Posted By:
Richard"I may be wrong here, but I thought the traditional qualification for a baseball "card" was that the cardboard had to be included in the purchase of something else ... like tobacco, or gum, or garters, etc., as an incentive or a bonus for buying that product. It could not have been printed solely as a collectible in and unto itself (like an exhibit), and not for some other primary purpose (like a postcard)."
The above argument makes no sense whatsoever.
Every card produced today, and I would say almost every card made since 1990, has not been made to be included in the purchase of something else. No more gum in packs guys. The main product is the sports card. Nothing else. Nothing more.