In The Cards: 1989 Calgary Cannons

This should have been a set that included a Ken Griffey Jr. baseball card.

Alas, the Hall of Fame outfielder ended up being too good for Triple-A baseball, skipping straight from the Double-A level in 1988 to the Seattle Mariners in 1989. Nonetheless, this blue-bordered ProCards set of the Calgary Cannons included plenty of Major League Baseball (MLB) talent.

In The Cards: 2002 Medicine Hat Blue Jays

Welcome to a new archival series we’re introducing called In The Cards. The idea is simple: while images of most baseball cards can be found online, there are some gaps, especially when it comes to the minor-league cardboard cutouts.

To assist in this matter, and with an eye on Alberta-based teams and players, we will periodically be adding galleries of baseball cards to our website. We hope you enjoy!

First up to the plate, the 2002 Medicine Hat Blue Jays.

In The Cards: Joe’s All Stars

Baseball cards weren’t just a collectible from my childhood, they provided hours upon hours of entertainment.

Having only three channels to pick from on the family farm, my exposure to actual baseball games was pretty limited. So I had to get creative.

I set up a game on my bedroom floor and that was the first thing I thought of when coming up with my All Star selections.

In the Cards: Ian’s All Stars

In a pre-internet world, baseball cards served as a fantasy baseball type of resource that connected fans with players.

They provided stats, factoids, interesting graphic designs and photos that ranged from fantastic to hilarious. On occasion, the packs of cardboard collectibles even provided mouth-scraping gum that was capable of losing flavour faster than a card in bike spokes could drop its value.

Of course, baseball cards are still around – they’re even available in mobile app form – but the popularity of the memorabilia is nowhere near what it was in the sports card boom of the 1990s and before that era.

Here at Alberta Dugout Stories, we love our collectibles, so we’ve decided to unveil a baseball card-themed All-Star Team!

Wax Pack Nostalgic

Like many kids born in the 1980’s, Stu Stone was “all in” with sports cards. His father even owned a series of baseball card shops, which fueled his passion for the hobby. But in adulthood, the actor has found out it wasn’t going to bring him the riches he was always told it could become. So he made a documentary about the industry, which took a “crazy left turn” in his own personal journey.