Top 20 Advertising/Regional Issues of the Past 25 Years

jwasserman

Some of the more interesting cards of the past 25 years weren’t released by the major card companies but by potato chip manufacturers, hot dog vendors, and broadcasting companies. This list represents the best regional/advertising issues to emerge out of the past two decades and a half and represents a wonderful selection of obscure rookies and ultra-tough star cards you’re unlikely to find anytime soon.

20. 1985 711 Minnesota Twins Kirby Puckett - distributed at both baseball games and Minnesota-area 7-11s. The set had fairly wide distribution (50,000) but is notable for a Kirby Puckett rookie.

19. 1983 Thorn Valley Cubs Ryne Sandberg- This special set produced by the hot dog manufacturer for Wrigley Field was available on a special ‘card day’ game promotion. Ryne Sandberg’s rookie card can be found on a full photo cover picture in front of Wrigley’s Ivyed walls.

18. 1985 Minnesota Twins Team Issue- Kirby Puckett’s nicest rookie card is found in this stadium offering. Full color photo front with the All Star Logo in the corner.

17. 1990 McDonalds Barry Bonds- McDonald’s first issue of baseball cards (produced by Score) was done in a limited area- just 11 restaurants in Idaho and Oregon. As a result, these cards are a scarce commodity.

16. 1983 English’s Chicken Orioles Lids Cal Ripken - My vote for strangest set of the last 25 years. These discs were issued as the topper to buckets of chicken. Often found with grease marks on the reverse, these large sized discs were issue to commemorate the Orioles championship season.

15. 1985 WTBS Atlanta Braves Dale Murphy- This four card set was given to potential advertisers of the new WTBS Braves station. Only 450 sets were produced, making this a real scarcity (along with the fact that it was not available commercially to collectors).

14. 1985 CBS Game of the Week- This card set which was designed to promote the CBS Radio Game of the Week was sent only to CBS affiliates. The set which is comprised of broadcasters like Dick Stockton and Brent Musberger also features former player and Hall of Famer Johnny Bench. $25

13. 1996 Liberty Satellite Sports Cal Ripken- An interesting set that was only released to cable providers in an effort to promote a sports network, these cards may be found with different logos on the front (none of which command a premium over the other). Because this set was never geared or released to collectors, it exists only in limited amounts in the trading community.

12. 1986 Jiffy Pop Promos Nolan Ryan- MSA produced this set to promote their card releases at a restaurant and trade show. They differ from the regular Jiffy Pop releases in that they feature an MSA advertisement on the back rather than the player’s stats.

11. 1985 Kas Potato Chips Cal Ripken- Identical to the Kitty Clover discs (sans the logo), these were issued in somewhat larger quantity to the St. Louis area.

10. 1985 Straw Hat Pizza Nolan Ryan- These 11x16 cardboard backed posters were released by a local California pizza chain to commemorate the Angels’ 25th anniversary. A very attractive regional issue.

9. 1982 Red Lobster Ryne Sandberg- This set co-sponsored by the Cubs and Red Lobster was actually a stadium give-away and features full-size color photography. The Ryne Sandberg card pre-dates his major issue rookie cards by a full year and doesn’t leave collections very often.

8. 1983 Rawlings Glove Hang tags Tom Seaver- A popular type of issue in the 50’s and 60’s, Rawlings returned to the format in 1983 issuing a ‘card’ attached to their baseball gloves. Only 600 copies were produced for this first year back and the Seaver is the most desirable.

7. 1981 Granny Goose Potato Chips Rickey Henderson- One of Rickey Henderson’s earliest cards is found in this Oakland-based set. Condition sensitive due to the method of release (potato chip bags). The 1982 set is equally desirable.

6. 1993 Nabisco- This all autograph set is extremely popular with Hall of Fame collectors as they usually sell for a reasonable price. The Drysdale, however is the rare exception. Before he could return his signed cards to Nabisco, he passed away leaving only a handful of these cards completed. Most collectors were given a substitute replacement.

5. 1985 Kitty Clover Potato Chips discs Cal Ripken- An MSA release that predates the Jiffy Pop release by a full year, this particular set was only issued in the Omaha area in bags of potato chips. Tremendously scarce (and even harder to find in good condition due to the packaging), this is one of the toughest regional issues of the 1980’s.

4. 1990 Coca Cola White Sox Sammy Sosa- This set was given to fans on Opening Day at Comisky Park. 5000 sets were produced which also featured two different rookie cards of Frank Thomas.

3. 1993 Bazooka Todd Helton- This set produced by Topps commemorates Team USA including the highly coveted Todd Helton rookie. Special commemorative tins were available and numbered to 750.

2. 1984 Rawlings Glove Hang tags Nolan Ryan- The hang tags in Rawlings second issue for this set were attached to their clothing line. This set features a color drawing on the front and a photo on the inside of the player in leisure wear.

