Some postcards...wait, no...some Post cards!

I went to my LCS this weekend and they had a couple of stacks of Post cards from 1961 and 1962. No huge names, but I picked out a few to add to my collection.

Here are the 1961 cards. These cards are in pretty rough shape. These cards are all hand cut, but some are certainly better than others, but the Boyer looks like it was cut out by a 4 year old.

Here are the 1962 cards.

The Maury Wills is still a few years before he would get his first official Topps card and 1 year before his 1963 Fleer rookie card, but it's his second Post card.

The Groat and Davis cards are cut pretty decent. I actually don't mind these cards being mis-cut. It reminds me of where they came from. 

Growing up I remember getting cards from cereal boxes, but they were inside the boxes and were in cellophane wrappers. These cards were printing on the outside of the actual coral box. They had to survive the packaging process, then get shipped to stores, then get loaded onto shelves, get thrown into shopping carts, make there way through the checkout process, get bagged and carried to the car and then from the car into the house. A week or more worth of breakfasts and then a child would get the opportunity to cut them out and then do what kids did with cards back in 1961 and 1962. It's a wonder that there are any of these cards in decent condition at all!

Before Pacific there was a 1975 Phoenix Giants Team Set

When I think about Pacific cards I typically think about the Ken Griffey Jr. candy bar from 1989, Nolan Ryan sets from the early 1990's, or a variety of innovative, yet under appreciated brands from the mid to late 1990's. 

Mike Cramer was responsible for the Pacific brand and he just wrote a book about his life and his company, Pacific. The book is called Cramer's Choice. It's available on Amazon. You can buy it by clicking here. (This is an affiliate link, so if you click and buy it, I will get a small commission)

I've listened to several podcasts where they have interviewed Cramer and have been fascinated by his story. One of the things that he shared and it is discussed in the book is the first set of cards he ever produced.

It was a 1975 minor league team set for the Phoenix Giants. Cramer lived in Phoenix at the time and he approached the team and created a set sponsored by Circle K; the gas station and convince store. It's a 26 cards set that is pretty basic by today's standards, but it got Cramer's foot in the door and it also allowed him to advertise a collectors club here in Arizona that he started as he produced a card of himself with information about the Arizona Sports Collectors Association (ASCA).

After hearing about the set, I went on eBay and picked up a set for under $10 shipped.

Here's a look at the set, including the one and only card ever made of Michael Cramer.

Here is the back of the Manager card, former All-Star, Rocky Bridges.

This is the back of one of the player cards. I picked Greg Minton because he had a lengthy MLB career.

Here is the back of the Cramer card.

I need to look into the ASCA and see if it still exists in any form or fashion. Have you ever been a part of a collecting club?