The Origins of Sports Trading Cards
The origins of sports themed trading cards can be traced back to the 1870’s and the introduction of baseball cards. Since then, millions upon millions of trading cards have been produced. The monetary value of these cards varies from one cent to over one million dollars.
The earliest baseball cards produced in the 1870’s were made of a cloth-like material, with each card being a unique creation. The lack of uniformity from card to card was the first major obstacle the baseball card creators had to overcome. At this point, the cards were more of a novelty item than a collectable.
From 1887 to 1890, a series of baseball cards commonly known as The Old Jungle cards were produced. This line of cards was very popular, helped along by the growing baseball audience around the United States.
In the early 1900’s, the process in which baseball cards were made improved and that led to an increase in demand across the country. During this time, the cards were sometimes known as “cigarette cards” or “tobacco cards” due to their association with tobacco companies. The tobacco companies would use baseball cards as inserts in packages to promote collectors of this era to buy their tobacco products.
In 1909, the most valuable sports trading card of all-time was produced by the American Tobacco Company. In a set known as T206, numerous Hall of Fame baseball players were featured including Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson and Cy Young. However, it is the card featuring Honus Wagner that is known as the “Holy Grail” and the “Mona Lisa of baseball cards”.
The Honus Wagner card reached its status for several reasons, none of which is more important than the scarcity of the card. It is estimated that only between 50 and 200 of these cards were produced and that only a handful exist today. In 2000, one such Honus Wagner card, which measures approximately one and a half inches by two and a half inches, sold on eBay for more than one million dollars.
Many hypotheses have been offered over the years as to why so few Honus Wagner cards were produced. One prominent legend is Wagner didn’t want his name associated with tobacco products because he didn’t want to encourage kids to smoke cigarettes.
As the 20th century moved along, the sports trading cards scene underwent many changes. Cards became bigger in size and the production and distribution of the cards separated itself from the tobacco industry.
Today, virtually every sport has a trading card associated with it. From baseball to hockey and racing to tennis, you can find cards depicting practically all modern day athletes. What started as a gimmick by tobacco companies to entice new customers is now a multi-billion dollar business with enthusiasts and collectors spanning the globe.
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