Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Not Quite Cardboard

If you grew up in the 80's, then there's a pretty good chance that you knew someone who owned a Member's Only jacket.  By the time the 90's rolled around, they all seemed to disappear into thin air.


Last week, one of my students strolled into class wearing one.  It wasn't the same style as before, but I couldn't help but reminisce.  The sight instantly took me back to my youth.

This tends to happen in our societyTrends that were popular back in the day sometimes find a way to become popular againVinyl records are a perfect example.

About a year and a half ago, my brother hooked me up with his entire record album collection.  And ever since, I've rekindled my interest in listening to the popping and crackling sounds of vintage vinyl records.

Recently, I added another record to my collection... but unfortunately it's not compatible with my Victrola all-in-one entertainment center.  It requires a Mattel Instant Replay player... which I currently do not own.

But the record itself is pretty darn cool.  See for yourself:


Somewhere, someone at some point blogged about their 1971 Mattel Instant Replay vinyl discs which led me down the path to purchasing a small lot.  Most of them were football players, but sandwiched in between was the Willie Mays you see above.

The record is about 2.5" in diameter and the back actually looks like a miniature vinyl record:


You can also see that Willie's name and the words Instant Replay have been imprinted on the back as well.

I honestly can't tell you much about them, but if you enjoy collecting oddball issues, then this might be something to your liking.

Okay it's your turn...

Outside of collecting cards, what 70's or 80's trend would you like to see become a fad with this generation's youth?

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

14 comments:

acrackedbat said...

I had a Members Only jacket too, black with a rainbow tag inside the collar. The Mays vinyl is a great pickup! I would like to see young people put their phones away and have a conversation although that doesn't reflect a trend. (Get off my lawn, sweetie.) I'm a big vinyl junkie too. I'm still using lava lamps. Are you saying fads of the 70s are no longer trends???

Peter K Steinberg said...

I've never heard of Members Only. Unless it's the Stadium Club thing. I can't think of anything I'd like to see come back, unless it was MLB and MLBPA authorized baseball cards to break Topps' monopoly.

night owl said...

We used to sell Member's Only jackets in the men's department where I worked as a college student in the mid-1980s. They were considered the coolest jackets around. Then, when they went out of style, they were considered the skeeviest jackets around. Now they're popular again? Shame on those people who called them skeevy.

Sean said...

I had a green Member's Only jacket which I got in the 5th grade in 1986. It was my prized possession for quite a while, it was quite the fashion coup for my young self. I wish they still sold them (not whatever your student was wearing, but one with the exact original 80s style look).

There is even an episode of Cheers which I remember in which Sam Malone had a Members Only jacket which was mentioned by name, which I thought was so cool.

Chris said...

Members Only jackets are back? That's news to me! Vinyl has been retro-cool for a few years, and I know a lot of TV shows/movies pay tribute to the 80's and early 90's. It would be cool if MTV came back, or record stores, or stores in general.

Steve at 1975BaseballCards.com said...

Like Julie I still have a lava lamp. I want it all to comeback ... landline phones, ditching mobile and gps and a full reboot to the 70s :-) well at least for a week.

Good timing on the records it reminded me that I was going to put one on. So now I’m listening to some crackling popping Tunes right now.

Nick Vossbrink said...

A shame that it doesn't look like anyone's put those Mattel Instant Repays on YouTube. At least BaseballTalk and Auravision are up there.

SumoMenkoMan said...

I hear cassette tapes and VHS are making a comeback. Not sure what I’d like to see back, maybe jean jackets again!

Matt said...

If we're going to go retro, I'm voting for the old Atari system and games. I still have mine!

gregory said...

I'd like to see kids forming actual garage bands instead of playing toy instruments from a video game with their online band members.

GCA said...

I have a heavy-ish off-white shirt with a blue trimmed collar. It's not quite heavy enough to be called a sweater. It is a Members Only brand. I wear it all the time. Not quite a jacket...

I'd like to see cards come back in food items that I actually buy. Though they've given us a taste of that already.

To get youth to wear jackets (and long pants) when the weather is below 50° would be a novel idea.

Fuji said...

acrackedbat - if you still own that jacket, it's probably worth money. young people and phones... you probably wouldn't enjoy teaching these days. as for lava lamps, i need to get one of those

peter k steinberg - i remember the members only sets. they replaced all of the members only jackets in the 90's ;) and i'd love to see the cardboard monopolies come to an end

night owl - lol. i might have been one of those guys who called them skeevy. if i did, i apologize.

sean - i haven't bothered to look at their site, maybe they sell the retro jackets as well. cheers was one of my favorite shows of the early 80's

chris - lol. they're back in stores. not sure if they're super popular though. i'm lucky enough to still have two quality stores that sell vinyl in the area (about 15 to 20 minutes away).

steve at 1975baseballcards.com - my dad still uses a landline phone. and i'd totally use a lava lamp. what album are you listening to?

nick vossbrink - if i ever buy a player, i'll try and post the mays up on yt for others to enjoy

sumomenkoman - i dumped most of the cassette tape collection back in the 90's... but i kept my top 20 or 30. have a rack mounted to the wall in my garage. can you believe it... i've never owned a jean jacket.

matt - i have some of the video game consoles from the 80's and 90's. atari 2600 is one of them. i just don't have a tv to play them on anymore

gregory - lol. good one. i remember in the late 2000's one of my students formed a band with his buddies in a garage. they came back in high school and dropped off their demo cd. i wonder if they're still together

gca - i'm 100% more food issues... but as for wearing long pants in 50 degree weather, i just can't do it. however... if it dips into the mid 40's, i'll usually put the shorts away.

Steve at 1975BaseballCards.com said...

I was listening to Frank Sinatra’s 1955 Frankie album. I’m not a huge Sinatra fan but some of the stuff is pretty good. Listening to ‘55 vinyl is a bit like holding a card from that era. History, etc.

chucks used cards said...

With all the retro, or suedo-retro, I'd like to see Kellogg on my table with free 3-D baseball cards inside. No mail away for, no action shots. Just 3-D portraits.