A Smorgasbord! 1987 M&Ms Star Lineup

From the 1970s through the 1990s, it seemed like you could find your favorite baseball stars on food product packaging everywhere you looked: supermarkets, corner stores, restaurants, and beyond. This past year, in an effort to capture a little more nostalgia, I set a goal to expand my own collection of these "food-issue" cards. In this series I'll show the specific examples I've acquired, and share a little bit of history about the food or beverage sponsor as well. 

Previous entries can be found here.

 

  

It's the summer of 1987. July 13, to be exact. The major league all-star game is tomorrow in Oakland, and you can't wait to watch all the big names: Schmidt, Strawberry, Mattingly, Boggs, Winfield, Ozzie, Rickey. You've been finding wood-grained versions of all of them in packs of Topps cards this year.

 

And just when you thought it couldn't get more exciting, dad walks into the living room, gets your attention, and tosses a small bag in your direction. If the distinct packaging didn't give the product away as it sailed through the air, the rattling sound you hear when the bag makes impact with your hands sure does. 

You open your palms and look down to confirm. 

 

It's a pack of M&Ms!

You glance over at dad and exclaim, Yes!!

You give him your thanks, but instead of replying with any words, he walks over to you with some sort of cardboard panel in his hands. You notice he's looking down at it, and rotating it to a certain orientation. Then he hands it right over to you.

 

 

 

 

 

"Baseball cards?!" You ask in excited disbelief.

 

"Yep. They're issuing them with six-packs of M&Ms", dad replies in a matter-of-fact way.

 

"Oh, cool!" You look at the cards again, very happy with the Ripken/Brett combination.

 

"Wait, what?"

 

Something dad said about those M&Ms finally hit you. But you hear the screen door in the kitchen swing closed, which means dad has already headed out to the garage, and didn't hear your confused expression. Either that, or he chose not to.

 

So, there you sit, wondering if there might be five more packs of M&Ms somewhere in the house. And then you wonder if they'll be distributed to you at some point soon. 

 

But right now, you don't care. You got good marks on your final report card of the year, it's summer vacation, and you'll be eating your current pack of M&Ms and watching the all-star game with dad tomorrow. 

 

Life is good. 

Here's what the back of the cards look like.

The most interesting data point occurs on Cal Ripken's card. 

 

Since June 1982 played 6,947 consecutive innings

 

Consecutive games would have been the more standard factoid. But the innings streak is amazingly impressive as well. In fact, Mr. Ripken would continue that streak all the way through September 14th of 1987, ending up with 8,243 consecutive innings. Essentially, that's more than five years of playing every inning of every Orioles game.

 

As for M&Ms, they have quite a streak going as well, dating all the way back to the 1930s, when Forrest Mars Sr. noticed soldiers eating a similar candy-coated chocolate during the Spanish Civil War. The version Mars created (named after Forrest Mars and co-developer Bruce Murrie) were first available only to US soldiers during World War II. After the war, the candies were introduced to the public, and the rest is history.

 

There's also a baseball connection, as New York Yankee greats Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle were affectionately known as the "M&M Boys". Although the players weren't officially endorsed by the candy maker, you'd have to imagine M&M sales increased during the early 1960s as a result of the nickname.

 

In more modern times, the brand has introduced a whole lot of flavors on top of the standard milk chocolate and peanut varieties. You can also create personalized gifts for any occasion now, with all sorts of messages and colors.

But let's get back to the summer of 1987 for a moment. I wasn't aware of the existence of a six-pack of M&Ms before I started research for this blog post. But they really did exist. Check out this full-page advertisement I found:

 

 

 

I can see that ad appearing in a comic book back then, or maybe an issue of Ranger Rick or Dynamite.

Now a couple of questions for you readers and collectors:

 

Do you have any of these M&Ms panels or individual cards in your collection?

 

What's your favorite flavor of M&M? I'm going with peanut.

 

Leave your answers in the comment section, and thanks for reading!

From the Favorites Box: Rick Schu, 1987 Topps #209

A series where I post some thoughts about favorite cards. Previous cards in the series are available here.

