30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Cheap Cool Cards #14: 1990 Mother's Cookies Jose Canseco (#3)

I'm a huge fan of Mother's Cookies cards. I've been collecting these since the mid 80's when I received my 1986 San Francisco Giants set for free at Candlestick. Unfortunately I'm not able to show it off, since ironically it's being stored at my mother's house.

From what I can gather, Mother's Cookies has been producing baseball cards since 1952, but that was way before my time. In the 80's they started giving away team sets at select ballparks. Actually they weren't complete sets... they'd give out a partial set in these little paper envelopes, along with a little redemption card that you could send in for additional cards.

Growing up in the Bay Area, I was lucky... because Mother's Cookies produced sets for both the A's and the Giants... so I made sure to attend as many of their "Free Baseball Card Day" promotional days as I could.

Then towards the end of the decade, the company started inserting cards into their bags of cookies. They came in little packs to protect the card from the oil in the cookies. Here's one of the cards I've saved since my childhood:


It's a 1990 Jose Canseco card. There were a total of four issued, but I only have cards #3 and #4. At the time, Canseco was still hot in the hobby along with Mark McGwire as part of the dual known as the Bash Brothers. They helped lead the Oakland A's to three consecutive World Series. In fact, they actually made a special four card set of McGwire too in 1990.


One of the things I liked about Mother's Cookies cards was they were a little different then regular baseball cards. They had rounded edges, a nice glossy finish on the front, and a place for an autograph on the back.

I remember meeting Jose Uribe and Robby Thompson of the San Francisco Giants at a store called the Giant's Dugout in a mall. Both of them sign the backs of their 1987 Mother's Cookies issues. In retrospect, I should have had them sign the fronts... because it would have looked better... but I figured I had to follow the rules of the cards. It doesn't matter though, because these were part of the collection that was sold off a decade ago.

Maybe the person who has my two autographs will one day finish off my dream of getting autographs of both Will Clark and Kevin Mitchell on the backs of their cards. The four of them made up one helluva infield during the late 80's.

Anyways... getting back to the Canseco... these cards book for $4. But you can pick up the whole set off of eBay for $1.99 (+ $2 shipping).

They're cheap... they're cool... and they're cards that combine a bunch of things that I love:

Baseball Cards

Cookies

and of course...

Mother's!

Happy Mother's Day! My Mom doesn't read my blog... in fact, she probably doesn't even know that I write a blog... but I'm going to go call her and tell her I love her as soon as I'm done posting this. I'm sure the two of us fit into the same category as the majority of you out there. We've had good times and bad times together... but in the end, my Mom has been one of my biggest supporters and a great role model for me.

Thank you Mom for everything you've ever done for me... I truly believe you're the greatest Mom in the world. I love you Mama Fuji! Unfortunately her and Papa Fuji live in Vegas, so I won't be able to spend the day with her. Thankfully, I had Spring Break two weeks ago, so we were able to hang out then.

Anyways... back to cards...

Did any of you collect Mother's Cookies cards during the 80's and 90's?

If so... did you get them from the ballpark or out of bags of cookies?

Well... I have to go call my Mom. Enjoy your Mother's Day everyone... Sayonara!

6 comments:

(...Joe) said...

Not during the '80s or '90s, but they made a set with Piazza in it so I'm picking some up now because of that!

Nathan said...

I should have had them sign the fronts... because it would have looked better... but I figured I had to follow the rules of the cards.

Haha, I would have done the exact same thing. I never had any of these, but I'm well aware of them and plan on picking up a few sets at some point.

Twitch said...

Mmm... cookie oil. Lol. But seriously though, I only started collecting seriously in 1996, so I missed out on them. I've tried a few times to get early Griffeys on eBay, but always lost out in the end. They seem to be a pretty essential oddball-type release though, so I'd like to get a few into my collection someday.

Fuji said...

(...Joe) - I remember seeing the Piazza set... mid 90's if I recall. Good luck on your hunt.

Nathan - They're really cool... great photography (portrait photos mainly)... great glossy finish... and really affordable.

Lonestar - I think the 89 Griffeys probably go for some decent money... my guess $5 to $8 a piece... maybe a little more, since they're from his rookie year. But the other years should be reasonable. I totally think they're essential if you're into oddball issues.

souzaj said...

I really enjoyed reading this. I grew up in the same era in Hayward and I remember the Bash Brother's, the '89 World Series third game earthquake, Will "The Thrill" Clark, Kevin Mitchell but I think you forgot the third threat in the Giants lineup. Matty Williams. Will, Kevin and Matt consecutively in the heart of the batting order was vicious. Thanks for the read. Flashback.I have a set of Mother's Cookies 1990 Oakland A's Cards also.

Fuji said...

souzaj - thanks for taking the time to read the post... you're right... i'm not sure how I could have left out matt williams. that guy was a beast. i saw a bunch of a's mother's cookies sets recently at a card show, but the guy was asking $10 a set... way too rich for my blood.