What is the Big Deal With This Proof?

Now this is certainly a proof sheet that I wanted to get.  Of course this is another sheet that I will never own.

I guess this is a starting point as to why these cards are the toughest to find.  They are all on the same sheet.  Did something happen to this sheet so that it ended up in lower numbers?  They certainly had to show up in the same number in factory sets.  Does anyone know more about this?

In no way do I consider myself an expert on Kellogg's cards.  Please pass along any ideas.

Another Group of 1980 Unopened Packs

I purchased these three packs recently on ebay.

I am hesitant to buy 1980 unopened packs because most of the ones I've gotten seem to have the same problem - the front and top piece of paper have separated or are about to separate if you breathe on them or look at them wrong.

These three packs seem secure, unlike most of the ones in my collection.  Which have all of you seen more frequently - flimsy packs or well-sealed packs?

I Finally Checked Out My New Unopened Packs

I was too busy to check out the cards I bought on ebay last week.  Here they are.

With my computer problems, Excel isn't working so I'm not currently sure which ones I need.  I' sure I need Carter and a few others. at least.

I'm used to people writing the card numbers on the back, but not usually on the front.  In some years the number is so easy to see that one shouldn't even need to write it down.

The names written on the front?  That doesn't look good to me.  But, I'm okay with whatever way I can get some of these cards unopened.


Back to comments on the auction.  I went back today because there was a lot listed as "Three boxes of 3-D cards".  Unfortunately, they were those actual Topps 3-D packs from the mid-80s.  There are still a few more auctions from this estate so maybe I will find something next time.

I Went to My First Auction Today

Wow! What a great auction to attend.  My wife and I enjoyed it thoroughly for about two hours.  It will probably be going on for a few more hours today.  My wife didn't even go the the auction, but she really enjoyed one thing - I didn't make any purchases.

There was only one lot was labelled as containing Kellogg's cards.  The lot had a monster box with one row of Kellogg's cards (maybe 2/3 of the row) and Post cards (new ones(, one row of Hostess cards, an empty row and a nice stack of at least 50 Hostess panels.  The Kellogg's cards were mostly 1981, 1980 and 1974 and the 1974s were curled.

Unfortunately this lot was combined with another monster box that had a bunch of small sets.  I didn't spend a lot of time checking out the entire lot, but the bids went way beyond what I'd pay for the lot.  Maybe there was something else good in the lot?

I did learn from my first auction that I should certainly check out the lots in advance.  I will do that next time, which might be tomorrow.

Here is a link to a thread where this auction is discussed:

https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/985256/chicago-area-topps-unopened-collectors

Ugh.. A New Package Arrived and I Have Yet to Check it Out

I got a few unopened single-card packs from 1976 in the mail today.  I haven't checked out the cards yet because I did something different today.  What was it?  I've been to a bunch of high school football games but this was the first one where I attended only for the halftime show.

I'm guessing that I will be doing this Friday night halftime show for the next five years.  I'm afraid to ask if these performers will ever need to attend road games.

More tomorrow?

On This Day in 1971.....

Kellogg's should have been creating factory sets in both baseball and football.  But no, they decided not to do that in 1971.

Also on this day in 1971 Ernie Banks hit his last career homer.

1974 Kellogg's Baseball Card Backs #01 - 03

Finally done with this set.  What will be next?

#03 - Joe Coleman


Kellogg's said the trade to the Tigers ransomed Coleman from the "tail-end Senators".  Wow, that's not nice.

His dad, Joe, also was a major league pitcher.

He won his first two games within two months of high school graduation.

Not on the card - son won 90 more career games than dad did.  Both had long careers.

Not on the card - Joe (Jr.) had a son, Casey, who made it to the majors.  Casey won eight games in his short career.


#02 - Rick Monday


Stone is known for being the first player ever drafted in the current format of the draft.

He improved his stats in both years with the Cubs.

Not on the card - he played long enough to hit 241 career homers.


#01 - Bob Gibson


Not much to say on the card since he has stats starting in 1959.  He missed lots of time since he had a surgically repaired knee.

He is #2 on the all-time strikeout list.

Not on the card - he got his total to 3,117 but he now ranks 14th all-time.

1974 Kellogg's Baseball Card Backs #04 - 06

I'm going to finish this set soon.  I've got to find a way to get all of the pictures into these posts.  Soon.

#06 - Jim Palmer


Here's another Arizona State alum.  He won 20 games for the fourth consecutive season.  It was his sixth straight year with an ERA of less than 3.00.

The experts wrote him off after shoulder injuries in 1968.  He's won 99 games in the five years after missing the entire 1968 season.

He won the 1973 Cy Young Award.

Not on the card - he won the Cy Young Award in 1975 and 1976 too.


#05 - Carlton Fisk


His batting average dropped from his rookie season, but he's one of the best catchers in the game.  The text mentions that he led the team with 27 homers, but the stats correctly show him with 26.  Was this corrected?

He fulfilled his military obligation before joining the minor league affiliate of the Red Sox.

He had the most steals of any AL catcher - seven.

Not on the card - he had 128 career steals including 17 in a season twice.


#04 - Bert Campaneris


He always seemed small on the field when I watched on television, but at 5-10 and 155 pounds he wasn't much different from me in the late 1970s.

Kellogg's says that the stats don't tell the story because Campy does it all.

Not on the card - I was surprised to see that he received MVP votes in eight different seasons from 1965 to 1975.

1974 Kellogg's Baseball Card Backs #07 - 09

Getting to the end of a look at the backs of the 1974 Kellogg's baseball cards.  I'm struggling to find cards 01 to 09 without cracks.  If you've got extras I would certainly trade for them.

#09 - Greg Luzinski


He easily led the team in homers and RBIs for the second straight year.

Not on the card - he led with only 18 HR and 68 RBIs in 1972.  Ouch!  That's why the team won only 59 games and everyone talks about how Steve Carlton won most of those games.

The Phillies had to outbid lots of college football programs for Luzinski.

Not on the card - "outbidding" certainly is a big thing in college football today.



#08 - Nolan Ryan


Lots of people see the Bill Singer card and assume it is Nolan Ryan after a quick glance.

He set the single-season strikeout record with 383.  He is still bothered by wildness as shown by his 163 walks - 162 on the stat line.   Was that corrected?

Not on the card - baseball.reference.com credits him with 162 Ks in 1973.

"If he stays healthy, no pitching record is beyond his reach".

He is the career leader in walks and strikeouts.


#07 - Ron Santo


He takes his game to the AL after a trade to the White Sox.  Not much else to say on the back because his MLB career began in 1960.

Not on the card - he received MVP votes every year from 1963 to 1969.

1974 Kellogg's Baseball Card Backs #10 - 12

Hold on.  Roy Hobbs is up.  Don't tell me what happens.  They play during lightning storms?  We have an automatic 30-minute delay whenever thunder or lightning is encountered.

Back to the 1974 Kellogg's baseball card backs.


#12 - Bill Singer


The move from Los Angeles to California (Anaheim) worked well as Singer became a 20-game winner for the Angels.  He had won 20 games once with the Dodgers in a long, injury-filled career.

He pitched a no-hitter in 1970.

Not on the card - he was an all-star twice.

Not on the card - here is another guy who was selected in an expansion draft - he was taken by Toronto in 1976.  I should see how many guys from these drafts are in Kellogg's sets.


#11 - Bob Watson


The Astros struggled to find a position for Watson.  Does that mean he didn't field well?  They tried him at catcher, outfielder, third base and first base.  He focused on left field in 1973 and he had a great season.

Not on the card - the outfield didn't end up being his spot.  He played about 2/3 of his career games at first base, which is where I remember him.


#10 - Buddy Bell


Buddy is expected to be a big star.  He led the team in most stats in 1973.  His father, Gus Bell, had a 14-year NL career.

The text focuses a lot on his minor league success since he'd only been in the majors for two years when this card was printed.

Not on the card - Buddy played 18 seasons and hit 201 homers.  Gus Bell topped his son by five homers, hitting 206.

Not on the card - two of Buddy's kids, David and Mike, played in the majors.  Mike hit two homers in his short MLB season and David hit 123 in 12 seasons.

1974 Kellogg's Baseball Card Backs #13 - 15

Here come three more from the 1974 Kellogg's baseball card set.

#15 - Manny Sanguillen


Not often back then did we see a player's position listed as catcher / outfielder.  His hobbies include playing the guitar.

It is mentioned that he was the replacement for his close friend Roberto Clemente in right field.  The 1973 card projected that move.  He played 59 games in right field in 1973.

In a sentence filled with randomness, Manny is one of the fastest-running catchers, he was an amateur boxer and he teaches the bible to kids in Pan American missions.

