I haven't done a post on food-related issues in a while so today I am showing off nine more cards that came from restaurants.
1980 Burger King Pitch/Hit/Run #13 George Brett (The Pitch, Hit, & Run set, issued by Topps, was part of the promotion of Major League Baseball's Official Youth Program which tested the Pitching, Hitting, and Running skills of children ages 8 - 13. The winner of the National event went to a 1980 World Series game. Collectors would receive a cellophane-wrapped pack of three cards plus one un-numbered checklist with the purchase of a large order of french fries from participating Burger King restaurants. Eric Hosmer was the first alumni of the program to make it to the big leagues.)
1981 Portland Beavers TCMA #12 Willie Horton (The Portland Beavers were a AAA Pacific Coast League affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The back of this cards has a Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers logo on it. The following year, 1981, I spent the summer working at a Wendy's in Bangor, Maine.)
1988 Conlon Hardee's/Coke #2 Ty Cobb (This card was issued by a Hardee's Restaurant in Central Indiana back in 1988. It was co-sponsored by Coke.)
1990 Starline Long John Silver #13 Nolan Ryan (More than 100,000 sets of these were produced and originally given away to any customer who ordered a meal with a 32-ounce Coke at a Long John Silver seafood fast-food restaurant.)
1993 Alrak Griffey 24 Taco Time #5 Ken Griffey Jr./Leaving batter's box (This six-card Ken Griffey Jr. set was issued in the Pacific Northwest at Taco Time restaurants.)
1993 Ryan Whataburger #10 Nolan Ryan/5,000th Strikeout (Utilizing 3-D technology, this is one of ten plastic-coated cards produced by Triad and distributed by Whataburger, a fast-food restaurant chain based in San Antonio, Texas.)
1995 Upper Deck Sonic Heroes of Baseball #3 Babe Ruth (This card was given out in a three-card cello pack to a customer who purchased a combo meal at a participating Sonic Restaurant. Sonic is a drive-in fast-food restaurant chain known for its use of carhops on roller skates and is the parent company of Arby's and Buffalo Wild Wings.)
1999 Cardinals Upper Deck McDonald's McGwire Milestones #M9 Mark McGwire/70 (This card is from a nine-card set honoring Mark McGwire and was an insert in 1999 Cardinal Upper Deck packs available at McDonald's restaurants in the St. Louis area.)
2010 Subway Sports Illustrated for Kids #NNO Ryan Howard (This is a sticker-card given away as a promotion in Subway Kid's Packs. It was a cross-promotion with
Sports Illustrated for Kids magazine and Howard was the only baseball player in the set which also included Laila Ali and Michael Phelps among others.)