Asgardian Cardboard

While most of the money in our hobby goes to the card companies, grading resources, supply manufacturers, and secondhand vendors, another large source of collective collecting budgets go towards shipping services.  The United States Postal Service, UPS, DHL, FedEx, etc. get a lot of the blogosphere's money in exchange for delivering our PWE's, RAK's, trade packages, Ebay winnings and sellings, redemptions, etc.  Sure, baseball cards are not the most lucrative part of their business model, but there's no doubt that our hobby and community would not be what it is today without these mailing services.

Now,one of these titans of shipping is getting directly involved in the hobby.

What you see above is a sheet of classic card reprints, produced and printed by Asgard Press and sold in limited FedEx Office centers across the United States.  These perforated cards come in panels - of which there are four - featuring eight cards each from the early tobacco card era.  According to Asgard, the cards chosen originally hail from the Benjamin K. Edwards Collection, which was donated to the Library of Congress by Carl Sandburg in 1954.

While I do not use the services of FedEx for my mailing needs - I stick to the good, old fashioned USPS -  I was made aware of this new oddball reprint set by Twitter, as the following was retweeted into my timeline:

NEW Product Release available at Select FEDEX Office stores nationwide! Vintage Baseball Card sets! A series of 4 card sets of 8 vintage players each from the dead ball era. Collect ‘em all! Each 8-Card set is $4.95. Huzzah! #VintageBaseballCards #FedEx pic.twitter.com/nzcxSYxZbz

— Asgard Press (@asgardpress) July 24, 2019

Right after I saw this tweet, you darn well better believe that I took to the official Asgard Press website to try and decipher which cards were selected for their tribute to vintage baseball.  I expected the checklist to be made up of the big names from the Deadball time period - Cy Young, Ty Cobb, Chief Bender, etc.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that many of the cards chosen for reprint turned out to be much more obscure ballplayers.  In fact, I was ecstatic to find out that there might even be a card that I need in this collation.  More on that later in the post.

By Odin's beard, was I ever excited about this Asgardian discovery!

Without haste, I was soon Googling where the closest FedEx was stationed.  Turns out the nearest location was only a stone's throw away from my home, in the neighboring suburb of Oak Lawn:

As it happened, I had some time after work on Thursday to swing by and see if my store was one of the lucky locations to have these baseball cards bestowed upon their customers.  I wandered in that afternoon - the only customer without an armful of packages to ship or documents to copy - in hopes of buying baseball cards rather than mailing them.  Thankfully, I was elated to discover that my quest for "vintage" cardboard turned out to be quite successful:

There they were - all four available sheets - right near the front of the retail space, on a rotating rack with several other Asgard Press paper products.  I was so excited that I think I might have peed a little...  I hadn't actually expected Oak Lawn, IL to be one of the chosen few!

Admittedly, I was initially distracted by the lovely, retro comic book cover notecards, vintage travel poster prints, and college football stationary put out by Asgard.  Now, this isn't the same Asgard that brought us Thor, Loki, and Valkyrie.  That is, not unless Thor traded in his hammer, Mjölnir, for an enchanted printing press.  From what I can gather, based on their official website, Twitter account, and the products I saw in store, Asgard Press specializes in capturing nostalgia on paper goods.  The company started out with fancy calendars in 1999 and have since expanded with healthy selections of note cards, posters, journals, postcards, and other ephemera.  Their tagline is "vintage paper goods" and their slogan is "old school is now in session;" so, I guess it wasn't much of a mystery as to what they're all about.

In all honesty, introducing some baseball cards into their product portfolio is positively perfect for their desired aesthetic.

Only briefly abstracted, I was able to quickly refocus and locate the specific sheet for which I came looking:

Like I mentioned earlier, there was a specific card in this set that had caught my fancy and it came as part of "plate no. 2."  After quickly browsing through the rest of Asgard's displays - they must do a lot of business with FedEx - I plopped down my $4.95 and went about my merry way.

Any guesses as to which one of these singles I was chasing?  I'll give you a hint - it has something to do with my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection.

Once I got home and freed my sheet from it's plastic, cardboard-backed prison, I discovered that these cards are printed on little more than ink-jet printer compatible cardstock.  Thin, flexible, and fragile, they feel about as thick as your average index card.

