Baseball cards have been collected by children and adults alike for over a century, chronicling the players, teams, and eras of America’s pastime. While major card companies like Topps and Bowman produced cards nationwide, the hobby took on unique local flavors in different cities and regions. In Bellevue, Washington – a suburb just east of Seattle – baseball cards mirrored the growth of the city and surrounding area from the mid-20th century onward.
When Topps began mass producing modern cardboard baseball cards in the early 1950s, Bellevue was still a relatively small town surrounded by farms and forests. The population was just over 10,000 at the time, and residents had to travel into Seattle if they wanted to catch a Major or Minor League baseball game. Nonetheless, the new baseball cards were a hit with local children. Stores like Bellevue Drug on Main Street and Johnson’s Drug near downtown began stocking Wax Packs from Topps alongside comics, candy, and soda.
In those early postwar years, collecting was mostly a casual pastime for kids. They’d trade duplicates on the playground or in the neighborhood. A few dedicated collectors started binders and boxes to organize their growing collections, which mainly featured stars from the Brooklyn and New York Giants days before the teams moved west. Local card shows or conventions didn’t exist yet. But the cards provided a fun connection to the national baseball scene for young fans in the Puget Sound region.
As Bellevue and the Eastside grew rapidly in the 1960s with the expansion of tech companies like Boeing, collecting grew more sophisticated. Kids from this generation were the first to understand concepts like condition, rarity, and value. They pored over the statistics and bios on the back of each card, dreaming of one day seeing their favorite players in person at Sick’s Stadium in Seattle. When the Mariners arrived in 1977, it felt like a dream come true for Eastside card collectors.
Card shops started to appear as the hobby boomed. In 1965, Bellevue Newsstand became one of the first dedicated sports card stores in the area, stocking new releases, wax packs, and supplies for collectors. Throughout the 1970s, other shops like Bellevue Sportscards and Seattle Sportscards opened their doors. They hosted the region’s first organized card shows, swaps, and auctions. Local collectors could meet face-to-face, make trades, and stay on top of the rapidly evolving market.
In the 1980s, Bellevue was in the midst of a transformation into a bustling city. New subdivisions, shops, and businesses sprang up everywhere. The rising middle class had more disposable income, fueling interest in collecting across all demographics. Bellevue Sportscards was now one of the largest and most prominent hobby shops in the Pacific Northwest, carrying an immense inventory. Shows drew hundreds of attendees, and the first Bellevue Card Collectors Club formed to foster community.
This period also saw the rise of star Eastside collectors who became influential voices within the broader hobby. One such collector was Dave Oros, who began buying, selling, and trading cards as a Bellevue teen in the 1960s. By the 1980s, Oros owned Seattle Sportscards and published Sports Collectors Digest – one of the first nationwide price guides and newsletters. He helped raise standards for authentication, grading, and mainstream collecting knowledge. Today, Oros is remembered as one of the hobby’s pioneering experts and ambassadors.
In the 1990s, the sports card market peaked amid speculation and speculation. Bellevue shops were flooded with new collectors chasing profits. Shows overflowed the convention centers. But the bubble soon burst, leaving behind a more refined community. While the craze faded, a solid core of dedicated collectors remained in Bellevue. They focused on building long-term collections rather than short-term gains.
Into the 2000s, Bellevue continued leading the Northwest in card collecting culture. New multi-vendor “super shops” like Northwest Sportscards provided a one-stop destination. Meanwhile, online communities and eBay transformed the buying/selling landscape. Graded cards and vintage materials grew in popularity as nostalgia boomed. Today, Bellevue acts as an important hub linking collectors in Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, and beyond through both physical and digital networks.
Over the past 70 years, baseball cards have given generations of Bellevue residents a window into the sport’s history. They’ve fostered friendships and sparked lifelong passions. While the industry has changed greatly, Bellevue remains at the forefront of the Pacific Northwest collecting scene. Cards still bring communities together and remind fans of baseball’s enduring allure – whether they were first opened in the 1950s or today. The city’s card-collecting legacy is a testament to the hobby’s ability to evolve alongside the communities it touches.