30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Sweet Treats from the 90's


The 1990's delivered all kinds of treats to sports memorabilia fans.  There was so much variety.  Competition between the card companies pushed them to their creative peaks.  I realize that this has become a regular theme on this blog, but I'd much rather reflect on that era than write about another 2020 Topps insert or parallel.

That's why today's post will take a closer look at some new additions from the 90's to my Tony Gwynn collection.  And if that's not your thing, scroll down to the bottom and I've included a 2020 Topps card especially for you.

But let's start off with the sweet stuff.  Back in 1997, Pinnacle introduced collectors to their Pinnacle Inside product line which offered collectors trading cards inside of a collectible can.  Regardless of whether or not collectors bought into this gimmick, you've gotta give Pinnacle credit for thinking outside of the box.


As with the majority of 90's card products, Pinnacle tried to lure collectors in with inserts and parallels.  The Dueling Dugouts inserts featured two players with an innovative built-in dial that compared statistics from 1992 to 1996.

1997 Pinnacle Inside Dueling Dugouts #10

If this isn't creative, I'm not sure what is.  The good news is that there are plenty of these floating around out there to keep them affordable, yet not quite dime box fodder.  This card set me back $1.12 and was part of my recent COMC shipment.

Another bargain priced insert I purchased on COMC was this die-cut Gwynn:

1999 Pacific Crown Collection Pacific Cup #10

On the surface, this card probably is mistaken for being just another overproduced insert card from the era.  But these inserts were pretty tough pulls.  At a rate of 1:721 packs, these were inserted into approximately 1:20 boxes.  Back in the day, you'd have to pay $25 to $50 for this card, while guys like Griffey and McGwire would fetch close to triple digits.  I paid $3.38 for this copy last year.

Next up is another 90's Pacific item, but it's not a baseball card:


Back in 1990... Pacific Candy Co. partnered up with Tony Gwynn to produce the Tony Gwynn Base Hit Candy Bar.  I recently saw this pop up on someone's blog and decided to find one for my own collection.  Originally, I was hunting for a full candy bar.  However with the summer heat, I decided to play it safe and focus on just the wrapper.

Although I've been trying to demonstrate patience and avoid paying top dollar for collectibles, I ended up paying $5.99 (+ 55¢ tax) for a candy wrapper.  It's not the greatest deal, but it's a cool oddball item for my collection.

The last 90's item I'll share with you all today is a ticket stub from a 1999 game between the Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres:

Expos vs. Padres 8/6/99 Ticket Stub

I wrote about this ticket stub and its significance earlier in the year, but if you didn't read that post... it's from the game where Gwynn collected his 3000th career hit.  Here's a clip of that special moment:


And since I try to accommodate and cater this blog to a variety of collectors... here's the obligatory 2020 Topps card I promised earlier:

2020 Topps Rookie Card Retrospective Logo Medallions #RCR-TG

For every four or five inserts sets Topps produces these days, there's one or two I can appreciate.  This is one of them.  I realize that they've sort of ran the rookie card tribute thing into the ground, but if they're going to produce a new one every year... this is the way to do it.

This card was part of a five card lot that I found on eBay for $5 (+ $4.20 shipping and 46¢ tax).  I'm currently sitting on eleven different cards from this set.  If I can find a few more cheap lots, I will consider building it.

Okay... here are your questions of the day:

If your favorite athlete was featured on a candy bar wrapper, would you want one for your collection?

What's your favorite non-autographed or game-used insert card set of 2020 so far?

Well that's it for today.  I look forward to reading and responding to your comments.  Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

18 comments:

Dennis said...

Yeah 90s! Cool stuff as always, Fuji. I like how you have the stub for Gwynn's 3K hit game since I have the same for Ripken.

bbcardz said...

Love the 2020 Gwynn card. For a manu-relic card, they are turning out to be fairly popular.

Jongudmund said...

In answer to your first question, yes, and one like you've got there. In answer to your second question, I don't care. As long as it's affordable if the insert series includes Tony Gwynn. Otherwise 2020 cards are just meh.

I have seen "The Man" inserts and they are risable. It's like 1995 design has come back from the dead like a zombie plague. I haven't checked if there is a Tony Gwynn one of those because they're horrible.

(I really liked this post, for obvious reasons.)

gcrl said...

Yes. I have a flattened rc cola can featuring steve garvey in my collection, so a wrapper would fit right in.
Not sure I have a favorite insert set for this year, but I do like some of the Decades Best from series 2

Commishbob said...

There was an Orioles' Bar back in the 80s. Tasted like a Nestle's Crunch with even cheaper chocolate. I ate one and tossed the rest but kept a bunch of the wrappers.

I don't ahve any 2020 inserts (I barely have and 2020 cards). So I can't comment on that.

sg488 said...