 

 

There's so much 1980s goodness on this Rick Schu card, I don't even know where to start. 

 

 

You've got the powder blue uniforms. The maroon three-quarter sleeves. The flip-down shades under the brim of his cap. The mustache. The I-web glove with "SCHU" written in black marker along the thumb. The batting glove for some extra padding. The stirrup socks. And then you've got the dirt-stained pants and ripped knee.

 

Rick Schu was having himself a game. Just look at that posture. Despite the wear and tear, he's ready for the next pitch to be hit right at him.

 

And I can only guess that the rip in the knee was caused by another '80s staple: 

Astroturf.

 

Look at the background of the card one more time. It's hard to tell for sure if that really is turf behind the ankles of Mr. Schu, but based on the green wall with yellow top line, and the lighter green backdrop behind him, it might be Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Or maybe Three Rivers stadium in Pittsburgh. (Bo from Baseball Cards Come to Life! might have a better idea. He seems to be quite the stadium expert.) Regardless, if either of those stadiums is the correct answer, we're talking about turf.

 

And that stuff would burn you up if you slid on it. But I know I can't be the only '80s kid out there who wanted to play on a turf field so badly anyway, even if you came home with a ripped knee in your new baseball pants and would feel the wrath of mom as a result. 

 

Watching teams like the Phillies, Cardinals, Royals, Pirates, Expos, or Astros was too cool. You'd see fleet-footed players like Vince Coleman, Willie McGee, or Andy Van Slyke slapping grounders through the hole, and then leading off first base—trail foot in the dirt, front foot on the turf—before trying to swipe second. Or other guys like Tim Raines and Willie Wilson smacking doubles into the gap and hustling around the bases, trying for an inside-the-park home run. Then on the defensive side, you had guys like Dave Concepcion and Ozzie Smith doing the intentional bounce-throw from deep shortstop over to first base. It was all so fun to watch.

 

And that brings us back to the hard-working, ever-ready Rick Schu.

 

He put up workmanlike numbers over a 9-year career, finishing up with 386 hits in 580 career games. His best season was 1985 in Philly, where he put up career highs in games (112), at-bats (416), hits (105), doubles (21), triples (4), and walks (38) with a .252/.318/.373 slash line. At third base that season, he finished with 86 putouts, 191 assists, 19 double plays, and a .933 fielding percentage. He also finished second in the NL with 20 errors committed. Ouch. 

 

But that image on his baseball card up there reveals that it wasn't for a lack of effort.

 

And for showing us you've always got to be ready out there, especially on those awesome turf fields of a time gone by, 1987 Topps #209 has a spot in my box of favorite cards.

Another Marketplace Find

Earlier this year, I made my first two card-related purchases on Facebook Marketplace. They were excellent experiences. Not only did I add a few hockey wax boxes to my collection, but one of the sellers also added in a bunch of extra cards for free!

 

Well, since that time I've occasionally browsed Marketplace for other deals on trading cards, saving any interesting listings for further review. Recently, though, a listing came up that I didn't even have to save for later.

 

Here's what I picked up for a 10-dollar bill:

 

 

 

The impetus for this purchase was the binder on the right. I'd been looking for another solid, stylish hockey binder to house two sets that I've nearly finished: 1985-86 Topps and 1986-87 Topps. From the images the seller posted, it looked nice and clean, and upon closer inspection, it was exactly that.

 

I'd have been happy with the hockey binder alone for the $10 asking price. However, the listing showed that I'd be getting more for my money.

 

 

There were cards inside!

 

You're looking at the 1993-94 Ultra hockey set, organized by team. There's nothing amazing in the set from a dollar value or scarcity point of view. However, after pulling the cards from the pages and sorting them by number, I will say that the entirety of Series 1 was present (cards 1-250), as well as a decent amount of Series 2 (cards 251-500).

 

I'd guess this collector had a good deal of enthusiasm for the first series back in 1993-94, but then that energy for purchasing packs and completing the set petered off at some point after the second series was released. Regardless, I only need about 40 cards to complete Series 2, so I might still go for it.