Speaking of cards, the cards themselves are high-resolution and slightly enlarged scans of tobacco cards from the aforementioned Library of Congress donation.  Maintaining the original aspect ratio, the cards have been blown up to standard height (3.5 inches) but still remain short of standard width.   Also, seeing as they are simply scans of already existing, century old antiques, all of the flaws and damage from the originals carried over to the reprints, as best exemplified by the two instances below.

Personally, I like this "flawed" characteristic, as I feel as though it adds some charm to the Asgards and makes them feel a touch more "authentic" than your normal C.C.C. re-do.  How do you feel about the paper loss and stain carryover?  Would you find it distracting, perhaps?

Also, as you can tell from the above scans, all of the cards feature full backs, filled with copy and advertising, just as the originals did.  Furthermore, we have a varied selection of cards from the early 20th century.  Although Asgards erroneously lists the cards as all being from the famous T206 set, which was released through 16 different brands owned by the American Tobacco Company from 1909-11 and is the source of the iconic Honus Wagner card, none of the cards on sheet number two actually are from that seemingly infinite checklist.  In fact, all of the cards included are part of the 1911 T205 release.

The baseball diamond was turned into a picture frame for the American League portion of the T205 release and it truly is one of the most clever and beautiful layouts in baseball card history.

The National League portion of the T205 checklist is a tad more bare bones, featuring a bust shot portrait on a plain, colored background, and maintaining the unifying gold/brown borders which define the set.  Again, this Ed Barger Dodger card is a fine example of the damage and staining which were transferred from the original artifacts to the reprints.

While the American League cards are far more detailed, the National League examples are a fine study in the KISS principle.  This has nothing to do with costumed rock stars, platform boots, or fake blood though - KISS stands for Keep It Simple, Stupid.  The more you cram into a design, oftentimes, the more crowded and confusing a piece will get.  Although, the creators of these cards once again flipped back to the polar opposite for the sampling of minor leaguers included with the premiums:

There are 12 minor league cards in the original set which made use of an ornate, plaque-like frame.  Two of these bush leaguers were reproduced by Asgard - a Charles Hanford with "paper loss" was displayed previously and George Merritt you can see directly above.

While all three templates used in the T205 set, I find that they are all quite pleasing to the eyes.  Overall though, I think my favorite is the relatively bare bones design of the NL cards.  Of course, that might just be because my college graphic design professor personally chiseled the KISS principle into my skull; however, the bright, bold colors and wonderful drawn portraits get to speak for themselves during the Senior Circuit section, whereas they are more a secondary feature to the crowded designs of the other two.  That said, that is merely the opinion of one insignificant card blogger - what do you think about the three layouts, which is your preferred design?

Now, if you've been counting along at home, you might have noticed that I've showcased seven of the eight total cards included on the Asgardian panel.  With the overview of the company, cards, and quality out of the way, it's time to spotlight my "chase" card, the pasteboard which caused me to drop everything I was doing to run out and purchase this product.  Without any further ado, lease allow me to drop the curtain on the card of the hour:

That's right, I could care less about inner circle Hall of Famer Ty Cobb's inclusion; I'm here for that sweet, sweet Wilbur Goode (or Good, depending on the source) of the Boston Rustlers.  More like, Wilbur Great, am I right?

Okay, so here's the deal, I haven't abandoned my Cubs fandom to become a super collector of the Atlanta Braves and their previous franchise iterations.  The reason that this random, Deadball Era ballplayer who has long faded into obscurity has captured my attention is the fact that Wilbur was traded from Boston - just a year after this card originally hit the market - to the Cubbies, where he would spend the next five years patrolling the outfield of the West Side Grounds and, later, Wrigley Field.  Thus, I needed a card of Wilbur for my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection as part of my quest to collect at least one card of every man to EVER suit up for my favorite franchise, no matter how brief or how long ago.

For his career, the journeyman fly-chaser post a career .258/.322/.342 batting line, mostly as a reserve piece for the Yankees, Naps, Rustlers, Cubs, Phillies, and White Sox for eleven total seasons in the Majors.  Far from being a star, the ballplayer appears on very few cards (two that I can identify) and all of them date from his ancient playing days - therefore, they are tough to track down and tougher on this cheapskate's wallet.  Therefore, I have no problem whatsoever with using a reprint card to fill an otherwise nigh-unfillable gap in my favorite binder.  To say it was a pleasant surprise that could cross another one of these tricky names off of my "needs" list with a trip to FedEx (of all paces) and an Abraham Lincoln flash card would be an immense understatement. 

