Vintage Football Cards
Like baseball cards, the first football cards were printed by tobacco companies, which used images of athletes to promote their products. In 1888, cigarette maker Goodwin & Co. distributed 50 different cards in packs of Old Judge and Gypsy Queen cigarettes. Most of the Goodwin Champions, as they were called, were of baseball players, but one of the cards in that series was the first football card, an illustration of Henry Beecher, who was the...Continue Reading