30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Thursday, October 8, 2020

Overpriced Chicken

September was National Chicken Month.  My plan was to publish this post a few weeks ago, but you know how things are in 2020.

So here we are in the second week of October and I wanted to show off a purchase I made back in August from the Big Bad Toy Store:

2020 Super7 ReAction Mascots Figure

This little action figure set me back $11.99... which is way more than most collectors would be willing to dish out for a standard action figure.  But when I discovered that Super7 produced these 3.75" figures that resemble action figures from my childhood, I wasn't going to let a few dollars stand in my way of owning one.


I've been a huge fan of the San Diego Chicken since the early 80's when he'd make guest appearances on The Baseball Bunch and I've been chasing his collectibles ever since.

Back in the 80's, Donruss offered card collectors their first taste of the San Diego Chicken back in 1982:

1982 Donruss #531

They produced another card the following year as well...

1983 Donruss #645

They also included him in their 1984 baseball set as well, but the only copy I own is buried in a box somewhere with the rest of the set.  However, I do have another card of the Chicken from the same year...

1984 Smokey the Bear #NNO

In 1992, Donruss produced another card of the San Diego Chicken for their Triple Play set.  I could have sworn that I owned a copy of that card... but it seems to have wandered off somewhere.  The only other card I could find of him was this more recent release...

2016 Panini Donruss #151

Panini has done a great job with these San Diego Chicken cards.  They've produced relic cards and had Ted Giannoulas (the man dancing around inside of the Chicken costume) sign some cards too.  Like the 1984 Donruss and 1992 Triple Play cards, these relics and autographs are also sitting on my wantlist.

In addition to these cards and my recently purchased action figure, I also own this signed bobble head that was purchased on Giannoulas' website a few years ago:


In addition to this bobblehead, I also purchased these signed 8x10 photographs:



The bobblehead is no longer available on his website, but he still has these photographs available.

If you're interested, Mr. Giannoulas is willing to sign an item of yours free of charge as long as you include a SASE.  If you'd like his mailing address, click hereFree is a fantastic bargain compared to the overpriced action figure I led this post off with.

Well that's it for today.  Here are a few "chicken" questions...

How do you prefer your chicken... baked, fried, or barbecued?

Best fried chicken restaurant?

What do you dip your chicken nuggets into?

Happy belated National Chicken Month and sayonara!

20 comments:

The Lost Collector said...

I expected this to be about Wade Boggs. My favorite chicken...is wings.

But if I’m dipping nuggs, has to be BBQ sauce.

John Sharp said...

Always fried.

A couple of years ago I donated $5.00 to a baseball website, received an awesome signed San Diego Chicken card.

To me, still the best mascot of All- Time.

Good Job. 👍

Collecting Cutch said...

Fried chicken FTW!!!
My favorite chicken place is Cluck-U
BBQ or a Garlic Parmesan sauce for dipping.

I know somewhere I have a "relic" card of the San Diego Chicken. I'll have to find it and send it your way so you can complete the trifecta of SD Chicken.

night owl said...

I remember The Chicken being a big deal way back in '78!

Chicken is tasty but also too messy. Chicken wings are the best. I'm a Buffalo guy you know.

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

I need the 2020 Donruss.....The chicken, but with shipping $25.00, not doing it...at least not right now.

Commishbob said...

BBQ'd...slowly and never on direct flames/heat..I'm a master of the grill btw.

Best chicken place was a spot called Dixie House here in Houston in the 80s. Best fast food chicken is frenchies, a local chain. We used to make chicken runs to the Frenchies just off campus for Hakeem Olajuwon back in the day.

Nuggets? Never had 'em. I do like grilled wings though. Best I ever had were in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was called The Watering Hole. They grilled 'em. Best wings in Houston are from Pinkerton's Barbeque. I prefer Blue Cheese sauce over Ranch.

This is everything I know about chicken. You're welcome.

Brett Alan said...

I like fried chicken, but I'm health-conscious enough that usually I just do the "oven fry" baked chicken with seasoned flour. When I do get nuggets, which isn't often, I don't dip them.

I'll second the vote for Cluck-U. Love the wings, and great fries, too. My introduction to wings was Buffalo Joe's in Evanston Illinois when I was in college. Haven't been there in over 30 years, but apparently they're still going strong and even have additional locations in Chicago. Hope they're still as good.

Jeff B - Wax Pack Wonders said...

Love mascots and love this post!

Fried chicken. BBQ sauce with sweet and sour a close second. The grocery store three blocks from our house has good fried chicken.

Nick Vossbrink said...

Yeah I had to send a TTM to the Chicken. His penmanship is wonderful.

