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ABOUT Sports Cards
The History of Sports Cards started in the late 19th century when they were used as a cheap marketing tactic by Candy and Tobacco companies. From the 1870s through the early 1900s, these cards started to take on a collectability of featuring not only the top athletes in sports but also truly captivating their audiences with their incredible designs. In the 1950s we saw the start of our 1st trading card companies including Topps which released its Mickey Mantle Rookie Card which is one of the most valuable cards in the world to this day. In recent years we have seen one 9.5-rated SGC mint 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle sold for a whopping 12.6 Million Dollars. The most humorous part of this industry is that it started with kids who had no clue of the future value of these cards and kids would not care for the condition of the cards. Kids were known to keep cards in the spokes of their bikes, drawing on cards and playing with them in any way possible. One of the most well-known features of cards during this time was the chewing gum that would come in the packs of cards.
During this time memorabilia from athletes was also accessible Babe Ruth would sign baseballs in mass without understanding that these balls would become the future grails of many collectors' collections.
The Junk Wax Era
The late 1970s to the early 200s is what most people call the junk wax era. Sports Cards had started to become seen as a valuable asset and companies like Topps, Upper Deck, Panini, Fleer/Skybox, Bowman, Score, and others would mass print cards of your favorite athletes diluting the value of your favorite athlete's cards.
These cards today can be found in mass at flea markets and card shows with most cards being generally worthless in the eyes of the collector. During this time Memorabilia was still seen as low value and you could find athletes such as Muhammad Ali, Members of the 500 Homerun Club, and more signing autographs at card shows for under $25. Unfortunately like all good things, this eventually came to an end with the rise and value.
This rise in value led to mass forgeries in the Memorabilia industry including the notable forging ring that was busted by the FBI during Operation Bullpen. This was a memorabilia raid that happened between 1999 and 2006 where master forgers including Greg Marino built an elaborate scheme forging memorabilia from the most famous athletes and celebrities in the world. Some of the most common forgeries in the industry come from Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Michael Jordan, and Babe Ruth.
Sports Cards and Memorabilia Today
Starting in the early 2010s the sports card industry started to grow with rookie cards becoming collectible and card companies starting to innovate their products including signatures of players, path cards, creating limited variations on cards by numbering them. This led to a collectability aspect that would grow for years to come.
Athletes during this time also started to notice the value of their signature understanding the supply and demand of their signatures raising prices at shows and signing exclusively with the leaders in the industry who at the time were Steiner Sports, Fanatics Authentic, and more.
The Pandemic
The next boom in the sports card industry would come during the Pandemic when parents and kids were at home and had time to look through their old cards. People became enamored by the industry with cards doubling and tripling in prices. Since the end of the pandemic, the hobby is still in a great spot coming off of all-time high values during the pandemic but still in a growth state. The trading card industry has also seen a consolidation with Fanatics and Panini leading the way with smaller card companies like Leaf Trading Cards also carving a niche in the industry.
