South Florida has a rich history with baseball and the collecting of baseball cards and photos that dates back over 100 years. The region has been home to Major League Spring Training sites since the early 20th century when the New York Giants started holding their Spring Training in the Miami area. This helped spark interest in the game of baseball locally and also helped build the collecting culture in South Florida.
Some of the earliest known baseball cards featuring South Florida images date back to the 1930s. In 1933, Goudey Gum Company produced a short print run of baseball cards that included photos from Spring Training sites in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. These rare photo cards showcased players like Carl Hubbell and Lefty Gomez practicing and playing exhibition games in South Florida prior to the regular season. These early Goudey cards featuring South Florida images are now highly sought after by collectors.
Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, several brands like Topps, Bowman, and Fleer started regularly including Spring Training images from Florida on their baseball cards. This helped generate buzz and interest both for Major League Baseball Spring Training as well as for collecting in the region. Photos showing players like Stan Musial, Willie Mays, and Mickey Mantle swinging bats and chasing fly balls in the South Florida sunshine attracted both baseball fans and younger collectors.
By the 1960s, South Florida had firmly established itself as the epicenter for Major League Spring Training. Over 15 big league clubs held camp and played exhibition games in cities like Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach each March. This springtime activity translated heavily to the collecting culture as manufacturers put out baseball cards that spotlighted the Florida sites. Topps in particular had photos from Fort Lauderdale Stadium, Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, and Miami Stadium on dozens of cards from the 1960s decade.
Legendary collections were formed in South Florida during the 1970s boom in baseball card collecting. Young collectors in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach amassed collections due to the proximity to spring camp sites and games. They were able to snag autographs on the ballpark concourses from their favorite players as the hobby started to gain more mainstream traction. Many who formed massive collections during this era have kept them intact to this day as prized pieces of South Florida sports memorabilia.
Into the 1980s and 1990s, manufacturing technology advanced and companies produced baseball cards with higher quality spring training photos from Florida. Panoramic images became commonplace, as did card issues solely dedicated to highlighting spring performances. Donruss had regional subsets picturing the Montreal Expos at Miami Stadium one year. Fleer captured the New York Mets deep in spring drills at Municipal Stadium in West Palm Beach in another famous set. This time period represented the peak as fourteen clubs still trained in the Sunshine State each March.
Modern era collectors in South Florida remain avid keepers of spring training history through photos and cards. Elaborate collections showcasing the Montreal Expos in Miami, the New York Yankees in Fort Lauderdale, and the Detroit Tigers in Lakeland are not uncommon to find. With Lakeland’s Joker Marchant Stadium and the remaining spring sites still going strong today, local hobbyists ensure that legacy lives on through premium memorabilia pieces. Unsigned photos, rare promotional ticket images, and early 20th century postcards all preserve Florida’s rich baseball past.
As Major League Baseball Spring Training enters its second century in Florida in 2021, interest in collecting baseball cards and photos from the Sunshine State shows no signs of slowing down. Local collectors, museums, and sports memorabilia shops help fuel the demand. New issues from brands like Topps, Panini, and Leaf capture today’s stars readying for season down south. Meanwhile, vintage material representing Miami Stadium, Al Lang Field, and other storied ballparks of yesteryear command top dollar. South Florida’s long relationship with America’s Favorite Pastime shines through its extensive archives from both on and off the diamond.
