Sy Berger, father of the modern-day baseball card, dies at 91

Sy Berger, the Topps executive that came up with the design of the modern baseball card, passed away on Sunday at the age of 91.  Berger was responsible for creating the design of the iconic 1952 Topps Baseball set, which ushered in many of the elements that are common in today’s cards, including the size of the card, using color images and team logos and printing the player’s stats on the back.

Berger also worked on the business side of the hobby as he was responsible for getting licensing deals with player to appear on Topps trading cards. He went to work for the company after serving his country in World War II and stayed until 2002.

While he has passed on, Berger’s legacy will live on with every pack that is opened and every card that gets traded.