Minor League Cards

Unlicensed Treasures – The 1974 Broder 1957-58 Pacific Coast League Popcorn Baseball Card Set

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A single ad in The Trader Speaks can be a window into a whole new world of vintage cards—like the 1974 Broder Pacific Coast League Popcorn set!

That’s Maury Wills, then of the Seattle Rainiers, pictured in the ad, card #1 in the set.

Today, a “Broder” is often referred to as any unlicensed set, but the Broder’s were actually a father/son duo who made a bunch of unlicensed cards starting in the ’70s through the ’90s.

The 2” x 3” black-and-white 1974 P.C.L. Baseball “Popcorn” Cards set is based on the cards that Seattle Rainiers put in popcorn boxes starting in the mid ’50s. The 1974 set was printed on really thin cardstock, and in sheets that were crudly cut, since you’ll see remnants of other cards on the edges of the cards pretty often. The back’s are pretty minimalistic, too. PSA has only graded a handful, but this Steve Watson was listed on eBay in November 2024 for $28.88.

Beckett says the set has more than 200 cards, and that they were issued over two series that were available for $5.75 each. The advertisement above shows two 55 card series for $4.25, but it’s likely the Trader Speaks ad was for an early release (so maybe the set extended into 1975 since the ad was placed in a December 1974 issue) since TCDB lists 235 cards in its checklist and there are complete sets available on eBay for $450 (with a Best Offer option) advertised as also having 235 cards.

For more about the Broder family, the PCL, and these cards, check out this blog post from Wrigley Roster Jenga and this one from SABR.

SCD’s Minor League Baseball Card Price Guide

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I’ve been looking for a Minor League Baseball Card reference for a while. Finally, I ran across an ad for one in a June 1993 issue of Sports Cards Magazine! There’s also a Standard Catalog of Minor League Baseball Cards out there.

I’d like to know if there are different editions; as you can see, the copy I picked up has a slightly different cover (text) than the one in the ad (2,000 sets vs. 1,900, for example).

Also, this is one of the rare examples where a book from the junk-wax era costs more than it did when it came out!

My copy is 480 pages long and begins with Dave Platta’s incredible 22-page “short” history of minor league cards. It’s a great read.

The book is arranged in two sections: pre-1970 and 1970-1992. Sets produced before 1970 are listed alphabetically, starting with the 1960 Armour Meats Denver Bears and ending with the 1950 World Wide Gum set. Sets made after 1970 follow chronologically and are arranged alphabetically by team name within each year. Upper Deck’s initial Minor League set from 1992 is the last set included.

Also, the pre-1970 sets generally include a short set history or synopsis, while the modern releases are mostly just a checklist with basic prices.

Despite the lack of detail, it’s still a fantastic piece for a hobby library, especially if you collect Minor League Baseball Cards.

An Advertisement For TCMA’s 1978 Official Minor League Card Sets

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TCMA was ahead of its time, as evident in this advertisement from the June 1978 issue of The Trader Speaks, which offered a subscription to their 1978 Minor League card sets.

You also got to pick from your choice of a free 1975, 1976, or 1977 set when you signed up.

Based on TCDB’s archives, it looks like TCMA printed at least 27 minor league sets in 1978. A few of the bigger 1978 TCMA minor league cards were the Knoxville Knox Sox Harold Baines, Tidewater Tides Mike Scott, Greenwood Braves Brian Snitker, and the first card for hobby favorite Rusty Kuntz.