I Never Got This in 1973. It Looks Like it Has Been Left Outside for 47 Years

 I bought a 1973 Kellogg's Factory set a while back.  It is in really rough shape as you will soon see.  With that in mind, I decided to open it for a bit of fun and research.

I have an uncut sheet of two factory sets which are in card number order as shown below.

Kellogg's used a different printer for these 2-D cards.  It is odd to see the cards on the sheet in number order since that hasn't been the norm with Kellogg's sheets.  I am accustomed to seeing repeating cards on the same sheet as seen below.  Not all of the years repeated the cards in number order like the 1970s sheet shows.  I will need to check on that with other sheets.  

Having only 15 different players on a sheet probably explains why we kept seeing the same group of cards in cereal boxes in our neighborhood back in the 1970s.

My expectations are low for opening this set because this box has destroyed by time, mold and/or some kind of animal.  I am going to look at this set opening to help me with any future damaged packages. 

The back doesn't look so bad.  

 

On the front it is apparent that the edges are ruined.  

Here are the reasons the set was cheap.  Lots of problems with the last picture above.  

Things I wonder about with this box

What order will the sheets be stacked?  

Which sheets will be damaged the most?  Will damage be only on one side?

Will the sheets remain intact?  

Will different sheets be connected?

Are there any creatures still living in this box?

If you skipped the video because I went on too long (nearly six minutes) here is a summary.  

I thought the fronts of the cards looked great.  Lots of nice colors.  This was a bit of a surprise.

The backs were as I thought they might be - damaged.  The Rose card had the its back up against other cards.  What was different about the front of the card that caused it to resist the staining?

Many of the other cards backs were stained as well.  They sets were stored in the packaging as shown.  I haven't gotten any factory sets with the mailing box older than 1978.  It would be great to find some sets that were stored in the sturdy mailer provided by Kellogg's.  

Time to check out other sheets to see how the card order changed over the years.

Has Anyone Seen a 1973 Kellogg's Factory Set Like This?

I've seen 1973 Kellogg's blank backs as well as panels with blank backs.  I have no idea how they originated but it isn't difficult to guess.  I would not have guessed this.

The listing linked below has an opened factory set with the wrapper.  There is damage to the wrapper and many of the cards.  The oddity is the idea that six of the panels have blank backs.  Has anyone ever opened a factory set to find only some with blank backs?

Odd 1973 Kellogg's Set on eBay

If this has happened before, would it be the same panels?  Wouldn't these panels or blank back individual cards be easier to find that the other ones?

Here are the ones with blank backs.

Seaver - Cuellar - Coleman
Davis - Kingman - May
Garr - Perry - Grich
Morgan - Blyleven - Rudi
Brock - Broberg - Sanguillen
Kaline - Dierker - Santo

Is it possible that by the way the panels are packaged that the blank back panels didn't get stained like the other panels?

Searching For Others Who Pay Attention to Kellogg's Cards

I found this blog post today while looking for new information about Kellogg's cards.

https://captkirk42.blogspot.com/2019/09/cotw-1973-kelloggs-baseball-met.html

It mentions Tug McGraw and his 1973 Kellogg's card.  Tug was involved in a crazy game that I watched recently because that is all they show now - old sporting events. 

Here is the box score - https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN197905170.shtml from the 1979 game. 

What did I learn from watching the telecast?

1.  The umpires were on strike.  It was hinted that the strike zone enforcement had been iffy so pitchers ended up throwing for the middle of the plate.  That and the wind blowing out at Wrigley field made for a 23-22 game. 

2.  There were three pitchers in the game who later pitched the last out of a World Series victory for their team.  Can you guess who they are?

Not mentioned - another pitcher had two wins and a save in the 1975 World Series. 

3.  In the first inning the opposing pitchers not only both batted in the ninth spot, but one homered and the other got a triple.  Randy Lerch of the Phillies homered but didn't last through the first inning.  Lerch's box score - one run, one hit, one homer, one RBI and one out on the mound.  Dennis Lamp of the Cubs got one out too and a relief pitcher tripled in the first inning. 

Other things not mentioned -

1.  Bob Boone got two intentional walks and he was batting seventh, not eighth. 
2.  Dennis Lamp was the only starter to not get a hit.  That was only because he didn't last long enough to bat.  As mentioned earlier his replacement got a hit in the first inning so every position got a hit in this game. 
3.  Of the 11 pitchers in the game, only two gave up no runs.  The announcers made a big deal about the Phillies bringing in their closer, McGraw, in the fifth inning with his team leading 21-9.  It was 21-16 by the end of the inning. 

I hope that they show the Mike Schmidt four-homer game too (5th 7th, 8th, 10th innings).  I kept a box score of that one as a kid.  The Cubs led 12-0 after two innings.   McGraw got the win in that one even though he gave up two runs as he blew the save in the ninth inning.

1973s and 1974s Along With Another 2020 Goal

I finished organizing my Kellogg's cards from 1973 and 1974.  The 1973s were easy to do since I rarely get any of them.  What also makes them easy to organize?  No cracks.  I have some with edges that have lost their luster or rounded corners like 1970s Topps cards, but that is less prevalent than the problems I have with Kellogg's cards from other years.

I've always liked the 1973s and I will continue to do so.  I did get cards from a factory set and it is a low risk purchase since the cards can't be cracked. 

The 1974s were the first set that I finished as a kid who was addicted to Sugar Frosted Flakes.  I did it by eating lots of cereal and trading with friends.   I don't remember how long it took to finish the set.  It was probably at least a year.

After sorting my 1974s I realize that I am still in the same place as last year.  I can't seem to find cards 1 - 10 without major cracks.  That is now near the top of my goals for 2020.  I am going to actively seek these cards via trade, purchase, etc.

There is one problem with my plan.  Nolan Ryan is card number 8.  Sometimes I think I might as well buy the entire set rather than spend $20+ on the Ryan card.  I am going to track that next year and see what set prices are like as well as Ryans that are not graded. 

How Do They Make Baseball Cards / Kellogg's Baseball Cards?

I've seen a few items listed as proofs or part of the process used to make Kellogg's cards.  Does anyone know how this larger image is used in the production of the cards, if at all?

I've yet to find a Kellogg's or Xograph employee to talk about their history, but there certainly must be more information about how other companies produce their cards.  This card was produced by Visual Panographics since Kellogg's didn't use Xograph in 1973.   Without the 3-D effect, this card was probably produced in a similar fashion to Topps cards from the 1970s.

If anyone has a link on this subject, please forward it.