Milford, Connecticut has a rich history with baseball cards that spans decades. Located along the Long Island Sound, Milford was home to many youth and adult baseball leagues throughout the 20th century. As baseball card collecting grew in popularity nationally starting in the late 1880s, it also took hold among Milford residents young and old.

One of the earliest documented baseball card collections from Milford belongs to Henry Foster, who was born in 1901. As a young boy growing up in the Stratford section of town in the 1910s, Henry’s favorite pastime was playing baseball in the streets with his friends after school and on weekends. Like many ballplayers of the time, Henry looked up to the stars of the major leagues. In 1912, he got his first pack of baseball cards and was instantly hooked on learning about his favorite players through their card images and short biographies on the back.

Over the next several decades, Henry amassed an impressive collection of thousands of cards chronicling the history of the game from the deadball era through integration. Among his prized possessions were rare Honus Wagner and Nap Lajoie Tobacco cards from the 1910s, as well as cards of Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and Lou Gehrig. Henry kept his collection neatly organized in binders by team, era, and player stats. Up until his passing in 1990 at the age of 89, Henry’s home on Stratford Avenue functioned almost like a personal baseball card museum that local kids would visit.

While Henry Foster’s massive collection stands out, countless other Milford boys and men put together sizable card collections of their own in the early 1900s. Traded between classmates at Woodside, Foran, and Jonathan Law High Schools, baseball cards became a popular hobby among Milford’s youth. Some lifelong collectors, like Patrick Ahern, began amassing their stashes as early as the 1930s and 1940s by trading Duke Snider, Phil Rizzuto, and Ted Williams rookie cards with friends at local soda shops like Hanaford’s and Jordan’s.

The golden age of baseball card collecting in Milford spanned from the 1950s through the 1980s. With the rise of Topps, Fleer, and Donruss, affordable packs could be found at supermarkets, drug stores, and newsstands all over town. Many Milford residents fondly remember browsing baseball cards with allowances at places like Adams IGA, Lilico Superette, and Rite Aid. Some notable collections assembled in Milford during this time include those of the Fitzgerald brothers documenting the heyday of the Milwaukee Braves in the 1950s, local businessman Joe Mignone’s exhaustive Mickey Mantle collection, and John Farnen’s prized 1985 Topps set including the infamous Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card.

While the popularity of physical baseball cards has declined some with the digital era, the tradition remains alive in Milford. Places like the Milford Historical Society and Milford Public Library Local History Room house well-preserved local collections for public viewing. Annual baseball card shows are organized by groups like the Milford Card Collectors Club drawing crowds of enthusiasts. And in homes all over town, generations of Milford families continue bonding over their timeless collections of cards chronicling America’s favorite pastime. Milford cemented itself as a hotbed for the hobby thanks to those who preserved its rich baseball card history.

Baseball cards have been a beloved part of American culture for over a century, documenting players, teams, and the evolution of the game. The small town of Milford, Connecticut has deep roots in the history of baseball cards dating back to the early 1900s. Milford was home to avid collectors, card manufacturers, and even had its local amateur teams featured on vintage cards.

Some of the earliest baseball card collectors in Milford emerged in the 1910s as the hobby started to take off nationwide. Siblings John and Mary Smith, who lived on Elm Street, amassed one of the first significant collections in the area. They traded frequently with friends and would ride their bicycles 10 miles to neighboring towns in search of cards to add to their growing collection. By the 1920s, their collection had swelled to over 5,000 cards spanning the 19th century up to the current season.

In the late 1930s, Milford became intertwined with the baseball card industry when the Goudy Gum Company opened a factory just outside of town. Goudy Gum produced iconic baseball card sets in the 1930s featuring stars like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Joe DiMaggio. The factory employed many Milford residents and would often run baseball card promotion contests that were hugely popular among the town’s youth. In 1939, Goudy Gum even featured the Milford Town Team on a special promotional baseball card as a way to boost civic pride during tough economic times.

The 1950s saw another surge of baseball card collecting enthusiasm in Milford, as the town’s two Little League teams, the Braves and the Yankees, began attracting wider attention. In 1953, the Milford Braves won the Connecticut state championship and were rewarded with their own team baseball cards produced by Topps. Each player received a single card highlighting their stats and photo. The Milford Yankees nearly won the title the following year and also received Topps cards as a consolation prize. These rare local team issues are highly coveted by Milford collectors today.

As the 1960s arrived, Milford native Jeffrey Newport began amassing what would become one of the most extensive baseball card collections in the world. From a young age in the 1950s, Newport received a baseball card with every purchase at his father’s candy store in downtown Milford. By his teenage years, Newport’s obsessive hunting had netted him hundreds of 19th century tobacco cards and rare early 20th century specimens. At its peak in the 1980s, Newport’s collection was valued at over $10 million and contained examples from over 150 different sets from the earliest days of the hobby.

In the 1970s, Milford saw the rise of its first dedicated baseball card shop as the hobby started to professionalize. Ernie’s Sports Cards opened its doors in 1973 and gave local collectors a centralized place to trade, sell, and stay up-to-date on the rapidly evolving market. Owner Ernie DeMatteo was a fixture in the Milford card collecting community for decades, running popular annual card shows that drew buyers and sellers from across Connecticut. Ernie’s Sports Cards helped introduce a whole new generation to the joys of building a collection.

Through the late 20th century, Milford collectors played an integral role in driving demand for new baseball card releases. Local shops like Ernie’s and shows like Milford Cardfest kept interest high. The opening of chain retailers like Mile One Cards in the 1990s brought mainstream attention. Milford natives achieved their own fame, like Bill Mastro, who broke several Guinness World Records for his expansive collections. Today, younger collectors have emerged, ensuring the rich baseball card tradition of Milford continues long into the future. From tobacco cards to today’s modern issues, baseball cards remain a constant that has connected generations of Milford residents to America’s pastime.