There are various well-known names that spring to mind when considering the best baseball card manufacturers. While these manufacturers now dominate the market, it wasn’t always this way. Nevertheless, we’ll present the three best baseball cards producers that have the biggest share in the baseball space.
1. Topps
Topps has long been a leader in sports cards. The company has a strong presence in many popular U.S. sports and is famous for its baseball cards. In 1951, the company started producing baseball cards.
Topps creates cards that are widely considered the industry standard in terms of size and display of player data on the back. In 2010, the brand became the sole partner of MLB with an exclusive licensing agreement that underscores Topps’ quality. Over the years, Topps has acquired other well-known names such as Bowman. Bowman was originally a tobacco company that produced cards in the early years. Today it is known as the “home of the rookie card” and tends to be a heavy rookie and prospect product. While Topps is the only fully licensed manufacturer, other companies such as Panini and Upper Deck still produces baseball cards as well.
2. Panini
Although Panini is relatively new to the baseball card business, having only begun producing cards in 2009, it quickly established itself as one of the few competitors that has survived to this day, rivaling Topps in sales and popularity. Although Topps has the exclusive MLB license, Panini has a player’s association license which means they can produce MLB cards without the team logos. While they are missing the team logos, they make up for it with high quality products that often offer more autograph and memorabilia cards in their products as compared to Topps products.
3. Upper Deck
Upper Deck was a respected player in the baseball card business, founded in 1989. The exceptional quality of their cards sets the standard for the entire card business. No aspect demonstrates this more than the 1992 UDA program, a five-step process to confirm the authenticity of their artifacts and card autographs. Under this method, a witness was present at every signing ceremony of an athlete, confirming the brand’s already impeccable reputation. Today, Upper Deck is not licensed for baseball cards, however they still make multi-sport products where you can find baseball cards. Another once popular company, Fleer which began making cards in 1929 and was popular up until the 1990’s is now produced by Upper Deck.
Bottom Line
Whether it’s an investment or a hobby, or both, quality is the biggest factor for card collectors. These four brands are known for their premium quality and great pricing, making them popular in the card collectors’ community.
But, once you buy a card, you must know how to keep them in great condition, where to sell them, and how to grade them. We at American Legends can help you learn all of this and more, making baseball cards a joy and a sound investment. Just contact us and let’s get started.