Before I go, I have to ask, what do you think about these Asgard cards?  Do they seem like something you might be inclined to spend some money on, maybe as an impulse buy as you wait in line to ship a box of cards to a fellow blogger?  Do you see them as cheap and irrelevant in a see of endless sea of reprints and forgeries?  Perhaps you don't even see products such as these as "true" baseball cards at all and I am cheating by using such items to fill needs in my collection?  Please feel free to weigh-in in the comment section below.  Personally, I am of the opinion that any card that fills a need within my CATRC is good enough for me!

In the end, I am still reeling from filling such an obscure need in my niche collection with a trip to FedEx... and I didn't even ship or receive any mail.  That's one of the best parts about collecting this way - you just never know where the cards are going to come from.

Thank you very much, Asgard.  Sorry you got destroyed by Hela and Surtur at the end of Thor Ragnarok - tough luck there.  Your paper products are quite fascinating though!

Oddball Cards, Ahoy!

My family went on vacation to the Wisconsin Dells last week - it's an annual family tradition that dates back to when I was in middle school, as Midwesterners do.  Since I am the only sibling who has completely (maybe) grown up, moved out of the house, and gotten married, I have not gone the last few years and instead have taken up responsibility for dog sitting.  Seeing as how I hate waterparks, pools, and getting wet in general, this arrangement is a-okay with me.

During the family's trip to the waterpark capital of the world, my wife and I drive the few miles from our apartment to my parents' house a couple of times a day to let the puppies out, clean up any mess they've made, top off the food and water dishes, as well as do a little bit of laundry and raid the pantries.  Plus, I get to play with the doggos.  All in all, it's a mutually beneficial arrangement.

A couple of days into their trip, while I was conducting one of those aforementioned raids for snacks through the pantry, a big, blue box of cereal caught my eye:

At first, I was taken aback by the fact that Chips Ahoy! now has their own branded cereal - no wonder we Americans are fat.  With the re-release of Oreo-O's, are we now in the middle of a no holds barred, cookie breakfast cereal bout?  Will we soon be seeing "Keebler Elf Krunch" or "Mrs. Fields Flakes" stacked on store shelves?  Yes, this is what really goes on in the wasteland that is my mind.

Once I got past that cookie conundrum, I noticed something else about the box of teeny tiny cookies - something you've probably already noticed by now.  According to the big and bold yellow ribbon on the top of the packaging, these "parts of a balanced breakfast" come with trading cards!

Now, I'm no soccer fan - I've been to exactly one game in my life and left in frustration as the contest would end in a scoreless tie - but, I will always go gaga over unexpected, oddball cards.  So, even though my parents weren't around and thus there was no "grown up to help to help you cut the cards out of the box," I grabbed a pair of scissors and set about freeing these footballers from their cardboard holding cell:

I wonder what my family will think when they reach in the pantry for their morning cereal and find this on their shelves?  Hey - they left me alone and unsupervised!

I knew that this promotion was going on this summer; but, seeing as how I am not much of a soccer fan and I have been trying to stay away from sugary breakfast cereals, I had not paid too much attention to these oddballs.  Plus, when Topps, Major League Soccer, and Post first joined forces last year to launch this promotion, I did my sampling of the product then - so, I guess you could say I got my fill.  However, the temptation was far to great when I found them simply staring at my face in my parent's pantry.

Without any further ado, let's take a closer look at the unexpected treasures themselves:

This panel is slanted very heavily towards forwards - is that where all the star power is in soccer?  I truly do not know.  All I know, is that as a Windy City native, I sure would have appreciated the inclusion of a Chicago Fire player.  Apparently, there are four different, four cards panels available on the backsides of Post products and not a single one of them features a single "Fireman."  Where's the love for Bastian Schweinsteiger?