 

Oh, and there was a little surprise at the back of the binder. 

 

 

That's an All-Star insert set from 1994-95 Ultra. All 12 cards in the set were there. Lots of star power, for sure.

 

As for the baseball binder? The "1989" distinction on the front was intriguing. I'm not sure I've ever seen a binder with a specific year included in the design like that. Would the cards inside match the year? Would there be any 1989 Upper Deck in there? A Griffey rookie hidden in plain sight?

 

 

No.

 

Just a lot of 1989 Topps cards. I did find a couple of the notable rookies, though, like Craig Biggio (pictured) and John Smoltz. So it wasn't all that bad. Some stars of the era were also present, such as Ripken, Bonds, McGwire, and Canseco.

 

The baseball binder was much more dusty than its hockey friend, but I'm hoping a damp paper towel—or even a little warm soapy water—will help bring back some of its luster.

 

Overall, two trading card binders, two partially completed sets, a handful of junk wax rookie cards and stars, and about 60 reusable binder pages for $10 is a pretty good deal.

 

What do you readers think? Did I do well here? Have you ever made a similar purchase and come across an unexpected gem or two when looking through it?

 

Share in the comment section, and thanks for reading.

Some Original Checklists

When it comes to cards, I'd say my organization skills are usually good. I don't have a huge collection, and the cards I do have are fairly well sorted, marked, and stored. 

 

However, a couple of months ago I was looking through a three-row monster box containing wax packs, top loaders, and bags of penny sleeves, and came across a stack of old checklist cards. At first I was unsure of what they were doing there with all the supplies and things. Then I had a closer look at the card backs, and the mystery was solved.

  

 

 

They were all marked up in the 1980s by a young Mr. Nine Pockets!

 

I'm happy to still have them after all this time, and wanted to share some examples on the blog, for fun.

 

First off, the 1984 Topps team checklists up there possess a high nostalgia factor. That was the first year I started earnestly collecting cards. Those green wax packs with the big baseball on the front were the first I remember opening. And as you can see by the example on the right, not even a wax stain would deter me from marking up the little box for each Cleveland Indians card I had accumulated that year. Not too bad for a young kid when it comes to staying within the lines.

 

I was hoping to feature a marked-up checklist year by year through 1988, but I couldn't find any from 1985. That makes a good bit of sense, as I didn't collect as much that year for some reason. So let's go to 1986.

 

 

 

Using a red pen on that red-colored Tigers checklist on the left wasn't my brightest idea. At least I switched colors for the Padres version on the right.

 

 

 

My box-filling-in skills had improved by the time the 1987 set rolled around. And as you can see, I opened enough packs (and had enough stick-to-itiveness) to get pretty close to completing some team sets.

 

I guess as collectors, we do tend to have those genes. Sorting. Organizing. Completing. Inventory taking. I clearly remember the sense of satisfaction—maybe even the thrill—of checking off more boxes as I opened more packs and sorted them, and the similar thrill of getting closer and closer to a completed set.

 

 

 

Man, I was so close to completing that Yankees team set back in 1988. Just couldn't find a Ron Guidry.

 

 

Bonus

 

Right around the time I was looking for that Guidry card, I started getting into the sport of ice hockey, and consequently, collecting hockey cards. Here's a checklist from the 1988-89 Topps set:

 

I'm happy to report that I did eventually pick up a copy of the Jimmy Carson, Scott Stevens, and Brad Marsh cards. Set complete. Check.

And that spans the childhood years when I actually marked up checklists. By the time the 1989 Topps baseball set came around, I was 11 years old and getting a little too careful with my cards to want to mark them up with a pen or pencil.

 

How about you readers and collectors? Do you have any original checklists that you marked up during your childhood?

 

Share in the comment section, and thanks for reading!

Exactly 38 Years Ago, a Crucial Keith Hernandez Error Ruined Their Day

If you’re a Seinfeld fan and you’ve been around this blog long enough, the title of this post probably gave you a good idea as to what you’ll find when you scroll down. But let's provide a brief background first.

