Topps Paid $395,000 for Fleer’s Remaining Player Contracts in 1966

The history of baseball cards is marked by intense competition, particularly surrounding Topps' long-held dominance in the market. From its early days, Topps engaged in strategic battles to secure player contracts and distribution channels, ultimately establishing a near-monopoly that shaped the industry for decades. This period was characterized by legal skirmishes, innovative product strategies, and challenges from rival companies and even the players'

union, all vying for a share of the lucrative baseball card market.

Early Rivalry with Bowman

Topps' entry into the baseball card market immediately put it in direct competition with Bowman, which had been the primary maker of baseball cards. Bowman had secured its position by signing players to exclusive contracts, specifically focusing on the rights to sell cards with chewing gum. Topps, in preparation for its 1951 set, began acquiring rights through an agent called Players Enterprises. To circumvent Bowman's existing contracts, Topps initially sold its 1951 cards with caramel candy instead of bubble gum.

The rivalry escalated as Topps sought to establish its own exclusive rights. It included clauses in its contracts for players to agree not to grant similar rights to others or renew existing contracts, except where specifically noted. Bowman retaliated by adding "or confections" to the exclusivity language of its 1951 contracts and filed a lawsuit against Topps in federal court. Bowman alleged trademark infringement, unfair competition, and contractual interference. The court, however, rejected Bowman's claim to a trademark on the word "baseball" in connection with gum sales and dismissed the unfair competition claim. The contractual issue was more complex, depending on the signing dates and specific exceptions in player contracts. This period of intense competition, both for consumer attention and player contracts, concluded in 1956 when Topps acquired Bowman, effectively eliminating its main rival and leaving Topps as the predominant producer of baseball cards for the next quarter-century.

Fleer's Challenges and the FTC Ruling

After acquiring Bowman, Topps enjoyed a de facto monopoly, but this was not without challenges. Fleer, another bubble gum company, emerged as a significant challenger. In 1959, Fleer signed baseball star Ted Williams to an exclusive contract and released a series of cards centered around him. After Williams retired, Fleer expanded to a "Baseball Greats" series featuring mostly retired players. In 1963, Fleer attempted a 67-card set of active players, but Topps' extensive player rights limited its success.

Stymied in the market, Fleer turned to legal avenues, supporting an administrative complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC alleged that Topps was engaging in unfair competition through its aggregation of exclusive contracts. A hearing examiner initially ruled against Topps in 1965, but the Commission reversed this decision on appeal. The Commission concluded that because Topps' contracts only covered the sale of cards with bubble gum, competition was still possible by selling cards with other small, low-cost products. Despite this ruling, Fleer chose not to pursue such options and instead sold its remaining player contracts to Topps for $395,000 in 1966, further solidifying Topps' effective monopoly in the baseball card market.

The MLBPA and the End of the Monopoly

Topps' dominant position also faced an internal challenge from the nascent Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) in the mid-1960s. The union, seeking to generate funds and better compensate its members, realized it could pool players' publicity rights and offer group licenses. After observing the income generated from putting players on Coca-Cola bottle caps, the MLBPA concluded that Topps' contracts did not adequately pay players for their rights. MLBPA executive director Marvin Miller approached Topps president Joel Shorin to renegotiate contracts, but Shorin declined, as Topps had every Major League player under contract, generally for five years plus renewal options.

In response, the union asked its members to stop signing contract renewals before the 1968 season and even offered Fleer exclusive rights to market cards with gum starting in 1973. Although Fleer declined, Topps eventually agreed to double its payments to each player from $125 to $250 and to pay players a percentage of Topps' overall sales. The figure for individual player contracts has since increased to $500. The Topps monopoly was finally broken by a federal judge in 1980, ending Topps' exclusive right to sell baseball cards and allowing Fleer and Donruss to enter the market in 1981. While an appeal briefly overturned the ruling, competitors adapted by packaging cards with other items like logo stickers or puzzle pieces, ensuring that competition returned to the baseball card industry.