Baseball Cards in Auburn: A Rich History of the Hobby in East Alabama
The hobby of collecting baseball cards has been popular in Auburn, Alabama for decades. From the early 1950s when kids started swapping and trading cards on playgrounds and at local shops, to the boom years of the late 1980s and 1990s when card shows drew hundreds of collectors, Auburn has had an enthusiastic community of people enjoying this American pastime.
Some of the earliest adopters of the baseball card collecting craze in Auburn were kids who grew up in the post-World War II era. Stores like Kress Five & Dime and local drugstores would stock packs of cards from Topps, Bowman, and other manufacturers for just a few pennies. Kids quickly amassed collections and would meet up to compare hits, swap duplicates, and discuss the latest players and stats. This helped foster friendships and introduced many boys to their first hobby.
In the 1960s, as the Baby Boomer generation came of age, baseball cards saw another spike in popularity. By this time, dedicated card shops had started to open in some cities to cater to the growing collector base. Auburn was still too small a town to support a shop, but drugstores and local hobby stores like Elliott’s Toy Box continued stocking cards. Teenagers and young adults also joined the ranks of collectors. With the rise of the Atlanta Braves and dominance of the Cincinnati Reds in the National League, interest in the sport and its cardboard commodities remained high locally.
The 1970s marked a downturn for the baseball card industry as interest waned. But a dedicated core of collectors in Auburn kept the hobby alive. They would organize informal meetups to buy, sell and trade. Local card shows also started during this decade in places like Opelika, giving East Alabama collectors a chance to interact on a larger scale. This helped baseball cards avoid disappearing entirely during the troublesome 70s.
In the late 1980s, the hobby experienced a renaissance thanks to the rise of expensive, premium sets from the likes of Fleer and Score. The increased rarity and scarcity of star rookie cards like Ken Griffey Jr. and Frank Thomas supercharged demand. Suddenly, cards were a serious investment again. Shows in Auburn drew hundreds, and dedicated local shops finally opened to serve this resurgent collector base.
Tom’s Baseball Cards was the first shop to open its doors in Auburn in 1988. Located downtown, it provided a welcoming place for people to buy packs, boxes and individual cards seven days a week. Over a decade in business, Tom’s helped reestablish Auburn as a hotbed for the hobby in Alabama. Meanwhile, card shows continued to grow, including a large annual show that still takes place each spring at the Auburn Arena.
The 1990s boom years were the golden age for baseball cards in Auburn. Multiple shops operated at once as demand was through the roof. Kids were amassing collections worth thousands, and adults treated the hobby as a semi-legitimate investment. When star rookies like Ken Griffey Jr. exploded in value, it captured the national imagination. Shows in Auburn regularly drew over 1,000 attendees looking to buy, sell or trade.
As the late 90s collector bubble burst and interest declined, the hobby consolidated. But Auburn maintained a dedicated, if smaller, collector base. Shops closed or changed hands, but the shows continued. In the 2000s, the rise of the internet allowed local collectors to easily buy and sell online if desired. Websites like eBay provided a global marketplace. But many still preferred the fun of meeting in-person at shows a few times a year.
Today, baseball card collecting remains a beloved hobby for many in Auburn and east Alabama. While the frenzied peak of the 90s boom is long past, interest has stabilized at a solid level. Fewer kids get into the hobby nowadays, but many lifelong collectors remain active. Local card shops have given way to the online marketplace, but the Auburn Arena Spring Card Show is still a highly anticipated annual event for collectors of all ages. With baseball’s enduring popularity and nostalgia for childhood collections, Auburn’s rich baseball card history will continue into the future.