Baseball cards have long been an integral part of American culture and fandom, allowing generations to connect with their favorite players through collecting, trading, and displaying the cardboard treasures. Throughout the 20th century, no place was more important to the baseball card industry than Burbank, California. Located just north of Los Angeles, Burbank emerged as the epicenter of baseball card production thanks to two pioneering companies – the American Card Company and Pacific Trading Card Company.

The American Card Company was founded in 1889 in Cincinnati, Ohio and quickly became the dominant force in early baseball cards by securing licenses from major league teams and players. In the 1930s, ACC began outsourcing some of its production to the Pacific Trading Card Company, a fledging operation based in Burbank. Pacific Trading specialized in lithography and enjoyed lower costs of production in sunny Southern California versus the industrial Midwest. The partnership proved mutually beneficial and by 1940, ACC had moved the bulk of its baseball card printing to the Pacific Trading facility.

This marked the beginning of Burbank’s rise as the preeminent city for baseball cards. Throughout the 1940s and 50s, Pacific Trading pumped out billions of cards under contract with ACC, capturing some of the game’s greatest stars of the era like Ted Williams, Jackie Robinson, and Willie Mays on cardboard. The post-World War II economic boom and rising popularity of baseball cards fueled exponential growth for the company. By the late 1950s, Pacific Trading had expanded its original Burbank factory to over 300,000 square feet and employed hundreds of local residents.

In 1956, the American Card Company was sold to Topps, which had broken into the baseball card market a few years prior. Topps maintained the lucrative partnership with Pacific Trading and continued using their state-of-the-art Burbank plant for mass production. This allowed Topps to quickly dominate the baseball card industry. In the late 1950s and 60s, Burbank was literally the factory behind many of the most iconic and valuable vintage sets including the original 1957 Topps, 1966 Topps, and 1968 Topps. For collectors around the world, “Made in Burbank” became a mark of quality and authenticity.

The 1960s represented the golden age of baseball cards in Burbank. At its peak, Pacific Trading’s expansive facilities churned out a mind-boggling 15 million cards per day. The company employed over 1,000 workers and had become one of the largest lithography plants in the world. In addition to Topps, Pacific Trading also produced cards for other smaller competitors like Fleer. Many local residents in Burbank had childhood memories of visiting the “card factory” on tours or seeing the massive signs advertising the latest sets from their neighborhood. The city even erected welcome signs boasting of its title as the “Baseball Card Capital of the World.”

Rising production costs in California and increased international competition would lead Topps to start transitioning baseball card printing abroad in the 1970s. In 1981, Topps moved the entirety of its production to Canada and Mexico, bringing baseball’s long run in Burbank to an end. Pacific Trading soldiered on independently for a few more years before closing its doors in 1985. By that point, the baseball card boom of the 1960s was a fading memory and the industry was in decline. Over the following decades, most of the old Pacific Trading campus was redeveloped for other uses.

While no longer a major hub for card manufacturing, Burbank still proudly pays tribute to its rich baseball card history. Memorabilia from the Pacific Trading and Topps glory days are on display at the Burbank Historical Society. Special exhibits also pop-up from time-to-time at the Burbank Library. For collectors and fans, Burbank will always hold a special significance as the place where so many childhood baseball dreams were encapsulated and mass produced and distributed worldwide from the late 1930s through early 1980s. Few cities had as profound an impact shaping the business of America’s pastime on cardboard.

The city of Burbank, California has a long history with baseball cards dating back to the early 20th century. Some of the earliest cards featuring Burbank players and teams were included in sets produced by local tobacco companies and drug stores in the 1910s and 1920s. While these early cards did not receive widespread distribution and are quite rare today, they helped spark Burbank’s deep connection to the hobby of baseball card collecting.

One of the first Burbank baseball cards was issued in 1915 featuring shortstop Johnny Sommers of the Burbank Boosters semi-pro team. Only 50 copies of this tobacco card are known to exist today. Other early 1920s Burbank cards included players from the Burbank Giants and Burbank Beavers teams. These local amateur and semi-pro clubs helped develop many talented players who would later reach the major leagues. Cards for stars like Lefty O’Doul, Fred Haney and Harry Danning who got their start in Burbank remain highly sought after by vintage baseball card collectors.

In the 1930s, the hobby of baseball card collecting exploded in popularity across the United States thanks to the wide distribution of cards in popular cigarette and gum brands. This led several major card companies to photograph and issue cards of Burbank natives who had made it to the big leagues. Stars like Dolph Camilli of the Brooklyn Dodgers and Fred Haney of the New York Giants received widespread distribution in sets from Goudey, Play Ball and other top brands of the era. Their hometown ties to Burbank added extra appeal for local collectors.

After World War 2, Burbank saw two of its native sons reach the peak of baseball success and recognition. In the late 1940s, Bobby Doerr enjoyed a Hall of Fame career as second baseman for the Boston Red Sox. Doerr’s impressive stats and World Series performances made him one of the most popular Red Sox of that era. As a result, his baseball cards from sets by Bowman, Topps and other 1950s manufacturers are still in high demand today. Around the same time, pitcher Preacher Roe was a star pitcher for the Brooklyn and Pittsburgh Pirates teams of the late 1940s and 1950s. Roe’s effective pitching played a big role in the Pirates’ 1960 World Series win. His iconic baseball cards remain widely collected.

