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Nine-pocket binder page of 1955 Bowman baseball cards
Photo: Baseball Collection, CC BY 2.0

Games

Sports cards

Cards of real athletes across baseball, basketball, football, hockey, soccer and Formula 1. Unlike trading card games they are not played; value comes from players, rookies, autographs, serial numbers and grading.

PublisherTopps (Fanatics), Panini, Upper Deck and others
Launched1860s — The oldest known surviving baseball card dates from around 1860; modern licensed releases come from a handful of manufacturers.
StatusActive, in print
Shops in our directory that mention it41 shops

How popular is Sports cards right now?
Japanese baseball cards stored in a binder page
Japanese baseball cards in a binder, a common way to store a collection. Photo: Japanexperterna (www.japanexperterna.se), CC BY-SA 2.0
Signed helmets and memorabilia in a dealer case at a sports card show, 2007
Signed helmets and memorabilia at a sports card show, 2007. Photo: jonyangorg, CC BY 2.0

The oldest cards in the hobby

Tobacco and gum cards from 1909 to 1933, scanned by the Library of Congress and the Metropolitan Museum of Art and published as public domain. The T206 Honus Wagner is the card most often cited as the hobby's most valuable.

  • T206 tobacco card of Honus Wagner, Pittsburgh, 1909-11, from the Burdick Collection T206 Honus Wagner, 1909–11 The Met, public domain
  • T206 tobacco card of Ty Cobb, Detroit, red background portrait, 1909-11 T206 Ty Cobb, 1909–11 Library of Congress, public domain
  • 1933 Goudey Big League Chewing Gum card no. 181 of Babe Ruth, New York Yankees 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #181 Library of Congress, public domain
  • T206 tobacco card of Christy Mathewson, New York, 1909-11 T206 Christy Mathewson Library of Congress, public domain
  • T206 tobacco card of Cy Young, Cleveland, 1909-11 T206 Cy Young Library of Congress, public domain
  • T206 tobacco card of Walter Johnson, Washington, hands at chest, 1909-11 T206 Walter Johnson Library of Congress, public domain
  • T206 tobacco card of Nap Lajoie, Cleveland, 1909-11 T206 Nap Lajoie Library of Congress, public domain
  • T206 tobacco card of Tris Speaker, Boston, 1909-11 T206 Tris Speaker Library of Congress, public domain

Who makes sports cards now

Upcoming Sports cards releases

No upcoming dated releases that we could source yet.

Sports card release calendars change weekly and differ by manufacturer, so we do not list individual products yet.

All games on one calendar: release calendar.

Where to buy Sports cards

Local card shops get new Sports cards product on release day and many run events around it. Find one in the card shop directory (US, Canada, UK), or meet dealers at an upcoming card show.

Other games: Pokémon · One Piece · Magic · Lorcana · Yu-Gi-Oh! · Riftbound · Gundam

Sources

Every link below was checked on November 12, 2026. If something here is out of date, email [email protected].

  1. Sports cards: launch date and publisher
  2. Collectr, State of the Hobby 2026 mid-year report