A Smorgasbord! 1986 Topps Quaker Granola

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.

 

School is back in session, which means kids everywhere will be once again reaching into their lunch bags and backpacks hoping to find a treat. If you're an '80s kid like me, it was always a good day if mom or dad sent you off with one of these guys.

Yeah, those good ol' chewy granola bars from Quaker. Even back then, you had a nice variety of flavors to choose from. I liked the the Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter versions. It was big news when the S'mores flavor was released around 1984, too.

But there was even bigger news in 1986:

 

 

Baseball cards would be placed inside specially marked packages!

More specifically, you'd find a little cellophane wrapper containing 3 random cards from a 33-card set that was produced by Topps, in conjunction with the Quaker Oats Company.

Here are the two examples I have in my collection:

 

1986 Topps Quaker Granola #1 Willie McGee and #17 Fernando Valenzuela

Pretty sharp design, with those bright yellow bars across the top and the bottom. And because Topps and the MLBPA were both involved, team logos were allowed to remain on helmets, caps, and uniforms. Hooray! Touches like that provided kids with even more incentive to collect the whole set.

 

So let's go back to 1986, pretend we're in grade school, and crunch some numbers with our solar-powered calculators: 

With 3 cards per box, over the course of the school year mom or dad will have to buy you 11 boxes of Quaker chewy granola bars—at the very least—if you want to put together the entire 33-card set. Maybe if your baseball card–loving friends can also convince their moms or dads to buy specially marked boxes of granola bars, then you and your friends can pull the cards, put 'em in stacks, bring 'em into school, and trade with each other so you can all complete your sets.

Now we're talking.

The other option would be to clip out 4 UPC symbols from the boxes and mail them, along with an order form, to the Topps/Chewy promotional department before December 31st. Then, in 6 to 8 weeks, a complete set would arrive in your mailbox. 

But what's the fun in that? You're going to put the set together card by card, the way a true collector would. Because you're a true collector. And you love a good granola bar.

Regardless, here's the front and back of the order form, which was also included in each 3-card pack.

 

I like how you also had the option to order the sticker yearbook and starter kit.

  

Now here's an image of the card backs.

 

 

They're pretty nicely done. I like the career highlights section at the bottom. All 33 players in the set were big stars of the day, so Topps and Quaker sure had enough highlights to choose from. Valenzuela, for example, had a 0.00 ERA through 4 All-Star games at that point. As for McGee, all he did was lead the NL in hits, singles, triples, and batting average the previous year. Atta boy, Willie.

You'll note that the blue banner on the card back says "1st Annual Collectors' Edition". This would indicate that Topps and Quaker planned to release more cards in following years. However, 1986 appears to be the only year that the two companies collaborated on a set. That's really a shame.

 

Quaker was a huge name back then, and had been for decades and decades before that. In fact, it was way back in 1877 that Quaker Oats registered the first trademark for a thing called "breakfast cereal". According to the company website, the Quaker name was chosen "as a symbol of good quality and honest value". As for the recognizable man that you see on the logo? He's been around for more than 100 years, and hasn't changed much in all that time.

 

And you know what? They're still making those chewy granola bars—in many of the same flavors that were around back when these baseball cards were produced!

 

 

So how about you readers? Did this post bring back some good granola bar memories? If you were a Quaker granola bar kid, which flavor was your favorite?

 

Let me know in the comment section, and thanks for reading!

Relief Hitters

One of the vocabulary words we discussed during the Baseball in French series here on the blog was frappeur d'urgence, which roughly translates to "emergency hitter". Or, as we better know it here in the States, "pinch hitter". 

 

Our good buddy Chris the Collector left a thought-provoking comment on that post, suggesting that the term "relief hitter" would also make a fair bit of sense. After all, we have relief pitchers, right?

Well, it got me thinking. Relief pitchers are players unto themselves. They take up a roster spot. They're specifically trained to come into the game at some point after it begins, in order to relieve a pitcher who might be struggling.

 

What if teams carried a player specifically for "relief-hitting", too? In other words, this player would take up his own roster spot, never starting a game, signed solely for his relief-hitting skills. Late in the game, when your team really needed a hit, he'd always be ready with bat in hand.

