Obscure Card of the Month: To the Ball Game Playing Card

Posted on March 1, 2020 by Pre-War Cards

This month’s obscure card comes from a rare playing card set

As baseball grew in popularity, the sport was being featured on all kinds of products. Some of those products were playing cards.

Some cards were dedicated baseball games with their own rules for play, etc. Others, however, merely included baseball designs on the backs of standard decks of playing cards.

One of the more unique ones from that latter group that seems a bit tougher to find is known as ‘To the Ball Game.’ The cards do not depict a baseball scene, rather, they have a woman in a carriage. However, that title, as well as the words ‘Ball Park’ also printed on them generally identify this as a baseball issue.

At least two different types of these sets were issued. The cards I have include the picture with a red ink tint. However, others have a blue ink image instead. The other side of these cards, of course, are simply standard playing cards from two through Ace.

Which of the two styles, if either, is rarer? Tough to say. Both styles are frankly pretty difficult to come by. I previously purchased a handful of these from a seller and have only seen any for sale on one other occasion (another pair that I recently bought). In short, good luck trying to find them.

More surely exist, obviously. And somewhere, someone’s got to have a full deck of them. But I’ve had little success in trying to find those decks or even very many singles.

I also have not seen a confirmed date for them. The original seller I got them from listed a date of 1906 but I have not seen anything to really back that up.