A Century of Baseball Cards, page 2
Cracker Jack produced one noteworthy set; the 1914 Cracker Jack Baseball set which included 144 cards. A 1915 set used the same 144 players in many different poses; but also includes 32 cards representing major leaguers who jumped to oilman Harry Sinclair and Tip Top Bread magnate Robert B. Ward's Federal League.
By the 1920s, America was deep into a love affair with baseball. The game had its first commissioner, and the Yankee dynasty that would dominate the sport for nearly 45 years was assembling. Perhaps most notable, though, was baseball hero George Herman Ruth and his magic, fluid swing. Baseball aficionados would have to agree that there was not, nor ever will be, anyone quite like the Babe.
Left: Lou Gehrig, Big League Gum, 1933, R-319s. Right: Ernie Banks, Topps Baseball, 1954.
During the 1920s candy and gum companies dominated trading card production. The American Caramel Company, National Carmel Company, New York Carmel Company and Oxford Confectioners produced cards that used, for the most part, black and white photography, sometimes adding a sepia or green mint color and ornate border. In the 1930s, chewing gum makers discovered rubber tree products would give gum elasticity to blow bubbles. Goudey Gum of Boston, the National Chicle Company of Cambridge, Mass., and Gum, Inc. of Philadelphia were dominate bubble-gum card producers of the 1933-41 era.
If the black and white cards of the '20s didn't to justice to the golden and Ruthian age, then these Depression era cards of the '30s more than made up for it. Waxed paper enclosed three cards and a 'Jack Frost' — sprinkled slab of gum — all for just one cent.
Baseball card's modern era started after World War II, beginning, in 1948 with Bowman Gum's initial issue. In 1951, the Topps Company released its first set and waged battle with Bowman through 1955. From this competition came one of the great sets of the hobby — the 1952 Topps baseball set. Topps bought Bowman in 1956 and has held a virtual monopoly on the baseball card market until 1981. In 1981, a federal court smashed Topps' monopoly on the issuance of cards with bubble-gum. The Fleer Company (which had issued its first set in 1959) and Donruss broke into the market. Sportflics entered the card industry in 1986, Score in 1988 and Upper Deck in 1989.
Though people have collected baseball cards since the 1880s tobacco promotions, the field didn't reach its widespread popularity 'til the 1970s. A gathering of 13 collectors on the West Coast is considered the first organized baseball card show. By the time the group gathered in 1973, they needed space for 650.
Like any other collectible, a card's value depends on market demand. Simply put: a baseball card is worth whatever the buyer is willing to spend to own it. That said, it pays to consider a card's condition, scarcity and age. Sports Collectors Digest and Baseball Cards magazine have both developed a set of grading standards for card collectors in 1981 — and have refined those standards through the years. You may obtain specific pricing information from Krause Publications Sports Collector Digest Baseball Card Price Guide as well as from a host of other sources in print and the Internet.
|
