Interested in collecting sports cards? Interested in someone who likes to collect sports cards? Either way, this sports card blog is for you. Whether you're just getting into the hobby or you love someone who is in the hobby and want to know a little more about it, you've come to the right place. I collect baseball, basketball, and football cards, but if you're interested in other sports, the same basic information will apply.
I've been collecting sports cards for about 15 years--probably a little longer, but that's about as far back as I can remember. My wife doesn't know anything about sports cards, so this blog is an effort to help her understand the hobby as well as anyone else who might be interested.
The sports card hobby has a very long history. The cards began in the mid-1800s as simple pictures pasted onto a piece of cardboard for keepsakes. In the late 1860s, a company called Peck and Snyder printed the first baseball cards for the purpose of advertising (known as "trade" cards). Trade cards were printed of a variety of different political and social figures, not just athletes. The 1880s saw the first mass production and distribution of baseball cards. These cards were inserted into a variety of different brands of tobacco to promote their particular brand. Because the American Tobacco Company began to monopolize the market and lost the need to advertise, there was a lull in the production of baseball cards.
Then in the 20th century, after the breakup of the monopoly, they resumed production of cards. Candy companies also got into the mix at this point. This era produced some of the most popular runs of baseball cards ever. Many collectors still seek avidly after cards from this era and will pay handsomely for cards in good condition.
In the 1930s, another popular era of cards began. The Goudey Gum company began producing cards to sell in their gum. Also Gum, Inc. produced the famous Play Ball cards in the late 1930s and early 1940s. However, this era ended as paper became scarce because of the American involvement in World War II.
Today, sports cards are made by three main companies Upper Deck, Topps, and Donruss/Leaf (Playoff). There have been several other companies over the years that have come and gone, but Topps is by far the oldest. Topps began in 1938 as a bubble-gum company. In 1950, Topps introduced trading cards into its product line, and it began making baseball cards the following year. Immediately, the cards became part of pop culture, and the modern sports card was born. Cards from this era, if in good condition, can be very valuable. Not only were there a very limited number of cards produced, but they also were used for a variety of other purposes that severely damaged the cards (i.e. making your bicycle spokes click as you rode down the street). Those facts combined with the hundreds of mothers who threw out their sons' "useless" collections have made these cards a rarity.
As time wore on, the sports card industry began to boom, therefore more and more cards were made. Companies began to produce larger and larger sets of cards. (A post with basic definitions of hobby jargon will be coming soon.) As production increased to meet the rising demand, an unforeseen thing happened that devastated the hobby. Interest in the card market dropped off, and the value of the overproduced cards plummeted. Card produced in the '80s to the mid-'90s are, by in large, worthless. Sure, there are a few cards that retained value for a number of different reasons, but the overall state of the hobby was in the toilet.
By the time the card manufacturers realized their blunder, it was almost too late to save the hobby of collecting sports cards. The manufacturers began to produce more product lines with lower card runs to decrease the supply of cards, therefore raising their market value. This cut in production was a step in the right direction, but, with the growing market of the Internet where anyone could buy cards for a fraction of what they would pay at a dealer shop, the hobby has struggled to stay on its feet.
The sports cards hobby is stabilizing again, despite the tough economic times. The customer base for all genres of sports cards and memorabilia seems to be growing, despite a downfall in dealers. That does mean, however, that those sports card dealers at least will be able to support themselves through additional online revenue.
Personally, I try to support my hobby by selling off parts of my collection that I no longer want through various websites online. I still collect Michael Jordan (playing years only) and former Auburn football players.
Sources:
http://www.topps.com
http://www.cycleback.com/1800s/briefhistory.htm
