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POST BASEBALL CARDS 1993

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The Trading Card Boom Runs Out of Steam

The bubble for baseball cards that started in the late 1980s finally burst in 1993. The overproduction of sets from the major card companies like Topps, Fleer, and Upper Deck led to a saturation of the market. Kids had massive collections but lost interest in trading and collecting at the same rate companies were pumping out new products. The hype and speculation on rookies cards also declined substantially.

Companies responded by cutting back on production runs and focusing on higher-end sets that targeted adult collectors rather than kids. In 1993, Topps only produced 323 cards for its base set compared to 660 in 1992. The following year they cut it further to 144 cards. Fleer also downsized significantly. Without the boom in young collectors, sales plummeted industry wide. Some smaller companies like Score went out of business during this timeframe.

The Junk Wax Era

Many refer to the late 1980s and early 1990s period as the “junk wax era” because of the extremely large print runs that led to many common cards being nearly worthless. Sets from 1987-1994 are notorious for having production numbers in the billions for some years. Access to stars also decreased as players began demanding greater exclusivity deals as free agency took hold. Some stars only granted licenses to certain companies each year.

The huge quantities of mass-produced cards left many collectors with boxes of commons taking up space. While star rookie cards retained or gained value over time, most others did not. Sets were designed more for completionists than investment potential. Still, many kids enjoyed collecting for the excitement of the sport rather than potential future value.

Upper Deck Shakes Things Up

When Upper Deck entered the scene in 1989, they brought aspects that reinvigorated the hobby temporarily. They secured exclusive contracts with star players as the first card company, produced their cards on finer stock paper, and pioneered security features to make their products more desirable. Their 1989 rookie card of Ken Griffey Jr. remains one of the most iconic and valuable of all time.

Even Upper Deck overproduced through the early 1990s before cutting back. By 1993, their baseball cards composed only 10% of the total market. Other innovations like autograph and memorabilia cards targets adult collectors and led to an overall improved product but failed to restart the boom among younger fanbases in a major way.

Reinvention and Revitalization

The mid-1990s saw card companies continue to downsize production, add more premium hits, autographs and special parallel and numbered versions of stars cards to appeal to enthusiasts. Sets focused more on nostalgia, commemorative moments, and achievements than before. Licensing deals adapted to changing athlete relations as well.

Collectors also got savvier about investing long term rather than speculation in the hot new rookie. The vintage and memorabilia markets grew as fans sought investment-worthy items from the sport’s golden eras. Online independent sellers proliferated alongside the largest card company retailers.

By the late 1990s, interest began expanding again as the economic boom years led disposable incomes to rise. A new generation fell in love with the sport and collected stars of their youthful fandom like Ken Griffey Jr., Cal Ripken Jr., and Barry Bonds in throwback sets invoking the past. Carefully managed production levels avoided another bubble.

The Modern Card Era

Into the 2000s, companies found the right sustainable balance between serving the casual collector and higher-end investor by expanding lines that included parallels, autographs, game-used materials, and one-of-one rare variants. Insert sets on specific players or unique photography generated excitement releases. With internet connectivity, online exclusives emerged as did special card designs for specific retailers.

Ultra-premium products targeting serious adult collectors appeared annually in limited runs priced at hundreds to thousands designed to gain or retain value. Star rookie cards from this millennium like Bryce Harper or Mike Trout gained followings reminiscent of the pre-1993 boom times. Short prints and serial numbered “hits” created modern relics for devotees.

Today’s card market remains healthy, diverse, and constantly innovating to maintain interest across generations. While speculative fervor has cooled, appreciation and connections to players and moments live on through this historic hobby and collectible. Overall quality, creative licensing, strategic production, and engagement across retail and online platforms has sustained baseball cards for decades beyond their initial boom years.

91 POST BASEBALL CARDS

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In the late 19th century and early 20th century, before modern baseball cards began being mass produced, POST Cereal Company produced and distributed small baseball cards as part of their breakfast cereal packaging. Known today as “POST cards”, these early promotional baseball cards helped popularize the players and teams of the day at a time when baseball was still establishing itself as America’s national pastime. While many vintage baseball card sets and issues from the turn of the 20th century are very collectible and valuable today, POST cards from 1891 hold a special significance as arguably the first true baseball cards to be inserted in cereal boxes and traded by children.

