80's Cubs Cards: April 2022

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

1986 Big League Chew Cubs Checklist

Number of Cards

Big League Chew had 12 cards in 1986, one of which was a Cubs player.

Size of Cards

The standard-sized cards are the following dimensions: 2-1/2" by 3-1/2"

Basic Features

The cards were inserted in the packages of Big League Chew gum,one per pouch which were shaped and styled after a pouch of chewing tobacco. also were available through a mail-in offer of two coupons and $2.00 for a complete set. Each player in this featured set is a member of the 500 career home run club and is subtitled "Home Run Legends." The front of each card has a shot of the player and also shows the year inside a small flag; that player has passed 500 homers. The backs are printed in blue ink on white card stock, which has the normal bio and a great blurb about their careers. I'm a big fan of this set and love the classy photo of Banks at Wrigley in his hayday. It's worth hunting this classic down.

Chicago Cubs 1986 Quaker Chewy Granola Checklist

Number	Player
9	Ernie Banks

Chewing Gum Wrapper

Monday, April 18, 2022

1987 Ralston Purinia Cubs Checklist

Number of Cards

Ralston Purinia had 15 cards in 1987, one of which was a Cubs player.

Size of Cards

Cards measure approximately 2 1/2" by 3 3/8"

Basic Features

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Ralston Purinia is dog food. But in this particular case, it's breakfast cereal for kids. One of the cereals was Cookie Crisp, which is a cereal made to resemble the taste of chocolate chip cookies. Three cards and a contest card were packaged in cellophane and inserted within the cereal box. The set was also available as an uncut sheet through a mail-in offer. There were two uncut sheets issued; one had "Honey Graham Chex" printed at the top and the other had "Cookie Crisp" printed at the top.

On the front of the cards are full-color photos of your favorite player, with their uniform number prominently displayed between two yellow bats. On the bottom was the player's name with the team he played for. The cards are numbered on the back in the lower right hand corner and also contain stats from prior years.

Chicago Cubs 1987 Ralston Purinia Checklist

Number	Player
15	Ryne Sandberg

Full Sheets

The Honey Graham Chex are less available because they were short-printed.

Saturday, April 16, 2022

1987 Drakes Big Hitters Cubs Checklist

Number of Cards

1987 Drake's Big Hitters Plus Super Pictures has 33 cards, two of which are Cubs players.

Size of Cards

The standard-sized cards are the following dimensions: 2-1/2" by 3-1/2"

Basic Features

Food cards from the early twentieth century to the present have a devoted following among collectors. This is only one of hundreds of strange sets available. There are some weird sets that are extremely difficult to obtain or extremely rare, but not this one.

Baseball cards have been packed as a promotional component in food products for decades. Drake's Bakery decided to try to capitalize on Hostess' popularity with baseball cards and baked products in 1981.

The "Big Hitters Plus Super Pictures" baseball card set by Drakes features 33 cards that measure 2 1/2" x 3 1/2". The hand-cut cards were used as back panels on a variety of Drake's snack items. On the back of each uniquely designated package are two, three, or four cards. The card's front includes a color photo of the player with his team, position, and name at the bottom and the Drakes logo at the top. The backs of the gray and black cards contain statistics printed on them, as well as Drakes advertising.

Drake's Big Hitters Chicago Cubs Checklist

Number	Player
1981 Drake's Big Hitters
13	Bill Buckner
1982 Drake's Big Hitters
5	Bill Buckner
1983 Drake's Big Hitters
2	Bill Buckner
1984 Drake's Big Hitters
4	Bill Buckner
7	Ron Cey
1985 Drake's Big Hitters
6	Ron Cey
18	Gary Matthews
28	Ryne Sandberg
43	Rick Sutcliffe
1986 Drake's Big Hitters
9	Keith Moreland
19	Ryne Sandberg
1987 Drake's Big Hitters
7	Keith Moreland
21	Ryne Sandberg
1988 Drake's Big Hitters
16	Andre Dawson
31	Rick Sutcliffe

Thursday, April 14, 2022

1989 Colla Postcards Cubs Checklist

Number of Cards

1989 Colla Postcards have 8 cards which are all Andre Dawson.

Size of Cards

These postcards measure 3 1/2" by 5 1/2"

Basic Features

In a postcard style, the fronts include color action or posed player photos. The player's name, position, and team name, as well as the team logo, are printed on the backs of postcards.

Chicago Cubs 1989 Colla Postcards Checklist

Number	Player
1	Andre Dawson (Standing in front of stadium bat)
2	Andre Dawson (Action shot batting)
3	Andre Dawson (Kneeling on base)
4	Andre Dawson (Close-up photo)
5	Andre Dawson (Action shot batting bat behind head)
6	Andre Dawson (Action shot, batting bat in front head)
7	Andre Dawson (Standing in outfield)
8	Andre Dawson (In front of stadium)

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

1986 Drakes Big Hitters Cubs Checklist

Number of Cards

1986 Drake's Big Hitters has 37 cards, two of which are Cubs players.

Size of Cards

The standard-sized cards are the following dimensions: 2-1/2" by 3-1/2"

Basic Features

Food cards from the early twentieth century to the present have a devoted following among collectors. This is only one of hundreds of strange sets available. There are some weird sets that are extremely difficult to obtain or extremely rare, but not this one.

Baseball cards have been packed as a promotional component in food products for decades. Drake's Bakery decided to try to capitalize on Hostess' popularity with baseball cards and baked products in 1981.

The "Big Hitters Plus Super Pictures" baseball card set by Drakes features 37 cards that measure 2 1/2" x 3 1/2". The hand-cut cards were used as back panels on a variety of Drake's snack items. On the back of each uniquely designated package are two, three, or four cards. The card's front includes a color photo of the player with his team, position, and name at the bottom and the Drakes logo at the top. The backs of the gray and black cards contain statistics printed on them, as well as Drakes advertising.

Drake's Big Hitters Chicago Cubs Checklist

Number	Player
1981 Drake's Big Hitters
13	Bill Buckner
1982 Drake's Big Hitters
5	Bill Buckner
1983 Drake's Big Hitters
2	Bill Buckner
1984 Drake's Big Hitters
4	Bill Buckner
7	Ron Cey
1985 Drake's Big Hitters
6	Ron Cey
18	Gary Matthews
28	Ryne Sandberg
43	Rick Sutcliffe
1986 Drake's Big Hitters
9	Keith Moreland
19	Ryne Sandberg
1987 Drake's Big Hitters
7	Keith Moreland
21	Ryne Sandberg
1988 Drake's Big Hitters
16	Andre Dawson
31	Rick Sutcliffe

Keith Moreland appeared on the back of Yankee Doodles with two other players.

Ryne Sandberg appeared on the back of Apple Pies with three other players.

Friday, April 1, 2022

1989 TV Sports Mailbags Cubs Checklist

Number of Cards

140 cards in the 1989 TV Sports Mailbag collection included 8 Cubs players.

Size of Cards

The size of the cards are over-size 8" by 10"

Basic Features

The 1989 TV Sports Mailbag set features glossy 8" by 10" color player photos and was distributed in packs with four large cards in plastic bags. Most packs had players from the same team; the Cubs had two team packs. The backs carry the player's name, playing position, and team name. Also, there was a set of keychains.

This was not a popular set because of the size of these beasts. The photos are good, and there are other years in this company's sets; I do like the keychains.