Chesterfield Baseball Cards: A Brief History of a Local St. Louis Tradition

Baseball card collecting is a beloved American pastime that dates back over 100 years. While the biggest names in the industry like Topps, Bowman, and Fleer have produced iconic cards featuring legendary players, some of the most interesting vintage cards actually came from small, regional companies. One such company was located right in St. Louis County – Chesterfield Baseball Cards.

Operating from the late 1940s through the 1960s, Chesterfield Baseball Cards produced affordable packs and sets featuring both major and minor league players. What set them apart, however, was their hyper local focus on St. Louis ball clubs like the Cardinals, Browns, and minor league affiliates. Their cards provided a unique window into the area’s baseball history for collectors before Topps and others dominated the national market.

The company was founded in 1947 by Chesterfield, Missouri resident Charlie Baur. A lifelong baseball fan, Baur had the idea to produce low-cost baseball cards as a hobby. He recruited local photographers, printers, and young boys from around town to help assemble and distribute the cards from his home. That first year, Baur released a modest set of 80 cards featuring current Cardinals and Browns players.

Word of Chesterfield Baseball Cards spread quickly among young collectors in the St. Louis region. Baur’s cards retailed for just a penny per pack, making them extremely affordable compared to national brands. They also had a unique charm, printing fun facts and stats directly on the back of each card rather than using gum or candy as incentives. Within a few years, Baur had expanded his operation and was producing 200-300 card sets each season.

In the early 1950s, Chesterfield Baseball Cards reached the height of their popularity locally. Baur signed deals with minor league teams in towns like Clinton, Keokuk, and Quincy to feature their players. He also began including retired Cardinals greats from the 1920s and 30s to appeal to older collectors. His distribution network grew to include drugstores, candy shops, and local card shows throughout eastern Missouri and southern Illinois.

While Topps began asserting control over the national baseball card market in the late 1950s, Chesterfield Cards soldiered on producing sets focused solely on St. Louis area talent. Some of their most iconic and sought-after vintage releases came from this era, including cards featuring Bob Gibson’s rookie season with the Cardinals in 1959. They also documented the last seasons of the St. Louis Browns franchise before the team relocated after the 1953 season.

Rising production costs and competition eventually led Baur to shutter Chesterfield Baseball Cards in the mid-1960s. By that point, he had churned out over 5,000 unique baseball cards chronicling five decades of local baseball history. Though a small, regional brand, Chesterfield Cards made an outsized impact on collectors in St. Louis. Their affordable packs introduced countless young fans to the hobby.

Today, complete sets of vintage Chesterfield Cards from the 1950s are highly prized by collectors. Individual rare and rookie cards also command high prices. In the 2000s, a new generation of collectors rediscovered the charm of these localized baseball cards. In 2006, the city of Chesterfield even paid tribute to the brand’s founder by naming a street after Charlie Baur.

While they may not be as well known nationally, Chesterfield Baseball Cards hold a special place in St. Louis sports card history. For over 15 years, they documented the local baseball scene with passion and affordability. Their cards provide a unique window into baseball as it was played in St. Louis and the surrounding communities during their peak years of the 1940s through 1960s. They remain a cherished link to the region’s baseball past for collectors around the world.

Chesterfield cigarettes were first produced in Richmond, Virginia in 1874. By the early 20th century, Chesterfield had become one of the most popular cigarette brands in the United States. Like many tobacco companies of the time, Chesterfield sought innovative marketing strategies to attract new customers and retain existing smokers. One such strategy was including collectible baseball cards in Chesterfield cigarette packs starting in 1933.

The 1933 Chesterfield baseball card series was the first ever mass-produced set of modern baseball cards inserted into cigarette packs as a promotional item. Each pack of Chesterfield cigarettes contained one card from the series of 52 cards featuring photos of major league baseball players from that season. The cards measured approximately 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches and featured colorful graphics and photos on the front with player stats and short biographies on the back.

Some of the notable players featured in the inaugural 1933 Chesterfield series included Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, and Lefty Grove. Ruth and Gehrig’s cards are among the most valuable from the set today given their superstar status. The 1933 cards helped popularize the modern concept of trading, swapping and collecting baseball cards among children and adults alike. They represented the first time baseball card collecting became a mainstream hobby rather than just an occasional pastime.

Chesterfield continued to include baseball cards in their cigarette packs annually for the next two decades. Each year’s series featured a new set of player cards and helped further grow the popularity of the hobby. Notable years and sets included the 1936 series which first featured rookie cards for future Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. The 1939 set is also highly coveted by collectors as it was the last to feature cards of recently retired legends like Ruth and Groh before World War 2 shortages impacted production.

In 1948, Topps gained the exclusive rights to include baseball cards in gum and candy packs, ending Chesterfield’s long run of annually releasing baseball cards. However, Chesterfield issued one final series of 80 cards in 1952 to commemorate their past involvement. This “Goodbye” set as it’s known featured retrospective photos and stats of stars from the previous two decades. The 1952 cards marked the end of Chesterfield’s nearly 20 year run as the pioneering innovator and mass producer of baseball cards included with tobacco products.

While no longer actively producing new sets, demand remains high for vintage Chesterfield cards from the 1930s and 1940s among serious collectors. Original high-grade examples of stars like Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and Williams can fetch tens of thousands of dollars at auction. Even more common players in top condition can sell for hundreds due to their historic significance as some of the first mass-produced baseball cards. The fragile paper stock and vibrant colors also make well-preserved Chesterfields visually appealing to collectors.

