Tag Archives: wikipedia

BOWMAN BASEBALL CARDS WIKIPEDIA

Leave a reply

Bowman is a brand of baseball cards produced by Topps. It is one of the longest running brands of baseball cards, having been produced continuously since 1948. Over the decades, Bowman cards have featured some of the game’s greatest players and have become highly collectible.

The Bowman Gum Company began producing baseball cards in 1948 as a promotion for their chewing gum. The cards featured current major and minor league players. Early Bowman sets featured simple design and photography. They gained popularity among collectors for being the first cards to regularly feature minor leaguers who would later make the majors. Notable rookie cards from the 1950s Bowman sets include Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Roberto Clemente.

In 1956, Topps bought out Bowman Gum and acquired the rights to their baseball card line. Topps continued producing the Bowman brand alongside their main Topps line for several decades. The design and photography of Bowman cards remained distinct from Topps during this period. Notable rookie cards from the 1960s Bowman sets include Sandy Koufax, Reggie Jackson, and Tom Seaver.

In 1981, Topps made the Bowman set the exclusive outlet for rookie card issues. Prior to this, rookies would appear in both the Topps and Bowman sets in their first year. Housing all the rookies in Bowman made the set highly coveted by collectors. Notable rookie cards debuting in Bowman during the 1980s include Dwight Gooden, Roger Clemens, and Barry Bonds.

During the baseball card boom of the late 1980s, Bowman expanded into multiple series within a given year for the first time. In 1989, they produced the platinum-colored Bowman’s Best subset which featured high-profile stars. Bowman also issued mini-sized cards and oddball parallel sets during this period to boost sales. The baseball card market crashed in the early 1990s which led to Topps scaling back production.

After a few down years, Bowman was relaunched in 1994 with a fresh look inspired by the uniforms of the Montreal Expos. The brand was revitalized in 1995 with the “Bowman Chrome” refractors parallel set which featured holograms and vivid color. These innovative cards helped drive Bowman to new popularity. Notable rookie cards from 1990s Bowman issues include Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones, and Mariano Rivera.

In 2000, Topps lost the MLB license to produce cards to Upper Deck. As a result, Bowman transitioned to solely featuring minor leaguers and prospects for several years. The focus on minor league content helped keep the brand relevant during this transition period. In 2007, Topps regained the MLB license and Bowman returned to issuing major and minor league stars.

Modern Bowman issues are among the highest regarded in the hobby. They continue to be the exclusive outlet for true rookie cards fresh from a players’ first major or minor league season. Each year, Bowman releases highly anticipated base sets, parallels, autographs and memorabilia cards featuring top prospects. Notable recent rookie cards debuting in Bowman include Bryce Harper, Mookie Betts, Juan Soto and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

As one of the longest running brands in the industry, Bowman has maintained a special place in the hearts of collectors for over 70 years. The early issues established a legacy of featuring future Hall of Famers in their formative years. Innovations like Bowman Chrome refractor parallel sets in the 1990s helped drive new collector interest. Today, Bowman remains the pinnacle release for any prospect on the verge of stardom to have their rookie card debut. With exclusive access to rookie content and an eye for star prospects, Bowman continues captivating collectors with each new release.

BASEBALL CARDS WIKIPEDIA

Leave a reply

Baseball cards are small rectangular pieces of thick paper, usually between 2.5–3.5 inches (6.4–8.9 cm) wide and 3.5–3.75 inches (8.9–9.5 cm) high, that traditionally feature one or more baseball players. While they may feature any person, team, stadium or event related to baseball, the typical baseball card contains information about a specific player, such as his name, picture and biography, as well as career statistics and achievements.

The first baseball cards produced in the United States date back to the late 19th century. The earliest known baseball card was created in the late 1860s, when a tobacco company included a card featuring baseball players in cigarette packs as an advertising technique. It was not until the late 1880s that tobacco companies began regularly producing and inserting baseball cards in cigarette and tobacco products on a widespread basis. The cards were intended as incentives to purchase more of the product and were collected and traded by children and adults alike.

In the early 20th century, tobacco companies like American Tobacco Company, Goodwin & Company and Sweet Caporal produced and distributed the majority of baseball cards that were included in their cigarette and tobacco products. The cards became extremely popular and helped fuel the growth of baseball card collecting as a mainstream hobby. In 1909, the American Tobacco Company’s T206 series is considered by collectors to be one of the most valuable sets of baseball cards ever produced, with some single cards selling for over $2 million.

In the 1930s and 1940s, the popularity of baseball cards declined as concerns grew over links between smoking and health issues. Gum and candy companies like Topps, Bowman and Fleer began producing baseball cards and including them in their products instead. This helped baseball cards avoid some of the negative associations of tobacco while keeping the hobby alive. In the post-World War II era, baseball card collecting boomed again among the baby boom generation. The cards were now primarily included in packages of bubble gum and candy instead of tobacco products.

Beginning in the 1950s, the modern baseball card era began. Companies like Topps gained exclusive agreements with Major League Baseball to produce official league cards. This led to more sophisticated designs and standardization between sets. The 1960s saw some of the most iconic and valuable card sets ever produced, like the 1963 Topps and 1968 Topps. In the late 1980s, the baseball card market experienced a speculative boom known as the “junk wax era” due to overproduction of cards by manufacturers. Prices plummeted after the bubble burst in the early 1990s.

