Baseball card

A baseball card is a small card printed on heavy paper stock, featuring one or more baseball players. The typical format for a card is to have an image of a player on the front, with information such as statistics on the back. While baseball cards may be of any size, the standard size in the industry is 2-½ inches by 3-½ inches (on most cards, the image is oriented vertically so that 2-½ inches would be the width, and 3-½ inches the height).

Tobacco cards

Starting in about 1886, baseball cards were often included with cigarettes, partly for promotional purposes and partly because the card served to reinforce the packaging and protect the cigarettes from damage. In the baseball card hobby, these are generally referred to as tobacco cards. For a few years, many different tobacco companies produced baseball cards.

Related Topics:
Cigarette - Hobby - Tobacco card - Tobacco

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As the American Tobacco Company bought out other tobacco companies to develop a monopoly, the tobacco cards quickly disappeared. They were later reintroduced in the 1900s, as American Tobacco came under pressure from antitrust action and Turkish competition. The most famous, and most expensive, baseball card is a rare Honus Wagner card from this period. The card is from the T206 set, but exists in very limited quantities compared to others of its type because Wagner forced the card to be removed from printing. Although it is widely believed that Wagner did so because he refused to promote tobacco, the primary explanation lies in a dispute over compensation for Wagner, one of the star players of his day.

Related Topics:
American Tobacco Company - Monopoly - Antitrust - Turkish - Honus Wagner

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While tobacco cards were being reintroduced, other companies also began producing baseball cards. Sports magazines such as The Sporting News were natural entrants into the market, and the addition of candy manufacturers reflected a shift toward a younger target audience for the cards. Caramel companies were particularly active, and baseball cards were among the first prizes to be included in Cracker Jack boxes. However, the economic effects of World War I soon suppressed baseball card production.

Related Topics:
Magazine - The Sporting News - Caramel - Cracker Jack - World War I

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