Baseball cards have a long history in North Kingstown, Rhode Island dating back to the late 19th century. Some of the earliest baseball cards produced featured players from North Kingstown who went on to play professionally. While the town of North Kingstown may not be known as a hotbed for producing major league baseball talent today, the region played an important role in the early development of baseball card collecting.
One of the first North Kingstown natives to have his image appear on a baseball card was Fred Lake. Lake was born in North Kingstown in 1870 and went on to have a career in the major leagues from 1893 to 1903, playing primarily as an outfielder. In 1894, Lake’s rookie season with the Boston Beaneaters, his image appeared on cards included in packages of cigarette and tobacco products produced by the American Tobacco Company. These early tobacco cards helped popularize the collecting of baseball memorabilia and served to promote both the tobacco products and professional baseball.
Another early North Kingstown resident whose baseball career was commemorated on cards was Jack Doyle. Born in North Kingstown in 1874, Doyle made his major league debut in 1899 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He went on to play parts of three seasons in the majors before retiring in 1901. Doyle appeared on cards included in packages of Sweet Caporal cigarettes around 1900, preserving his image for future collectors. While neither Fred Lake or Jack Doyle had especially notable major league careers statistically, their early baseball cards helped spark the phenomenon of collecting that still thrives today.
In addition to producing a few major leaguers in the late 19th/early 20th century, North Kingstown was also home to several amateur and semi-pro baseball teams during the sport’s rise in popularity in America. Local teams with names like the Wickfords, Davisville, and North Kingstown often played against squads from nearby towns. While these games didn’t receive widespread press coverage, they were hugely popular local events that brought the community together. Occasionally, a standout local player would be signed to a contract in one of the growing minor leagues, fueling dreams that North Kingstown’s own could make it to the big show.
In the early decades of the 20th century, tobacco companies continued to be the primary producers of baseball cards inserted in cigarettes and chewing tobacco. More North Kingstown natives began appearing on the cardboard, preserving their likenesses for future generations. Players like Harry McCormick, George Bliss, and William Buckley all hailed from North Kingstown and had brief stints in the minor leagues between 1905-1915. Their tobacco era cards, while not especially rare today, hold nostalgic value for many local collectors.
The 1930s saw new innovations in baseball card production that made collecting more mainstream. Gum and candy companies like Goudey and Play Ball began inserting cards in their products, exposing the hobby to younger audiences. One of the most notable North Kingstown players of this era to appear on cards was George Bliss, who had a 14 year minor league career that ended in the late 1930s. Bliss appeared in sets by Goudey and DeLong in the mid-1930s, preserving his image decades after his playing days ended. Cards of Bliss remain popular with collectors today looking to build sets representing Rhode Island’s baseball heritage.
During World War 2, card production was suspended due to rationing of paper and other commodities. But in the post-war era, the baseball card boom truly took off. Companies like Topps entered the market in the 1950s and began producing the modern cardboard that collectors know today. In this era, North Kingstown was no longer producing major or minor league talent regularly. But the town’s love affair with baseball and collecting carried on. Local card shops like Kingstown Sportscards opened in the 1960s, fueling the boom in an area that helped spark the earliest days of the hobby decades prior.
Through the 1960s and 1970s, Kingstown Sportscards became a hub for the local collecting community. Generations of North Kingstown youth bonded over trading cards and discussing the latest baseball action. While stars of the day like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron were revered, local collectors also sought out the oldest tobacco era cards they could find linking back to North Kingstown’s earliest links to professional baseball. Kingstown Sportscards closed its doors in the 1990s, but local collectors continue to gather, often trading and discussing the history of cards from their hometown.
In the modern era, North Kingstown has seen a resurgence of local baseball talent. Players like Bobby Scales, Kevin Youkilis and Kevin Plawecki all honed their skills in the town before reaching the major leagues. While they never appeared on tobacco issues due to the eras in which they played, their rookie cards and autographs remain popular with collectors today. Vintage card shops have also returned, like The Card Closet which opened in the 2010s. There, collectors can still find treasures from the earliest days of the hobby when North Kingstown was among the first communities represented on baseball’s cardboard stars.
From Fred Lake’s 1890s tobacco issues to modern autographs of Kevin Plawecki, North Kingstown has played an important but often overlooked role in the history of baseball cards. The town helped spark collecting’s earliest boom and produced stars that ended up immortalized on cardboard. Even today, vintage local talent remains sought after. Through highs and lows, North Kingstown’s connection to the baseball card hobby has endured, a testament to the region’s love of the game and nostalgia for its history. Its stories will continue inspiring collectors for generations to come.