They Still Work! 1970 Fleer Iron-Ons

 I came across a video on Youtube from Rob Opens Wax opening a pack of 1970 Fleer Iron-ons.

  

 It was fun to see Rob not only open the pack

  but then also see how well the iron-ons still work:

 

Not bad for a 55 year old product! 

Thanks to Rob for sharing this.  

Here is the link to the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnkfn6VX0nY&=69s

Opening a Unopened 1973 Fleer Baseball Decals Box!

Friend of the Fleer Sticker Project Ray recently purchased an unopened box of Fleer Baseball Decals, likely produced in 1973 or perhaps 1972.

Ray was kind enough to share some photos of the results of what he found in the box of 24 packs. 

 Here is how it looked opening the pack:

This confirms that the white quiz cards with no team logos were included with the Baseball Decals release.

The contents include the quiz card, one rectangular decal, and one square decal along with a stick of gum:

 Here are the results of opening the full box:

It looks like there was good collation as the box yielded few duplicates.

Ray is a seller on ebay (seller ID cardboardgold4u) with a number of rare Fleer items, and has listed these for sale, so if you are looking for any of these, they are now available here:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_dkr=1&iconV2Request=true&_blrs=recall_filtering&_ssn=cardboardgold4u&_oac=1&_nkw=fleer+decal&_pgn=1

Thanks for sharing Ray!  Appreciate you confirming that the white quiz card came with this release, and for showing that there likely is not a square MLB logo decal to go with the rectangular decal since nobody has been able to find one.

1987 Fleer Baseball Stickers Mystery - Yankees in the National League?

I received an email from Jeff asking about a sticker he came across while looking through some 1987 Fleer cards he has from when he was a kid, and this sticker caught his attention:

He wrote asking me if I had any information on this variation since he couldn't find anything about it.  I've never seen it before, and have never heard of it.

The back has the Cardinals logo:

While it would be helpful to have a high-resolution scan, from what I can see of the die-cut, it doesn't look like anything has been tampered with like sticking a Yankee logo baseball on a National League base.  It certainly appears to be one sticker.

If this variation was released, I'm surprised no one has ever come across it until now. Has anyone ever come across one of these?

1973 / 1974 Fleer Baseball Big Signs Variation Helps Answer Question Regarding When These Were Issued

Thanks to Mike from the great Baseball Card Variations Guide Book Vol 2 for alerting me to the fact that there are 2 versions of the California Angels Fleer Baseball Big Sign.

One version has the Angels name with a lower case "a"

and the other version has an upper case "A", along with a darker shade of red

The signs are sometimes referred to as being from 1973 and sometimes from 1974.  Perhaps they were issued in both years.  One clue is that there are different colored boxes that the signs came in, which perhaps indicates that the signs were issued twice:

Unfortunately there is no date on the bottom of the box to help confirm:

The boxes appear to be exactly the same, including the item #. It would make sense that the different colored boxes indicate that these were issued at different times, and help explain why they are identified as being from either 1973 or 1974.

In checking through old pictures of ebay listings I had saved, I did find a picture of a set with the small "a" with a blue box

 I also found a picture of the set with a red box, but unfortunately the Angles card isn't showing:

Based on the information provided by Mike on the Angels variation, along with the different colored boxes, I believe the sets were issued in both 1973 (blue box) and 1974 (red box). 

Thanks Mike for passing this information along and helping shed more light on this set.

1972 Fleer Baseball Cloth Patches Uncut Sheet - Another Piece of the Puzzle

Here is a picture of what I believe to be a 1972 Fleer Baseball Cloth Patches uncut sheet:

 

The reason I believe it is from 1972 is that there are no Senators or Rangers patches, so this would most likely be from the season when the Washington Senators moved to Texas to become the Rangers:

 

 

This sheet comes from the same person who provided a picture of a framed uncut Fleer Baseball Cloth Patches sheet from 1974 which I profiled previously:

 

I dated that sheet as being from 1974 due to the lack of Padres patches as this would have most likely been from the year that they were planning to move to DC.

In comparing the 2 sheets, we can see that the Orioles replaced the Rangers on the 1972 sheet for both the logo patch as well as the cap patch. Presumably the Senators would have been in those positions on the earlier sheets.  The 1972 sheet also allows us to see the Padres, which were replaced on the 1974 sheet by a Yankees logo and a Cardinals cap patches, making those effectively double prints.

Other than these changes, the positions of the other teams all remain the same between the 2 sheets.  We can also see some of the logos that changed, such as the Indians logo and cap, the Braves cap (from a capital "A" to a lower case "a") and the Angels (from the lower case "a" in 1972 to the capital "A" in 1974.

I would like to thank the person who reached out to me and provided these pictures as they greatly enhance our understanding of these cloth patches and some of the changes that occurred over the years.