In the 1960s, Topps secured the exclusive license to produce major league baseball cards and began issuing annual sets that included any Burbank-born players still active. This included stars like Bobby Doerr who had retired but still held collector interest. It also featured younger Burbank talents breaking into the major leagues, such as pitcher Joe Moeller who played for the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers from 1963-1969. As the 1960s rolled on, Burbank natives saw less MLB playing time but collectors kept strong interest in the hometown stars of eras past.

The 1970s was mostly quiet for Burbank baseball cards until late in the decade. In 1978, Topps issued a special “Turn Back The Clock” subset featuring retired players, including a highly sought after card of Bobby Doerr in vintage Boston Red Sox uniform. For Burbank collectors, it was a thrill to see one of their hometown heroes honored so prominently after his playing days ended. Meanwhile, a young Burbank native named Steve Sax was drafted by the LA Dodgers in 1977 and made his MLB debut in 1981. Though Sax never achieved superstar status, his rookie cards from 1981 Donruss and Topps sets remain popular with collectors today due to his Burbank background.

Through the 1980s and 1990s, no Burbank natives reached the major leagues and baseball card production began to fragment to smaller independent companies. The city’s connection to the hobby was still maintained by collectors seeking out the vintage cards of stars from earlier eras. In the late 1980s, the National Sports Collectors Convention was held in Los Angeles for the first time. Local collectors came from across Southern California, including many from Burbank who enjoyed networking with others who shared their passion for hometown heroes from baseball history.

Entering the 21st century, Burbank has seen a revival of interest in its baseball card legacy. In 2001, former Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda, a longtime Burbank resident, was honored with his own exclusive limited edition card by Upper Deck. Meanwhile, memorabilia and autograph signings in Burbank by vintage stars like Bobby Doerr and Ralph Branca drew large crowds. Local card shops also host annual Burbank Baseball Card Shows featuring collections focused on the city’s players from the early 1900s onwards. Today, Burbank natives still search attics and collect from online marketplaces to find any remnants of their city’s rich baseball card past. The tradition that began with those early 1900s tobacco cards continues to engage collectors with a lasting connection to America’s pastime.

Baseball cards have been collected by fans for over 130 years and Burbank, California has deep roots in the history of this beloved hobby. Located just north of Los Angeles, Burbank was once a hotbed for the production and distribution of baseball cards during the golden age of the sport from the late 1800s through the 1950s.

Some of the earliest baseball cards were produced in the late 1880s by cigarette and tobacco companies as promotional items to help sell their products. In 1892, Burbank became home to several large tobacco companies that began mass producing baseball cards, most notably the American Tobacco Company. Their factories in Burbank cranked out millions of tobacco cards each year featuring top players from both the National League and American League.

During this early period from the 1890s through the turn of the century, Burbank was a hub for distributing baseball cards across Southern California and beyond. Tobacco shops, general stores, pharmacies and other retailers throughout Los Angeles County and surrounding areas stocked their shelves with packs of cigarettes and chewing tobacco that included the coveted cardboard collectibles inside. For many local kids growing up in the early 20th century, their first baseball cards likely came from a store in their hometown of Burbank.

As the popularity of baseball grew exponentially after World War I, so too did the demand for baseball cards. In the 1920s, the American Tobacco Company expanded their operations in Burbank to keep up with the surging interest. New baseball card sets featuring players from that era like Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Walter Johnson rolled off the printing presses non-stop. Distribution networks ensured Burbank remained the epicenter for baseball cards in Southern California.

When the Great Depression hit in the 1930s, the baseball card industry in Burbank took a minor hit as discretionary spending declined. The sport of baseball itself exploded in popularity during this era as a source of affordable entertainment for struggling Americans. As a result, production of baseball cards in Burbank ramped back up through the latter half of the 1930s to satisfy demand. Iconic cards of stars like Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio from this period often list Burbank as their place of origin.

After World War II, the golden age of baseball card collecting was in full swing. In the late 1940s, several new baseball card manufacturers opened shops in Burbank to get in on the booming business. Bowman Gum and Topps Chewing Gum both set up production plants to compete against the longtime king – American Tobacco. This new competition led to innovative design styles and the first modern baseball card sets with colorful photos on the front.

The 1950s represented the peak of Burbank’s significance to the baseball card industry. All three major manufacturers – Topps, Bowman and American Tobacco – had sizable operations churning out an unprecedented volume of cards. Young collectors in Burbank and across the nation acquired their prized collections mainly through packs purchased at local drug and convenience stores. The era also saw the rise of special premium cards inserted randomly to incentivize even more purchases.

As the 1960s arrived, the baseball card market in Burbank began a slow decline. Topps had become the clear industry leader after outlasting Bowman and acquiring the baseball card division of American Tobacco. With dominance secured, Topps moved much of its production to other cities like Dover, Delaware for cheaper operating costs. By the mid-1960s, only a small Topps distribution center remained in Burbank.

While no longer a manufacturing hub, Burbank did experience a mini resurgence in the baseball card trade during the speculative boom of the late 1980s. Local card shops opened to cater to the surge of adult collectors seeking vintage gems. The bubble soon burst and today only a handful of hobby shops serving all sports remain.

Though Burbank lost its status as a baseball card production epicenter decades ago, its rich history in the industry lives on. For over half a century starting in the late 1800s, more baseball cards were created in Burbank than anywhere else. The early collections of many fans in Southern California can be traced directly back to packs bought in Burbank during the sport’s classic era. While times have changed, the memories of baseball’s golden age will always have a special connection to the city where it all started – Burbank, California.