For decades, collecting and trading baseball cards were a ritual of American youth. At first, cards were enjoyed by youngsters and then discarded at the end of the season or when boys became men and were summarily expected to dispose of the remnants of childhood. Today, however, baseball cards are far more than nostalgic remnants of the past or a present-day pastime for the latest generation of youngsters and baseball (see entry under 1900s—Sports and Games in volume 1) fans. Cards from decades gone by as well as the newest sets are now highly collectible. Baseball card purchasing has developed into a billion-dollar industry.

The first baseball cards were issued during the 1880s, when the Old Judge Company included them in packs of cigarettes (see entry under 1920s—Commerce in volume 2). One of the most famous, and the highest-valued, of all baseball cards originally was a...