Collectibles On SI

The Top Five Vintage Baseball Card Sets of All Time

Jason Schwartz

Collection of old baseball cards
Collection of old baseball cards / Jason A. Schwartz

Baseball cards have been around for a really long time, so it shouldn't be an easy thing to choose the five best sets in Hobby history, right? And yet, here we are. Without further ado, here are THE five sets that define the vintage Hobby.

1909-11 American Tobacco Company "White Borders" (T206)

Author's collection of T206 Brooklyn Dodgers
Author's collection of T206 Brooklyn Dodgers / Jason A. Schwartz

Though card makers have had more than a century to improve on "The Monster," most die-hard collectors of vintage swear by T206 as the greatest baseball card set ever. Among the attributes that keep Hobbyists coming back for more are the set's gorgeous artwork, its size (524 cards by the most conventional counting methods), its variety of card backs (which is most definitely a thing!), and—perhaps most of all—the allure and mystique of the Wagner.

1914-15 Cracker Jack (E145)

Technically, this set is really two sets, a 1914 version and its 1915 sequel. (If this detail bothers you, then just flip a coin and choose either one.) Though only the most contrarian of collectors would rank this set above T206, it does have one thing going for it that the Monster doesn't: a card of Shoeless Joe Jackson. Add to that a who's who of Deadball Era Hall of Famers, a fantastic design, and a checklist chock full of Federal Leaguers, and you may just have the perfect set.

1933 Goudey (R319)

Author's collection of 1933 Goudey cards
Author's collection of 1933 Goudey cards / Jason A. Schwartz

Following more than a decade of drab black and white caramel cards and oddball strip cards, the 1933 Goudey set, among the first to be packaged with gum, had it all: outstanding artwork, a star-studded checklist, four different cards of the Bambino, and the Hobby's ultimate chase card, the Napoleon Lajoie. Just how tough was it for collectors to pull the Lajoie card? How about impossible! Now that's rare!

1949 Leaf

1949 Leaf cards of Spahn, Kiner, and Musial
1949 Leaf cards of Spahn, Kiner, and Musial / Jason A. Schwartz

Though rival card marker Bowman put out an awesome set of its own in 1949, it has long played second fiddle to its fully unlicensed and largely homemade contemporary out of Chicago. In addition to a checklist that includes early cards of Jackie Robinson, Stan Musial, Satchel Paige, and other top-shelf Hall of Famers, the Leaf set, which absolutely screams postwar Americana, would feel as much at home at a Warhol gallery as at a card show.

1952 Topps

Though the 1952 set wasn't the first baseball offering from the company that has long been synonymous with baseball cards, it was the set that ushered in the modern Hobby. (When was the last time card backs had stats on the back, for example?) Oh, and this was also the Topps set that included a certain Mickey Mantle card you might have heard about.

So there you have it, my picks for the five greatest vintage sets of all-time. I have no doubt there are other collectors out there who might choose others, and that's okay. In fact there's even a word for such collectors: WRONG! 😉

Published |Modified
Jason Schwartz
JASON SCHWARTZ

Jason A. Schwartz is a collectibles expert whose work can be found regularly at SABR Baseball Cards, Hobby News Daily, and 1939Bruins.com. His collection of Hank Aaron baseball cards and memorabilia is currently on exhibit at the Atlanta History Center, and his collectibles-themed artwork is on display at the Honus Wagner Museum and PNC Park.