 

Imagine how clutch that guy would have to be? It's a fun thought.

Now like me, I'm sure many of you readers have already started to think that this would never happen. No team would burn a roster spot for a player who would just ride the pine every game until [maybe] the team needed him to step up to the plate to get a hit. Once. Not to mention how difficult it is for a player to do that when he's been sitting around, tight and cold, for a couple of hours. 

 

But wait a minute. Before dismissing the idea entirely, maybe we should think about all the other kooky rules that have been implemented over the past few years. There's a pitch clock. Bases are larger. The team up at bat in extra innings gets a ghost runner on second base. There's a DH in both leagues. Robo-umpires are around the corner. Eventually it's going to become blernsball, anyway.  

 

 

 

 

So why can't relief hitters be a thing?

 

To make it more appealing to the powers that be, maybe we should change the criteria a little bit.

 

Let's say that the relief hitter can be brought into the game no earlier than the 7th inning. The twist is that he's permitted to lead off every inning after that—8th, 9th, and extras if applicable. And he doesn't have to play a fielding position. I'm getting some ideas here. Time to make a list.

Relief Hitter Rules:

• Can enter the game no earlier than 7th inning.

• Must be lead-off batter in every inning after that. (Taking away the at-bat from the hitter in the lineup who would have led off.)
  

• Does not play fielding position during defensive half of inning.

• Must remain in game for at least two innings, unless first at-bat is in 9th inning.

• Must run the bases if he gets on base.

• Can be used as a relief hitter in maximum of two consecutive games. Then must be made unavailable the following game.

• Each team can carry only one relief hitter on its roster.
  

 

That last rule means there's 30 MLB roster spots for those relief hitters to claim. So, who would be good candidates? 

 

Wade Boggs could find the holes, that's for sure. So could Tony Gwynn, who was especially proficient at hitting with two strikes in the count. Ichiro could get on base with line-drives, grounders, infield singles, or bunts at any time. Derek Jeter was pretty good in the clutch. Pete Rose could probably muster up a hit whenever the team really needed one, and he's a switch-hitter, which is a definite asset. Ted Williams and his .400 average would be something. (He'd have a serious intimidation factor on his side too, because he hit for power. Plus, he's got the best on-base percentage in MLB history.) Rod Carew, Edgar Martinez, and Rickey Henderson would be other solid choices. 

 

The problem is, of course, that you'd want all of those folks in your starting lineup. Not as relief hitters.

 

But let's imagine they're winding down their careers, and almost ready to retire. If you were to play them as relief hitters for only the last two or three innings of certain games, it might allow them to stay in the big leagues for an extra couple of years.

 

If the idea were to catch on, I wonder if baseball developmental schools would eventually start looking for young hitters with less power but superior bat control, and start training those guys to be super-good at hitting singles and drawing walks. On the right team, deployed in the right way, they could end up playing up to 90-ish games per season and getting at least an at-bat or two per game, which isn't so bad. 

 

You never know.

In the meantime, because this is a blog about trading cards, here are my top three choices for a relief hitter, featured in cardboard form:

The position designation on the card could be changed to "Relief Hitter", or even "RH".

 

So what do you think? Is it too kooky of an idea to even consider? 

 

Even if that's the case, which player(s) nearing retirement, current or past, would be your choice for relief hitter? 

 

Share in the comment section, and thanks for reading!

From the Favorites Box: Greg Maddux, 1995 Lykes SGA Atlanta Braves (NNO)

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

 

 

Look at this dork.

 

 

Next time you're walking behind him in the school hallway, you're definitely going to dump his books.

 

A few days later you spot him. But you hesitate. The hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and you tell yourself that you'd better be careful with this guy. You're not sure why, but something tells you that he will destroy you if you try to embarrass him. And there will be two options:

 

 

(1) He'd use a high-brow barrage of psychological-speak on you that leaves you messed up for months.

 

(2) He'd execute a low-brow, sick prank on you that leaves you messed up for months.

 

 

And you don't want part of either. You're just trying to play some baseball. So instead of dumping his books, you take a wide berth around him. Or better yet, you just get to class using another hallway altogether.