Origins and Production
In 1891, the POSTUm Cereal Food Company was founded in Battle Creek, Michigan by C.W. Post. That same year, Post began including small lithographed cards in POSTUm Cereal packaging that featured individual baseball players from the National League and American Association. Each card measured approximately 2 1/4″ x 1 3/8″ and typically featured a headshot portrait of the player along with their name, team, and position. It’s believed Post produced and distributed around 50,000 sets of these cards in 1891, making them the first mainstream baseball cards inserted as promotional premiums in cereal boxes and traded by children.

Design and Content
In terms of design, the 1891 POST cards utilized a simple and uniform layout. All cards had a bright blue border with the words “POST CEREAL CO.” and “BASE BALL” at the top. They then featured an individual headshot photo of the player occupying most of the space. Below the photo was a line identifying the player’s team, followed by their name and position in larger font. The backs of the cards were left blank. In total, POST cards that year featured 18 players from the NL and 11 from the AA for a set total of 29 different baseball stars. Notable players includedCy Young, Charles Comiskey, King Kelly, and future Hall of Famers Cap Anson and Kid Nichols.

Later Productions and Discontinuation
In subsequent years from 1891 through 1909, POST continued producing and distributing baseball cards of current players to promote the cereal and baseball. Some key production highlights:

In 1892, the set was expanded to 50 cards featuring NL, AA and Players’ League players.
In 1894-1895, two sets comprised of 37 cards each spotlighted the NL and AL after the AA folded.
From 1897-1909, annual sets ranged from about 24-66 cards and focused solely on NL players.
Starting in 1903, the cards switched to a smaller, postcard size of about 2 1/2″ x 4″.
The final POST baseball card set was issued in 1909 before production ceased.

While the exact reasons for discontinuation are unclear, it’s believed that POST cereal may have become less profitable or lost market share compared to competitors by the early 1910s. Growing standardization in the baseball card industry and rise of major manufacturers like American Caramel likely made baseball cards produced in-house less attractive from a business standpoint.

Collectibility and Value Today
As the first mainstream baseball cards inserted in cereal boxes for children 90 years earlier, 1891 POST cards are enormously significant pieces of baseball and card collecting history. Their status as the original issue and small surviving population make complete sets incredibly rare and valuable. In the past few decades, individual 1891 POST cards have sold for over $100,000 when higher graded examples come to auction. PSA-graded examples in top-graded Gem Mint 10 condition have achieved prices up to $275,000 each. Even more common mid-grade 1891 POST cards still regularly fetch thousands due to their scarcity and status as the first baseball trading cards.

While subsequent yearly POST card sets from the 1890s-early 1900s are also quite rare, they generally don’t command comparable prices to the seminal 1891 issue. Finding any high-grade 19th century POST card in a collection still makes for an important and valuable piece of early baseball memorabilia. Their simple yet iconic designs also help showcase the roots of what would become a billion dollar modern sports card industry. For serious vintage baseball card and trade card collectors, acquiring any example from this groundbreaking early POST production run remains a highly sought after achievement.

The small promotional baseball cards produced and distributed by the POST Cereal Company in the 1890s-early 1900s were tremendously innovative and impactful for both the cereal and sports card industries. By inserting baseball trading cards right into cereal boxes, POST helped popularize the players and establish baseball card collecting among children. The seminal 1891 issue stands out as the first true baseball cards inserted as premiums, making complete sets among the most significant and valuable in the entire collecting hobby. While no longer in production, POST cards continue having immense historical significance and recognition from collectors as the original baseball trading cards that helped shape the modern sports card industry.

POST COLLECTOR SERIES BASEBALL CARDS

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The post-war era brought many changes to the baseball card industry. As the popularity of the sport grew exponentially across America in the 1950s and 1960s, card manufacturers worked diligently to meet the rising demand from collectors. Several key post-war developer series helped reshape the collecting landscape and introduce new sets that remain highly coveted to this day.