Also, today I learned that LA has not one, but two professional soccer franchises.  I was not previously aware that the LA Football Club (for which Christian Ramirez stars) is an entirely different entity from the LA Galaxy.  I guess if any market can sustain two MLS franchises, it would be one such as the City of Angels.  Of the two clubs, I am much more familiar with the latter, thanks to David Beckham and this snippet from "I Love You, Man:"

You learn something new everyday, right?

My favorite card of the bunch is probably Bradley Wright-Phillips, mostly just because I am a big fan of Red Bull... the energy drinks, not the football club.  Speaking of which, it throws me off how much corporate sponsorship has intertwined itself with their sport, with companies slapping their names on the front of team uniform kits and, heck, even straight up naming a team after a product.  I don't know how I feel about that, but I guess MLS doesn't have the deep pockets that the NFL does and has to make money where they can.

I like simple design, with the white borders that are sorely missed from Topps Flagship products and the prominent use of team colors and logos.  Honestly, this is a layout that I wouldn't have mind seeing used for baseball's Flagship.  Although, the Topps logo in the upper right hand corner is unusually large... I guess they have to remind you who is being these cards since they are coming from a fair unusual source.

Oh, and I feel like I should show you how the backs of these cards look, as well:

Blank, cereal box cardboard.  Very low maintenance, as I imagine it would be disruptive to the manufacturing promise and damaging to the bottom line to produce cereal boxes with printing on both sides.

In the end, these soccer cards are fun, appealing to the eye and I'm left wondering why the old bubblegum company can't make something like this happen with their baseball division.  Granted, over the past few years, Topps has done a good job in expanding their horizons by partnering with other companies.  For instance, PKWY Socks, Utz Potato Chips, and New Era, among others, have gotten with Topps to release promotional sets in the recent past.  However, these products are always basically a reprint of the main Flagship cards with a different, branded stamp.  I mean, I appreciate them diversifying their portfolio, but this just appears lazy.

Where's the creativity and wonderment?  If Topps can get a little more imaginative with their soccer stuff, why can't they do something similar with their baseball products?  They did a really good job of creating a fun, original tie-in product with their Marketside Pizza cards from a few years back; however, since then, it's been just stamps and logos.  I tell ya, if Topps did this same promotion - heck, even with just this same design again - with panels of a baseball cards, instead of soccer, on the backs of Post Cereals, I would probably be eating Original Chips Ahoy! Breakfast Cereal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

In the meantime, my family just got home yesterday and have probably noticed that their pantry is much less filled than it was when they left.  I should probably start "kicking" around a good idea for an excuse!

There Goes My Hero (Card)

This weekend marked my yearly pilgrimage to the famed Brickyard, the home of the greatest spectacle of speed this side of the Atlantic, aka Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  For the better part of the last two decades, my family and I have made the three-hour trek southeast from Chicago to Speedway, IN to take in the festivities surrounding the famed Indianapolis 500.   While we have never been able to make it town for the race itself, since 2003, we have made it our mission to see how the field is set for the Memorial Day tradition, coming to town to enjoy the Pole Day and/or Bump Day drama.

This year, despite the overly-rainy spring and the dreary weather forecast, was no different.  Although precipitation was anticipated throughout the late morning and afternoon, making the likelihood of on-track action a longshot, at best, we still loaded up the car and drove three hours down I-65.  The risk vs. reward potential was potent - the chance that we might get to see if Penske Racing could win yet another Pole Position and whether or not Formula One Champion and international superstar, Fernando Alonso, could actually get "bumped" from the starting grid of 33 cars provided a strong draw.

From the moment we parked, most of the day was spent under awnings and umbrellas, soaking up rain instead of intrigue.  Luckily, the Speedway has a sprawling museum within it's walls, which provided a welcome distraction from the gloom around us.

The facility is stuffed to the gills with historic vehicles and artifacts from the facility's 111-year past, including a special exhibit dedicated to the most famous name in American auto racing, Mario Andretti, celebrating the 50th anniversary of his only triumph in the Indianapolis 500.  However, that being said, despite coming face-to-face with the very Marmon Wasp which crossed the finish line first in the inaugural "500" in 1911 and the iconic Borg-Warner Trophy itself within the museum walls, it was actually something that I came across in the lobby that caused me the most wonder:

Nestled among the complimentary maps and spotter's guides scattered on the ticket counter, was this sole hero card.... and I took one of each.  For those who are not overly familiar with motorsports memorabilia, hero cards are basically over-sized trading cards that are used by drivers to fulfill autograph requests during appearances. Thus, coming across something like this at the country's most famous racing circuit, on the surface, isn't much of a surprise.  But, here's the thing...