 

Way back in 2019, this whole custom card thing started off with a vintage-inspired design featuring George Costanza knocking out Bette Midler in a collision at home plate.

 

 

A few years later, along came Elaine, wearing a Baltimore Orioles uniform and celebrating a home run with some of her trademark little kicks.

 

 

Then, most recently, Jerry appeared on the Pittsburgh Pirates—even though he clearly didn’t wanna be a pirate.

 

 

 

There was only one more member of the fab four to capture on cardboard. And now it’s ready.

 

 

It’s Cosmo Kramer, of course! 

If you zoom in for a better shot of the action, you'll see that it recreates the scene from June 14, 1987 at Shea Stadium (exactly 38 years ago!), when Kramer was hit by some spit that he and Newman wrongly assumed came from Keith Hernandez. Kramer is yelling out, “I’m hit!”, while Roger McDowell, the "second spitter" and true culprit of the infamous crime, is visible in the bushes behind the fence. 

 

For a refresher, here’s the scene from the Seinfeld episode:

 

When I was thinking about how to depict Kramer on his card, it didn’t take long for that post-game incident to come to mind. After all, the other three customs in this set have baseball-related themes in one way or another. I wanted Kramer’s card to have one, too.

 

The challenge was coming up with the perspective and angles to make it work. In the video evidence, Roger McDowell was off to the side, in the bushes, while Kramer was more in the foreground. I wondered if I’d be able to get it right.

 

Thankfully, I found a card from the original 1956 set with a built-in fence along the side. It gave me a nice anchor point for McDowell, and also allowed a good amount of room to show Kramer as he’s being hit by the “magic loogie”.

 

And if you look closely at Kramer’s clothing, you’ll see that I tried to match it up with what he was actually wearing in the Seinfeld episode. Adapting so much of the scene into the card was fun, for sure.

 

And with that, the fab four set is complete.

 

 

 

 

These cards definitely challenged my creativity and overall design skills, and I'm pretty happy with the outcome. There's probably room to add a couple more cards to the set, featuring characters like Newman, or David Puddy (who'd be on the New Jersey Devils, of course). However, I think for now I like it as is.

 

How do you think the set turned out? If you've got a favorite, let me know in the comment section.

 

Thanks for reading, as always!

Let's Have More Willie Wilsons in Modern Baseball, Please

Have a look at this 1985 Topps Woolworth All-Time Record Holder card.

 

 

It features Willie Wilson in a fairly ordinary pose, with bat in hand. Mr. Wilson gained entry into this 44-card set largely as a result of his 1980 season, which was anything but ordinary. He actually set three records that year. All three are listed on the back of the card.

 

And although the second one might not exactly fascinate some fans of the modern game, it sure does impress me. 

 

Want to know what it is?

Set A.L. record with 184 singles in 1980.

 

One hundred and eighty four singles. Would you like to know how many Major League players totaled at least 184 hits during the 2024 season? 

Six. 

 

That's right. Six players reached 184 total hits last year. 

 

Not 184 singles. 

 

184 hits. 

 

That's a remarkable difference.

 

And hey, listen. The game changes. New strategies emerge. Rules are added or removed. Player types come in and out of fashion. This kind of stuff needs to happen to the game over time. If not, it becomes stagnant, and eventually viewership declines. And let's be fair: There are some exciting aspects of the modern game, not to mention exciting players.

 

But man, I miss that Willie Wilson type. Hit singles, steal bases, score runs. Come on, name a few more with me.

 

Willie McGee. Vince Coleman. Tim Raines. Lenny Dykstra. Paul Molitor.

 

You'd still get some of those guys in decades to follow, of course. Kenny Lofton. Juan Pierre. Dee Gordon. Ichiro Suzuki. Even Jose Altuve fits the bill to a certain extent.

 

But over the past decade or two, the speedy slap-hitter has become almost extinct. And I think that's a real shame.

 

Just look at Willie Wilson go.

