This Custom Card Set is Only a Pawn in the Game of Life...

If you've just read the title of this blog post and you're a fan of Mel Brooks films, you might have an idea of the custom card set I'm going to feature below.

The initial idea was for just one card, but the film is such a classic and features so many hilarious characters and quotable scenes that before long I'd come up with enough content for a six-card set. And when I discovered some peculiar similarities between the original card design I wanted to use (1975 Topps) and the film itself, the process became even more of a joy than usual.

If you haven't figured out what film we're talking about yet, here's a first look at the six cards:

 

 

It's Blazing Saddles!

 

Let's review each card now. The first four are based on the highlight cards that appear at the start of the original 1975 Topps baseball set.

 

 

Card #1 features Mongo, played by former NFL defensive tackle Alex Karras. I styled the card backs to match the original 1975s, even fabricating a newspaper-style story based on the particular scene depicted on the card front.

 

 

 

Card #2 features sheriff Bart, who came up with a clever, cartoon-like plan to subdue Mongo. (CandyGram for Mongo...) One of the fun connections between the original 1975 baseball set and the film is the color scheme that Topps used for the highlight cards. The orange and brown are definitely Western-themed, don't you think?

 

 

 

Card #3 features the lovely Lili Von Shtupp and the song and dance number she put on at the saloon. 

 

Do you want to know another interesting link between the film and the baseball cards? The film was released in 1974, and the original baseball cards feature highlights from the 1974 season (hence the '74 Highlights banner across the top of each one). So that works out rather nicely in that I didn't even have to adjust the '74. 

 

And how about this for something even more amazing: While I was doing some research on Blazing Saddles, I discovered that the story takes place during the year 1874. So the '74 Highlights banner works perfectly in two different ways!

 

 

 

Card #4 features The Waco Kid, and the memorable time when he shot the revolvers out of the hands of seven of Taggart's men. It's a Western League record that stands to this day.

The final two cards of the set are based on the 1975 rookie combo design.

 

 

 

My original idea was based on this card: Take four of the main stars from the film and put them on the rookie template. Again, all I had to do was change the year from 1975 to 1875 on the top of the card front. The yellow and orange combination also feels very Western to me.

As for the card back, I decided to list some notable roles and other accomplishments for each star. I thought Gene Wilder's fencing championship was a pretty cool thing to add.

 

 

 

 

And it would only be fitting if I created a similar card that featured four of the "villain" characters from the film. Just like the previous card, all of the actors here had fantastic careers. Most impressive to me, other than Mel Brooks having fought in the Battle of the Bulge, is Burton Gilliam's impressive record as a Golden Gloves boxer!

 

So that's that. Another really fun set of custom cards is complete. I've already had them printed out, and they look and feel great in hand.

 

And finally, to wrap up this post, here's a clip from the film where Mongo gets philosophical:

 

 

 

Aren't we all, Mongo?