Though few of the names and faces on the supersisters trading cards can be immediately identified by contemporary audiences, certain people on the roster need no introduction, such as Rosa Parks and Gloria Steinem. But the founders, Lois Rich and Barbara Egerman, did this intentionally. Far from being a popularity contest, they intended the cards to be used as teaching tools, giving exposure for relatively unknown but successful women in a variety of fields and professions.
Iowa’s very own supersister and co-founder of the Iowa Women’s Archives, Mary Louise Smith, is number 15 in a series of 72 baseball-style trading cards.
Aside from jabs about the lack of bubblegum associated with these baseball-style cards, critics varied in opinion regarding the supersisters cards that debuted in 1979. A general consensus among dissenters belabored the trivial nature of cards while in the same breath validating their presence with mentioning that even “serious collectors” of baseball cards showed an interest in these cards.
Unfortunately, supersisters only had the initial set of 72 printed and sold, even though a second set of 72 supersisters were in the works. According to past interviews with Rich and Egerman, “life got in the way”. However, it is estimated that over 10,000 individual sets were sold of the original printing.
A complete set of 72 supersisters cards resides in the Iowa Women’s Archives digital collection through the Iowa Digital Library.