 

 

 

For his career, Wilson totaled 2207 hits, 1169 runs, 281 doubles, 147 triples, and 668 stolen bases (12th all-time as of this writing), finishing with an 83% stolen base percentage (19th all-time as of this writing). He led the A.L. in triples five times, and four of those times he led the majors, too. Add to that his 13 career inside-the-park home runs, which is the most of any player in the modern era.

 

It's also noteworthy that Wilson was a switch-hitter, and is one of only two players in MLB history to have collected 100 hits from both sides of the plate in a season. (Garry Templeton is the other.)

 

But let's go back to his 1980 season.

 

That year, Wilson led the majors in plate appearances (745), at-bats (705), runs (133), hits (230), and triples (15). He also took home a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger award, and finished 4th in A.L. MVP voting behind George Brett, Reggie Jackson, and Goose Gossage.

 

He'd put up great numbers over the next few seasons as well, and was an integral part of the 1985 World Champion Kansas City Royals.

 

The man had a great career, and brought a certain kind of excitement to the game of baseball. Let's make sure we give a little more credit where credit is due.

 

As for today's game? I'd love to see a resurgence in the speedy slap-hitter. How about you readers? Feel the same way? Do any current MLB players fit the bill?

 

Share in the comment section, and thanks for reading!

 

PS: Next week's post will come on Saturday instead of Sunday, in order to mark a baseball-related anniversary. Be sure to tune in!

Completed Set: 1991-92 Score Canadian Bilingual, Series 1

Well, that was fast.

 

Back in March, I posted a story here on the blog about a box of hockey cards I received as a "throw-in" with a facebook marketplace purchase.

 

 

 

Yep, 1991-92 Score Canadian Bilingual Hockey, Series 1.

 

It was a mouthful, released right around the peak of junk wax–era hockey cards. And as a result, it wasn't exactly high on my list of sets to complete. (Actually, it wasn't even on the list.) However, the box was free, and although all the packs had already been opened, there were enough cards inside to get me fairly close to the full set: 287 out of 330, to be exact. So, I decided to put a want list up on TCDB and get the word out to the card-collecting community.

And thanks to the ever-present generosity of that community, I've already reached the finish line! 

That's right. About two months after I put the word out, 1991-92 Score Canadian Bilingual Series 1 is now complete and in my possession. A win is a win, right?

 

So let's take a look at this set, and what gems we can find within.

 

First things first: The folks at Score didn't mess around with common cards to start off the set. Check out the first six names on the checklist:

 

Brett Hull

Al MacInnis

Luc Robitaille

Pierre Turgeon

Brian Leetch

Cam Neely

 

All six are now Hall of Famers, and better still, they're shown in action on their cards. Many of the cards after those six—be it HOFer, common player, or anything in between—didn't disappoint, either. 

 

 

 

Throughout the set you'll find examples of solid hockey action and quality image cropping. As you can see above, there are plenty of guys spraying snow, rushing the puck up ice, or otherwise zooming around.

 

 

 

The action didn't stop with the skaters. Goalies received some good cardboard in the set, too. I can hear the muffled boom of the puck rebounding off Peter Ing's leg pad there on the right.

 

 

And if you want good hockey technique, Score's got you covered. Look at the three players above. Head up, puck on stick, looking to make a play. That's absolutely textbook. Images like these are much harder to find on hockey sets of the previous decades. Overall, I was really impressed with the Score photographers at this point.

 

However, as I continued to look through the cards in the set, I noticed a pattern. Murphy, Huddy, and Trottier are not the only three players displaying good puck-handling skills. Not even close. In fact, there were so many images of players carrying the puck on their stick, I decided to count them up. 

 

Would you like to know the total?

 

118.

 

That's right. There are 118 cards in Series 1 that show a player with the puck on his stick, ready to pass, or skating with the puck under control. That's one third of the set!

 

As you flip through the cards, this becomes a bit repetitive. But don't worry—the Score photographers did go off the script at times. For example, look at these two:

 

 

 

Although they only did it twice for all of the base cards in Series 1, Score did add a horizontal version of their base card design. I always find it interesting when a card company goes through the trouble of creating a separate card layout, and then only uses it for one or two cards.

