Baseball Card Classification: The Type Card

Since early baseball cards were produced primarily as a marketing vehicle, collectors began to classify those cards by the 'type' of company that produced the set. The system implemented by Jefferson Burdick in American Card Catalogue has become the de facto method in identifying and organizing trade cards produced in the Americas pre-1951. The catalogue itself extends into many other areas of collecting beyond the sport of baseball. There are two major shortcomings of this system: it does not include classifications for non-American cards and there are numerous mistakes and inconsistencies in the system. However, sets like 1909-11 White Borders, 1910 Philadelphia Caramel’s, and 1909 Box Tops most commonly referred to by their ACC catalogue numbers. They are respectively T206, E95, and W555.

Baseball Cards

A baseball card is one type of trading card usually printed on some type of paper stock or card stock. A card will usually feature one or more baseball players or other baseball related sports figures. Cards are most often found in the United States, but are also popular in countries such as Canada, Cuba, and Japan, where baseball is a popular sport and there are professional leagues.