For eating, I'm not too picky. Haven't had nuggets in decades but regular chicken is a staple. Been doing a bit of roasted chicken recently but our go-to in this house is to mix it into Japanese curry.

And I won't name a fried chicken restaurant but instead shout out the Little Chicken House in Pacific Grove.

acrackedbat said...

OMG! Santa Claus is bring me a Super7 Chicken. He doesn't know it yet. How freakin fun! Ted is a marketing genius.

Matt said...

I always wanted one of those panini chicken relics

SumoMenkoMan said...

Chicken! Has to be Fried, KFC, and nuggets dipped in ranch.

Matt said...

Wings baby! Fried and dripping with sauce!

CaptKirk42 said...

I did not need to see that action figure. Great now I want one and possibly the rest of the set.

gregory said...

I loved those Baseball Bunch videos when I was a kid. (I might have even had one on VHS.) To answer your questions:

(1) Baked.
(2) Not sure I have one, as I don't eat much fried chicken.
(3) Tomato sauce or honey mustard.

gcrl said...

I sent the chicken card TTM back in 1982 per the instructions on the back.
I like my chicken grilled or baked in barbecue sauce.

GCA said...

Pretty sure I have both versions of the Chicken card (TM or not TM).

Gotta go fried too. Not a fan of wings, but I used to get (Mc)Nuggets with the hot mustard and sweet&sour and combine them.
A couple local places around me have "broasted", which is pretty decent. I used to have drumsticks so often at home I never ate chicken in a restaurant. Still don't get it much.

shoeboxlegends said...

Too cool! You caused me to go down the rabbit hole on their website and there are a lot of great figures, not the least of which is the chicken you showed. I want a Mr. Met big time!

The Snorting Bull said...

I got a San Diego Chicken signed 8x10 long ago. I am not sure where it is, but this post makes me want to go track it down.

1. I am a big fan of grilled chicken. I either marinade it in greek salad dressing or make a tomato based sauce. Little tomato sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, some spices. Good stuff.

2. Fried Chicken - Bojangles

3. I dip my chicken nuggets in Chick-Fil-A sauce. Even if I don't go to Chick-Fil-A, I have a few dozen extra packets of the stuff in my fridge.

Fuji said...

the lost collector - i probably should have thrown in a boggs for good measure. totally missed the opportunity.

john sharp - it's nice that he's such a willing signer. and he's definitely one of my favorite mascots.

collecting cutch - not sure if it's the same franchise, but i used to go to a cluck-u back in college and they had this crazy hot wing challenge. i never did it, but my friends tried and failed.

night owl - had no idea he was around in '78. well... maybe i did, but i don't remember. i mostly remember him from the baseball bunch. i'm a huge fan of wings. i'll just bake them... and pour some frank's hot sauce on it.

johnnys trading spot - lol. yeah, i'm not paying $20 for any chicken card. maybe one of those autographed relics from 2016, but that's about it. best of luck tracking down the 2020

commishbob - wow. that's quite the list of place for me to check out one day. i wish i was a master of the grill. when i grill it's usually beef. i tend to bake my chicken. you used to go on chicken runs for hakeem? that's awesome!

brett alan - i'll have to look into this cluck u to see if it's the same one i've been to. oven fry works for me, but i need sauce. hot sauce. bbq sauce. or blue cheese will do fine.

jeff b - thanks. i'm not sure about now during the pandemic, but before this... safeway had a fried chicken bar and there was always people lined up filling their buckets. i never tried it, but it must have been good. i like both of the sauces you mentioned

nick vossbrink - chicken katsu curry is the best. i miss my mom's cooking... especially the curry. during the winter, i'll make it a few times, but it definitely stinks up my place.

arackedbat - merry christmas!

sport card collectors - me too. if i ever find one cheap, i'll grab it

sumomenkoman - haven't been to kfc in years, but my parents would go there like twice a year when i was little. i'm more of a mcdonalds nugget guy ;D but i'll take del taco over either

matt - i'm down for that

captkirk42 - i should have picked up the whole set. they're so much cheaper when you preorder them

gregory - it'd be kinda fun to watch the baseball bunch reruns just to see the guests. i know they have a few different ones on youtube. honey mustard is a good call

gcrl - nice. i'm surprised i didn't send it to him as a kid.

gca - hot mustard and sweet and sour combined? interesting. i do enjoy both of them. i vaguely remember the variations. i'll start with getting the 84... then chase the variations.

shoeboxlegends - they have some awesome iron maiden figures. actually... i love most of the stuff they produce. it's just way overpriced for my collecting budget.

the snorting bull - my nephew used to work at chick-fil-a. should have had him grab me some of those packets. you're not the first person to recommend that sauce