Prompt Cast
The History and Evolution of Baseball Cards
TLDR Baseball cards have a long history, starting with the first official card in 1869. Over the years, they have evolved in design and distribution, with companies like Topps dominating the market until competition emerged. Today, baseball cards have become more valuable and sought after, but also face challenges such as counterfeiting and legal issues.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The hosts of the podcast were recently honored with an award from the Podcast Academy, and now they are discussing baseball cards.
05:07
Baseball cards were not necessarily collected by kids who were into baseball, but they still provided a way for people to learn more about the sport and its players.
10:11
The first official baseball card is believed to be the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings card by Peck and Snyder, and tobacco companies later started including baseball players on cards as a premium item in cigarette packs.
15:24
Baseball cards in the late 19th and early 20th century were not standardized and could be obtained from various random places such as magazines, cigarette packs, and boxes of biscuits.
21:04
Baseball cards can have various details on them, such as the player's name, collector's number, set name, and subset name, and some sets, like the T206 set, are more valuable and well-known than others.
26:21
During the early 50s to about 1980, Topps had a monopoly on baseball cards and dominated the market by signing contracts with individual players to be the exclusive producer of their cards, until the players union started encouraging players to sign with other companies.
31:41
Topps had a monopoly on baseball cards, which prevented other companies like Fleer from producing baseball card sets because they could only sign a limited number of players, but Fleer likely made cards for other sports like hockey and football.
37:05
Cy Burger standardized baseball cards by introducing features like team logos, color, and player stats on the back, and also established the standard size of three and a half by two and a half inches in 1957.
43:17
In 1960, leftover baseball card sets were dumped in the ocean, unknowingly including the most valuable baseball card of all time, the 1952 Mickey Mantle card, which sold for $12.6 million last year.
49:03
Baseball cards used to have small extras like shards of baseballs or splinters of baseball bats, but now companies embed weird things like locks of hair or game jerseys, making the cards more valuable and sought after, leading to lawsuits claiming they are running a gambling business.
54:06
Counterfeit baseball cards are becoming more difficult to detect and authenticate due to advancements in technology, leading to the growth of a cottage industry of authenticators, while high-value cards may have security measures such as holograms and foil printing to prevent counterfeiting.
59:33
The host briefly discusses a correction made in a previous episode regarding the term "proxy war" and expresses support for Ukraine.
Categories:
Society & Culture