Sarah Fisher is one of a select few women who has qualified for the "international 500-mile sweepstakes" and broke down barriers at the speedway as both a driver and owner throughout the 2000's.  This hero card showcases Fisher's racing team, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing... which hasn't been to the track since, or any track at all, since 2014. Hmmmm....

A look at the reverse of this perplexing oddball indicates that our mystery card dates from the year 2012, a year in which she and her team provided future IndyCar Series Champion, Josef Newgarden with his first big break in the sport.

As cool as a find as this was, all I can think about is what in the world is a hero card from 2012 - a full seven years ago - doing here?  Was it left behind by a fan, who hoped to run across the famous driver and get her signature, while paying for their museum ticket?  Did a museum employee stumble across it in a stack of papers and tossed it out with the track maps to simply get rid of it?  Does Sarah Fisher sneak about the speedway and leave these hidden in secret places as a calling card?  The world may never know.

At any rate, this oddity is mine now.  Since Indy Car hasn't had a set of cards made since 2007 (and before that is spotty, at best), these hero cards are the closest thing to traditional trading cards the sport has.  I'm quite content adding this souvenir to my most "IndyCard" collection.  Maybe someday I'll even fulfill it's purpose and get Sarah to sign it in a future month of May.

Anyway, let me throw up a few pictures of what was found in the museum itself.  After all, I talked it up pretty heavily and then proceeded to blabber on and on about a random card I found in the lobby outside.

Ray Harroun piloted this appropriately-painted Wasp to victory in 1911, making use of the very first rearview mirror.

The most beautiful race car to ever hit the bricks - Al Unser's 1970 winning "Johnny Lightning Special."

Bill Vukovich piloted this roadster to victory in 1953 - he would tragically perish, while leading the race, two years later.

The Borg Warner Trophy awarded to the victor.

That's obviously a small sampling of what's to be found with the IMS Museum; however, I can't give away all their secrets in this silly blog post.  I will say, I've wandered around the museum many times and I am always awestruck by the incredible progress made in the automotive and racing industries.  Seeing all these eras of the race physically represented under one roof is an experience I can't recommend enough.  If you're ever in the area, I cannot recommend stopping by enough.  They're even open year round!

Luckily for us, a couple of hours after we wrapped up in the museum, the skies opened up and a little sunshine broke through.  Although, with more storms on the way, the window was going to be tight.  As such, the track-drying crews lept into action, fired up the fleet of jet-driers, and got the surface ready to go in just an hour and a half.  Lo and behold, there was racing, after all!

The drama was absolutely worth the wait, as well.  Lo and behold, the Goliath of Alonso and legendary Team McLaren were taken down by the David of Kyle Kaiser and his un-sponsored, single-car operation in the very last run of the qualifying session.  After witnessing that major upset, in person, made Simon Pagenaud winning Penske's 18th pole feel almost like a footnote.  The month of May began with Alonso's quest to win motorsports coveted "Triple Crown" - the Indy 500, 24 Hours of LeMans, and the Grand Prix of Monaco (the latter two of which he's already conquered) - as the dominating story line and, yet, he didn't even qualify for the race... beat by a team that didn't even know if they had enough money to make an attempt.  I do not think anyone could have possibly predicted such a shocking turn of events.

Team McLaren wheels their beaten racer back to Gasoline Alley shortly after being bumped.

Just a few minutes after the starting grid was officially set - we hadn't even made it back to the parking lot yet - the rain began to fall again.  Talk about perfect timing!  Considering the bleak outlook, the day could not have possibly gone better for us and our fellow spectators - everything worked out perfectly and we got a damn good show.

Now, the field of contenders is set.  All that's left to is to see who wins the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500 this upcoming Sunday.  Rather than dodging raindrops, I will be watching the race comfortably from my couch, cheering on Graham Rahal and Sebastien Bourdais.