Today, baseball cards remain popular collectibles among both casual fans and serious investors. While the market has matured, certain vintage cards from the pre-war tobacco era or the post-war classic Topps designs of the 1950s-60s still fetch high prices at auction. Modern rookies cards of star players can also gain significant value. The baseball card industry also expanded into premium and high-end products. Meanwhile, technological changes have led to innovations like digital cards and memorabilia “hit” cards with game-used pieces of uniforms. Baseball cards have endured as an accessible link between America’s national pastime of baseball and pop culture for over 150 years.

Baseball cards began as a promotional advertising method for tobacco products in the late 19th century. They grew into one of the most iconic American pop culture artifacts and hobbies of the 20th century. While the market has experienced booms and busts, baseball cards remain a widely collected tangible reminder of the history of the game, its players and cultural impact. The simple concept of packaging pictures and stats of baseball players in card form has connected generations of fans to America’s pastime for well over a century.

TOPPS BASEBALL CARDS WIKIPEDIA

Leave a reply

Topps baseball cards are a brand of American collectible trading cards produced by The Topps Company, Inc. featuring professional baseball players. Topps is the exclusive producer of MLB-licensed baseball cards in the United States, and has held the license continuously since 1951. The company’s iconic design and vast archive of cards have played an integral role in chronicling the history of Major League Baseball over the past 70+ years.

Topps’ first baseball card release was in 1951, debuting iconic rookie cards of future Hall of Famers like Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays. The design featured a color photograph on one side and player stats/bio on the reverse. Topps gained the exclusive MLBPA license that year, preventing competitors from producing licensed baseball cards. This monopoly held by Topps is a major factor in their brand dominance today. Early Topps sets from the 1950s are among the most coveted and valuable in the collecting hobby.

In the late 1950s, Topps introduced the inclusion of gum with its baseball cards. Each wax-wrapped pack contained a few cards and a small stick of bubblegum. This added an extra incentive for kids to purchase the packs and fueled the growth of baseball card collecting. Perhaps the most iconic Topps set was released in 1956, called “Dodgers”, featuring all Brooklyn Dodgers players on the front. This design has since been replicated in several retrospective and anniversary issues.

The 1960s saw Topps begin to issue multi-year contracts with MLB players, instead of one-year deals. This allowed card subjects to remain consistent across several consecutive sets. Color photography also became standard during this decade. Topps releases from the mid-to-late 60s like 1965, 1967, and 1969 are considered some of the finest in terms of photo and card quality from the pre-modern era. Rookie cards of future Hall of Famers like Tom Seaver, Reggie Jackson, and George Brett debuted during the 1960s as well.

In the 1970s, Topps introduced several running multi-year sets like “Topps Traded” in 1975 and the biennial “Traded/Update” issues beginning in 1978, allowing the company to feature newly acquired or traded players mid-season. With competition still locked out by the MLBPA license, Topps reigned supreme and released higher production runs than ever before. The collector market was beginning to expand rapidly. The 1973 and 1975 Topps sets are classics of the early modern era.

Bowman returned to the baseball card scene in 1981 after a 20+ year hiatus, capitalizing on a loophole in Topps’ MLBPA contract. Topps responded the next year by introducing “Stickers”, a boxed set sold exclusively in hobby shops, to entice collectors away from the upstart Bowman brand. The 1980s marked a golden age of set design innovation from both companies, with elaborate photography, team logos, traded sets, and regional variations keeping collectors on their toes. Hall of Famer rookie cards from the 1980s saw staggering price increases in the following decades.

In the 1990s, licensing agreements expanded to allow new competitors like Fleer and Score. Upper Deck debuted as well with premium card issues featuring swaths of rare parallel and short-print rookie cards that shattered previous record sale prices. The increased competition led to innovation as the war heated up – holograms, autographed and game-used memorabilia cards, and insert sets revolutionized the hobby. To strengthen its position, Topps purchased the Fleer brand and production facilities in 1992.

In 2001, Upper Deck ousted Topps as the MLBPA’s exclusive trading card license holder, ending Topps’ 50+ year monopoly. However, Topps regained exclusive rights after just a few years. In the 2000s, parallels, memorabilia cards, and serial-numbered inserts continued to be a primary focus for both Topps and Upper Deck. Manufacturing scaled back significantly during the Great Recession years following the housing bubble burst in 2008.

Today, Topps remains the only company licensed by MLB/MLBPA to produce player cards in the U.S. While physical sales have declined somewhat, Topps has found major success with digital trading card apps and expanded releases like “Allen & Ginter” and “Stadium Club”. Brand classics from the 1950s-80s are among the most ardently collected vintage issues, still breaking long-standing auction records with iconic rookie cards. Topps’ vast archives have expanded to include parallel brands like Bowman as well.

In summary, Topps Baseball Cards have come to define the modern collecting hobby and industry since their 1951 debut. With over 70 consecutive years of MLB-licensed releases to their credit thus far, Topps has cemented its status as the premier brand for documenting players, teams, and MLB history through card issues. While competitors come and go, Topps remains the standard-bearer through eras of innovation and turbulence – all the while cultivating generations of baseball card collectors worldwide.