Baseball Card Facts

Early History

• Baseball became a popular sport in the United States after the Civil War. Pasted onto the back of a piece of cardboard, the original baseball cards were called cabinet cards, as they were designed to be displayed in a cabinet. Cabinet cards featured famous teams or players, young boys teams and perhaps individual young men that played in their local baseball league. These cards were not meant to hold significant fiscal value, but today they are few and far between.

Initial Commercial Use

• It wasn't until the mid to late 19th century that a company called Peck and Snyder began to print the first commercial baseball cards. Peck and Snyder printed a large advertisement on the back of the card, and a famous baseball team on the front. Much like flyers that were handed out to passersby, these advertising cards, called "trade cards," were considered the first modern baseball cards. Many people collected trade cards and scrapbooked them, and this quickly became one of America's biggest national hobbies.

Tobacco Cards

• Goodwin &Co., a tobacco company in New York, issued the Old Judge cards, a small picture card inserted into packs of Old Judge brand tobacco. Goodwin &Co. produced these cards as a "stiffener" for their cigarette packs and to boost sales. There were well more than 2,000 different cards in this issue with new examples being discovered today. As competition heated up, other tobacco companies created other interesting and attractive cards in the late 1800s.

  As a "stiffener" for cigarette packs, a New York tobacco company called Goodwin &Co. began to insert small baseball cards into packs of its Old Judge brand tobacco. The card idea boosted sales, and soon after Goodwin &Co. started it, many other tobacco companies followed with the same thing.
  In 1933, the Goudey Gum Company inserted bubble gum in the cards rather than tobacco. The cards were catered to kids.

Modern Era

• Throughout the 20th century, many baseball card companies came out of the woodwork and established themselves nationally. The Topps Chewing Gum Company had a monopoly on modern cards from about 1950 up until 1980, when other companies began to offer similar cards.

Value

• There are many different reasons why baseball cards are considered valuable. Cards that are old, in high demand, rare, or have a unique inaccuracy or misprint are the most expensive. Essentially, if collectors want a card that there is a short supply of, then the card is very valuable.

  Some of the most valuable cards include the 1909-1911 Honus Wagner tobacco card, which could sell for more than $250,000, as well as the Topps 1952 Mickey Mantle card, and the 1933 Goudy Chewing Gum Company's Nap Lajoie card, which could sell for over $25,000.