Warm weather and outdoor activities may still be a long way away for many in North America, but the impending arrival of the 2012 baseball cards proves spring isn’t that far away. Topps’ first edition of the new season will be released in early February, continuing a tradition that dates back decades and one website is celebrating what is a historic anniversary of baseball cards.
A sports card centered website, Sports Card Boxes, is offering two condensed histories of interest to fans and collectors alike. “A History of Baseball Cards” is a concise summary of the evolution of baseball trading cards dating back to the 19th century while “A History of Topps” offers background on the iconic sports card maker, from its humble beginnings in the early 1950s to its current status as the exclusive trading partner of Major League Baseball, producing millions of cards of various types each year.
Its 2012 baseball cad issue will be the 60th consecutive year that Topps sports cards has produced a major issue depicting current players. Beginning in 1952 with its now iconic and very scarce oversized trading card debut, Topps has been a staple of the baseball season for fans all over the world. The “History of Topps” discusses that first issue, which includes the most valuable of all post-World War II trading cards, the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle.
Since then, the company bought the name of its chief rival and has turned it into a brand synonymous with the game’s top prospects, ventured into super premium products full of relic and autograph cards and continued to evolve on a number of levels.
Sports Card Box also offers background information on the other sports card manufacturers, a glossary of the various types of boxes produced by the companies over the years and links to boxes available for sale across all eras.
