JunkWaxData - Sports Cards JSON Repository

Comprehensive Database for Collectors and Developers

Welcome to the Sports Cards JSON Repository, your ultimate destination for exploring sports card data in a structured and open-source format. This repository features comprehensive datasets for baseball cards, football cards, basketball cards, and hockey cards in a developer-friendly JSON format. Collectors, developers, and enthusiasts can use this resource to power their projects such as:

• Integrating a complete sports card database into web applications
• Building mobile apps with powerful search across MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL card collections
• Training machine learning models on structured sports memorabilia data
• Managing personal card collections with accurate checklists

Why This Repository?

The Sports Cards JSON Repository addresses the gap in freely accessible, high-quality sports card datasets. By providing open data, we empower developers to:

• Create innovative tools for sports card collectors
• Develop offline applications for managing and analyzing card collections
• Use structured data for building machine learning models or generating insights
• Access comprehensive metadata about card sets across multiple sports

Whether you're working on a trading card tracker, a sports card price guide, or exploring trends in sports memorabilia, this repository offers a solid foundation.

Repository Structure

The repository is organized by sports categories with releases organized by year:

Sports Cards JSON Repository
├── categories/                    # Sport Categories
│   ├── baseball.json              # Baseball Category metadata
│   ├── football.json              # Football Category metadata 
│   ├── basketball.json            # Basketball Category metadata
│   ├── hockey.json                # Hockey Category metadata
|   ├── football/                  # Football Card Releases
│   ├── basketball/                # Basketball Card Releases
│   ├── hockey/                    # Hockey Card Releases
│   └── baseball/                  # Baseball Card Release
│       ├── 1990/                  # 1990 Baseball Releases
│       │   ├── 1990-Topps.json    # 1990 Topps Baseball Release
│       │   └── ...
│       └── ...
├── schemas/                       # JSON schemas for validation
│   ├── category.json              # Schema for Category files
│   └── release.json               # Schema for Card Releases
├── scripts/                       # Python Utility Scripts
└── examples/                      # Example code implementations
    ├── csharp/                    # C# examples
    ├── python/                    # Python examples
    ├── go/                        # Go examples
    ├── ts/                        # TypeScript examples
    └── rust/                      # Rust examples

Data Schema Structure

Category Files

Each sport has a category file (e.g., baseball.json) defining available years and releases:

{
  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
  "category": {
    "name": "Baseball Cards",
    "years": [
      {
        "year": "1990",
        "releases": [
          {
            "name": "Topps Baseball",
            "indexed": true,
            "version": "1.0",
            "uniqueId": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000"
          },
          {
            "name": "Upper Deck Baseball",
            "indexed": false
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "year": "1991",
        "releases": [
          {
            "name": "Donruss Baseball",
            "indexed": false
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Card Release Files

Individual card set releases follow this structure:

{
  "name": "Topps Baseball",
  "version": "1.0",
  "uniqueId": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
  "attributes": [
    {
      "attribute": "RC",
      "note": "Rookie Card"
    }
  ],
  "sets": [
    {
      "name": "Factory Set",
      "uniqueId": "ff789858-390c-4cb4-bbae-29bb501d91b3",
      "notes": ["Complete set included"],
      "numberedTo": 1000,
      "parallels": [
        {
          "name": "Gold Edition",
          "numberedTo": 1000,
          "notes": ["Limited edition release"]
        }
      ],
      "cards": [
        {
          "number": "97",
          "uniqueId": "958bd99d-a01f-49d6-979f-154d7675142b",
          "name": "Jose Canseco",
          "attributes": ["RC"],
          "note": "Star player",
          "variations": [
            {
              "variation": "Error Card",
              "note": "Misprint on back"
            }
          ],
          "parallels": [
            {
              "name": "Gold Edition",
              "numberedTo": 1000,
              "notes": ["Serial numbered"]
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Key Fields

Category Files

• name: The sport category name (e.g., "baseball")
• years: Array of year objects containing releases
  • year: Year in YYYY or YYYY-YY format (e.g., "1990" or "1990-91")
  • releases: Array of card releases for that year
    • name: Release name
    • indexed: Boolean indicating if this release is fully indexed
    • version: (Optional) Version of the data
    • uniqueId: (Optional) UUID for the release

Release Files

• name: The name of the card list or set
• attributes: General properties (e.g., "Rookie Card") with additional notes
• notes: Optional notes providing extra context at the card list or set level
• sets: Detailed information about specific card sets
  • numberedTo: (Optional) The maximum number for cards in the set
  • insertOdds: (Optional) An array of objects specifying insert odds
  • variations: Differences within a set, such as misprints or unique designs
  • parallels: Limited edition versions with unique numbering or designs
• cards: Individual cards with their attributes, variations, and parallels

Code Examples

The examples folder contains example code for loading and processing the JSON files:

Language	Example File	Use Case
C#	examples/csharp/Program.cs	.NET applications, desktop collectors' tools
Python	examples/python/main.py	Data analysis, web scrapers for card data
Go	examples/go/main.go	High-performance card search APIs
TypeScript	examples/ts/index.ts	Web-based card collection managers
Rust	examples/rust/main.rs	Performance-critical card data processing

These examples demonstrate how to parse JSON data and work with it effectively, making it easier to build applications or tools for collectors and developers.

License

All JSON files in this repository are licensed under the MIT License. This ensures you can freely use, modify, and distribute the data while retaining proper attribution.

How to Contribute

We welcome contributions to expand and enhance this repository.

To contribute:

1. Read our handy HOWTO on creating your own JSON Releases
2. Fork this repository
3. Add or update a card set in JSON format
4. Ensure your JSON complies with the provided JSON schemas
5. Submit a pull request with a description of your changes

All pull requests are validated against our JSON schemas to ensure data consistency. Validation must pass for the request to be merged.

Guidelines for contributors:

• Use consistent formatting as shown in the examples
• Double-check the accuracy of card data
• Include complete set information where possible
• Add appropriate metadata to help with searchability

Contact

For questions or suggestions about our sports card database, feel free to open an issue or reach out through GitHub.

By supporting this project, you're contributing to a comprehensive resource for sports card data enthusiasts, developers, and collectors alike.