At the beginning of the century, America had found a new favorite pastime. Baseball became the All-American sport, being an affordable and exciting way for the working class factory workers to enjoy their time off. While many of the original baseball players were under much scrutiny and had to perform heroicly to impress the crowds, kids across the country learned the rules of the game and aspired to play in the major leagues. Before the Great Depression, it was not common for sports fans to have their sport gear signed by athletes. The first type of memorabilia was created by tobacco companies. They were the first to recognize and capture the nation's enthusiasm for baseball and capitalize on it. From soap to tobacco, companies would produce insert cards that became widely popular once popular baseball players were featured on them. Soon after, many companies followed and began printing cards on the back of cigarette and cigar boxes.

Following closely behind, bubble-gum companies decided to manufacture collectible cards that were included with the gum packages. Kids worshiped their baseball idols which built their enthusiasm for trading and collecting these cards. Looking back, these years are considered the "golden age" of this hobby. Fans could assemble complete sets of these numbered cards. With the onset of World War II, card manufacturing completely stopped until 1950. In 1952, Topps came out with a new concept of baseball cards. These cards featured the player's image, team logo, and the player's information as well as their up-to-date career statistics.

Professional sports leagues continued to form, and trading cards modeled after the baseball cards began to be printed and sold. Signed sporting equipment after the 1950s became an economically feasible industry as well as adding even more hype to the love of sports. Fans began to linger around the stadium doors before and after games in hopes of meeting their favorite player and getting his or her autograph.

Today, collectors and adults alike reflect back nostalgically on the years of collecting baseball cards. Now, collectibles are not strictly cards. They range anywhere from mugs and hats to jerseys and flags. No matter what your memorabilia is, it will always remind you of the pure excitement and suspense of your beloved sport