Sorare MLB

Right at the beginning of the new century, the American government managed to break the tobacco lobby, and independent companies emerged again. As a result, advertising and trade cards reappeared on cigarette packages, but also increasingly in the candy sector. This period coincided with the rise of baseball in the United States and the craze for "The Ballgame." The variety and quantity of cards produced in the early 20th century made this period the "Golden Age" for baseball cards.

Honus Wagner: The "Flying Dutchman" was a shortstop for 17 years with the Pittsburgh Pirates and 2 years with the Louisville Colonels. His career batting average is .329 over 21 seasons, making him one of the best hitters in history (3420 hits). He won the National League Batting Title 8 times and his number 33 was retired by the Pirates in 1956. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1936. This is the most expensive baseball card in the world today.
The most famous and coveted series of cards is undoubtedly the T206 series. This series, nicknamed the "Monster List," was issued from 1909 to 1911 by a tobacco industry group (American Tobacco Company). They can be recognized by their white edges and pastel colors. The most famous is the one depicting Honus Wagner playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. This card was very rarely distributed (less than 200) and was the only card featuring this player, who eventually refused to have his image used to advertise tobacco to children. The rarity of this card, as well as the outstanding achievements of this player, make it the most expensive card today: about $3 million per card!

During World War I, tobacco companies stopped distributing baseball cards, leaving the space to candy and gum manufacturers. The most famous companies were the Goudey Gum Company of Boston and the Delong Gum Company, which today produced highly sought-after cards featuring players such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams and many other stars from that blessed era of baseball. Among other companies, the leading gum company, Bowman Gum Company, also issued cards from 1939 to 1941. Again, card distribution was drastically curtailed during the World War II due to paper restrictions.

Do we still need to introduce the most famous baseball player in the history of the sport? As a pitcher with the Boston Red Sox from 1914 to 1919 and then as a successful batter with the New York Yankees until 1934, Babe Ruth won a total of 7 World Series with these two teams. He played one final season with the Boston Braves in 1935. He set an impressive number of records, some of which have not been broken to this day (SLG .690; OPS 1.164; WAR 182.5). He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1936. What can I say, he was The Babe!
In the early 1950s, the Topps Chewing Gum Company began distributing baseball cards. The first set from 1952 is highly sought after by collectors today. Topps soon became the leader in post-war cards, which are still sold in gum packs. Note that the two big stars of the time, Joe DiMaggio (Yankees) and Ted Williams (Red Sox), were not represented in the 1952 Topps series: one because of the end of his career the previous season and the other because of his return to the military as a fighter pilot during the Korean War (as well as during World War II). Topps eventually took over the management of the baseball card from the Bowman company, which stopped publishing the card in 1955.