Topps have been the same with  baseball cards since 1951. 
But the first cards were made in the 1880's, 20 
years before the American League was founded. The early cards were 
found with cigarettes and was pretty much all you could find in the early 
20th century. In 1933, bubble gum was included with the cards and was a 
heavier type of cardboard. These were popular into they stopped 
producing them by World War II. Topps made its first series in 1951. It 
consisted of two sets of 52 cards each made so each set could play a game of baseball. The next year was the model for all Topp's cards including 
statistics and color photos of the players. Many people today use these 
cards are used for main sources of information today. Prices of older 
and in good condition cards have increased greatly in value. The most 
valuable Topps card, Mickey Mantle, has been sold for over $120,000 at an auction.