Allen & Ginter was a tobacco company founded in Richmond, Virginia in 1875 by William Allen and William Ginter. In 1886, they became one of the first companies to include collectible trading cards in cigarette packs as a marketing promotion. These Allen & Ginter baseball cards helped popularize the hobby of collecting baseball cards that has endured to this day.
Allen & Ginter produced their baseball cards from 1887 to 1890. The cards featured images of major league players from that era on the front with advertisements or coupons for the company’s tobacco products on the back. Each pack of cigarettes came with around 5 cards inserted randomly. This helped drive sales as kids eagerly opened packs hoping to collect full sets of players or chase after rare cards. Over 100 different baseball players were depicted across the four series issued in those years.
Some key things to know about Allen & Ginter baseball cards:
The 1887 set is considered the first major set solely dedicated to baseball players. Prior to this, baseball images appeared in mixed sport sets but A&G was the first focused only on the national pastime.
The cards were printed using a lithographic process on thick card stock around 2.5 x 3 inches in size, smaller than modern cards. Colors included tan, gray, or blue backgrounds.
Top players of the era featured included Cap Anson, Mike “King” Kelly, Jim O’Rourke, Buck Ewing, and others from teams like the Chicago White Stockings, New York Giants, and Boston Beaneaters.
The backs promoted Allen & Ginter’s brands like Sweet Caporal cigarettes while also including coupons or offers for other products like razors or chewing gum. This dual purpose drove sales.
Only about 10% of the over 100 different baseball cards printed are known to still exist today in collectible condition. The fragility of the cards and heavy use caused most to deteriorate over time.
The rarest cards include the original “gray back” versions without a tobacco advertisement on the reverse, which were then covered by the coupons. Only a handful are known to survive.
High grade examples of common players can sell for thousands while the most coveted rare cards have reached over $100,000 at auction due to their historical significance and scarcity in the collecting world.
While not the first company to include cards in tobacco, Allen & Ginter helped establish the model that was widely copied. Other brands like Goodwin & Company and Old Judge followed soon after with their own baseball trading cards inserted in cigarette packs.
Allen & Ginter issued their baseball cards during the formative years of professional baseball as the modern structure of leagues and teams was still taking shape. The National League had begun just over a decade earlier in 1876 while the American Association launched in 1882 as a competing league.
Some of the players depicted in the Allen & Ginter sets were true superstars and pioneers of the game like Cap Anson, who played 27 seasons for the Chicago White Stockings. Anson was considered one of baseball’s first well-known players and helped popularize the game across the country.
Meanwhile, “King” Kelly gained fame leading the Boston Beaneaters and Chicago White Stockings in the 1880s while also revolutionizing the catcher position. His daring baserunning exploits made him one of the early crowd favorites.
Buck Ewing stands out as the first true star catcher, playing a pivotal role for the New York Giants franchise in their early years. His defensive skills helped legitimize the position on a professional level.
Jim O’Rourke enjoyed a remarkable 23-year career spent mostly with the Providence Grays and Brooklyn Tip-Tops teams. He compiled a .308 career batting average while leading the Grays to the 1884 World Series title.
These were some of the biggest names that young baseball fans of the late 1800s could collect in card form by opening packs of Allen & Ginter cigarettes and chewing tobacco products. The cards helped build interest in the players and teams at a key point when the popularity of professional baseball was still growing nationally.
While tobacco marketing to children is frowned upon today, Allen & Ginter undeniably played a major role in popularizing baseball cards as a collectible hobby. Their innovative use of cards as promotions within cigarette packs established a model that endured for decades. The historical significance and rarity of surviving Allen & Ginter cards also make them highly coveted by serious baseball memorabilia collectors today. Even over 130 years later, the cards continue to fascinate fans of 19th century baseball history.