Mark McGwire Baseball Cards
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![]() ![]() Ernie Banks Baseball Cards
"Mr. Cub" Hall-of-Famer Ernie Banks was a superstar shortstop and
first baseman for the Chicago Cubs from 1953 to 1971. He was well
known for his sunny disposition and his favorite "Let's Play Two !!!'.
In his early days he was a record setting Home Run hitting
shortstop moving to first base later on.
Entered the Hall of Fame in 1977, and was a member of the Major
League Baseball All-Century Team. He passed away in 2015.
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The first baseball trading cards date back to 1869. For many years, baseball cards were packaged in packs of tobacco as a way to increase sales the same way that today prizes are packaged in boxes of cereal. In the 1920's and 1930's, candy and gum companies started packaging baseball cards in their products as well.
Baseball card production was virtually halted in the early 1940's due to paper shortages created by World War II. The "Modern Era" of baseball cards began in 1948 when Bowman Gum Inc. offered one card and one piece of gum in a pack for a penny.
The first important football set was the Mayo set featuring college players in 1984. Other than the 1935 National Chicle set no other key football set was issued until 1948 when noth Bowman and Leaf produced sets.