Baseball Cards in Austin: A Rich History of Collecting and Community

Baseball card collecting has deep roots in Austin, Texas dating back to the early 20th century. What began as children swapping and trading cards in schoolyards has grown into a full-fledged hobby and business with dedicated shops, shows, and a strong community of collectors. Whether you’re looking to start a new collection, add to an existing one, or just reminisce about childhood summers spent pouring through stacks of cards, Austin offers plenty of options to engage with the baseball card world.

Some of the earliest documentation of baseball card collecting in Austin comes from newspaper articles in the 1930s and 40s describing young boys eagerly awaiting the next shipment of cards to hit local stores. Brands like Goudey, Play Ball, and Leaf were among the most popular manufacturers at the time producing iconic cards of legends like Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and Joe DiMaggio. As interest grew, the first informal meetups between collectors started taking shape, usually organized by local card shops.

Into the 1950s and 60s, Topps emerged as the dominant force in the industry and Austin collectors followed all the new releases. The city’s love affair with the University of Texas Longhorns also translated to strong local interest in regional stars with Longhorn ties that made their way to Topps sets. Growth in youth leagues and Little League programs through this era kept the card collecting tradition alive for new generations as well.

Austin’s first dedicated baseball card shop, Ernie’s Cards, opened its doors in 1973 in a small storefront near the University of Texas campus. Founder Ernie Moreno had been a collector since childhood and saw an opportunity to serve the growing collector community. Ernie’s Cards became a popular hangout and helped foster relationships between collectors of all ages. Moreno was also an early proponent of organizing card shows to bring the local hobby scene together beyond the walls of his store.

Into the late 1970s and 80s, Ernie’s Cards and a few other shops like It’s a Hit on Burnet Road fueled the boom years of the hobby. Sports card values were rising rapidly and the introduction of oddball and independent sets from manufacturers like Fleer, Donruss, and Score captured collectors’ imaginations. Austin native and MLB star Jeff Bagwell’s rookie cards from those era sets are still highly sought after by local collectors today. Ernie’s Cards hosted some of the first major card shows in Austin, helping cement the city’s reputation as a baseball card hub.

The 1990s saw new heights of popularity and commercialization of the hobby. Major sports networks like ESPN brought more exposure. Retailers like Walmart and Target started devoting more shelf space to cards. And the rise of the internet allowed for easier connection between collectors all over. Two new shops opened in Austin during this decade to help meet growing demand – Cardboard Memories in South Austin and The Topps Shop in North Austin. Both featured walls of newly released sets and also stocked supplies for collectors to carefully store and organize their collections.

In the 2000s, the rise of online selling platforms like eBay made it possible for even casual collectors to liquidate parts of their collections to help fund new acquisitions. This led to greater accessibility of even the most valuable vintage cards. It also allowed local shops to source inventory from a wider area. By the late 2000s, the economic downturn began to impact sales at brick-and-mortar shops. Ernie’s Cards and It’s a Hit ultimately closed their doors for good. But Cardboard Memories and The Topps Shop have endured to today with their loyal customer bases.

The current baseball card scene in Austin remains vibrant despite the closures of some pioneering shops. Monthly trading card shows still draw hundreds of collectors throughout the year. The two longest-tenured shops, Cardboard Memories and The Topps Shop, provide bricks-and-mortar destinations as well as robust online stores. Facebook groups like “Austin Sports Card Collectors” have also flourished in recent years to help connect locals virtually. And new shops periodically pop up as well to fill niches, such as All-Star Cards & Collectibles which focuses on vintage stock.

As baseball itself faces challenges to grow its fanbase, card collecting provides a fun avenue especially for younger fans to connect to the game’s history. For those just starting out, learning the values of stars from previous eras can be as exciting as following today’s players. With its deep roots and passionate community, Austin’s baseball card scene looks poised to continue engaging new generations of collectors for decades to come. Whether searching old collections in the attic or hunting the latest releases, this city offers no shortage of ways to enjoy America’s pastime on cardboard.

