If you are a baseball fan, collecting Babe Ruth baseball cards is a worthy pursuit. Baseball legend Babe Ruth was born George Herman Ruth Jr. in Baltimore in 1895. Ruth started playing baseball when he was a youngster while attending the St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, a reform school. He was a natural. During Ruth's career, he became famous for both his hitting and his pitching, as well as for playing hard at life.
A Short History of Baseball Cards
America is a young nation. So is baseball. Professional baseball started in 1869, less than 100 years after the end of the Revolutionary War. The history of baseball cards is somewhat murky, but may have originated with a Cincinnati sporting goods store, Peck & Snyder, which issued a card lauding the Red Stockings the year that professional baseball started.
Between 1914 and 1932, candy companies caught on to the fact that children were interested in baseball. Therefore, companies like Cracker Jack included baseball cards as part of their marketing efforts.
During the 1930s, children collected baseball cards when they bought gum, which was invented in 1928. Many sought-after Babe Ruth baseball cards were produced during this period, which lasted from about 1933 to 1941.
Look for These Babe Ruth Baseball Cards
Babe Ruth's rookie baseball card, produced in 1914 by the Baltimore Sun newspaper, is quite rare. This card includes all of the members of the Baltimore Orioles and all of the members of the Terrapins. At the time, the Baltimore Orioles, Babe Ruth's team, was a minor league team. The Terrapins was a short-lived Baltimore team belonging to the Federal League.
In 1932, the U.S. Caramel Company released a set of 32 cards of sports figures, one of which was Babe Ruth.
In 1933, the Goudey Sports Kings released a special set of cards that commemorated famous sports stars active in the early 1930s. Babe Ruth was included in this set. Goudey was a gum manufacturer.
The Leaf Gum Company produced a set of cards featuring important baseball players, including Babe Ruth, in 1948, the year that Ruth died.
These are not the only Babe Ruth baseball cards out there, but you may have a real score if you find one of the rarer cards.
Before you start buying Babe Ruth baseball cards, do your homework. Get to know what each card looks like and how to tell the difference between "real" Babe Ruth cards and reproductions. Remember that if the deal looks too good to be true, it probably is.
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