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A History Of Baseball Cards: The Hobby
Article
Where did baseball card collectors come from? Who was Jefferson Burdick and why was he so important? Read how collecting cards evolved over more than one hundred years in Chris Stufflestreet's informative essay.
Curator of Collections, Card Cyber Museum
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Excerpt
Once upon a time, there was only a handful of baseball card collectors. In the 1800s and early 1900s, most cards were issued as premium items or promotional advertising to entice consumers to buy tobacco products. During that period, baseball was considered a "gentlemen's game" which was played by men in a social setting. "Base Ball Clubs" were formed, and clubs from different cities would play one another for fun and profit.
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Baseball card collecting has become, for many fans, much more than a hobby. There is a great deal of value in certain baseball cards, and building a valuable collection could take years of research, time, and work. When a collector is interested in building a valuable baseball card collection, it is very important for the collector to know how to grade baseball cards. Baseball card grading is a method of determining the condition and value of a particular card.
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Early baseball cards were found in cigarette packs 