For years, the hobby has been dormant, with the number of card shows and conventions dwindling annually. Hutton says part of that can be attributed to the baseball strike of 1994. The baseball strike certainly had something to do with it, Hutton said of the decline in the hobby s interest. It usually takes about two years to settle out. Now that all the sports are getting into the trading card business there are even golf trading cards the hobby is expanding very fast.
Baseball is back as the sport of preference for collectors.
Hutton also said football cards are popular collectors choices, reflecting the fact popularity of the pigskin in America. Many people collect just to find cards of the next big-impact rookie, or the random insert autographed cards. However, Hutton said, there is still a large group of collectors who focus on the tried and true. There still is a main flow looking for the vintage cards, and the athletes they like, he said. The recent boom of sports cards could also be attributed to the rash of on-line collector s websites and auction sites.