Honus Wagner 1911 baseball card sold for $451,000 at Sotheby's in 1991. Photo courtesy of Leland's You won't find too many men who didn't spend at least a few years during their adolescence flipping and trading nickel packs of baseball cards. They are as American as the Statue of Liberty.

What used to be a boyhood hobby has turned into a big business.

"First, you've got to remember that there is a market at all because of the wonderful moms of America who tossed their kids' cards in the trash can. It's mothers like yours who helped create the demand and put dealers like me in business," says baseball card expert Alan Rosen.

Baseball cards first appeared on the market in the 1880s as promotional tools in the sale of cigarettes. Goodwin & Company first issued these cards with pictures of 19th century characters like show girls, prizefighters, and Indian chiefs. They soon realized that baseball players were ideal candidates for selling their cigarettes and began bringing the players into a studio for photo sessions.

These first cards were small and measured 1¾-by-2 3/4 inches. Before long, other cigarette companies with exotic brand names like El Principe de Wales, Mecca, Fatima, and Fez were busy producing their own baseball cards. There was even a cigarette named Ty Cobb. He was the only ballplayer to have one named after him.

Eventually non-tobacco companies like The Goudey Gum Co. and the DeLong Gum Co. began producing cards during the Depression. After World War II, Leaf Confectionery, Inc., Bowman, and the Frank H. Fleer Corp issued the bubble-gum cards. Later the company most identified with baseball cards, Topps Chewing Gum, started its line of cards.

The last 10-years has shown a tremendous growth in baseball card collecting.

Collectors sometimes choose to invest in cards by purchasing a complete set. This includes every card made during a single year by a particular company. Sets made in 1975 or earlier are considered good investments because there is a scarcity factor. Another critical area to consider is condition. The most valuable cards must be in excellent shape. This means no creases in the corners or damage of any kind.

Had Lou Gehrig known the simplest jersey he wore on his 1931 tour of Japan would sell one day for $110,000, what do you think he would say?

This is exactly what happened at Leland's Collectibles souvenirs auction held in February 1993, at the Southgate Hotel in New York City. The highlight of the sale was the only known jersey to have survived the first-ever United States tour of Japan by American and National League baseball stars. Three rare original photographs of the tour accompanied it.

"It's the most famous document in sports history," philanthropist Alan Feinstein of Cranston, R.I., said after his $99,000 purchase, of the historic 1919 sale agreement that sent Babe Ruth from the Red Sox to the Yankees.

The gold-on-black 1979 road jersey worn by Pittsburgh Pirate Willie Stargell during the world championship "We Are Family" baseball season hammered down at $2,475. The jersey came directly from the Pirates with a letter of authenticity.

A game bat handed to Jack Damaska (all star St. Louis Cardinals infielder) by Roberto Clemente in the batting cage after Roberto used it in 1967, sold for $2,750, and Clemente's batting helmet with the early Pittsburgh Pirate yellow "P" on the front brought $3,025.