I Love the 80's #12: Kenner Cards

Kenner Starting Lineups figures are pretty cool.  But Kenner Starting Lineup cards are even cooler.  I know that there are a handful of my cardboard collecting brethren out there who enjoy their fair share of oddballs.

Okay.  So maybe they're not as cool looking as Kellogg's 3D cards.  And sure they don't have the vintage smell of Hostess panels from the 70's.  But c'mon.  These guys are like the Babe Ruth and Ted Williams of oddball sets... they're in a league of their own.

But that doesn't mean there aren't other high quality oddball sets out there for collectors to pursue.  One of my favorites is the 1988 Kenner SLU cards:

It features a simple, good looking design that includes the player's name, player's jersey number, and team logo on the front.  I'm a huge fan of the bright red border that wraps around three-fourths of the card.  I just wish they would have added the player's position somewhere on the front.

The backs feature your standard player information, career statistics, and a facsimile of the player's autograph.  And thankfully it also includes the player's fielding position.

Unfortunately these cards are highly condition sensitive.  These cards were distributed in carded bubble packages, which contained one figure and one card which were distributed in toy sections all around the country.

I've opened up my fair share of these figures and most of the time the cards weren't in mint condition.  They're prone to chipping and can sometimes come out with dinged edges and corners.

But if you're able to overlook condition, you can find most of these cards for $2 or less.  COMC has a handful of these for under a buck.  I've never seen them myself... but I've even heard of people find these in quarter bins and dime boxes.

Back in 1988, some of the smaller name players in the set were distributed regionally.  This made it sorta difficult for people on the West Coast to grab an Ellis Burks.  On the flip side... an Oakland A's fan living in New York might have a hard time finding a Carney Lansford figure.

But thanks to the internet, finding singles for this set are easier than ever.  As of right now, I currently have twelve of the one hundred twenty-four cards in the set.  I sort of feel this is going to be a lifelong project, but it should be a lot of fun to build.

So what do you think?

Sensational?  So-so?  Or shameful?

Anyone else out there collect these?  Or better yet... have some of these available for trade?

Happy Monday and sayonara!