The Rise and Fall of the Baseball Card Industry

Early Days

Early in the 1900s the sport of Baseball was starting to gain in popularity.  Sporting goods stores came up with an idea to promote their products by including baseball cards with their merchandise.  The cards were usually black and white or sepia in colour.  One side of the card would have a picture, not a photograph, of a player and the reverse would have some advertisement for a store or a product.  People didn't care about the cards too much.  A father would buy something and get the card if they didn't have a child to give it to they would just throw it in the garbage.