Distribution: Cards in this "set" were issued in conjunction with various baseball-related books.
Thoughts: While this is a "set" listed in the Beckett database, it's really a collection of separate releases. Occasionally, book manufacturers will issue a "baseball card" (or series of cards) to promote an upcoming or bestselling book. This example is for the 1989 book Out of the Blue, about pitcher Orel Hershiser. Occasionally, two different cards are issued for a book (Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig for 2002's Breaking the Slump), or even a dozen cards (Who was Harry Steinfeldt? and other baseball trivia). I'm not sure why Orel is wearing something other than Dodger Blue in this promo - especially given the title of the book - and I'm not familiar enough with his history to identify what team he might be representing. I was quite excited to find this card sitting in a dime box at a card show!
That would most likely be his uniform from the Albuquerque Dukes, the Dodger's AAA affiliate at the time. But I agree, it is an odd choice. Makes me wonder if multiple cards were issued, or if there was some sort of licensing issue that prevented the publisher using the Dodgers logo. At that point in time, Minor League Baseball hadn't been completely gobbled-up and corporatized by Major League Baseball as it is today.
ReplyDeleteHmm. I still have a stack of the Out of the Blue cards and they do not have blank backs. I passed along two of them a couple of years ago to Night Owl who sent one to Mark's Ephemera. The back shows here in Mark's post (second card down),
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Jason: Thanks for the info! I'm guessing licensing might have been the issue.
ReplyDeleteHackenbush: you're right. I found my card back. In my sleepiness and rush to put out the post, I missed it! Yes, I was that tired. By the way, your prize from forever ago should arrive in my mail pretty soon so I can forward it to you!
(Comment edit: read the small print at the bottom left and it verifies that the photo came from the Dukes. Amazing what one misses when one isn't paying enough attention!)
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