This card is #2 (Nolan Ryan) of a 4-card set, the second series promoting a collection of watercolor and oil portraits by artist Ed David. This one has the clever title, Sportraits (Limited Editions, 1992). All four promos are of baseball players.

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Are the other ones Gretzky, Jordan and Joe Montana?

No, the other Sportraits are all baseball players: Ken Griffey, Jr., David Justice, and Cal Ripken Jr.

Jess

quote:

Originally posted by pcetodd:
Are the other ones Gretzky, Jordan and Joe Montana?

Here's one that looks like a sports card at a glance but it's really one "Big Al" Ross, a northern CA sports magazine dealer, did for fun. It's standard card size but promotes Big Al's business on the back also letting you know he throws and bats right-handed. He gave them out at shows in the 90's at least. I picked it up at one of the Tri-Star shows in San Francisco.

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Here's card #2 from a 12-card set (Sports Collectors Warehouse, 1987) that promotes a line of signed and numbered works (lithographs, artist proofs) celebrating MLB Hall of Famer, Carl "Yaz" Yastremski, by artist Christopher Paluso. it was released in 1987 so it's actually one of the "early" promo cards. A second and third set were released in 1989.

Here's card #3 from a 4-card set that drifts in that gray area of being sports-related. All four cards promote the same four auto racing-related sets so that would normally exclude it from inclusion in PCE. However, because the cards also promote the company in general (Limited Editions, Inc.), Todd made an exception. The promo set would be an unlikely listing in a sports card guide because it isn't part of an actual sports card set so he gave it a home - another case of Todd taking in strays.

It's also case of a set being listed in PCE2008 but it's a card from the set that was unknown at the time the book was published. Todd had seen card #1 but not the other three of them and he wants to confirm whether all the indicated numbers exist in a set whenever possible knowing it's never a certainty that they all do exist.

I'm reasonably sure the guy on the front is Jerry Glanville, the coach of the Houston Oilers in the mid-late 80's and the New Orleans Saints in the early-mid 90' as well as a NASCAR owner and sportscaster.

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I can confirm the 4 promo card set from Limited Editions, Inc. exists - I just picked them up earlier today ($15 for the lot)

Looks like on the Sportraits set there is an uncut sheet of the 4 promos numbered to 1000

Here's an odd 74-card set (Helmar Brewing Company, 2005). The cards show hand-painted artwork of mix of athletes from boxing and baseball, including players from an early 20th century barnstorming team (Benton Harbor House of David), the Negro League, and Japanese baseball. These cards were available in 3-card packs inserted with Helmar Potato Chips and Helmar Caramel Corn. The cards measure 1 9/16 x 2 3/4 inches and are unusually thick. The backs offer no background text, having just a scratch-off area that reveals a prize. I noticed a couple of packs of cards on the pile in a bargain bin of a local sports card shop and wondered what those weird little rectangular packs had inside. One of the cards I pulled has a blank back.

At least 3 other series were created in subsequent years but they were sold as sets and were smaller sets.

I read somewhere that the creator of the cards went out of his way to create something unique with hand-painted artwork of a more diverse group of athletes and much thicker card stock. He didn't intend to make the set a popular collectible but the company received a lot of requests for another series.

Here are two promos for "Heroes of Life" (Sterling Cards, Inc., 1992). They look like baseball cards but the set appears to be about people overcoming hardship. San Francisco Giants pitcher, Dave Dravecky, is the subject of both cards. A malignant tumor was detected in his left (throwing) arm in 1988 and he underwent surgery. He thought he had beaten cancer late in the 1989 season but his left arm broke in the process of a pitch during a game. He had to retire a couple of weeks later. Subsequent surgeries were ineffective, and in 1991, he had to have his left arm amputated to stop the spread of the cancer. He moved on with his life becoming a motivational speaker and author.

One card is 2 of 12 and the other is 12 of 12 and both are marked "Special Promotional Sample." I found the 2 of 12 card in a bargain box in a local collectibles store over 20 years ago and the 12 of 12 was something I ran across on Amazon just a few years ago after thinking the 2 of 12 was the only one. I haven't seen any other promos nor a listing for a regular set anywhere so I assume it was cancelled. I think the last set Sterling did was Country Gold Series 2 in 1993.