I'm glad I found that Sarah Fisher hero card hiding out at the museum, as it provided the perfect excuse to profess this on Wrigley Roster Jenga.  I have to wonder though, am I the only baseball card blogger who pays attentions to the goings-on of Indy?  Are there others on the blogosphere who enjoys the high-octane thrills of the greatest spectacle in racing?  Please feel free to revel with me in the comment section below.

This might come as some surprise, as I absolutely adore the Cubs and baseball (after all, I have this whole blog centered around the franchise); but, the Indianapolis 500 is my favorite annual sporting tradition!

Posting About Post

Throughout the last month or so, football has been the center of the sporting world's attention.  Of course I'm not talking about the gridiron, I'm speaking to the sport that we Americans have branded soccer for some reason.  While, for many years,  the narrative has been that Americans don't give a damn about soccer/football/futbol, the tide seems to be turning somewhat.  Despite not having a dog in the fight this time around, my timeline was filled with people discussing the international game, bemoaning flopping, and parsing the action in this morning's early morning final match.

Concurrently, interest in our country's domestic soccer league also appears to be on the rise.  Major League Soccer has added five new clubs to their roster since 2015, with three more expansion teams on their way.  That being said, the average broadcast of an MLS game only brings in about 30,000, a modest total when it comes to pro sports.  Thus, the organization still has some work to do when it comes to promoting their rapidly expanding league.

On that note, while walking through the aisles of my local CVS yesterday evening, I noticed MLS's latest initiative to further their brand:

Post Cereal is apparently the official breakfast cereal of Major League Soccer.  As an devoted lover of all things breakfast cereal, I'm actually kind of surprised that I didn't already know this when I came across this box of Honey Bunches of Oats.  This brand just so happens to be one of my favorite brands of the breakfast staple.  

I went into that corner drug store in need of twenty dollars in cash to blow at a poker game; but, with no Chase Bank ATM nearby, I opted to just buy myself a small treat and get cash back on the transaction.  When I saw the back of this cereal box, I instantaneously knew what my evening snack was going to be.  Yea, I munch on dry cereal as a snack - I wasn't kidding around when I said that I love breakfast cereal.

Now, to be honest, I'm not much of a soccer fan.  I've attended one Chicago Fire game in my life and I ended up leaving before it ended in a 0-0 tie, which just seems wrong to me.  However, I am a fan of the concept of oddball trading cards on the back of cereal boxes!  Considering the situation at hand, this was a no-brainer purchase, in my eyes.

Seeing as Post is the official cereal of MLS, the two entities partnered with Topps to offer up panels of trading cards on the backs on certain cereals.  The four cards you get vary on the kind of cereal you purchase - for example, Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds will always net you the four players that you see above, while HBoO w/ Banana Bunches will feature an entirely different panel.  Other brands that are participating in the promotion include Fruity & Cocoa Pebbles, Oreo O's, and Honeycombs.  I was hoping to find a box with a Chicago Fire player included; but, sadly, CVS didn't carry any of those other kinds.

After scarfing down a bunch of bunches and losing all of my poker money (rather quickly), I made sure to "ask a grown up to help me cut the cards out of the box," as instructed by the box.  But, since my wife could only roll her eyes at me, I had to do it myself.  Don't worry though, all of my fingers are still attached.

Like I said, I'm not much of a soccer fan; thus, I don't know much about the players depicted on these oddballs.  Although, the name Jozy Altidore does ring a bell.  As it turns out, that makes sense, as the Toronto FC forward in one of the more accomplished players in North American soccer history.  The New Jersey-born player has been on the professional scene since 2006, playing in the MLS, as well as across the globe (including the Premier League), and representing the United States in many international tournaments.  

I guess I have subconsciously absorbed some soccer awareness at some point.

The cards themselves feature a sleek, angular design that keeps everything nice and simple.  It's not bad, though I would prefer that the blue triangle which contains the player name, number, position and team be a tad small, as it ends up blocking out nearly a third of the photograph.  Additionally, there is an abnormally large "Topps" logo in the upper left corner - there will not be any questions as to who was behind the creation of this set!

As for the backs, well they're blank - so, I won't be getting any stats or biographical information to educate myself on the players or the game.  I suppose that's a necessity of the manufacturing process; I can't  imagine it would be easy to print on the outside AND the inside of the cereal box.

