The tradition of including pets in baseball cards is a unique niche within the broader hobby of collecting baseball memorabilia. While most cards focus solely on the players, teams, and statistics of America’s pastime, some sets over the decades have incorporated the bond between ballplayers and their furry companions.

One of the earliest examples came in 1951, when Topps released its second complete set of baseball cards. Buried among the 524 total cards were a handful that showed players with dogs, cats, and other pets. The pets were often depicted simply sitting or lying near the ballplayer as they posed for their photo. These lighthearted inclusions helped capture another side of the athletes outside of their on-field performance.

In subsequent decades, pet-featuring cards remained a rare novelty. The 1960 Topps set included a card showing Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Dick Stuart holding his dachshund. In 1970, the Philadelphia Phillies’ Dick Allen had a card where he held up his cat. But on the whole, most sets stuck to a straightforward portrait-and-stats format without room for pets.

It wasn’t until the late 1980s that pets saw a resurgence in baseball cards. In 1987, Topps broke the mold by dedicating an entire subset within its flagship set to pets. Spanning 21 total cards, this “Pets of the Stars” subset showed current players with beloved dogs, cats, birds, and more. Fan favorites like Ozzie Smith, Wade Boggs, and Roger Clemens were among those who had their pets immortalized on cardboard.

The positive reception to Topps’ 1987 pet subset helped pave the way for similar inclusions in future years. In 1988 and 1989, Donruss also included pet subsets. Upper Deck got in on the action beginning in 1989 with subsets called “My Favorite Pet” and “Fur and Feathers.” These inserts helped bring more personality and fun to the traditional baseball card experience.

In the 1990s, pets remained a semi-regular feature of insert sets and novelties. The true golden age of baseball cards starring man’s best friends arrived in the 2000s. Brands like Fleer, Leaf, and Play Ball went all-in on pets with massive checklists dedicated solely to ballplayers and their furry friends.

One of the biggest was the 2005 Fleer Greats of the Game “Pets” insert set spanning a whopping 198 cards. Superstar pets like David Ortiz’s bulldog “Big Papa” and Derek Jeter’s Labrador “Mo” received their own unique cards. Parallel and autograph versions added immense value for collectors. Other 2000s standouts included the 2007 Play Ball “Fur-ocious Friends” set with its sumptuous photography.

In more recent years, while pets haven’t dominated baseball card inserts like in the 2000s, they still make occasional appearances. Brands like Topps, Panini, and Leaf continue to sprinkle in the odd pet card here and there. Superstar pets with huge social media followings also receive special “Hits” parallels and memorabilia cards.

For collectors, baseball cards featuring furry friends offer a fun, lighthearted change of pace from the usual stats-based fare. They preserve another unique slice of players’ personal lives and allow fans to bond over shared loves of America’s pastime and man’s best friend. Whether buried as oddball inclusions or taking center stage in massive dedicated sets, pets remain a quirky niche that keeps the baseball card hobby entertaining after all these years.