Baseball card

Baseball card
A 1954 Bowman card of Mickey Mantle
CompanyTopps
Panini
CountryUnited States
Japan
Availabilityc. 1860 [1]–present
FeaturesBaseball

A baseball card is a type of trading card relating to baseball, usually printed on cardboard, silk, or plastic.[2] In the 1950s, they came with a stick of gum and a limited number of cards. These cards feature one or more baseball players, teams, stadiums, or celebrities.

Baseball cards are most often found in the contiguous United States but are also common in Puerto Rico or countries such as Canada, Cuba, South Korea and Japan, where top-level leagues are present with a substantial fan base to support them. Some notable companies producing baseball cards include Topps and Panini Group.

Previous manufacturers include Fleer (now a brand name owned by Upper Deck), Bowman (now a brand name owned by Topps),[3] and Donruss (now a brand name owned by Panini).[4] Baseball card production peaked in the late 1980s and many collectors left the hobby disenchanted after the 1994-95 MLB strike.[5] However, baseball cards are still among the most sought collectibles of all-time.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference nbc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Not Always Cardboard: Unusual Materials Used to Make Trading Cards". Sports Collectors Daily. February 10, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  3. ^ "Bowman Trading Cards". The Cardboard Connection. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  4. ^ Rovell, Darren (March 13, 2009). "Panini Buys Donruss". CNBC. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  5. ^ Shea, Bill. "How the billion-dollar sports card industry collapsed and then rebounded". The Athletic. Retrieved September 9, 2020.