Baseball cards have occupied a special place in American culture since the late 19th century. They started as simple promotional items inserted in tobacco products but grew to represent the thrill of collecting and the nostalgia of America’s pastime. While many associate baseball cards most strongly with large cities and historic baseball towns, they also played an important role in smaller communities across the country, including Florence, South Carolina.

Baseball arrived in Florence in the late 1880s with the formation of independent amateur and semi-pro teams. The sport grew steadily in popularity over subsequent decades as the textile mills attracted workers from across the Southeast and immigrants from Europe. By the early 20th century, the Mills League featured factory-sponsored clubs duking it out on local diamonds.

The arrival of baseball cards in Florence roughly coincided with their first mass production and distribution beginning in the 1880s. Among the earliest brands to include cards as incentives were Allen & Ginter in 1885 and Old Judge in 1888. These were inserted loose in cigarette and chewing tobacco packs purchased at general stores and were soon being eagerly collected and traded by local boys.

Some of the very first cards depicting major leaguers like Cap Anson and “Silver” King likely made their way to Florence during this time. While statistics on early localized trends are scarce, it’s reasonable to assume brands popular in larger East Coast cities at the turn of the century like American Caramel, Egyptian Heroes and Teaze Cigarettes found audiences in the Pee Dee region as well.

Florence’s burgeoning tobacco industry also got in on the card craze. The McBride Cigarette Company, founded in 1905, issued sets promoting its brands over subsequent years. McBride cards featured drawings of tobacco farmers, local scenes and Florence-based athletes. They joined the national rosters as part of the vibrant local exchange network among collectors.

When Goudey gum began mass producing color photography on cards in 1933, it ushered in the modern era and only heightened passions in Florence. The 1933 and 1934 Goudey sets featuring Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and others were prized acquisitions. While national stars ruled, the backs highlighted local ballparks, kindling attachments to places like Canal Street Park and Festival Field.

Through World War II, cards provided affordable entertainment for Florence youth and soldiers stationed nearby. The postwar boom saw Topps emerge as the dominant force. From the designers at Topps and Bowman to the photospread doors of Sporting News and Life magazines, cards brought distant major league heroes home. Scenes from Ebbets Field or Fenway Park took on new intimacy through these portraits.

The collector scene grew more organized through the 1950s. Card shows sprang up in neighboring Charleston and Myrtle Beach, attracting regional collectors. Some Florence shops like Wright’s Hobbies and Wilbur’s News Stand became hubs, stocking new releases and hosting mini-swaps. Sets from 1957 like Topps’ record-setting design and Fleer’s impressive rookie lineup did brisk business locally.

An emerging middle class fueled demand into the 1960s. Fans could follow stars of all 30 teams rather than local minor league clubs scattered by contraction. Promoting brands from Coke to Kool, cards expanded from cigarettes to other snacks at corner stores. Teenage collectors like Roger Pinckney frequented the Skytop Drive-In for sodas, burgers and card-binding at picnic tables long into summer nights.

The 1970s saw unprecedented growth with highly specialized sets capturing new demographics. Florentine kids collected stars in the flesh at Carolina League visits too. In 1979, a memorable Tobacco Card & Collectibles Show in Charleston drew busloads. A boom in direct-sales firms dealt specifically to Florence addresses, whetting appetites for oddball inserts and parallels in the early ’80s.

While the market underwent changes after the golden age concluded, cards retain intrinsic value locally. Autograph signings at local card shops have drawn former big leaguers like Mickey Morandini and Phil Barzilla in recent years. Vintage local amateur, Negro League and Mills League cards turn up in estate sales too, preserving Florence’s rich baseball heritage on small slices of cardboard. Whether nostalgically browsing binders of memories or seeking the next rare find, cards remain indelibly woven into the fabric of the game for Florence and beyond.

Baseball cards have been collected by fans for over 130 years and Florence, Kentucky has deep roots in the hobby. While the city may not be a major league town, it has seen its share of baseball card history over the decades.