1. 1982 FBI Foods Discs Pete Rose/Nolan Ryan- FBI Foods is a grocery chain based in Canada. These were issued as the ‘box bottom’ to soda carriers making excellent condition examples very very tough. They may be found ‘punched’ or still in their original panel (which commands a premium).

dontippet

How about the Louisville Slugger hanging cards? There are seventeen cards (I believe) that were issued between 1980 and 1990. Does anybody know anything about these? I have eight sets total. The condition of the cards varies greatly from player to player.

Don

jwasserman

i think i just bought one of these sets from you off ebay last week. i love these cards personally. i have a checklist- ill post it later
jamie

goodriddance189

i'm glad they gave props to the 1990 Score McDonald's set. its true, they were only available in 11 restaurants in Idaho of all places. i once saw a buy ad for a Brett for like $400

pandrews

<< <i>i'm glad they gave props to the 1990 Score McDonald's set. its true, they were only available in 11 restaurants in Idaho of all places. i once saw a buy ad for a Brett for like $400 >>



i have 2 or 3 of the Hendersons..

i also have a couple of the 1982 Granny Goose hendersons, but no 1981! if somebody has one, let me know..

bobsbbcards

Thanks for the list! Once again, very informative.

jwasserman

Don,
Here's the checklist Louisville Slugger checklist:

1981
Steve Garvey
Graig Nettles

1982
Pedro Guerrero
Fred Lynn

1984
Ray Knight Mets
Ray Knight Astros
Graig Nettles

1985
Steve Garvey
Gary Mathews

1986
Orel Hershiser
Rick Rhoden

1987
Eric Davis

1988
Eric Davis
Steve Garvey
Orel Hershiser
Mike Pagliarulo

1989
Orel Hershiser

1990
Wade Boggs
Orel Hershiser
Andy Van Slyke
Lou Whitaker

1992
Eric Davis

1993
Jack McDowell

dontippet

I have 1981 through 1989. I just received two PSA 9's on a couple of my 1988 Eric Davis cards. Thank you for the checklist. Where did you get it? Is there any information on the internet?

Don

RedHeart54

Great list! I always used to enjoy going through the annual Beckett or SCD books and "research" all of these scarce regional cards. The "rookie" and "pre-rookie" cards were of particular interest to me. How about the other sports? For hockey off the top of my head, I can think of the 1985 7-11 "credit cards" of Lemieux and Yzerman as well as the 1979 Edmonton Oilers postcards of Gretzky and Messier. Also, at the height of the McGwire craze, there was a local dealer trying to get $20 for the 1992 (?) Dairy Queen McGwire (with the photo from the '85 Topps card). (BTW, I think the '79 Topps/Burger King Pete Rose deserves to be on the list if only because it serves as an early "Topps Traded" card.)

jwasserman

I pulled that information from the Standard Catalog- great book, blows beckett out of the water.

If you've got any dupes, I'd be interested in buying. It's actually one of my favorite sets.

dontippet

I have several extra sets (of the first seventeen cards). PM me with your wantlist.

Don

mikeschmidt

Great list-

Although you picked out specific players - many of those cards have been very tough for me to obtain for my Schmidt Master set.

I finally found a Schmdit FBI disc about a year or two ago. It is in at PSA right now, with the hopes of an "Authentic" moniker. It might score a 1-2, but I think it is cut too close to the lines. I just want the damn thing graded.

Jiffy Pop Promos come up every now and again. There are one or two individuals who got a lot of the "leftovers" from Schechter's liquidation. I believe I got my Schmidt from this lot. Many of these promos have a crease/wrinkle in them, which makes them tough.

1985 Kitty Clover and 1985 KAS Potato Chips are both hard. In addition to the normal difficulties, add in typical horrible centering, and it is a recipe for disaster to find high grade examples...

~ms

jwasserman

In football, I'm a big fan of the 1984 7-11 coins- gives you a chance to pick up an Elway and Marino rookie and relatively reasonable prices and I've always loved the Slurpee disc sets.




<< <i>Great list! I always used to enjoy going through the annual Beckett or SCD books and "research" all of these scarce regional cards. The "rookie" and "pre-rookie" cards were of particular interest to me. How about the other sports? For hockey off the top of my head, I can think of the 1985 7-11 "credit cards" of Lemieux and Yzerman as well as the 1979 Edmonton Oilers postcards of Gretzky and Messier. Also, at the height of the McGwire craze, there was a local dealer trying to get $20 for the 1992 (?) Dairy Queen McGwire (with the photo from the '85 Topps card). (BTW, I think the '79 Topps/Burger King Pete Rose deserves to be on the list if only because it serves as an early "Topps Traded" card.) >>

helionaut

I remember there were a couple hot oddball items when I was first getting into cards seriously back around 1981: Squirt and Pepsi soda cards. I can't recall exactly offhand, but I think the Squirt was like a hanging card, a rectangular job with a circle cut out that would hang off one of the bottles in a six-pack. The Pepsis were a cut like a glove with a disc in the middle with a rectangular tab on the bottom. Anyway, I remember reading a lot of for-sale ads in my much-read copy of Baseball Cards Magazine #1.