Play Ball! - Bob Laughlin Style

As we get ready for the most unique season in MLB history, I thought this would be a good time to show a Sporting News cover from 1967 that I recently came across featuring the artwork of Bob Laughlin with his representations for each team at the start of the season:

 Here is the full cover from the Feb 25, 1967 issue:

 

Card collectors will recognize Bob's work from his World Series sets that he initially produced himself in B&W

as well as the color World Series and other sets he did for Fleer and other self produced sets in the early to mid-70s:

In fact, in his initial ad for the World Series sets, he mentions doing the above cover for the Sporting News:

If you are interested in checking out The Sporting News archives, they are currently available through a subscription to newspaperarchive.com.  I bought a one month subscription and had a great time reading through articles from the 50's through the 80's.  The database is searchable, so if you want to search for articles on a particular player or team, you can quickly find the pages you are looking for.

Fleer Stickers That Never Were - USFL Edition

I came across a great item on Pinterest where someone designed USFL helmets in the style of the 1977 - 1980 Fleer Team Action stickers:

I also like that the creator (Gumball) uses the Fleer logo for their name.  Very nice touch.

I never saw a USFL game in person, but do remember watching some of them on TV.  Since I was not born when the AFL formed, and too young to remember the WFL, it was exciting to see the start of a new league.   Its a shame the league wasn't able to survive.

If you haven't seen the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary "Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL", I'd highly recommend you check it out.  Its a great look back at the league.

Getting Help With My 1967 Fleer Baseball Emblem Cards

Contributor to the blog John was kind enough to send me one of the hard to find 1967 Baseball Emblem cards that I need for my set:

You may recall that John provided scans of the cards from his collection which I shared in a post reviewing the 1967 Fleer Baseball Emblem Cards and Cloth Patches.  At the time he still needed 2 teams - the Senators and the Giants.

Fortunately John has been able to track down the 1967 Senators card since then,

which leaves only the Giants.

If anyone has a copy of the 1967 Fleer Baseball Emblems Giants card and would be interested in trading with John, please let me know and I will be glad to put you in touch.

John was also kind enough to send a few scans of the 1967 Fleer Baseball Emblems Cloth Patches from his collection:

I'd like to say thanks to John for sharing pictures of his collection and for his generosity in sending me the Braves card. 

Blog Bat Around: My Current Projects

Thanks to Night Owl for kicking off this latest Blog Bat Around.  After reading about his current projects as well reading posts from other bloggers who have posted, I thought I would join in.

 

Here is a look at my various card collecting interests, and what I am currently focused on for each:

Baseball Sets

Collecting baseball card sets is my primary focus.  As I have discussed before in a previous Blog Bat Around, I am a completist, so the main enjoyment I get from collecting is completing sets.

I have completed Topps flagship baseball sets from 1964 through 2017.  I must confess though that for about the last 30 years, I have just bought Topps factory sets as my primary focus has been building vintage sets rather than building current sets through opening packs.  While I miss the enjoyment of building each year's current set, I would rather focus my efforts on vintage cards.

Sets I am currently working on: 1960 & 1963 Topps

I've got about 1/2 of the 1960 set completed, and I'm down to only needing 6 cards for the 1963 set.  Unfortunately the cards I need for '63 are guys named Rose, Mantle, Aaron, Mays, Koufax, and Clemente, so I'm afraid I'm going to be stuck at needing 6 for a while. 

In addition to Topps, I also collect all other brands that were issued in the 1980's (Fleer, Donruss, Score, Upper Deck), and have complete sets for all of those brands up through 1991.

As for the sets that I have completed, I am still working on some of those sets in terms of:

Upgrades -  from the sets I built in the 70's, there are still some cards like checklists that are marked, and cards that are not in the greatest condition that I am working on replacing.  I'm also trying to improve cards that are terribly off center.

Errors / Variations - for the sets that I have completed, I'm trying to go back and build master sets that include all variations.


And finally, I am also purchasing 1990s sets - my goal is to have every major set issued from each year that I am collecting.   Right now I'm trying to fill in the gaps in sets that I don't have from the early 1990's.  That includes trying to put together all the insert sets as well.

Given the over production from the era, it is pretty easy to find some great prices on sets from this time period.  In many cases though, the shipping costs more than the set.  Once you add in the cost of a binder and pages, I end up spending more on the set than it is worth, but I enjoy being able to look at my cards in binders.  If the cards are all packed away in boxes, then I never look at them, so I am progressively working my way through the sets that I have and putting them in binders.

Realistically, I think I will stop this project of completing all sets for a given year towards the end of the 1990's as there are just too many different sets by late 90's that I'll never be able to complete (and will never have enough room!).

One project that I have taken on where I am actually building some sets from the 1990s are 2 parallel sets - 1994 Score Gold Rush and 1994 Pinnacle Museum.   I was able to pick up some lots for each of these sets, and have enjoyed trying to build them a few cards at a time.

