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.
It's been hot outside. But your Little League team played pretty well today. Had some timely hits. Avoided the big errors. Remembered those baserunning tips from coach.
It was a close game, but you won by 3 in the end.
Now you're sitting in the back seat of the car, on the way home, going over some of the highlights of the game in your mind. And you just noticed that Dad turned left on Willow Street.
There's only one reason why he turns left on Willow. There's only ever been one reason.
That's the way to get to the local Dairy Queen!
There's nothing better than when mom and dad take you to DQ after the game. Your purpose there is singular.
Ice cream.
But it's not just ice cream. It's not even just Dairy Queen ice cream.
It's Dairy Queen ice cream inside of a mini baseball helmet!
At this point, it doesn't even matter which teams are available. The distribution folks at DQ have been good to you this summer, so you've already got your favorite team, plus a few more. Now it's compiling time.
The employee slides your sundae and helmet over the counter (Texas Rangers? Cool!) and you dig right in. Life is good.
_____________________________
Skip forward a few years. Your Little League time has finished. You're playing high school ball now, and despite the tougher competition, you've had a decent year. The post-game trips to DQ with with mom and dad don't happen anymore, but one of your buddies just got his drivers license, and a few of you decide to go for old time's sake.
The team helmets are still being offered, which makes you smile. But then you see something else on offer, and it boosts the endorphins even more.
A pack of four Dairy Queen baseball cards!
You find the promotional sign at the counter, and read through it. The packs feature players from the 1984 and 1988 US Olympic teams, as well as some prospects from this summer's 1992 team. In order to receive one, you've got to purchase a sundae in a special Team USA mini helmet.
Easiest. Decision. Ever.
Your friends are all-in, too. And a few minutes later, there you are. High school buddies eating sundaes out of mini baseball helmets. (U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!)
And to make it just that much better, you open your pack and find this card inside:
Fresh-faced Will Clark. He's well into his MLB career at this point, but you weren't aware that eight years ago he was part of Team USA at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
You flip over to the card back.
It's impressive that Topps included the Olympic Team and USA Team stats separately. And all this fanfare reminds you that the 1992 Olympic baseball tournament starts in a couple of weeks.
You're definitely going to watch now.
As for Will Clark, he sure was a stud, even back in his Team USA days. Just look at those stats on the card back. And read the caption at the bottom!
And hey, would you like to hear one of the coolest Will Clark facts you'll ever hear?
He hit a home run in his very first at-bat at every level of professional baseball: Single-A, Double-A, Triple-A, and the major leagues. To make it even more impressive, that first major league home run came against Nolan Ryan.
Over Mr. Clark's 15-year MLB career, that sweet swing we all know produced 2176 hits, 440 doubles, 47 triples, 284 home runs, 1205 RBI, 1186 runs scored, and a career slash line of .303/.384/.497.
He was a six-time All Star, won two Silver Sluggers, one Gold Glove, and was the NLCS MVP in 1989.
It all started with J.F. McCullough and his son Alex, who created a soft-serve type of ice cream in 1938. A friend who owned an ice cream shop agreed to sell it, and on the very first day, more than 1,600 servings were sold!
The men paired up, and the first official Dairy Queen location opened in Joliet, Illinois, in 1940. Malts, shakes, and banana splits appeared on the menu within the first decade or so, and through a franchising system, things took off quickly after that.
You might be familiar with popular DQ items such as the Dilly Bar, Buster Bar, Peanut Buster Parfait, and, of course, the Blizzard. Many locations also sell hot foods, such as burgers and grilled sandwiches.
Today there are more than 7,000 DQ locations spanning 20 countries!
But let's get back to those vintage days. Here's a DQ commercial full of nostalgia:
How about you readers and collectors?
Do you have any Dairy Queen memories from your youth—or more recently?
Any mini helmets in your collection? I don't have any, but now I kind of want to search one out.
Share in the comment section, and thanks for reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment