I was surprised to find out that there were 12 players who appeared on Kellogg's cards six or more years apart. Here they are. Many of the pictures come from my damaged card binder.
Six Years Apart - 5 players
Willie McCovey - 1972 and 1978; also in 1970, 1971 & 1979
His disappearance made sense since his statistics were down during the 1971 - 1976 timeframe. The biggest contribution was probably games played since his highest during those years was only 130. The Hall-of-Famer rebounded in 1977 with 28 home runs and 86 RBIs.
Phil Niekro - 1973 and 1979; also in 1980 - 1982 & 1992 All-Star Set
Hall-of-Famer Phil Niekro had some good years from 1973 to 1978 but he played on poor teams so his W-L record was not impressive. He did have 20 wins in 1974, but his knack for complete games caused him to lose 20, 18, 20 and 18 games in consecutive seasons.
Carlton Fisk - 1974 and 1980; also in 1982 & 1983
His famous home run didn't get him included in another set until 1980. He also put a a few great seasons in the late 1970s that didn't get him on a card the next year but got him into the Hall-of-Fame.
George Hendrick - 1975 and 1981; also in 1983
His 1975 card was a bit of a surprise even though he was an All-Star, but by 1980 he was in the middle of a four-year stretch where he was getting MVP votes. I remember getting my first batting practice home run off of his bat. That's the good news. The bad news is that my friend actually got the ball and gave it to me because he doesn't even like baseball.
Gary Carter - 1976 and 1982; also in 1983
This one surprised me. Carter was a Hall-of-Famer and perennial all-star and a menace whenever he came to town to play the Cubs. There were multiple years during Carter's career where Kellogg's include only one Expo (none in 1981), so that probably hurt his chances for inclusion. An avid card collector, Carter probably wanted to be included.
Seven Years Apart - 4 players
Jim Lonborg - 1970 and 1977
His statistics showed that Kellogg's made the right decision. Even though he was a solid pitcher, he didn't have all-star numbers in the years between his inclusion in the sets.
Tommy John - 1971 and 1978; also in 1981
A little better statistics than Lonborg during this time, but he missed over a year due to a surgical procedure, later known as Tommy John surgery. He never one more than 16 games before surgery. After it he won 20 games three times en route to 288 career wins. No one talks about his wins or his longevity after surgery. Why didn't the surgery get named for the doctor performing it?
Cesar Cedeno - 1973 and 1980; also in 1981 & 1991 Hispanic Legends
In the middle of the 1970s he was one of the top players in baseball. I'm surprised that he didn't appear again in a set around that time.
Bill Buckner - 1975 and 1982; also in 1983
This has been fun research. I didn't realize that Buckner managed 2715 hits. I guess he lost a lot in the last 10 years since he couldn't run enough to get an infield hit. He had some good seasons with the Cubs that I thought would get him on a card again before 1982.
Eight Years Apart - 1 player
Tug McGraw - 1973 and 1981
I was surprised to see that his statistics were not as impressive as I guessed. He was certainly a big-game pitcher. Kellogg's produced his cards to match his better seasons. It's never easy for pitchers.
10 Years Apart - 2 players
Larry Hisle - 1970 and 1980
Hisle was one of the top rookies in 1969. His best years were in 1977 and 1978 with two different teams. He didn't play much in 1979 or any year after that so his inclusion in 1980 is interesting. My guess is that the creators of the set figured he'd be back to his 1978 form.
Tony Perez - 1971 and 1981; also in 1992 All-Star Set
A big part of the Big Red Machine with steady statistics. It is a surprise that this Hall-of-Famer disappeared for 10 years from Kellogg's sets.
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