After all, he's the starting pitcher in two days. And he's been pitching so well lately that you know he's not going to give the other team much of a sniff at winning.

 

So just get ready for the game, go out there and get a couple of hits and play solid defense behind him, and everything will be just fine. 

 

Just. Fine.

 

As for Mr. Maddux, he'd also be just fine after his high school baseball career came to a close. You don't need me to tell you much about that, but here are some rather noteworthy accomplishments anyway:

 

4x Cy Young

4x ERA Title

8x All-Star

18x Gold Glove

3,000+ Strikeouts

300+ Wins

1995 World Series Champion 

All of that with fastball speeds that often topped out around 90 mph. Accuracy, smarts, and tenacity. Absolutely brilliant.

And for reminding us that brilliance comes in many shapes, sizes, and forms, 1995 Lykes SGA Atlanta Braves (NNO) has a spot in my box of favorite cards.

A Custom Card Featuring Three Degenerates

I don't think it's much of a stretch to say that the 1980s marked a Golden Age of wrestling. 

Case in point? Tell me this list of names doesn't give you some of that "excited little kid about to watch Wrestlemania" energy:

Hulk Hogan

Andre the Giant

Macho Man

Rowdy Roddy Piper

King Kong Bundy

Superfly Snuka

Rick Rude

Jake the Snake

Hacksaw Jim Duggan

The Ultimate Warrior

 

And the list goes on. (Let's not forget about Ric Flair.)

It's not that I'm being critical of the wrestling eras that have followed. Truth be told, after the late-1980s, my wrestling knowledge is pretty much zero. It's just hard to top the cast of characters I grew up with.

 

Regardless, the sport still exists on the grand stage, and it certainly still seems to be theatrical and entertaining. In fact, it's entertaining enough that a client asked me to design a custom card featuring three wrestlers who were members of what he referred to as "D-Generation X".

 

Their names were Shawn Michaels, Triple-H, and Chyna. I'd heard of all three before the custom card request came in, but could I tell you anything significant about any of them? 

 

No. 

 

So for a while, I debated on whether I even wanted to design the card.

 

However, I started thinking that maybe this client was a good decade younger than I was, and that Shawn Michaels, Triple-H, and Chyna were to him what guys like Hogan, Macho Man, and Warrior were to me. So I took on the project, and asked him to provide more information about the trio, as well as what sort of design he was thinking about.

He replied with some good info, including a request to use the 1982 Topps "Future Stars" template. Soon I was getting to work. 

 

Here's the result.

I made the sky in the background a touch darker and more foreboding than usual. Feels fitting for these characters, who were three original members of D-Generation X. (The group formed in the late 1990s.)

 

As for the name, it seems like another wrestling legend, Bret Hart, once described Michaels and Triple H as "degenerates" because of their attitudes and actions. Combine that word with the fact that they were wrestlers of the Generation X era, and the term was coined. D-Generation X.

 

All three members are retired from active wrestling now. (And sadly, Chyna passed away in 2016.) But Michaels and Triple H have maintained their influence on the sport. At the time of this writing, Levesque is the Chief Content Officer and Head of Creative for WWE. Michaels is Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative at NXT, which is a division of WWE.

 

Pretty good for a couple of degenerates.

Now here's a look at the back of the card:

In my research, I discovered that two of the three wrestlers were trained by Killer Kowalski. That seemed like great content to add. I also found the finishing move for all three wrestlers, which I think is a fun addition. Here's a look at "The Pedigree", as performed by Chyna:

Ouch.

 

In any case, that's another custom card in the books. This was definitely a fun project, and I'm glad the client enjoyed the way the card turned out.

Now a question for you:

 

Who's your favorite wrestler, regardless of the era?

 

Thanks for reading, as always!

A Smorgasbord! 1989 Topps Nabisco Don Mattingly

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.

 

If you were a popular Major League Baseball player at any point during the 1980s, it's likely that you found your way into at least a few food-issue sets of the time. If you were a perennial all-star or the top player on your team, you were guaranteed to be in almost all of them.

 

But if you wanted a food-issue set all to yourself? 

1989 Nabisco Ritz Don Mattingly, card '88

Well in that case, you really had to be somebody.