Austin has a rich history with baseball cards that dates back over a century. Some of the earliest documented baseball cards produced featured players from the minor and semi-pro teams that called Austin home in the late 1800s and early 1900s. While these vintage cards are exceedingly rare today, there remains a dedicated community of collectors in Austin who appreciate the city’s connection to the hobby.

The earliest baseball cards mass produced for the American market came in the late 1880s as promotions for tobacco products. It was the rise of professional baseball in the early 20th century that truly launched the baseball card collecting craze across the United States. In Austin, the minor league Austin Senators were founding members of the Texas League in 1888 and featured future Major Leaguers on their rosters. Some pioneering collectors in Austin reportedly obtained tobacco cards of Senators players from that era, though no examples are known to still exist today.

The Senators enjoyed popularity throughout Austin for decades, playing their home games at various ballparks around the city. In the 1930s, Goudey Gum Company produced colorful sets featuring current and former big leaguers that were quite popular with Senators fans. Goudey cards from sets issued between 1933-1936 depicting Senators alums who went on to the majors, such as Ike Boone and Cliff Melton, can still be found in the collections of longtime Austin-area collectors.

Topps Chewing Gum, Inc. revolutionized the baseball card industry when they began mass producing modern cardboard cards in 1951. Their innovative design and larger player images were an instant hit with collectors. In subsequent years, Topps released new sets that documented the rising minor league talent playing for Austin’s Texas League club, then called the Austin Pioneers. Rookies who got their professional start in Austin in the 1950s like Don Larsen, Dick Groat and Bob Aspromonte are represented in the classic Topps and Bowman sets that followed their minor league tenures.

The Pioneers drew well at their stadium, called Riverside Park, through the 1950s. But in 1960 the team relocated to become the Dallas Rangers, leaving Austin without a professional baseball franchise for over a decade. This period is sometimes referred to by collectors as the “Austin drought,” as cards directly featuring Austin players or teams became much harder to find without a local minor league affiliate.

In 1971, the Houston Astros moved their Double-A franchise, then known as the Columbus Astros, to Austin. Rechristened the Austin Astros, the team helped reignite local interest in baseball. Topps and other card manufacturers responded by highlighting Austin’s new minor league stars in sets through the 1970s, such as future Astros greats Jose Cruz and Enos Cabell. Riverside Park was also upgraded and renamed Disch-Falk Field during this time.

In 1978, the Astros’ parent club in Houston changed their Double-A affiliation to make the Tuscaloosa Astros their new farm team. This led to Austin being without a team once more. The city was awarded a new franchise as the Austin Giants in 1985 when the parent San Francisco Giants switched affiliations from Phoenix. Hall of Famer Will Clark launched his pro career with the 1985 Austin Giants and is one of the most iconic players ever to wear an Austin uniform. His rookie cards from Donruss and Fleer are highly sought after by area collectors.

Through the late 1980s and 1990s, the Austin Giants and later the Austin Rangers (1994-2000) continued to be represented in annual baseball card sets. Notable prospects like Jeff Kent, Russ Ortiz and David Bell had their early minor league years chronicled while in Austin. In 2000, the Rangers left for Midland, Texas and Austin went through another multi-year span without a club.

Thankfully, in 2005 the Colorado Rockies moved their Double-A affiliate to Austin, renaming them the Austin Trios. Roster stars like Troy Tulowitzki, Brad Lidge and Ubaldo Jimenez generated new interest in Austin cards during their stints with the team. In 2010, the Trios became known as the Round Rock Express when they moved to a new stadium just north of Austin in Round Rock. The Express have kept central Texas’ connection to baseball cards alive with yearly player issues from Topps, Bowman and other sets since.

Today, Austin has a dedicated community of card collectors who appreciate the history of the many teams and great players who have called the city home over the past 130+ years. While vintage Austin cards remain elusive, newer issues featuring Express alumni are abundant. The friendly local card shop scene and bustling conventions also help keep interest high. With the potential for another future Austin franchise on the horizon, collectors look forward to adding new players and memories to their collections for years to come.