While older collectors likely relate trading cards with sugary pink bubble gum, wax wrappers and trips to the local drug or convenience store, the truth is that cards have been issued many different ways over the years.
Wax packs and bubble gum is certainly the most nostalgic method, but cards have also been issued in cereal boxes and other food products, as mail-in giveaways, as promotional items at special events and via specially designed vending machines. And that is just the beginning.
One manner of distribution that has served the lacrosse market very well over the past several decades is the team or league-issued cards and sets that were either given away or sold at games. This has been an ongoing practice by clubs from college, junior, senior and professional levels, in men’s and women’s field and box lacrosse.
These small sets (typically less than 25 cards) are issued in limited quantities (usually fewer than 5,000 examples of a given set are produced) and issued in a localized manner. With lacrosse cards historically paling in importance to other sports over the years, there was no hobby resource documenting their existence until the Lacrosse Card Archive was assembled a few years ago. This has resulted in collectors relying on their own research to uncover cards from seasons past and previously unknown issues still waiting to be discovered.
Compounding the issue is the fact that lacrosse cards were generally viewed as having no monetary value in comparison to their major sport counterparts, so the cards were also more likely to have been left behind by fans or saved with little concern towards maintaining their condition. The result is that many early and important cards of the game’s legends are exceptionally difficult to find, especially in what collectors consider to be high grade.
The introduction of these sets is primarily a product of the hobby boom of the late 1980s and early 1990s, but it should be noted that the first known team issued lacrosse set features the Oshawa Green Gaels, the Canadian Junior A box team that won seven consecutive Minto Cup championships from 1963-1969. Believed to be issued in 1966, these cards are a blend of team issued player photos and actual trading cards. They measure 4-½” x 6” and have blank backs. Unfortunately little is known about these cards, including what constitutes a complete set and the manner in which the cards were distributed.
Dozens of team and league-issued sets have been released over the years, but a handful would classify as truly important to the lacrosse genre. The following cards and sets are particularly desirable.
1999 NLL All-Stars – This 12-card box lacrosse set was given away at the 1999 All-Star Game and features rookie cards of Casey Powell, Tom Marechek and Mark Millon.
2000 NLL Championship Game – Another 12-card set distributed to fans, this set includes John Grant Jr.’s first trading card.
2001 MLL – Originally sold in six-card packs at MLL games, all unsold cards were later repackaged to be sold as complete 36-card sets. While the exact print run is unknown, there have been rumors that only 500 of each card was produced. These cards are now very rare and highly desirable. Included are cards of Gary Gait, Casey Powell, Ryan Powell, John Grant Jr., Roy Colsey, Tom Marechek, Mark Millon, Tim Soudan, Jesse Hubbard and many more.
2005 Philadelphia Barrage – This 29-card set is loaded with talent. Hall of Famers include Roy Colsey, Doug Shanahan, Ryan Boyle, Brian Dougherty, Kyle Sweeney, Matt Striebel and Brian Spallina.
2008 Los Angeles Riptide – Two four-card panels were issued over the course of two games. Panel #1 featured Kyle Harrison’s rookie card as well as an early card of Chazz Woodson.
2014-2019 New York Lizards – The Lizards issued team sets in six consecutive seasons. Among these cards are early Paul Rabil issues as well as rookie cards of Rob Pannell and Greg Gurenlian.
2017 Rochester Knighthawks – With at least 46 cards including several cards with image variations, this set is far larger than most other team issues. It contains early cards of Graeme Hossack, Cody Jamieson, Matt Vinc, Dan Dawson and others.
2022 San Diego Seals – The Seals put together a nice 10-card set that challenges collectors with two rookie short-prints, Tre Leclaire and Mac O’Keefe. Among the other eight are NLL stars Dane Dobbie, Wes Berg, Zack Greer, a rookie card of Austin Staat and Brodie Merrill’s last career-contemporary issue.
Lastly, a mention of CHOICE SportsCards is required when discussing lacrosse team sets. This custom card company was contracted by several teams over the years and produced many of lacrosse’s finest team sets. The 2007-2010 Boston Cannons, 2007 San Jose Stealth, 2015 & 2016 Buffalo Bandits, 2017 & 2018 Vancouver Stealth and 2007 Rochester Knighthawks were all CHOICE products and to this day remain popular among collectors.
With the increasing popularity of the trading card hobby and Topps releasing PLL and Athletes Unlimited sets, the hope is that teams will follow suit and continue producing their own sets. Unfortunately that is still just a hope and not yet a reality.
Most recently the Halifax Thunderbirds issued a 29-card team set in the 2022-2023 season and the San Diego Seals followed up with an extremely limited three-card issue of the Indigenous players on their roster when the team honored the Every Child Matters campaign in March 2024. Otherwise new team sets in the lacrosse card world have been slim, leaving collectors to try and hunt down those long-forgotten issues of years past.
To learn more about the sets documented thus far, check out the Team & League Issues page on the Lax Card Archive.