 

And the guy you see on the card above was definitely somebody. So in 1989, Nabisco gave him his own 8-card set. (I'm trying not to add a bad pun here about how this set of cards is pretty ritzy. And I failed. I'm sorry.)

From his first full season in 1984 through the 1989 season, when these cards were released, Mr. Mattingly was hard to beat. Six all-star games, five gold gloves, three silver sluggers, and an MVP award. On top of that, he led the A.L. in hits twice, and the entire majors in doubles three times (consecutively). Across those six seasons he averaged 203 hits, 43 doubles, 27 home runs, 114 RBI, and a slash line of .327/.372/.530.

Monster.

I'm sure the guy was enjoying the finer things in life back then, including the occasional Ritz cracker or two.

 

Interestingly, the cards in this set were not available in specially marked boxes of Ritz crackers, nor were they printed on the back of the box. Instead, they were available through a mail-in offer that required collectors to cut out and send two proofs of purchase from Ritz cracker products.

Nabisco would then send you an uncut sheet in the mail that included the 8 different cards, plus one larger-size photo portrait of Mr. Mattingly smiling with baseball bats in hand. I don't have this sheet, but here's what it looks like, courtesy of the internet:

 

 

 

The cards were "numbered" by year—each card representing a season of Donnie Baseball's career to that point. (There was also an '81 card documenting his minor league life, and a '72 card documenting his Little League days.)

The card you see at the top of this post is the '88 version, and that's the one I've added to my collection. Here's the card back.

 

I like the grayish-blue borders and red trim. Solid three-paragraph write-up, too. And there's the classic Ritz logo at bottom right.

 

As for Nabisco (The NAtional BIScuit COmpany), they've been around since 1898. If you're a snacker of any kind, you might thank them for creating products such as Chips Ahoy!, Lorna Doone, Nutter Butters, Oreos, Ritz Crackers, Saltines, Shredded Wheat, Teddy Grahams, Triscuit, and Wheat Thins to name just a few.

 

Interestingly, the company's first foray into baseball was in 1969, when they released a set of cards printed on the back of specially marked boxes of Nabisco Team Flakes cereal. The checklist was 24 players deep, and included big stars of the day like Aaron, Brock, Clemente, Gibson, Kaline, Mays, and Rose.

 

Any of those guys were worthy of receiving their own 8-card set back then, that's for sure. (And Nabisco had enough products to do it!) But only Don Mattingly gets that honor this time.

 

Do you have a favorite Nabisco snack?

Share in the comment section, and thanks for reading!

Board Advertisements on Cards, Episode 7: Cadillac

Way back in 1978, the NHL allowed teams to start selling advertising space along the boards of their rinks. By the time I was a hockey card–collecting kid in the late 1980s, the trend had caught on. From snack foods to car manufacturers to banks to fast food restaurants, board advertisements really ran the gamut—and they still do.

This series will explore some of the advertisements that also managed to make their way onto hockey cards. 

 

Previous entries are available here.

 

1990-91 Topps #362 Dave Poulin

There's Dave Poulin, wearing the classic black and gold of the Boston Bruins. The uniform has gone through some changes since the team's inception in 1924, but still, there's no mistaking those colors and that big letter "B" on the crest.

And look right behind him, there on the boards. You'll see another classic and unmistakable crest. In fact, it's been in existence even longer than the Bruins.

It's Cadillac.

The company's first car, the Runabout, was released in 1903 at the New York Auto Show. (Side note: What could an auto show possibly have looked like in 1903?) 

 

Here's an example of the Runabout, in all its glory:

That's the two-seater. It seems like there was also a four-seater available, along with a "some assembly required" convertible top. Snazzy.

As for Cadillac's logo, that came along just a few years later, in 1906. Here's the interesting story about the logo that I discovered while conducting research for this post:

The Cadillac company was named after French explorer and adventurer, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, who founded the city of Detroit on July 24, 1701. The company logo, which is much more stylized nowadays, is based on his family crest.

 

I'm not sure I'm a fan of the newest iteration. But ultimately, I suppose logo changes are an indicator of longevity. And Cadillac is certainly an example of that. So kudos to them, not only for remaining in existence for so long and across so many generations, but also for setting a pretty good standard of luxury and quality over that time.

