The baseball card world gained a new entry into the market in 1970.
Kellogg’s Cereal released a fascinating set of cards that featured 75 of the best players in baseball at the time. The unique cards were made to appear three-dimensional, a relatively fresh concept at the time.
40 years after the first cards rolled off the presses, Kellogg’s cards have remained popular with collectors for a couple of reasons. One, the 3-D approach is very unique and Kellogg’s cards were the only real competitors to the Topps monopoly in the 70s. The small star-packed sets that would continue through 1983 are generally easy and affordable to complete.
Kellogg’s first baseball set was issued during the 1970 baseball season. The actual cards measured 2 1/4 inches by 3 1/2 inches. The cards were produced by the Xograph Company of Irving, Texas using technology from Visual Panographics of New York. This was the first of 14 yearly sets by Kelloggs. (the 1973 set was not 3-D).
Over time, the 3-D cards can develop a curling from top to bottom that leads to the plastic, transparent part of the card (the part that creates the 3-D effect) to crack. This makes it difficult to find the cards in mint condition.
The 1970 cards were first distributed in boxes of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes In later years they would appear in other brands of Kellogg’s cereal. The first year of issue, Kellogg’s cards were sold in hard to find 49¢ packs that contained six cards and two iron-on transfers of team logos.
Quantities of both the unopened packs and loose cards eventually found their way into the hobby, rendering the 1970 set much easier to find than the 1971 set, which was never sold as a complete entity nor had any significant quantities show up in dealer inventories. A few years later, Kelloggs included a mail-in offer that could net young fans the complete set in exchange for a few box tops.
As with most older sets of cards, the star cards are often easier to find than lesser known common cards.
Some of the key star cards in the 1970 set are listed below with their card number:
# 2 – Pete Rose
# 7 – Tom Seaver
# 12 – Willie Mays
# 15 – Frank Robinson
# 21 – Brooks Robinson
# 27 – Roberto Clemente
# 32 – Reggie Jackson
# 40 – Ernie Banks
# 58 – Johnny Bench
Even though the cards were issued 40 years ago, it is still possible to find complete sets. At auction recently, a complete set in which all 75 cards were graded by PSA, sold for over $537. With a little research, it’s possible to find ungraded sets for around $200-300 in near mint condition. Sets with some wear are cheaper.
Two notable cards missing from the set are Hank Aaron and Carl Yastrzemski. Their absence keeps the set a little more affordable, but 21 of the 75 players in the set were eventually elected to the Hall of Fame.
Overall, the ’70 Kellogg sets are quite popular with vintage collectors. It marks the beginning of one of the most long-running food issues in history, has a nice, appealing design and provides a fairly nice representation of the game’s top players at the time. If you are looking to purchase a very appealing and interesting set of cards, the 1970 Kellogg’s set would be a wise choice.
You can buy 1970 Kellogg’s cards on eBay.
Checklist of 1970 Kellogg’s 3D cards
1 Ed Kranepool
2 Pete Rose
3 Cleon Jones
4 Willie McCovey
5 Mel Stottlemyre
6 Frank Howard
7 Tom Seaver
8 Don Sutton
9 Jim Wynn
10 Jim Maloney
11 Tommie Agee
12 Willie Mays
13 Juan Marichal
14 Dave McNally
15 Frank Robinson
16 Carlos May
17 Bill Singer
18 Rick Reichardt
19 Boog Powell
20 Gaylord Perry
21 Brooks Robinson
22 Luis Aparicio
23 Joel Horlen
24 Mike Epstein
25 Tom Haller
26 Willie Crawford
27 Roberto Clemente
28 Matty Alou
29 Willie Stargell
30 Tim Cullen
31 Randy Hundley
32 Reggie Jackson
33 Rich Allen
34 Tim McCarver
35 Ray Culp
36 Jim Fregosi
37 Billy Williams
38 Johnny Odom
39 Bert Campaneris
40 Ernie Banks
41 Chris Short
42 Ron Santo
43 Glenn Beckert
44 Lou Brock
45 Larry Hisle
46 Reggie Smith
47 Rod Carew
48 Curt Flood
49 Jim Lonborg
50 Sam McDowell
51 Sal Bando
52 Al Kaline
53 Gary Nolan
54 Rico Petrocelli
55 Ollie Brown
56 Luis Tiant
57 Bill Freehan
58 Johnny Bench
59 Joe Pepitone
60 Bobby Murcer
61 Harmon Killebrew
62 Don Wilson
63 Tony Oliva
64 Jim Perry
65 Mickey Lolich
66 Jose Laboy
67 Dean Chance
68 Ken Harrelson
69 Willie Horton
70 Wally Bunker
71 Bob Gibson
72 Joe Morgan
73 Denny McLain
74 Tommy Harper
75 Don Mincher
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1983 Kellogg’s Set Was The Company’s Final ‘Vintage’ Issue
1977 Kellogg’s Set Highlighted By New Players, Design Changes
1975 Kellogg’s Set Featured Smaller Cards But Larger Set
1972 Kellogg’s Sets Offered Collectors Best Of Current And Former Players
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