Collecting Roger Clemens Baseball Cards
Roger Clemens has been playing top rate major league baseball
for more than 20 years. His record-breaking seven Cy Young
Awards, an MVP, six World Series with two winning years and
many awards from fans and sporting magazines have made him
a hot commodity in the baseball card market. His rookie card
was released in 1985 by Fleer, Donruss and Topps. The Donruss
is most difficult to find in mint condition because of its
dark border. With four major league teams, and more than
two decades of play, there are a lot of different Roger Clemens
baseball cards out there.
Baseball Card History
A complete collection of Roger Clemens baseball cards would
cover a lot of card history. When trading cards were first
printed, they were used to advertise different products.
Some types of companies that made cards include bakery, tobacco,
caramel, ice cream, periodicals, and gum of course. Cracker
Jacks sometimes offered small baseball cards as the included
prize. Baseball cards became a product in their own right
instead of just a means of advertising.
In modern baseball card history, Bowman was the major producer
of cards until 1956 when Topps bought the company and controlled
the market for many years. Some other companies tried to
gain a foothold. Fleer signed an exclusive contract with
Ted Williams and produced a set of cards devoted to him.
Topps and Fleer both sold gum with their cards. Topps stopped
most of its competition by using its licensing agreements
to force other companies from producing cards. In 1981, however,
both Fleer and Donruss made baseball cards. Topps sued them
both but lost when the court ruled that its exclusive agreement
with the major leagues only extended to cards sold with gum.
That is why there are three Roger Clemens baseball cards
in his rookie year. Other companies also joined in saturating
the market. Competition improved card quality and novelties
like holograms. Between companies going bankrupt and selling
out to larger companies, the market finally was trimmed down
to just Topps and Upper Deck.
Collectors of Roger Clemens baseball cards watch the news
of their hero. A new addition to baseball card collection
is the online trading and discussion forums. The fans of
Roger Clemens baseball cards are watching controversies like
the Mike Piazza feud and unsubstantiated accusations of steroid
use. Good or bad, news about Clemens keeps the Roger Clemens
baseball cards trading. |