Not on the card - he received MVP votes in four different seasons.


#14 - Jim Brewer


Brewer is listed as a relief pitcher.  I don't know how often that was specified on a card since most guys are just listed as pitchers.

He is mentioned as one of baseball's best relief pitchers.  Not much else on the back since he'd been in the league since 1960.  His last game was in 1976.

Not on the card - he died in 1987 in a car accident.


#13 - Dave May


May's got a unique middle name - LaFrance.  He's listed as an avid pro basketball fan.  I don't remember seeing anything like that elsewhere.

He's from Delaware.  In Wayne's World Wayne mentions in a most boring voice "Hi, I'm in Delaware".  If you don't know the movie, watch it sometime.

Not on the card - he's the father of Derrick May.  Dad was a one-time all-star with 96 career homers.  I was guessing that son hit more, but Derrick only hit 52 homers.

1974 Kellogg's Baseball Card Backs #16 - 18

Back for more about the 1974 Kellogg's set.

#18 -  Ed Goodson

He was still a Giants prospect at this time.  He hit .302 in 102 games.  It is assumed that he will take over at first base for Willie McCovey.

Not on the card - he never got over 300 official at-bats again in his career.

Not on the card - McCovey was still playing after Goodson's career ended.


# 17 - Amos Otis

Otis added muscle to his game in 1973.  He hit 26 HRs, had 93 RBIs and batted .300.  He was one of only seven .300 hitters in 1973.

Not on the card - he was third in the MVP voting in 1973.

Not on the card - he was a five-time all-star and three-time Gold Glove award winner.


#16 - Jeff Burroughs

Burroughs pitched his high school team in CA to a city title.

Not on the card - his son pitched his team to a Little League World Series title, right?

He led the team in homers and RBIs.

Not on the card - he won the AL MVP award in 1974.

Not on the card - he out-homered his son 240-12.

Now I Only Need 10 Unopened 1972 Kellogg's Cards

Unfortunately, these 10 are probably not going to be easy to get at a decent price.  I just picked up two to get to this point.  Since that took a few years, I'm probably going to complete this set in 5-6 years.  That's okay by me.

#01 Seaver
#06 Rose
#20 Jackson
#26 Gibson
#46 B. Williams
#47 Marichal
#48 Brock
#49 Clemente
#53 Stargell
#54 Mays

1974 Kellogg's Baseball Card Backs #19 - 21

Another busy school today but here are my comments on the 1974 Kellogg's baseball card backs.


#21 - Ted Simmons

It is mentioned three times on the back of the card that he is a switch hitter.   He hit over .300 for the second year in a row and led the Cardinals in RBIs for the second year in a row.

Not on the card - he hit .300 four more times and batted .285 over his 21-year career.   He surpassed 100 RBIs three times.

Not on the card - he received MVP votes in seven seasons and he was an all-star eight times.



#20 - Reggie Jackson


Simmons and Jackson both played 21 seasons.  I didn't remember that Jackson missed the 1972 World Series.  Why did I forget that?  World Series games were still during the day, right?

He led the league in homers and RBIs in 1973 and he hit the big homer in game seven against the Mets.  He earned MVP honors for his 1973 season.

Kellogg's said he had the strongest arm in baseball.

Not on the card - he led the AL in outfield assists twice and he ranks 26th in career outfield assists.



#19 - Nate Colbert


His hobbies include cards and checkers.   He probably liked board games too.

He is the "tail end Padres' perennial all-star representative".   So, they are saying the Padres aren't very good?  He was an all-star from 1971 - 1973.

The St. Louis native was drafted by the Cardinals.  He ended up with Houston and then was selected by the Padres in the Expansion Draft of 1968.

Not on the card - Colbert played 10 years.  I was expecting to see a bigger number.

My favorite part of the card is the last line - "In December 1973 the National League voted to transfer the Padres to Washington, D.C., a move contested by the City of San Diego".  The card still displays the Padres logo.  Too bad they didn't make that a Washington card like Topps did.

I doubt that anyone younger is reading this, but the Padres didn't move to D.C.  They are still in San Diego.  

1974 Kellogg's Baseball Card Backs #22 - 24

Back in action with a few more card backs from 1974 Kellogg's.



#24 - Orlando Cepeda


Another player listed as a Designated Hitter after the first year of its existence.  He had a good year for his age.

Not on the card - he was released by the Red Sox in March of 1974.  He played 33 games for the Royals and his career ended at age 37 with 379 homers.