All in all, the cards are decent and the concept is pretty nifty.  Of course, this is not Post's first venture into the world of trading cards... far from it.  In the early 1960's, the cereal company cemented their place in hobby lore by using the back panels of their cereal boxes to print up baseball and football cards that sports-loving children had their parents pulling out their hair over trying to find the right boxes.  You'll see these much-ballyhooed cards appear on the blogosphere from time to time and I even have a few myself:

Then, the breakfast giants revisited this concept in the early 90's, including cello-wrapped cards inserted into the boxes throughout the first half of the decade.  In fact, it was through one of these promotions that I acquired my very first baseball card, a 1994 Post Mark Whitten card that I still have kicking around somewhere today.   Unfortunately, I cannot find it at the moment, otherwise I would include a photo of it in this post.  Please settle for Mark Grace and Ryne Sandberg from the 1991 & 1992 editions, respectively:

Anyway, it's nice to see that Post is getting back into the trading card game.  While soccer cards are nice and all, I can think of a certain other sport that is having some difficulties when it comes to marketing their game to children.  What better way is there to reignite interest in baseball among the youth of America than through the backs of the cereal boxes? After all, think of how many kids down a bowl of cereal every morning before school.

C'mon Post, make it happen!  Now that Topps seems to warm to the idea and they have reaffirmed their exclusive MLB license, this seems like a perfect promotion to me.  Hopefully these soccer cards move some units, then the old bubblegum company might actually be interested in expanding the promotion.

Do you think it would work?

Here's the Story

Graduation is near as the school year inches ever closer to an end.  Kids are restless, staring out windows instead wistfully and wishing they could be outside carousing in the increasingly summer like weather (or playing Fortnite, whatever kids do these days).  Teachers are just trying to keep it together, crawling across the finish line as they try to guide these students to summer break.  In just over a week, the 2017-18 calendar will officially conclude, as children and teachers alike celebrate surviving yet another school year.  The end is nigh!

Accordingly, many teachers in our building have begun to straighten up their classrooms in order to get ahead on the upcoming, yearly clean-out .  While summer break is a joyous occasion for student and teacher alike, the latter definitely does not enjoy having to pack up their entire workspace each and every June.  With that in mind, oftentimes, staff will attempt to cast off anything they don't absolutely need for the sake of sparing space and time; those items usually end up in the teacher's lounge, free to a good home.  This week, the tables of the staff sanctuary have been well-stocked with knick-knacks, books, and old teaching resources... a sort of educational yard sale.

Yesterday, while stuffing my lunch in the lounge refrigerator, I noticed what looked like an old card catalog on the microwave counter, next to a stack of worn workbooks.  As a noted cardboard fiend, anything even remotely resembling cards will always catch my attention and this box was no exception:

The "Story of America," eh?  In card form?  Color me intrigued, Uncle Sam.

The note that was tucked under the box stated that the previous owner had these cards tucked away for several years.  Having not taught history for nearly a decade, she decided to finally cut ties and dispose of her former historical teaching tools.  I suppose these bad boys wouldn't be of much use i Algebra, would they? 

So, with plenty of other important, graduation-centric tasks to be done, I - of course - dropped anchor and immediately flipped open the lid.  Well, after stashing my sandwich in the fridge, anyway.

Wow - that's a lot of colorful cards!  I suppose it takes a lot of paper to cover over 200 years of history.

A little cursory research tells me that these reference cards were produced by Grolier, Inc.  Before the days of instantly attainable information on the internet, these sorts of encyclopedic card catalogs were a popular learning tool.  People of a certain age might remember Sportscaster Cards, Safari Cards and Greenhouse Cards which were all pumped out via subscription service.  Groiler's Story of America cards were no different, produced from 1994-2001, updated in yearly fashion.  This particular box appears to date from 1997, as several specific events from that year are referenced throughout the set.

As a former aspiring history teacher, these 4x6 cards might have come in handy had I continued down that path.  However, as a current trading card collector, these intended educational tools turned out to be of use to me on my current path, as well.  As you can see, our massive history is broken down in to several, more easily digestible categories - America at War, Famous Places, Important Events, etc.  Seeing as we are a nation of sports fiends and athletics have often played a key role in the development of our country, it should come as no surprise that they show up fairly often in these cards of America, mostly as part of the "Life in America" subset:

I mean, how can you tell the story of America without discussing, America's national pastime... am I right?