In addition to their value to sports memorabilia collectors, Chesterfield cards hold wider cultural significance as some of the original mass-market promotional items that helped spawn the modern multi-billion dollar trading card industry. They represented the first time collectible cards reached a truly mainstream audience through inclusion in a popular consumer product. Their innovative marketing strategy helped popularize baseball card collecting as both a childhood pastime and lifelong hobby for generations of fans. While no longer in production, the legacy of Chesterfield cards as the pioneering innovators remains an important part of both the history of baseball cards and the larger story of sports and pop culture memorabilia in America.

In summary, Chesterfield baseball cards from the 1930s and 1940s hold enduring value among collectors due to their status as the original mass-produced baseball cards. Their distribution through cigarette packs helped launch the modern baseball card collecting craze. Featuring some of history’s greatest players in their early career photos, high-grade vintage Chesterfields remain a prized part of any sports memorabilia or card collection. They also hold wider significance in representing the birth of baseball cards as both a mainstream marketing tool and beloved childhood hobby.

Baseball Cards in Chesterfield, Missouri: A Rich History of the Hobby

Located just west of St. Louis, the suburban city of Chesterfield, Missouri has a long history of being a hotbed for baseball card collecting. With its proximity to St. Louis and the Cardinals, baseball fandom runs deep in Chesterfield and the surrounding area. Many lifelong collectors first got their start in the hobby right here in Chesterfield, rummaging through boxes of cards at local shops or trading with friends at the neighborhood park. Even today, Chesterfield remains a hub for those seeking out vintage and modern baseball cards alike.

Some of the earliest organized baseball card collecting in Chesterfield can be traced back to the late 1950s and early 1960s. This was during the peak of the golden age of baseball cards when sets from Topps, Fleer and others were being snapped up by kids all across the country. Local shops like Chesterfield News Stand and Don’s Sportscards began regularly stocking new wax packs and boxes of cards as demand grew. They also amassed boxes of used commons from the 1950s that kids could pick through to complete their sets.

In the 1970s, as interest in the hobby started to wane for a period, some of the first dedicated card shops opened in Chesterfield. Arguably the most famous was Ernie’s Sportscards, located in the Chesterfield Mall from 1973 to 1981. Ernie’s made a name for itself by stocking an immense inventory of new, used and vintage cards. They also hosted weekly trading nights where collectors from around the area would gather to swap and sell cards. Ernie’s helped keep the hobby alive locally during a challenging time period.

By the late 1980s, the sportscard boom was in full swing again. New shops opened all around Chesterfield to capitalize on the surge of interest, like Stadium Cards, Great Scott Sportscards and many more. These shops stocked the hottest new sets from Score, Donruss and Fleer but also had boxes filled with affordable commons and stars from the 1970s/80s that were perfect for kids. The boom years were an exciting time to collect in Chesterfield, as the local shops always had the latest packs, boxes and supplies in stock.

When the sportscard bubble burst in the early 1990s, many shops around Chesterfield unfortunately closed. A few stalwart multi-generational shops survived and have remained open to this day. Arguably the most iconic is Great Scott Sportscards, located in Chesterfield since 1988. Over three decades in business, Great Scott has seen many trends in the hobby come and go. They are still stocked with new releases but also have a massive inventory of vintage cards available. Another longstanding shop is Stadium Cards, open since 1984 in nearby Ballwin. Both Great Scott and Stadium Cards continue to be gathering spots for local collectors.

In addition to dedicated card shops, baseball card collecting has also remained popular at local hobby stores in Chesterfield like Comics Kingdom. Since 1989, Comics Kingdom has always made sure to stock the latest sets alongside their comic books. They’ve also amassed a deep longbox collection of vintage cards available for searching. Local toy and game stores have also contributed to the vibrancy of the hobby in Chesterfield over the years. Places like That’s Entertainment have stocked cards as a side business for collectors.

When it comes to the actual cards being collected in Chesterfield, locals have amassed an incredible array of vintage and modern cardboard over the decades. The 1950s are well represented by high-grade commons and stars from the iconic sets produced by Topps, Bowman and others. Rosters from the 1960s dominate local collections as well, with favorites being the classic designs from Topps and Fleer. 1970s/80s offerings from the boom period are also abundant in Chesterfield collections, from the classic designs of the 70s to oddball issues and stars of the early 80s.

In modern times, Chesterfield collectors remain devoted to completing flagship releases from Topps, Panini and others each year. The vintage focus remains strong as well. Local collectors are renowned for searching vintage shops and shows across the Midwest, always on the hunt for that key card to add to their Chesterfield-grown collections. Whether it’s unearthing a lost gem from the 1950s at a local shop or tracking down a star rookie from the 1980s, the thrill of the hunt remains for collectors in Chesterfield to this day.

Baseball card collecting has been a fundamental part of the culture in Chesterfield, Missouri for over 60 years. From the earliest days of the hobby through trends that have come and gone, dedicated shops and collectors have ensured the rich tradition continues. Whether enjoying the latest releases or searching for vintage cardboard, Chesterfield remains a vibrant hub where the hobby lives on for both longtime and new collectors alike. The city’s close ties to St. Louis baseball only strengthens local collectors’ passion, ensuring Chesterfield’s place in the history of the baseball card collecting world.