3 Ways to Bring Bubble Gum Back to Baseball Cards

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By Ryan Cracknell | Hobby Editor

If you were born before 1985, you probably connect baseball cards with bubble gum. For decades, the two went together like peanut butter and jam, campfires and marshmallows, and Laverne and Shirley.

But since 1992, gum has all but disappeared from the hobby except for the memories, old, unopened packs and from under the seats of abandoned buses. A couple of exceptions are out there, but not many.

“They damaged the cards,” they said.

“It cost too much.”

“Allergies.”

“Nobody actually liked the taste.”

All these may have a certain degree of truth, but nostalgia — or at least the desire to have some semblance of the good ‘ole days — is a powerful thing. The gum and card equation is something at lot of us long for. I know I do.

So how can we bring gum back to the hobby? I have suggestions and ideas (and they’re just that — ideas that may or may not be realistic or even possible). And none of them involve manufactured gum damage (although I personally dug those short-lived Topps Heritage parallels).

Bubble Gum Baseball Cards

Let’s start with the most direct way to bring baseball cards and gum back together again — by combining them.

Since gum disappeared from all but a couple of products, Topps has mixed baseball players and vinyl figures and produced a test run of marbles. They even did those Qubi stamper things a few years ago.

The point is, they’re not against experimenting.

And what better way to bring their card and candy businesses together than with a line of bubble gum baseball cards?

Basically, each “pack” would come with a piece of gum the size of a traditional card, maybe a little smaller. Open the pack and there’s a player printed on it with some sort of engraving or outline of edible ink.

Those who want a piece of gum have a piece of gum. Those who collect cards can collect them that way if they wanted to. Have a checklist of about 50 cards pieces of gum and Topps has a crossover product on their hands.

Imagine how condition-sensitive these could be in ten, twenty, fifty years down the road? Would they even survive that long? Imagine the horror stories of the old knock-the-stack-of-cards-off-the-desk routine that we all incur every now and again. The gum cards would shatter — and make for an awesome slow-motion video in the process.

They’ve long been called bubble gum cards. Why not make it literal?

Scented Supplies

Smell is a trigger for memories. It’s science. So maybe even the smell of baseball card bubble gum might be enough. I don’t want that sweet scent sitting softly in the air while I drive. It’s a good sometimes smell. The gum smell is not something I want tickling my nostrils several times a day.

So let’s keep the smell with the cards. Not in them, but with them. How about scented supplies. Penny sleeves, pages, top loaders and magnetics are probably out of the question. But what about a strip somewhere on the outside of a monster box? Or embedded in the cover of a binder?

I’m not sure the physics and engineering behind it, but there are lots of smart and creative people working in the supply industry who probably could.

Anyone who has opened a package sent from a cigarette smoke-filled house know just how powerful smell can be when it comes to cards and collecting. But that’s on the negative side.

Bubble gum is a smell most of us related to good times.

With scented boxes and binders, it would add another layer to the time machine known as baseball cards. When I’m flipping through an old set, I’m taken back to another time. Memories come flooding back. Some of those memories are about the cards, some are about the players on the cards and some are triggers for life circumstances surrounding the cards.

But the vast majority of cards rely on just two senses: sight and touch. And touch might even be stretching it a little seeing as how there’s often a penny sleeve or other holder between us and the card.

Gum-scented supplies would add another sense and, subconsciously, make the collecting experience deeper. And definitely more pleasant.

Just Include the Dang Gum Back in the Pack

If Full House and Twin Peaks can comeback, why can’t gum?

You don’t always need to complicate things. Sometimes the best solution is the most obvious one. Unless, of course, there are some complications preventing it.

Gum doesn’t belong in high-end or even mid-range packs. But what about Heritage or flagship Topps where it has been before.

It may come with a cost. But we’re used to price increases. Five cents or so can probably be folded in easily.

And the gum damage? That solution was offered up a few years ago when Heritage had gum. Each piece came in some cello wrap. No stains, no powder, no gunk under your fingernails. And if you don’t want the gum, simply throw it out. Or take it to the office. Or tuck it away in your card boxes so that you get your own DIY scented supplies.

A lot of modern cards look to the past to tap into the past, whatever that means to individual collectors. With retired players, resurrected brands and redone designs all making a comeback, bubble gum might be the final frontier to connect with the past once again.

Comments? Questions? Contact Ryan Cracknell on Twitter @tradercracks.

When you click on links to various merchants on this site, like eBay, and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission.
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Ryan Cracknell

A collector for much of his life, Ryan focuses primarily on building sets, Montreal Expos and interesting cards. He's also got one of the most comprehensive collections of John Jaha cards in existence (not that there are a lot of them). Got a question, story idea or want to get in touch? You can reach him by email and through Twitter @tradercracks.

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9 comments

  1. joe 21 July, 2017 at 20:08

    You should actually see if the FDA would allow gum to be in packs the way it was in the past. I bet there are a lot more rules and regulations when it comes to this kind of thing, which is why it’s a bit more complicated than just putting the dang gum in the packs.

    • Ryan Cracknell 22 July, 2017 at 00:02

      @joe I’m sure it is complicated and might not be possible to get gum back in packs. But one can dream, ponder and have a little fun brainstorming.

  2. David D. 21 July, 2017 at 21:43

    Ryan, I have been a collector for 53 years, and I discovered a little-known fact some years ago. When Topps bought out Bowman in the 1950’s, they mass produced nearly 100 tons of gum. They continued to use this gum through their 1980’s products! That is why the gum shattered upon opening of the packs of cards. Not dangerous to consume, but not very tasteful either!

    • Ryan Cracknell 22 July, 2017 at 00:04

      @David What was your source? 100 tons of anything would take up A LOT of space. Storing it for literally decades would cost more than making it, no?

  3. Tracy LeVeaux 22 July, 2017 at 23:43

    Nostalgia is such an interesting thing. We all have these fond memories of opening Topps packs because of the wax wrappers and the gum. But did anyone actually enjoy chewing the gum when it was fresh? If I remember correctly, the flavor lasted all but 30 seconds. If the gum is to return, they’ve got to make it something that actually tastes good. True, the gum that they included in Opening Day and Heritage was an improvement, but that’s not saying much.

  4. Robert Braxton 31 July, 2017 at 22:49

    (Note: started collecting in ’77). I, for one, long for the gum taste, AND the smell (of the ORIGINAL gum) is one of my all-time favorites.

    I’d like it back anyway they can do it.
    With all the pack-searching that is commonplace, I might actually join them, in that I would LOVE to find a single pack with that gum upon each visit to the store.

    Note: that gum they put in the Heritage packs was a ‘miss’. Age it 30 years if you have to :), but bring back the ORIGINAL taste and smell.

  5. JWebb 23 May, 2023 at 16:07

    It’s not even easy to find old fashioned bubble gum by itself anymore. It mostly tastes like cotton and artificial sweeteners now.

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