As for the cards themselves, each subsection is color-coded, with "Life in America" being assigned green.  On the left, we have a timeline which dates the event or person spotlighted on the card.  In the middle we have a photograph or artist's depiction; in this particular case, we have a lovely 1887 Aquarelle print titled “Base Ball" - by L. Prang & Co. - representing the gestation of baseball.  Lastly, on the right ,we have the "who, what, when, where" and a visual indicating where in the country this event/person achieved notoriety.

On the backside, we have a detailed account of what's shown on the front, along with some bonus trivia.  As you might be able to read, Grolier opted for the origin story involving Alexander Cartwright (rather than the myth of Abner Doubleday), distilling the complicated and oft-argued story down to a basic paragraph, easy enough for a kid to get the basics.

All in all, I can see how these would make for a great source of quick information in the days before every man, woman, and child had a tiny computer in their pocket at all times.

Baseball shows up a few times in Grolier's box.  Not only is the game covered in the broad sense, but it's also showcased through some of the larger figures in the sport's history... names so notable that they crossed over from the world of sports into the larger cultural zeitgeist.  For instance, like the Hank Aaron which rests at the top of this post.

Or, Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson - two names that even someone with the most minimal knowledge of baseball would most likely recognize.  The Jackie Robinson card, in particular, would have  come in handy back in February, as several classrooms in our building did group projects centered on the Hall of Famer in honor of  Black History Month.  Colloquially, Jackie appears to be one of the most popular subjects, year in and year out, at least as far as I've noticed.

As important as the game is to the USA, baseball wasn't the only sport covered by Grolier in this box:

Of course, hockey is a distinctly Canadian invention, but I suppose America has played a strong hand in it's modern development.  The team depicted is the 1917 Seattle Metropolitans, who became the first American team to win Lord Stanley's Cup.   Speaking of the Stanley Cup, how about those Golden Knights?  Will they pull off the historically improbable feat of winning a major sports championship as an expansion club?

Speaking of topical sports, the month of May is traditionally associated with a certain, specific one-day event:

And I was just blogging about how little cardboard representation the Indy 500 and open wheel racing gets too.  The 102nd running of the most famous event in auto racing will be taking place this Sunday and I cannot wait!

On that note...

NASCAR and Jeff Gordon are both repped by this card describing what occurred during the 1997 running of the Daytona 500, another one of motorsports' crown jewels.  That February, "Wonderboy" became the race's youngest victor, at the tender age of 25 (a record since eclipsed by 20-yr old Trevor Bayne in 2011).  This May, Gordon was elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, at the age of 48.  Time flies, doesn't it?

Sidenote - Billy (from Cardboard History), would this count as a NASCAR card for the purposes of your collection?

So far, we've seen Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Jeff Gordon, etc., some of the most recognized names in the history of North American sports.  All in all, this box does a pretty good job of covering the "who's who" in our sporting lineage.  With that said, there's no way that Grolier was going to exclude what may be the BIGGEST name in our sporting history;

After all, in 1997, "Air Jordan" and his Bulls were coming off their fifth of six NBA Championships, with five NBA Finals MVP awards for MJ.  In short, the legend was in the prime of his notoriety when these cards were printed and distributed.  This oddball will make a fine addition to my small, but growing Chicago Bulls collection.

Now, there were many other cards with sporting connections to be found in the "Story of America," but I've chosen to only showcase the ones that appealed to me and my collecting interests.  You better believe, after flipping through the massive deck and finding these awesome oddballs, that I took them home to add to me collection.  After all, they were on the house and my official duty as the school IT person is to do anything I can to help our educating staff.  Sometimes, that goes beyond computers and includes getting rid of stuff for the teachers...well, at least it did yesterday.  Gotta clear that counter-space!

Before I go, I'm left wondering, does anyone else have a stash of these oddities in the collections?  Do you consider educational sets like these to be collectible trading cards?  Have ever used a set of these (or similar products) in your classroom, either as a professional or as a student?  Please feel free to weigh-in on these matters in the comment section below.

In the meantime, here's hoping that more cool stuff shows up in the teacher's lounge as summer break dawns!