K & M Company in Torrance, California produced baseball card specific plastic sheets (PVC) around '73 or '74. They were sold separately and part of a package with a thin vinyl album that contained all of the Major League ball logos. The only size initially available was a 9 pocket sheet for standard sized cards. These were sold at toy stores, such as Toys R Us. Within a few years different designs and sizes were introduced by a few companies. ...Prior to these sheets, I used a 6 pocket vinyl sheet initially designed for Polaroid snapshots. These were sold at drug stores (either Walgreens or Woolworths)... Fortunately I removed my cards from these years ago. An unfortunate side effect is that these sheets probably destroyed more cards that they saved. During this same period photo albums with peel back plastic sheets (covering adhesive strips) were introduced for photos. Unfortunately this method of storage destroyed the value and condition of even more cards. While cards were very inexpensive in the 70's (compared to today), the storage methods introduced during this period were very destructive long term. It will be interesting to see how professionally graded cards hold up over time. After all, plastic is a petroleum product and tends to destabilize over time...
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