardboard from the 1950s-70s fueled a resurgence in Midland. Online auction sites allowed collectors to easily buy and sell. Local card shows and the monthly Midland Sports Card Club meeting keep the community connected. Vintage shops like Yesteryear Trading Post help younger collectors learn about the history and allure of cards from the hobby’s golden era.
Today, while the sports card market endures the challenges of a digital age, the passion of collectors in Midland, Texas remains strong. For over 100 years, baseball cards have been bringing to life the history and heroes of America’s pastime for generations of West Texans. Whether hunting for stars of tomorrow or treasures from yesterday, the hobby will always have a home among the oil derricks and dry plains of the Tall City, just as it has since the first pack was opened so long ago.