 

And that neatly brings us back to the man depicted on the hockey card up top. Because Mr. Dave Poulin set some pretty good standards of his own during his 13-year career.

Poulin spent his first 7 seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, and put up some excellent numbers for a center who had a knack for the defensive side of the game. He was a 30-goal scorer twice, and never scored less than 15. He also played in two all-star games during that time, served as team captain for a long while, and took home a Selke Trophy (best defensive forward). A couple of years later he was traded to Boston, where in 1992-93 he'd finish second in Selke voting and win the King Clancy Award (player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice).

Overall, in 724 games with Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington, Poulin totaled 205 goals, 325 assists, 530 points, 482 PIM, 28 game-winning goals, and 39 shorthanded goals. Those 39 shorties place him in a tie for 5th all time in the NHL, with Butch Goring and Jari Kurri. 

 

The only players who have more? Gretzky, Messier, Yzerman, Lemieux.

 

Pretty classy list right there. Which brings us back to the car brand we've been discussing.

I've never owned a Cadillac. Never driven one. Pretty sure I've never even been inside one. But I'd like to take a drive in one of the older models. Maybe from the 1970s. You know, like this.

 

 

 

I wonder how many stationary objects I'd end up hitting if I tried to drive a big, heavy boat of a car like that.

Do any of you readers have a Cadillac experience? Share in the comment section, and thanks for reading!

Another Autographed Custom Card, Doo-Dah! Doo-Dah!

A couple of months ago I shared a cool story here on the blog about actor Burton Gilliam, and how he sent me a few autographed copies of the Blazing Saddles custom card that features his likeness. 

 

 

 

 

What I didn't mention is that there's more to the story.

 

You see, a week or so after I finished my email correspondence with Mr. Gilliam's friend, I received another message. The friend reiterated that Mr. Gilliam enjoyed the card a lot. In fact, he enjoyed it so much that he was hoping I could send over a bunch more copies. Like, 50 or 100 copies. 

 

Why?

 

Mr. Gilliam wanted to bring them to upcoming shows and conventions, to autograph and give out to fans!

 

How cool is that?!

 

I excitedly replied in the affirmative, and said I'd order a big stack of the cards. Happiness all around. And the happy feeling was so great that it inspired me to do a little more design work for Mr. Gilliam.

You see, that Rock Ridge Stars card was just one of the cards from the 6-card set I'd created. Some of the other cards were of the "Highlight" variety, and I figured I could create a similar highlight card featuring Mr. Gilliam's character, Lyle. He was part of a few classic scenes in the film, after all.

One of those scenes involved Lyle breaking out in song, hooting and hollering to that cowboy favorite, "The Camptown Lady". (Note: There's a word at the end of the video that's NSFW.)

 

 

The genuine belly laughs I got (and still get) from that scene were all the motivation I needed. A few days later, I came up with this:

 

 

 

 

 

And here's the card back

 

 

 

 

I sent out sample images, and heard back that Mr. Gilliam loved the card, and hoped I'd send a big stack of them to give out at shows as well.

 

So, I finished up the design, and placed an order for both cards. Within a few weeks, they were in Mr. Gilliam's hands.

And being the kind cowboy he is, it wasn't long before I received some autographed copies in the mail as a thank-you.

 

 

 

But wait, that's not all.

I couldn't possibly accept any kind of monetary compensation for the stacks of cards I sent, so Mr. Gilliam mailed me some autographed 8 x 10s instead!

 

 

 

He even personalized a couple of them to my dad, who got a big kick out of them.

 

And that's still not all! 

 

 

Because just like last time, Mr. Gilliam created a thank-you video for me. This time he even sang a few bars of "The Camptown Lady"! Totally amazing. (I won't share the video here for the sake of privacy, but I'll tell you that he sang the lyrics with a similar amount of gusto as he did in the actual film.)

Totally amazing. And that's the second part of the story. 

 

Another huge thank you to Mr. Gilliam and friend. This has been such a fun experience, and it's so cool to think that good ol' Lyle from Blazing Saddles will be putting his signature on my customs and handing them out at shows.

Thanks for reading, everyone.