Not on the card - his stats from baseball-reference.com show him playing no games in the field during both 1973 and 1974.

#23 - Willie Horton


"Although he doesn't look it, Willie is one of the strongest men in baseball".  Huh?  He always looked like a big hitter to me.

He was a high school star in Detroit.  He ended up playing 15 seasons with the Tigers.

Not on the card - his best RBI season was 1979 at the end of his career.  Not bad for a guy who made his debut in 1963.

#22 - Bobby Murcer

Murcer was signed by Tom Greenwade who also signed Mickey Mantle.  After two years in the service Murcer replaced Mantle.  The card mentions that Murcer failed to lead the Yankees to a World Series title in 1973.

Not on the card - Murcer was expected to be the next Mantle, so he was considered a failure in NYC.

Not on the card - he was a five-time all-star who hit 252 career homers.

1974 Kellogg's Baseball Card Backs #25 - 27

Back to the 1974s.  Not my favorite trio of cards.  I will try to get the pictures going soon on this.

#27 - Ron Fairly

Not much on the back of his card because he played from age 20 to age 40.  It does add a one-liner that made me laugh - "If the NL ever embraces the Designated Hitter, Fairly might never retire."  So, are they saying that he's not much of an outfielder, he's just old or both?

Not on the card - only eight times in his career did he reach 500 plate appearances.  He did get 1,913 hits in 21 seasons.

#26 - Wayne Twitchell

I didn't remember that he was 6-6.  Too bad he didn't get into the league in the late 1960s with the higher mound.  He was a 1973 All-Star.

He is studying for a Physical Education degree at Portland State.

Not on the card - he was from Portland (OR) which is probably why he took courses there.  He died in Portland in 2010 or cancer.


#25 - Ron Hunt

He played for a lot of teams during an era that didn't include free agency.  Another older guy, he was first signed in 1959.  He had knee issues that required surgery after the 1973 season.

Not on the card - he led the league in being hit by pitch seven years in a row (1968 - 1974).  Maybe that's why his knee was injured.  He is now 6th all-time in this category.

Something I Hadn't Heard About the 1968 Topps 3-D Cards

The article below talks about the 1968 Topps 3-D cards.  Sure, I'd heard that they were distributed in the New York City area.  I also have mentioned the test cards that have appeared including Brooks Robinson and Rick Monday.

The article below mentions that there was a test card of an Italian soccer player.  That's one I haven't seen or heard of before.  Does anyone know about that?


http://www.baseballcardpedia.com/index.php/1968_Topps_3-D

I will keep finding reasons to write about these cards just so I can post pictures of this Boog Powell.  Sure, it would be great to have the Clemente card, but this is a fantastic card.  Do I care that it is graded as a '3'?  Not at all.

Kellogg's Cards on COMC.com

Should I check out the 2,400+ Kellogg's cards that appear on COMC.com?  I'd love to hear your thoughts since I've been on this page but I haven't purchased anything.

SGC Population Report

I found out that the SGC Population Report can also be viewed online without being a member.  Here is the link - https://www.sgccard.com/PopulationReport.aspx?setid=16273.

There have been 122 1968 Topps 3-D cards graded by SGC.  Is it likely that some of them have been opened and sent to PSA?

Are there other grading companies besides these two and Beckett?

More About the 1968 Topps 3-D Cards

I rarely see a 1968 Topps 3-D card that is not graded.

Here are the totals from PSA.

571 cards have been graded.

Those with only one are Rick Monday, Tommy Davis and John O'Donogue.   These three were found without a team designation so they might be some kind of prototypes.  I don't know why they are not listed as such like the Brooks Robinson.  I have seen two of these three on a sheet at the National.  Luckily, I took a picture.

Check out how different the O'Donogue and Tommy Davis look.

There is also a Brooks Robinson prototype with only one graded.  It was not included in this count as it is listed separately by PSA.

26 - Boog Powell

28 - Mel Stottlemyre

32 - Jim Lonborg

32 - Rusty Staub

36 - Curt Flood

36 - Ron Swoboda

48 - Bill Robinson

51 - Roberto Clemente

56 - Tony Perez

67 - Jim Maloney (includes both variations)

78 - Willie Davis

78 - Ron Fairly


Are there many of these cards not graded?  Are there many graded by the other grading services?  If anyone is a member of the other services please let me know what numbers you see there.

It was great to hold onto both of these items at the National two years ago.  I won't ever own these unless I will the lottery.

