I’ve been working on a couple articles about the Blue Ridge Class D Baseball League and I came across this story while doing research. Baseball has its origins in America to the 18th Century. The earliest mention that has been found so far is a 1791 ordinance in Pittsfield, MA. As the game gathered fans, people sought ways to capitalize on the popularity. One of those ways was baseball cards. The first dated baseball card, according to the Library of Congress is an 1865 team photo of the Brooklyn Atlantics. Unlike baseball cards of today, this one is an original picture mounted on a card. “None of the players (or the skipper) have been identified by individual name. The Brooklyn team created the card as a promotional stunt and because it was a frequent league champion,” David Brown wrote in Read more…