Rookie cards have been an inseperable part of the hobby for many years. In 1960 Topps began recognizing promising rookie prospects with two special subsets in their baseball issue, including future stars such as Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Kaat, Willie McCovey, and Frank Howard. Similar rookie subsets, as well as "unmarked" rookie cards, continue to be highly treasured by both speculators and collectors alike.

Until the early '90s it was fairly common for a player to see major league action for a year or two before appearing on a nationally-issued card (especially with football cards). Two football examples are Raiders Hall-of-Famer Art Shell and Rams Hall-of-Famer Jackie Slater. Shell began his NFL career in 1968 but was not featured on a card until 1973. Slater's wait was even longer, beginning his NFL career in 1976 and not having a card issued in a major set until 1984! The fact both these men were offensive linemen probably didn't help their cause.

The football card market changed dramatically in 1989 when Pro Set and Score cards entered the marketplace. Both sets contained players who were rookies that very year, such as Troy Aikman, Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas, Andre Rison, and Deion Sanders. First and second round draft-picks were now being featured on cards before their rookie seasons actually began, a practice that continues to this day.

In baseball, Topps included promising rookies in subsets from 1960-82, usually three or four to a card. Over the years Topps hit paydirt on these cards with youngsters like Pete Rose (1963), Joe Morgan (1965), Rod Carew (1967), Tom Seaver (1967), Nolan Ryan (1968), Johnny Bench (1968), Thurman Munson (1970), Mike Schmidt (1973), Gary Carter (1975), Andre Dawson (1977), Paul Molitor and Alan Trammell (on the same card, 1978), and Cal Ripken (1982) to name just a few. Fleer began to include two-player prospect cards in their 1985 set,while Donruss created their "Rated Rookie" subset in 1983.

The baseball rookie card landscape changed dramatically in the late '80s and early '90s, as "Draft Pick" subsets began to surface in sets. These cards showed some prospects in their high school uniforms or school yearbook photos in street clothes! The yearly Bowman sets were (and still are) loaded with young prospects that may not see Major League action for three to five years, if ever. The era of toiling in the minor leagues for several years before getting a card was officially over.

Many rookie cards look no different than other regular player cards in the set. A reference book or magazine like Beckett is helpful when a collector is trying to find these (rookie cards will usually have an "RC" notation, or the name will be printed in italics). Even more confusing are cards in rookie-type subsets that aren't rookie cards at all! The most flagrant example of this is Lou Piniella, who was included on Topps "rookie star" cards in 1964, 1968, and 1969! Oddly enough, he was shown representing a different team each of those years.

Basically, it's not difficult to collect rookie cards if you know how to find them. The key is to not pay inflated prices for prospects who have yet to see any Major League action. "Can't miss" superstar prospects like Gregg Jefferies, Travis Lee, and Ron Dayne are plentiful in this hobby!