1978 Fleer Team Action Sticker Collectors Posters

One last followup regarding the 1978 Fleer NFL Team Action set that I wanted to cover - the Football Sticker Collectors Posters:


There were 2 posters (one for the AFC and another for the NFC) which were available from Fleer as a mail in offer on the wrappers:


Here's a closer look at the offer:


The interesting thing about the posters is that the picture on the wrapper shows the old Jets logo and helmet, which were used in the 1977 set, but not the 1978 set.

The picture I've posted of the poster with the stickers on it above shows the 1978 version of the new logo. The ad would seem to indicate that maybe this poster had been available in 1977 as well given the old Jets logos, although I've never seen a 1977 wrapper with an offer for these posters.

But even more odd is that the Buccaneers are shown on the AFC poster in the ad as well as the picture I've posted. The Buccaneers were in the AFC in their first year (1976), but switched to the NFC in 1977 (as they swapped conferences with the Seahawks). That would seem to indicate that this poster could therefore have possibly been first available in 1976.

However, that can't be the case since Fleer didn't start producing these type of stickers until 1977. The 1976 Cloth Patch & Hi-Gloss Stickers are not the same size as the 1977 - 1980 stickers, so they would not have fit correctly on the poster.

Here is a comparison between the 1976 Hi-Gloss Sticker on the left and the 1977 Team Action sticker on the right:


The 1977 - 1980 sticker is the same width, but it is taller than the 1976 sticker.

Perhaps the poster was first available in 1977, and Fleer failed to account for the expansion teams switching leagues and incorrectly kept the Buccaneers on the AFC poster.

This might even tie in with The Mystery 1977 Fleer NFL Football Patches Collector's Book that was the mail in offer on the 1977 wrapper:


Since that offer appeared to be for the 1975 Sunbeam Saver Book that did not have places for the 1976 expansion teams:

perhaps Fleer addressed the issue by coming up with the Collectors Posters so that they could include the Buccaneers and Seahawks and sent those instead of the Saver Books to collectors who responded to the ad on the wrappers.

One final observation - the offer contains a bit of false advertising. The offer says "Display all 56 designs"


but the posters only hold 55 stickers. How come?

The answer is the Seahawks. Since Fleer didn't create a logo sticker for the team, but simply double printed the helmet with 2 different colored borders


there was no need to have 2 spots on the posters for the same sticker.