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About Baseball Memorabilia

The first recorded baseball game was played in Hoboken, NJ in 1846 between the NYC Knickerbocker Base Ball Club and the New York Baseball Club (the Knickerbockers lost). By 1858, the National Association of Base Ball Players was formed, consisting of around 30 small teams. After the Civil War, the Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first professional fully-paid team.

Over the next hundred years, a number of leagues...

Baseball cards are widely collected today. The earliest incarnations (1840s) were cardboard-backed photos of local players and teams, which came in cabinet card size and the smaller carte-de-visite size. Commercial baseball cards emerged in the late 1860s when a sporting goods dealer called Peck & Snyder printed cards with an ad on one side and a baseball player on the other. Within a few years, cards began appearing in packages of Old Judge tobacco and other tobacco, candy and chewing gum brands.

Other promotional items such as baseball programs became popular in the 1890s. Advertisers bought space on these score cards, and cards from famous games (e.g. the World Series) are highly sought-after. Other collectible promotional items include gloves, statuettes, plaques, posters, and pins.

And of course, there's a huge market for authentic baseball memorabilia linked to specific players, including greats such as Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, Ted Williams, and Willie Mays. They produced plenty of signed baseballs, bats, gloves, photos, and other autographs. But be careful, as fake sports memorabilia is a lucrative business.

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Show & Tell

Gumby Tigers?? 1938 Babe Ruth + Brooklyn Dodgers Some memorabilia from my collection... Giants Wall of Fame "The Eyes of a Murderer" by Charles Conlon Sept 1927 Dead Ball Era c.1910-1914. Jim Thorpe Batting. Matty, Tris Speaker, & Ty Cobb. TYPE I Photographs from my collection.

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Interviews & Articles

Boston vs New York: Appraiser Leila Dunbar Talks Sports Memorabilia and Rivalries New!

When I was about 10 years old, my dad started collecting antique toys, advertising posters, signs, folk art, and pottery. Soon aft… [more]

How To Build a Killer Baseball Memorabilia Collection: Scouting the Minors With Dave Bloomer New!

Like most people my age—I'm 48—when I was growing up, baseball memorabilia meant baseball cards. The great thing about baseball ca… [more]

An Interview with Baseball Memorabilia Collector and Appraiser Mike Gutierrez

I played baseball, basketball, and ran track from the time I was eight years old all the way through high school. Like the other k… [more]

An Interview With Vintage Baseball Card Collector Ben Henry

I started collecting in 1986. If you’re in Boston and you’re a baseball fan, the Red Sox may take over your life. They take over y… [more]

An Interview With National Baseball Hall of Fame Curator Tom Shieber

The Baseball Hall of Fame officially opened in 1939, so we’re coming up on our 70th anniversary. If you include baseball cards, we… [more]

An Interview With Baseball Card Collector Dave Campbell

Dave Campbell contacted me after reading a post on The Baseball Card blog. He's been collecting baseball cards non-stop since 1981… [more]

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Baseball Memorabilia Videos



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Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)

Old Cardboard

Old Cardboard

Check out this well-organized collection of 500 sets of baseball cards, each over 50 years old. Browsable by type a… [read review or visit site]

The Baseball Card Blog

The Baseball Card Blog

Ben Henry's lively vintage baseball card blog, started in January 2006, offers hundreds of great posts on (and pict… [read review or visit site]

Cardboard Junkie

Cardboard Junkie

Dave Campbell's in-depth blog on old baseball (and some football) cards lives up to it's motto: 'do cards, not drug… [read review or visit site]

Baseball Cards 1887-1914

Baseball Cards 1887-1914

Roll up your socks for this Library of Congress collection showcasing hundreds of players on colorful early basebal… [read review or visit site]

Baseball Hall of Fame

Baseball Hall of Fame

A home run for baseball collectors, this site features special online exhibits, ranging from a baseball-uniforms da… [read review or visit site]



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Recent News: Baseball Memorabilia

Source: Google News

Families use baseball collection to memorialize Bandits fan
Quad City Times, September 2nd

Brad Fuller had a passion for sports, attending Midwest League baseball and minor-league hockey games in the Quad-Cities whenever the teams competed at home...Read more

Fairfield History Museum hosts free festival Sept. 12
Easton Courier, August 31st

This year's free annual fall festival at the Fairfield Museum and History Center will include two vintage baseball games; pony rides; other children's...Read more

Cactus League exhibit gets $5K to spend at Pink Pony auction
East Valley Tribune, August 31st

Tim Hacker/ Tribune Hunt Construction western division manager Mike Gausden, left, and volunteer Robert Johnson, right, look over baseball memorabilia at...Read more

Vintage baseball: the way the sport is supposed to be played
Cape Gazette, August 31st

The Diamond State Vintage Baseball Club is resurrecting the roots of the American pastime as a team in the Mid-Atlantic Vintage Baseball League...Read more

Two vintage baseball teams will play a demonstration game today at Minnetrista
Muncie Star Press, August 28th

Then, adding an even older air to the festivities, the vintage baseball teams the Manglers, from Mulberry, Ind., and the Salmon, from Chicago,...Read more

Vintage baseball game
Emporia Gazette, August 27th

By The Emporia Gazette (Contact) The Lyon County Historical Society is looking for men interested in playing in its vintage baseball game on Sept...Read more

Vintage baseball, demonstrations and artisans are just the “tip of the iceberg ...
Connectcut Plus, August 25th

“One of the exciting new displays this year is by K & P Weaver, a local company that makes reproduction uniforms and other baseball memorabilia and...Read more

Old World Wisconsin hosts vintage baseball
Chicago Tribune, August 17th

AP Old World Wisconsin's vintage baseball team, the Eagle Diamonds, takes on the Greenbush Dead Citys Saturday. The Citys are from another Wisconsin...Read more

Baseball

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