The Baseball Card

Did you know that baseball was the first sport to have player’s cards? In the late 19th century, baseball cards were invented primarily to promote tobacco companies. They massively printed out advertising cards with their product information and a photo of a player on the front. Their idea was ingenious, by inserting a baseball card into a pack of cigarettes, it kept the pack from being crushed. Through the years, other companies bought into this idea, such as the chewing gum industry. After noticing that the younger fans of the sport were more inclined to be the ones purchasing these cards at the local general store, the cards soon had each players stats as well as their photo on these cards. They were soon sold in packs together and the 1950s, baseball trading cards were the newest hobby of America’s youth. Through the years, certain player’s cards became the “Holy Grail” for collectors, such as the 1952 Mickey Mantle rookie card and the most sought after of all … the 1910 Honus Wagner card.