A true oddball

I don't know when the collecting world started using the term "oddball" to describe cards that came with food items, those that were sold through toy stores, regional issues, etc., I just know that I'm not a big fan of the phrase.

I don't recall ever hearing it used to describe anything when I was a kid, but I've certainly heard it many (many) times in the ten or so years since returning to card collecting. I couldn't tell you exactly why I dislike the term, I mean it's certainly not one of those modern "I'm offended by it" kind of things. The only thing that I can really think of as to why it annoys me so, is simply because I find that particular catch-all to be unnecessary.

Growing up Portland (OR), Mother's Cookies were available for sale at literally every single grocery store, and as many of you know, cards could often be found within the company's products. These cards were quite plentiful, and not once did I ever hear anyone refer to them as an "oddball", they were just Mother's Cookies cards. Another example of this, and probably a more apt one for the area, was the Trail Blazers cards that came in Franz bread. These were a staple for the region, in the late 80's and early 90's you couldn't go anywhere without finding these - card shops, card shows, flea markets, antique malls, garage sales, everywhere! They were like water there for about a decade, and you know what? Nobody ever called them "oddballs"! They were just Franz cards, that's it. I could keep rattling off examples for probably another hour, but I think you get my point.

So, I'm probably in the minority here, but when someone refers to something as an "oddball", my first thoughts are that it must be something that's really out there, ya' know, something that's strange or weird, maybe even bordering on freakish, something sort of like this...

Now that's what I call an oddball! So you can see why I might not like the term when it comes to food issues, as to me it just doesn't apply. When I was at the end of September show, I overheard a fellow, probably in his twenties, who was looking through a binder and telling the dealer that he "absolutely loved oddballs!". Out of curiosity, or nosiness, whichever you prefer, I leaned over a tad (not enough to be noticed) to get a glimpse of what he was looking at, and imagine my disappointment when I was expecting to see some cards similar to the above Phantom of the Whitey, but instead only saw a binder of Post (cereal) cards -- Those. Are. Just. Post. Cards! Not Oddballs!

Bo, of Baseball Cards Come to Life!, showed off old Freakshow Ford as part of a lot that he had purchased a while back, he then casually mentioned that even by his standards it might be a bit much, and need to be upgraded at some point. Now normally I don't much care for cards with writing on them, but this wasn't your average card with writing on it, no, this was an entirely different beast, a wonderfully "odd" beast, and one that I had to have! After seeing that it might be upgraded at some later date, I let it be known that whenever it was switched out for a better copy, that I would be mighty interested in this one. Now if you've ever had any dealings with Bo, you already know that he was replying via email before I could even finish typing my comment, nobody, and I mean nobody, likes wheelin' and dealin' more than Bo! Obviously I ended up getting the card, as well as a few other oddities that I had asked Bo to set aside for me.

I bet you never thought that you'd see any '87 Fleer on this blog? If I'm being honest, I certainly never thought I'd be showing any '87 Fleer on the blog.

As odd as my showing these is, I'm not doing so for the fronts, no...

... this and...

... this is why I wanted them! Now tell me, is a set from Woolworth odder than these printing errors? I certainly don't think so. I had never seen any backs quite like this before, hence my asking for them when Bo let be known that they were available for trade. Things like this weren't of any interest to me when I was younger, but the older I get, the more I find myself gravitating to printing errors like these.

Bo also included this odd Mike Witt. I didn't know that this one was coming with the rest, but it's still kind of interesting. I can't figure out what happened to the front of this one, the texture, or lack thereof, tells me that it wasn't stuck to another card or wrapper. The only thing that I've come up with, is that maybe the sheet had something set on it while the ink was still wet.

I know that no one is going to stop referring to things like Kellogg's cards as oddballs, but hopefully at least one person now sees how silly the term is for such cards, especially when compared to cards like these, which truly are odd, in every sense of the word.

Thanks again for the cards, Bo! I've never displayed cards on my desk at home before, but I think Whitey's going to change that, I really need to be able to see him more often.


Thanks for taking a moment to look at my page.