I remember buying a Ken Griffey Jr. bar at a show in 1989, unfortunately by the time I got home it melted chocolate all over my truck seat.

Troublewiththecurve.net said...

Yeah, I'm with sg488 - the Griffey bar was pretty popular in my day. Of course, older collectors probably remember the "Reggie Bar" that debuted at a Yankees game in 1976. Apparently, it was pretty good too - it stayed around until 1982.

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

Way back when.....I was a John Elway super collector. He had a Crunch bar, it is still in my freezer back home. Well, at least it better be. As for 2020 inserts, eh no fav's yet.

Rebel Coyote said...

Not candy bar wrapper but I have cereal boxes of Tim Duncan. It only appeared in Texas based grocery store HEB from late 2016 through early 2017 commemorating his 19 year NBA career.

night owl said...

Yeah, not a '90s card guy, especially late '90s. You call it "creative," I call it "stunts."

My favorite 2020 insert so far is Opening Day's Spring Has Sprung. The selection is a bit random but I love the look.

Nick said...

Wow, those "Dueling Dugouts" inserts are excellent! The '90s continue to flabbergast me. Dunno if I'd consider it a part of my collection, but I'd definitely buy, say, an Ichiro candy bar if I saw one in the checkout aisle at Target.

Also I agree with NO -- the 2020 Opening Day "Spring Has Sprung" inserts are easily the best of 2020 for me. I bought the entire set on Ebay a few months ago, which I almost never do.

Matt said...

i came for the word 90's and I left happy with the viewage.

P-town Tom said...

Sandberg had a chocolate bar with him on the wrapper. I picked one up at a card show in the early 90s and kept it the freezer for a number of years. When I moved out of my parents' house I decided to open it up, because I didn't want the chocolate to melt and get all over. I replaced the chocolate with a couple pieces of corrugated cardboard and wrapped it up again. It's not perfect, but it looks near mint and now I don't have to worry about it melting. :)

gregory said...

The Dueling Dugouts cards are great. Anything to get a kid to be interactive and actually touch something mechanical, you know?

As for the candy bar thing, if I collected a certain player I think I would want a wrapper for my collection, yes. It would be a cool little non-card addition.

The Snorting Bull said...

I love that Tony Gwynn and Brian Jordan card. I need to find a copy of that card. While they did not make it to the World Series, I loved the 1996 Cardinals team with Jordan, Gant, and Ray Lankford in the outfield. I have tried to collect food items in the past, but it just does not have much appeal to me in the long run. I had some different cereal boxes for ahwile, and a package of Willie McGee cookies.

Favorite insert of 2020? Maybe the Turkey Red cards. I feel like I have not opened much though.

Fuji said...

dennis - thanks! the ripken would be a cool one to add too.

bbcardz - yeah, they aren't too shabby. i already have copies of rickey and gwynn. now i just need to track down a few others singles for my pc. and who knows. maybe one day i'll build the set

jongudmund - meh is the perfect way to describe how i feel about 90% of inserts today

gcrl - flattened? i'll have to check your blog to see if you've written about that can before. i have an rc cola can of vida blue, but mine is still in can form. as for the decade's best inserts... i like how they matched the font with the decade

commishbob - all three of those wrappers are pretty cool. i definitely remember the reggie bar!

sg488 - i remember the griffey bar too. i actually think the card shop i worked at had a few in the display case (or maybe i saw it at another local shop)

troublewiththecurve.net - i remember both of those candy bars, but don't think i ever tasted either of them

johnnys trading spot - lol. hope nobody ate that elway bar.

rebel coyote - very cool. i really like duncan. i used to collect cereal boxes, but ran out of space. i think i only have two left intact. a gwynn in my office and a green bay packers wheaties in my classroom

night owl - i can live with the term "stunts". now if only we could get topps to try and pull off some of these stunts. as for spring has sprung set... the photography is pretty cool. definitely older photos i've never seen before like the mcgwire and the gehrig/ruth cards.

nick - i'd love to see an ichiro bar. maybe chocolate with mochi?

sport card collectors - good to hear. thanks for stopping by

p-town tom - i guess there have been quite a few athletes with candy bars.
never seen or heard of the sandberg bar. that's a good idea about replacing the chocolate with cardboard. if i ever get my hands on an actual gwynn candy bar, i'll try to do that.

gregory - yeah... the interactiveness is ingenious.

the snorting bull - willie mcgee cookies? that's sounds interesting. if you still have the package, you should write a post about it. the turkey red cards are okay. my only issue with them is that they've issued a few turkey red sets over the years.

Peter K Steinberg said...

THose dials are pretty cool. I like how you gif'ed it. I think that's what you did to it?

Fuji said...

peter k steinberg - yeah. there are websites online where you upload photos and they'll turn it into a gif