In 1951, Topps acquired the exclusive rights to produce gum and candy baseball cards from the Bowman Gum Company, gaining a monopoly that would last for several decades. Their 1952 set featured color photos for the very first time. The 1953 Topps set is arguably their most iconic pre-collector series issue, featuring iconic players like Mickey Mantle and young superstars entering their prime like Willie Mays.

Topps followed up their innovative color photograph debut with high-quality cardboard stock and lithographed designs. Other notable early Topps issues came in 1955, 1957, and 1960. The latter featured the first cards of soon-to-be legends like Willie McCovey and Juan Marichal. These post-war Topps releases helped elevate interest in the hobby among baby boomers coming of age.

When Fleer entered the scene in 1956 after Topps’ monopoly expired, it marked the true beginning of the modern post-collector era. Fleer’s pioneering use of rubber-backed adhesive made for easier storage and protection compared to the paper cards of the 1950s. Their photographic innovation and star power made the Patricia Palmer-designed 1956 and 1957 sets highly coveted among collectors today.

Throughout the 1960s, Topps and Fleer dueled annually to produce the must-have cards for players entering living rooms across TV-fueled baseball mad America. Topps featured pioneering closer photos and artistic designs that still resonate. In 1961, Topps’ colorful cartoony designs for everyone from Mays to Maris defined the space race/flower power zeitgeist.

The 1969 Topps set had special nostalgia as one of the final releases before the player strike and league expansion changed baseball forever. Collectors today revere the final cards issued of 1960s icons like Mickey Mantle before retirement. Topps also produced the very first notable insert cards in 1968.

In the late 1960s, Topps began experimenting more heavily with innovative accessory sets beyond the standard player cards. In 1967, they produced the first high-number second series cards to extend collector demand further into the season. Their 1968 poster set and 1969 Super team sets containing cards twice the standard size also demonstrated Topps’ expanding creativity.

Fleer boldly released the iconic 1968 Roberto Clemente card shortly after his tragic death, forever etching his legacy in the memories of collectors. In 1969, Fleer released one of the most visually stunning and imaginative post-war designs ever. It marked the high-water mark of Fleer’s nostalgic post-war run.

Financial issues caused Fleer to exit the baseball card market after 1970, leaving Topps as the sole major producer. Topps continued to create dazzlingly designed sets through the 1970s that have become instant classics, from the rainbow hued 1973 issues to the retro wood grain style of 1977. They also produced the first Traded sets in 1972 and highly coveted Stars cars inserts of the era in 1975 and 1977.

In the late 1970s, Donruss entered the scene in 1981. While their early photographic card stock and designs were not as iconic as the leaders, Donruss proved baseball cards had become a serious financial business. In the 1990s Upper Deck, Fleer, and Score also entered to take advantage of the booming collectibles market.

The post-war collector era established baseball cards as a mainstream hobby. Innovations in photography, designing, and inserts created legions of lifelong collectors. Iconic sets from the 1950s like Topps’ 1952s and 1957s, along with the adventurous 1960s designs, are cornerstones of the modern collecting culture. While producers and inserts evolved, the hobby spirit born of those pioneering post-war series continues today. No collection is complete without honoring the influential post-war originators that made baseball cards a commercial and cultural phenomenon.

The post-war collector series era from the 1950s through the 1970s represented a pivotal timeframe that established the foundation of the modern baseball card industry. Innovations in photography, adhesion, stock, and groundbreaking concept sets helped elevate interest among the exploding population of baby boomer fans. Icons like Topps’ 1952, 1957 and 1963 issues along with Fleer’s 1958 and 1969 releases remain highly prized as some of the most visually dazzling and historically important sets ever produced. The creative genius and business savvy demonstrated by Topps, Fleer, and emergent companies in this period directly led to the longterm popularity and commercial success of baseball cards as both collectibles and mainstream childhood pastimes. The post-war series are an indispensable part of understanding the roots of the modern card collecting world.