Friday, July 14, 2017

1989 Major League Movie cards - NOW IN MY PC!!

Nearly every collector has certain cards and/or sets that elude them for one reason or another. For some, it is a certain T206. For others, it may be that impossible 1/1 auto jersey card that someone else already has. For me, it has been the 1989 Major League movie card set. No, not the recent 5x7 version that Topps did in celebration of the 25th anniversary. I am talking about the ORIGINAL set, given out on ONE day of filming in Milwaukee.

You see, the games shown in Major League was filmed, not in Cleveland, but in Milwaukee. Well, during one day's filming, the audience got packs of cards made by Double Bubble (which I believe is the original Leaf company, though feel free to correct me on that if need be). There were about 1000 packs total given out, according to legend/myth/estimates.

What ever happened to them? Who knows. In fact, for a while, they were thought to not even actually exist, but rather be the figment of imaginations. In 2009, I had posted about the set and then did a follow up in 2010 after finding someone who actually owned a set!1 Chris Olds wrote about the set and the elusiveness of the cards back in 2011.2 In 2014, someone offered a set of the cards on eBay that ultimately sold for $320.3

While I did *NOT* pay $320 for the set, I did shell out a pretty penny. In terms of complete sets, it is the most I have paid for a single set of Indians cards ever. And, I couldn't be happier!

That's right, the ever-elusive 1989 Double Bubble Major League movie cards have arrived! Holy smokes!



The cards are a hair wider than traditional baseball cards, meaning they won't fit in normal 9-pocket pages. The backs are blank. The images on the front are wonderful! The design itself looks like something a kid in his first Photoshop class might come up with: Steal the design from 1974 Topps, make the borders a mid-range blue, create a funky movie logo for the top and add the Double Bubble corporate logo. Oh yeah, remember to add info about the actor and role.

I don't care. This is truly one of the most elusive baseball card oddball sets I have heard of, and now I am the VERY proud owner of a set!! WAHOO!! My heart is still racing.

References:

Tribecards, "Major League Movie cards FOUND!" http://www.tribecards.net/2010/01/major-league-movie-cards-found.html
Chris Olds, "The still-elusive 1989 Major League movie baseball card set," http://www.beckett.com/news/mlcards/
"WOW!!! They do exist... Super Bubble Major League Movie" http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=197292

12 comments:

  1. I'm keeping an eye out for the yeager cards. Great pick-up!

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  2. Can't get better than the original set! A question for you is are you correct in calling them a 1989 set ? The movie was released in 1989 but the filming was 1988. So should the set be a 1988 set ?

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  3. Can't get better than the original set! A question for you is are you correct in calling them a 1989 set ? The movie was released in 1989 but the filming was 1988. So should the set be a 1988 set ?

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  4. I’m a huge fan. I make Wild Thing glasses and Charlie Sheen has even ordered glasses from me. I’ve been lucky to find 8 of these sets. If anyone is selling,I’m buying.

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  5. I’m a huge fan of this movie. I’ve been lucky to obtain 8 of these sets in the past 6 years. If anyone is willing to sell me there’s, I’m buying. Message me on eBay. My account name is clevelandsportscollectibles⚾️

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  6. I’m a huge fan of this movie. I’ve been lucky to obtain 8 of these sets in the past 6 years. If anyone is willing to sell me there’s, I’m buying. Message me on eBay. My account name is clevelandsportscollectibles⚾️

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  7. My friends ex husband worked on the movie and she has a set that she's looking to sell

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  8. Feel free to email me if you're looking to buy her set. MjMcDowell81@gmail.com

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  9. What do you think the set would be worth in today's market?

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