Here's a promo for Orel Hershiser's autobiography, "Out of the Blue" (1989). In the baseball world he's a famous pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers who had a long career from the early 80's and all across the 90's. It's an oddball that could be overlooked as a sports card as it even has his stats on the back.

Here's the front and back of two cards (the #7 card and #10 checklist) from the 10-card "Slam Fest Collector Cards" set (Big League Cards, 1989). It's a set that features famous athletes who participated in a TV slam-dunk competition show during the 1989 college basketball playoffs. The weird thing about this set is that none of them are pro basketball players but stars from pro football, baseball, track & field, swimming, and volleyball. I think the sets were given out at Foot Locker stores (Foot Locker sponsored the event).

There was at least one other set in 1991. I think Slam Fests continued into at least the late 90's.

This is another one by Sports Collectors Warehouse that looks like a baseball card but is actually a promo card for a line of signed and numbered artwork (lithographs, artist proofs) from the second series of cards released on 1989. This one depicts MLB Hall of Famer, Johnny "The Big Cat" Mize) by artist Christopher Paluso.

This is one of what appears to be a 3-card set promoting the 3rd Annual Super Show (no year but said to be 1992), which is a sporting goods trade show. Without seeing the back, I knew it was an oddball card, because while it shows Hall of Famer, Nolan Ryan in a pitching pose, he's wearing a tuxedo. The back gives the dates and location of the show, "August 25-29 St. Paul, MN Downtown." Here's the checklist:

n.n. "Cal Ripken Jr."
n.n. "Michael Jordan Basketball"
n.n. "Nolan Ryan Baseball"

This is one of the cards inserted one per package of "Starting Lineup Timeless Legends" (Kenner/Hasbro Inc., 1996) collector's figures. Starting Lineup figures had been released for several years honoring pro athletes from football, baseball, and basketball but the 1996 series was the first to honor female athletes from track & field and gymnastics.

This card looks like baseball card with Cal Ripken Jr. on the front but it's a promo for a lesser-known sports card show in November of 1992 in Pomona, California. The funny thing about this card is that it advertises that promo cards were being given out at the show. Is it a promo promoting itself?

It looks like a Jason Kidd basketball card on the front but it's a promo (Classic Games, Inc., 1994) for the 1994 International Sportscard & Memorabilia Expo. More specifically, it's a promo for the "Corporate Sales Day," which was July 20 during the show.

The card notes the dates of the show (July 19-24, 1994) but not where it was held.

Here's an apparent football card though the heading might give away the fact that it's a promo for Kurt Warner's inspirational autobiography, "All Things Possible: My Story of Faith, Football, and the First Miracle Season" (Harper Collins, 2000). Warner is a Hall of Fame NFL quarterback whose career started as an undrafted player but retired years later as a Super Bowl MVP plus another Super Bowl appearance.

Right, Steve, Willie is a sports/non-sports crossover promo legend! The B1 promo was a $3 card twenty years ago and a $30-40 card last year but now it goes for $30-80 or even more. A few P4's sold a couple of years ago but haven't seen one sell in at least the past year. I think they were going for between $80-120 for a while.

Jess

quote:

Originally posted by stevesaunders:
How about that second baseman for the Springfield Isotopes, Willie “The Dupe” Dipken! Where does he fit into this discussion? (tongue firmly implanted in cheek)

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Here's an oddball promo that is both a comic book promo and a sports promo/insert. The scan is of a 5-card promo pack that was inserted in the Superpro Special Edition #1 comic. The top card (Pro Set, 1990) promotes the comic. The other four cards in the pack are base cards from Pro Set's 1990 NFL set. The promo was also inserted in packs of the football cards.

PCE2008 addresses this card in the "Tomb of the Unknown" section noting that it wasn't listed in the guide because it could be found in regular packs of football cards and that Beckett lists it in its football price guide. It could be argued that it should be listed since it promotes a comic book (just read its back text) and is also a comic book insert. It's certainly in that gray area between non-sports and sports.