 

 

Regardless, you'll also find some exciting cards like these, which show players blasting shots. Look at Steve Thomas there. He's comin' right at ya!

 

The bold, red design of each card also comes right at ya.

 

It works better for some teams than others, of course. The Red Wings, Blackhawks, and Kings do well. Teams with orange in their uniforms, like the Flyers, Oilers, and Islanders, can cause a bit of a clash with the red. But hey, listen. We were smack-dab in the middle of bold '90s card designs, so Score's color choice here fits the era quite well.

 

As for the overall design, we get a somewhat simple card front. The angular top and bottom lines of the frame are reminiscent of 1989 Fleer baseball, and help deliver the message that hockey is an action sport. Score placed each team's wordmark at the bottom right, and then placed their big "SCORE" branding at top right. I like the little hockey puck underneath the player's first name.

Let's look at a card back now.

 

 

Typical Score excellence. You've got plenty of good information to read, and because this is the Canadian bilingual version, it's available in English and French.

The big color photo on the right is a crowd pleaser, and the yellow-orange banner for the player name at the top of the card stands out. The team logo and player position underneath provide nice touches, for sure.

But let's get back to the card fronts. Score had some fun subsets here, as they always did.

Remarkably, five players reached the career 1,000-point mark during the 1990-91 season. Score did well to make a subset out of it. Crunch Crew was another 5-card subset, featuring some of the big hitters of the NHL. And as a relatively new hockey fan back then, it was so fun to discover that a few sets of brothers were playing in the NHL at the same time. (The Courtnall brothers released an instructional video around this time called The Shooter's Edge, which I certainly benefited from during my high school hockey days.)

 

 

 

Of course, you had to have a rookie subset too. The "Top Prospects" in the league, including the three big names above, all received this unique card treatment. (Although it's important to note that not all of these cards were true rookie cards.)

 

 

 

Score continued the trend of "player in tuxedo" subset cards that existed at the time, showing NHLers accepting their end-of-season awards. The Season Leader cards were nicely done, with the blue and white sections helping the player action stand out. As for young Mr. Lindros, he was a big deal back then, and Score gave him a special "First Round Draft Choice" card at the end of the set.

 

 

 

A few unique ones now. The Brett Hull "hockey stick on fire" card was a neat one when we first saw it. Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins received a nice-looking card to help commemorate their Stanley Cup victory the season before. And on the right, you'll see one of the special Bobby Orr insert cards. These were pretty tough to pull, and an absolute treat when one did come out of a pack.

 

 

Remarkably, the 1990-91 NHL season produced more than just 1,000-point milestones. Wayne Gretzky would score his 700th career goal, and Brett Hull put up 50 goals in his first 50 games. (If you couldn't tell from the cards shown so far, Brett Hull was the big man on campus at this time. After those first 50 goals, he netted 36 more, for a season total of 86!)

 

 

 

The design of the Franchise cards is loosely based on the 1956 Topps baseball set. Only five teams received a Franchise card in Series 1. The rest would appear in Series 2. Guy Lafleur, who finally retired after the 1990-91 season, received a three-card tribute set, which was artfully done.

And that wraps up 1991-92 Score Bilingual Hockey, Series 1. Overall, Score did a better than decent job with its second-ever hockey offering. There are good subsets and action shots to be found. And although the repetitive nature of the images can wear on you as you flip through the cards (the bright red borders don't help), when I look back, it was a fun set—especially for a young collector or hockey fan.

 

Now a question for your readers and collectors:

 

Do I go for Series 2? 

 

It's only another 330 cards, which is doable. (The borders will be blue this time, not red!) And there are some very nice rookie cards in Series 2, like John LeClair, Dominik Hasek, and Nicklas Lidstrom. 

 

Maybe I'll buy a wax box and try to build the entire set the old-fashioned way: Opening packs and sorting the cards. Boxes are currently available on ebay for about $20, plus shipping.

 

Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!