Just like baseball cards, wrestling cards have been around since the early 1900's. They were
originally released as cigarette cards. These were issued with tobacco products and a lot of
times were simply added to sets which contained other sports stars of the era. In a lot of these
early issues you will find a combination of wrestlers and boxers.
During the 50's a small company named Parkhurst produced two sets of cards. These sets are
noted for being one of the first devoted to strictly wrestling. The sets were released in Canada.
The 1954 set has a total of 75 cards and includes many famous wrestlers like Lou Thesz, Verne
Gange, and Gorgeous George. The 1955 Parkhurst set is very much like the 54 set. It contains a
ton of famous old wrestlers and this set numbers a total of 121 cards.
The eighties were a time in which card collecting for all major sports really became popular. The
same can be said about wrestling. The first couple of sets came on the market in 1982. They were
made by a company called Pro Wrestling Enterprises notable for one of the first cards released
for Hulk Hogan. Following the release of their 1982 set they also produced a set in 1983. The card
industry giant Topps produced the first major recognized set in the United States in 1985. These
cards were released throughout the United States and were in box form everywhere. Their sister
companies O-Pee-Chee(Canada) and Scanlens (Australia) also produced these identical sets for
those prospective countries. Topps would follow-up with the success of the 85 set with a
additional release in 1987. The hardest and most rarest set of wrestling cards was released by a
company named Wonderama. They released a set of cards for the now defunct National Wrestling
Alliance. This massive set of cards numbered in the three hundreds and contained first cards of
stars like Sting, Road Warriors, and Lex Lugar.
1990 proved to be the boom in the wrestling card industry. There was numerous companies from
Classic, Market-Scene Limited, Topps, Comic Images who all began producing card set. They
popular wrestling stars. Sets including postcard size cards as well as stickers were now finding
there way on the wrestling card scene. Needless to say you had a wide variety of issues for the
collector to enjoy.
In conclusion, there are a ton of wresting cards for the collectors to add to their collection. Cards
from America, Canada, Italy, Australia and Britain have been produced to meet the needs of
wrestling fans across the world. You will find wrestling cards in virtually everyplace, from pizza
products, ice cream cartons, potato chips bags, store promos and your traditional box of
unopened packs. So what ever your taste is enjoy this great hobby and add these many cards to
your collection.............
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