This Helped Make it a Good Day

This morning was difficult.  Today we started fall sports.  Lots of kids didn't show up, others were missing paperwork and another group of them proved that they are not in shape.  Lots to do with this team in the next two months.

I certainly had a different attitude when I got home.  This card was waiting for me.  Now I have two cards from this set.  I don'e envision getting many more of them because they are out of my price range.  

*** update -- I get these cards so infrequently that I didn't even remember that I have two of these plus two proofs from the collection of an Xograph employee.  I don't know if the proofs are different than the cards issued in this set.  Is that where the distinction is with the card backs?  I will need to check this out.

I really should take the time to get a good image of this card on the blog.  It really does look great.  

1971 Kellogg's Baseball Variations Part 2

I have 57 cards with the "Xograph" copyright, as mentioned in yesterday's post.  I have all 75 different cards with "1970 Xograph" in the copyright.  That makes the total 132 variations.  Then I've got another 22 cards with the "1970 Xograph" copyright that differ in some way from the other "1970 Xograph" card.

Most of the variations relate to totals that were corrected on the stats line.  There are a few others that I will detail when I finalize what I need to complete the master set.

1971 Kellogg's Baseball Variations Want List Part 1

I mentioned that I have 154 different 1971 Kellogg's baseball cards.  That's only because I'm looking at all possible variations, even if it just involves the copyright line.  These cards come with two different copyright lines.  One has the "1970 Xograph" and the other omits the date and begins with "Xograph".

For the first time, I decided to check out just the copyrights without looking at the many other variations in text, stats, logos, etc.  It turns out that I have at least one variation of each card with the "1970 Xograph" copyright.  Are there more plentiful?  I will need to check that out in the future.

I am missing 18 cards with the "Xograph" copyright.  I'm looking for any condition.  Let me know if you have these.  I probably have some other variations that I could trade.

05 Clemente
06 G. Perry
10 Mays
15 F. Robinson
25 Merritt
30 Cater
33 McCovey
35 Blair
40 Stottlemyre
44 Kaline
45 C. May
50 Banks
54 A. Johnson
55 Killebrew
60 Palmer
62 Torre
65 Rose
73 Monday

1981 Uncut Sheet Part 2

This is still available online.  is $30.00 too much for something that seems to display well.  Do some of you have this already?

Sorry, this is the image from the ebay listing.  I haven't taken a picture of mine yet.

Were sheets like this available via a mail-in offer during other years?

World's Longest Yard Sale Finds

I spent part of Friday and Saturday traveling along the World's Largest Yard Sale in Ohio and Kentucky.  We had lots of fun looking at an incredible variety of items and talking to people from all over the map.

On day one the only Kellogg's cards I saw were a few 1981s and 1992 all-star set.  Luckily, on day two I found a small lot of oldest cards.  Of course they are curled as badly as one would expect.

It turns out that I didn't need any of the 1971 variations.  I am stuck on 154 different cards.

There are a few things from my childhood that I've been searching for - when the price is within reason of course.  Number one on that list is an MLB Standings Board from the 1970s with the magnets.  I saw a similar NFL one at the National.  

One of the next ones on my list turned up at the Yard Sale and the price was right.  So now I own another old game that I plan to play with my kids, and probably when no one is home.  Does anyone remember this one?  Rebound was a family favorite.  There aren't a lot of pieces and the board is really solid, so I don't know why it took so long to find it.  Maybe the flimsy box?

Kellogg's Proof Cards Checklist?

Has anyone gotten Kellogg's proof cards?  I see a few available on ebay, but I didn't see any at the show.

I'm really interested in finding proof cards that vary in some way from the actual card issued.  I'm also chasing any proof cards of players that ended up not being included in the set.

Has anyone even seen a checklist of proof cards?

This is the only proof card that I have that isn't part of the actual set (1970 Staub Proof).  I've got at least two that differ slightly from what was issued by Kellogg's (Williams proof with link to Hickman proof).  I just want to know what else is out there.

1970 Kellogg's Football Factory Set

I've bid on a few 1970 Kellogg's factory sealed sets, but I've never gotten close to owning one.  The pictures below are from a set that is now on ebay.  

This is the only Kellogg's factory football set.  I would have a tough time buying one of these for big bucks because I'd have no way of confirming that the set was unopened.  Is there a way to tell if this set has been resealed?

This guy even saved the edges of the sheets.  I like that.