Baseball is a game which is known almost as much for its memorabilia as for the sport itself. The collection of baseball cards in particular has become a fascination for many Baseball fans, with some rare limited edition cards fetching huge money in specialised Baseball card auctions. It is not uncommon for collectors to have hundreds or even thousands of cards which fill up multiple albums, with some special cards even framed and displayed on peoples’ walls. For many people, baseball card and memorabilia collection has taken over from the traditional collecting of stamps and coins. The worlds of collection do cross however, and many stamp sets have been released featuring baseball pictures and famous players – often displayed in Stamp album, stamp dealers have books that could help to the delight of stamp and baseball memorabilia collectors alike.

Baseball is a bat-and-ball team sport between two opposing teams of nine players each. The team who generates the most runs during the course of the game is victorious, with teams switching their roles from batting to fielding every innings. While baseball is principally a North American game, it is popular in many other nations – particularly Cuba, Japan, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Nicaragua, South Korea, Taiwan, Panama, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. Like most sports, the early history of baseball is complex and not documented as well as many fans would like. The evolution of baseball from other bat and ball games is not clear, however, it is possibly related to the French games of la soule, la balle au bâton, théque and la balle empoisonée. While defining these very early relatives of baseball is often conjecture, the closer we come to the present day the clearer the story becomes.

The most common belief about the history of baseball was that it came from the English game of ’rounders’, however, recent some evidence suggests that it actually originated in England and was brought to North America. The earliest reference to baseball is in fact an English document from 1744, which described both the game and the field. Whether it was rounders or an early version of baseball, it was English immigrants who brought the game to the United States of America in the late 1700s. Baseball really struck a chord with the American people, who have since made it one of their national sports, complete with mountains of memorabilia, countless books and other commentary. The 1850s and 60s saw a huge rise in the game’s popularity, and in 1869 the first professional baseball club was formed and the game really started to flourish.

It was not until the 20th century that baseball became a truly global sport, entering the Olympics in the 1992 games. It has not been the most popular of inclusions however, and its inclusion in every Olympics will be decided on a games by games basis. Because it has such a long and rich history, baseball memorabilia collecting is big business. While baseball cards are the most well known collectibles, many people also collect autographs, uniforms and other distinctive baseball items. Some fans are well known for their large collections, with some famous card holders buying stamps (Briefmarken Ankauf) books, these too even get shown on display at dedicated baseball memorabilia shows and events. Even though there is so much dedicated baseball memorabilia out there, many fans are especially excited by baseball stamps. There is something about being included on a postage stamp which makes any sporting fans proud, and with such a long and colourful history, baseball fans certainly are that.