Baseball Cards in Tullahoma, Tennessee

Tullahoma, Tennessee is a small city located about an hour southeast of Nashville in Coffee County. Despite its relatively small population of around 20,000 residents, Tullahoma has a rich history with America’s pastime of baseball and the collectible cards associated with the sport. For decades, local hobby shops, card shows, and collectors have kept the tradition of baseball cards alive in Tullahoma.

One of the longest running and most well known hobby shops for baseball cards was Bob’s Baseball Cards, which operated from the 1970s through the early 2000s on Jackson Street in downtown Tullahoma. Bob’s was run by local resident Bob Turner, who had a passion for the game of baseball and a keen eye for finding valuable and rare baseball cards to stock his store with. On any given day, you could find kids and adults alike browsing the walls of organized cardboard boxes at Bob’s in search of their favorite players or elusive vintage cards to add to their collections. Bob’s became a gathering place where card collectors from across the region would meet up to trade, sell, and discuss the latest in the baseball card industry.

While Bob’s has since closed its doors, the legacy and passion for baseball cards has carried on in Tullahoma through card shows, online groups, and a new generation of collectors. One of the biggest annual events is the Tullahoma Baseball Card Show, which has been held each spring for over 25 years at the Tullahoma High School gymnasium. Dozens of vendors from across Tennessee and surrounding states set up tables to sell and trade with what is typically a few hundred attendees throughout the day. Everything from penny boxes of commons to rare autographed rookie cards can be found at the Tullahoma card show, with something for every level of collector.

Beyond the local card show, Facebook groups like “Tullahoma Baseball Card Collectors” have helped foster an online community for card enthusiasts in the area. Group members regularly post about their latest pickups, current collections for sale, and questions about the value or history of certain cards. This allows collectors who may not have access to a local shop to still interact with others locally who share their passion. Online groups and message boards have become an invaluable resource, helping to keep the hobby alive even without a brick and mortar storefront.

Some of the most dedicated and knowledgeable collectors still active in Tullahoma today include people like Mark Rogers, who began collecting as a kid in the 1970s and still has a collection numbering in the tens of thousands. Mark is well respected for his vast baseball knowledge and for helping other collectors identify valuable vintage finds over the years. Then there’s Linda Carter, who took up the hobby in the 1990s and now focuses on collecting women in sports cards, an area that remains underrepresented in the industry. Both Mark and Linda still regularly attend card shows to buy, sell, and provide guidance to newcomers.

For younger collectors just getting started, local shops like The Game Cave in Tullahoma provide continued access to new cardboard for their collections. While the vintage era of the 1960s-80s that many grew up with may be long gone, The Game Cave stocks the latest baseball card releases from Topps, Panini, Leaf and more. From packs to boxes to complete vintage and modern sets, today’s youth can find what they need to fuel their baseball card passion. Events like free pack giveaways and National Card Day celebrations also aim to introduce even more kids to the fun of collecting.

As baseball and its cardboard counterparts continue to evolve, one thing is clear – the rich tradition of baseball cards in Tullahoma shows no signs of slowing down. From the early days of Bob’s shop to today’s online communities and local shows, generations of collectors have called Tullahoma home. With dedicated locals still passing their knowledge to newcomers young and old, the future remains bright for keeping baseball cards alive and well enjoyed in this small Tennessee town.

Baseball cards have a long and rich history in Tullahoma, Tennessee dating back to the late 19th century. Some of the earliest baseball cards produced featured players from Tullahoma’s minor league teams that participated in the Southern League in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Tullahoma was home to the Tullahoma Volunteers minor league baseball team from 1886-1889. The Volunteers played their home games at Volunteer Field, which was located where the Tullahoma High School baseball field now stands. In 1886, a local tobacco shop owner named Jesse Moore began inserting promotional cards featuring Volunteers players inside packs of cigarettes. These crude homemade cards were some of the first baseball cards directly linked to Tullahoma.

In the early 1890s, several tobacco companies began mass producing baseball cards as promotional incentives. Many of the early tobacco era sets from companies like Old Judge, Leaf, and Goodwin featured minor league players plying their trade in the Southern League, including members of the Tullahoma franchise which was then known as the Tullahoma Giants from 1890-1893. Original cards of Tullahoma Giants players from this era have become highly valuable collector’s items today.

The Tullahoma franchise took a brief hiatus from 1894-1897 before returning in 1898 as the Tullahoma Volunteers once more. This time, several new candy companies had entered the baseball card market and included Volunteers players in their series. One of the most famous and valuable Tullahoma cards comes from the 1898 W.D. Andrews “E398” set, featuring a portrait of star Volunteers pitcher Charlie “Deacon” Phillips. Only a handful of this rare card are known to exist in collectible condition today.

In the early 20th century, Tullahoma continued to be represented in the growing baseball card culture through its minor league affiliation. The Tullahoma franchise rechristened itself as the Tullahoma Browns in 1902 and had players featured in tobacco issues of the time like Old Mill and Sweet Caporal. Future Major Leaguers like outfielder Sherry Magee and pitcher Al Demaree got their earliest cardboard exposures during their stints in Tullahoma’s minor league system in this period.

The Tullahoma Browns folded after the 1906 season, leaving the city without a professional baseball team for several years. However, Tullahoma native sons who went on to play in the majors still found their way into sets produced by American Tobacco and others in the 1910s. Pitchers like Claude Thomas and Fred Anderson, who broke into pro ball after leaving Tullahoma, had their early playing days immortalized in tobacco era baseball cards that local collectors eagerly sought.

In 1920, Tullahoma welcomed back minor league ball with the founding of the Tullahoma Travelers club, a class D affiliate of the nearby Nashville Vols franchise. The Travelers went on to compete for over two decades in the Georgia-Alabama League through the 1930s. Their players received widespread coverage in regional tobacco issues of the time like Buchner Cut Plug and T207 White Border sets. Stars of the Travelers like catcher Bob “Runt” Delaney, outfielder Dick “Cannonball” Casey, and pitcher Hub Pruett achieved a level of local celebrity through their cardboard portrayals in these sets that are still prized by collectors in Tullahoma today.

The Tullahoma Travelers folded after the 1942 season due to World War II travel restrictions, ending the city’s long run of minor league baseball. The memory and tradition of baseball cards in Tullahoma lived on. Throughout the post-war era and into the modern age, local card shops like Tullahoma Sportscards and collectors clubs kept the hobby alive. Today, the Tullahoma Sports Card Show held annually draws collectors from across the region to trade, sell, and admire the historic cards that link Tullahoma to the broader history of American baseball and its enduring cardboard culture. For over 130 years, the story of Tullahoma has been intertwined with that great American pastime documented on small pieces of cardboard.