Some of the earliest baseball cards were produced in the late 1800s by tobacco companies as promotional items to be inserted into cigarette and chewing tobacco packages. In the early 1900s, many drug stores and general stores across the United States would stock these baseball cards to appeal to young customers. Florence had several small shops during this time that surely carried cards from brands like Old Mill, Sweet Caporal and Leaf. Not much is known about specific stores that may have sold the earliest baseball cards in the area.

In the post-World War II era, the modern baseball card collecting hobby began to take shape. Production switched to larger card companies like Topps, Bowman and Fleer. These new color cards featured better photography and stats on the back. They were now sold primarily in wax paper packs at stores. One of the first stores confirmed to sell these newer baseball cards in Florence was Huber’s Drug Store, located at 801 Madison Avenue from 1948-1975. Longtime residents recall buying wax packs there as kids in the 1950s.

Huber’s was a popular soda fountain and sundries shop in downtown Florence for decades. The owner, Al Huber, made sure to stock the latest baseball cards each season. Kids would crowd around the spinning card displays hoping for a pack containing stars like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays or Hank Aaron. The store became a gathering place for the early baseball card collecting scene in Northern Kentucky. Huber’s cards were a big part of the memories many Florence natives have of spending summer days there as youths.

In the 1960s, the city saw the rise of discount department stores that also sold cards. One such retailer was Kmart, which opened its first Florence location in 1966 at 7300 Dixie Highway. Kmart made baseball cards easily accessible to even more local collectors. They offered the full annual card sets at low prices. You could find kids of all ages sorting through the latest Kmart shipment, trying to complete their albums. The store became a baseball card mecca and was hugely popular with the collector community for decades.

Another major force in the Florence baseball card market emerged in the 1970s – card shops. The first confirmed specialty shop was Ernie’s Baseball Card World, which opened in 1973 at 801 Madison Avenue, taking over the former Huber’s Drug Store location. Owner Ernie Fieber stocked an immense selection of vintage and new cards. He also sponsored local youth baseball teams and gave away packs as prizes. Ernie’s became the premier card hangout in Northern Kentucky, hosting pack wars and trade nights that drew collectors from miles around.

In the late 1970s, two more card shops opened within a block of each other downtown. The Baseball Card Shop set up at 841 Madison Avenue in 1977. Meanwhile, in 1978, The Great American Card Company launched at 831 Madison. Both stores competed fiercely for customers but also fostered a tight-knit card collecting community in Florence. Throughout the 1980s, these three shops – Ernie’s, Baseball Card Shop and Great American – dominated the local scene. Kids would ride their bikes between the stores, hunting for deals on the latest releases and trading duplicates.

During the early 1990s, the hobby experienced another boom period. This coincided with the rise of independent comic book stores across the country. In Florence, The Comic Book Shop opened its doors at 631 Madison Avenue in 1991. While focusing on comics, the store also carried an extensive baseball card selection. Meanwhile, the three original card shops were still going strong. This created an unprecedented five shop baseball card market in the small city. Competition was fierce but collectors had an embarrassment of riches in product choices.

In the late 1990s, the baseball card industry began to decline from its 1990s peak. Flooding of the market with junk wax era products depressed values. Some shops in Florence couldn’t weather the downturn. By 2000, only The Comic Book Shop and Ernie’s Baseball Card World remained. Ernie’s soldiered on for a few more years but closed its doors for good in 2003, bringing an end to the shop’s 30-year baseball card legacy. The Comic Book Shop is the last surviving baseball card outlet in Florence today, still serving collectors some 20 years after opening.

Over the decades, Florence developed into a true baseball card hub. At one point, the city boasted five specialty shops within walking distance of each other. Countless collections were started, trades were made and memories were formed within those storefronts. While the industry and shops have changed, the passion of local collectors has endured. The rich baseball card history of Florence is a testament to the enduring appeal of the hobby and the vibrant community it created.