Fleer Items

Now we get into the items that are the inspiration for this blog!

I've always loved all of the different Fleer items with team logos, as evidenced by all the different sets I've covered on the blog.

Sets I am currently working on:

1969 Baseball Pennants and Stamps - This is one of my favorite Fleer issues given the multiple logos on each sheet.  I'm down to only needing 2 sheets, but these things are almost impossible to find.

1967 Baseball Emblems and Fact Cards - These are much harder to find than the 1968 versions.   I still need quite a few 1967 patches and fact cards.

 

1960 - 1962 Fleer Baseball Decals with Red Backs - Another Fleer variation that is very hard to find.  Still trying to find a couple of teams.

 
1976 Iron Ons - I'm a few teams short of completing this set as well.

 Football Sets

In addition to collecting baseball sets, I also collect football cards.  I've got complete Topps sets from 1966 though 2015 when they lost their license.

My next goal would be to collect the 1965 Topps set, but given that set contains the Namath rookie, I've decided instead to work on the 1964 - 1967 Philadelphia Football sets.

Sets I am currently working on: 1964, 1965, and 1966 Philadelphia (1967 is complete)

Oddball

I love oddball sets!  Oversize cards, posters, coins, stamps, stickers - I want them all!

My most recent completions were the 1971 Topps Coin set, the 1989 Topps Talking Baseball set,  and the 1988 - 1990 Topps Big sets.

Sets I am currently working on:

1971 Topps Greatest Moments - I'll probably never finish this one as the SP cards are ridiculously expensive, but I love the look of this set.

Topps Sticker sets - 1985 & 1986 Topps Baseball, 1985 & 1986 Topps Football  - I'm trying to finish complete runs of the Topps Baseball and Football sticker sets from the 1980s.

1982 Kellogg's Raisin Bran NFL Posters - Need a few more teams to complete the set.

1970's Food Issues

As a kid growing up in the 1970s, the Kellogg's and Hostess sets were a great way to get additional cards since Topps was the only game in town.  I have fond memories of checking the backs of Hostess products looking for cards I needed and always wanting more Frosted Flakes to get another card for my set.

I've been able to finish a complete run of the Hostess panels from 1975 - 1979.

I've completed 1972 - 1983 Kellogg's.

I haven't started 1970 or 1971 yet, but they are on my list to start working on.


I also have the 1970 Kellog's Football set, but need to start the 1971 set.

Basketball

My interest in basketball is limited to the Topps sets from the 1970s and early 1980s.

I've completed 1973-74 through 1979-80.

I'm currently working on the 1980-81 set, except of course I need the Bird/Johnson rookie.

Non Sport

Wacky Packages - Wackys were the first thing I ever collected.  Before I'd ever seen a baseball card, I had been gotten caught up in the Wacky craze.  I blame the checklists that came in every pack for making me the set collector that I am today.

Seeing those checklists with all of the titles I didn't have made me want to keep buying packs until I could mark off every box on the checklist.  I've been hooked on collecting sets ever since!

I've been able to complete the original 1st through 15th Series, as well as reissues and most of the All New Series that were released since 2004.

Sets I am currently working on:

Wacky Packages 16th Series - The ultra rare 16th Series that most people at the time of its release were never aware of.  Most collectors never knew about the series until Topps did reissues in 1979-1980 that had stickers that people had never seen before.

I've only picked up a few of the stickers in this set so far.  They typically sell for at least $50 a piece, so this is another project that is probably going to take a very long time to finish.

Other Non-Sports:

Topps Evel Knievel - I was fortunate that this limited Topps issue was released where I was growing up.  I was at just the right age to get totally swept up in the  Evel Knievel mania.  I had the toys and my friends and I would set up ramps to see how many Tonka trucks we could jump over on our bikes.  I'm down to needing only 2 cards to complete the set, and have about half of the stickers.

Topps Beatles cards - I have always been a huge Beatles fan, so naturally I would be interested in collecting Beatles cards.  I'm down to just needing a few to finish a complete run of all the Topps Beatles sets.

Charlie's Angels - How could I not collect these growing up in the 70's?  I've got the card sets, but still need some of the sticker sets.

Star Wars - Same situation.  Have all the cards from the original 5 series, just need to finish off the sticker sets.

Card Related Items

In addition to cards, I also collect wrappers and the boxes the cards came in.  My goal is to have a wrapper and the box the cards came in from every set that I have collected from as far back as the 1960 Topps set I am working on through the end of the 1980s and the wax era.  I've got quite a ways to go with this project.

Once you start getting into the 1990s with foil packs and the explosion of sets, it just becomes too much to try to collect.


There is much more I would like to include in this review. but I think I'll stop here as this is getting pretty long, and covers my main focus areas of collecting.   If you've made it this far, thanks for reading!