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:

¹ Tribecards, "Major League Movie cards FOUND!" http://www.tribecards.net/2010/01/major-league-movie-cards-found.html
² Chris Olds, "The still-elusive 1989 Major League movie baseball card set," http://www.beckett.com/news/mlcards/
³ "WOW!!! They do exist... Super Bubble Major League Movie" http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=197292

Major League Movie Cards - An Update, Sorta

As many of my regular readers know, one set of Indians-related cards has eluded me for years. Decades, really.  That is the Major League Movie cards handed out during the filming of the movie in Milwaukee.

Over the years, I've had folks offer to sell me a single here or there, and at one point, a full set. That's great! The price was not. I think when all said and done, the first full set was offered to me at about $500.  Now, look, I know this set has scarcity written all over it. But, come on. $500 for 11 cards of actors who weren't even actual baseball players? No way.

Well, the other day, Paul K contacted me to tell me had a sealed set and about 9 of the set in banged up singles. I made an offer and he let me know he already had one higher than mine.

Here's my perspective on this: I want the set pretty badly. But, these are bits of cardboard with pictures on them, so I am not about to go crazy. I am not saying Paul's response was crazy. Not at all. The counteroffer, though. Wow.

There are 11 cards in the set. My maximum offer is roughly $10 per card. It's actually a tad higher, but that's close enough for government work, as they say. Some folks seem to be willing to pay $20 per card. That is not the amount of the other offer, just an observation. I don't have that kind of disposable income, but even if I did, I'd have a hard time justifying such a price to myself.  If I had the cards to sell and could find someone willing to pay $20 per card, you bet I would sell to them.  But, buying them is a different animal.

The hunt continues, I'm afraid.

1989 Major League Movie Cards - Another Update

Many of you that follow along regularly know that one of the hardest sets to come by in the Indians world is the 1989 Major League movie cards.  At this point, I know of THREE people that own the set of eleven cards.   I posted my first known evidence of the set back in January of 2010: http://www.tribecards.net/2010/01/major-league-movie-cards-found.html

 

One question I get about the set most often: What are they worth?

Well, the only time I have ever seen the set listed in a copy of 2003 Beckett Baseball Almanac:

Complete set (11 cards) - $15 (all prices are for Mint)

1 - Tom Berenger - 2.00

2 - Corbin Bernsen - 2.50

3 - James Gammon - 1.00

4 - Dennis Haysbert - 1.00

5 - Andy Romano - 1.00

6 - Chelcie Ross - 1.00

7 - Charlie Sheen - 2.50

8 - Wesley Snipes - 4.00

9 - Steve Yeager - 1.50
10 - Charlie Sheen, Haysbert, Berenger, Snipes - 2.00
11 - Romano, Gannon, Yeager - 1.00

As always, the listed "book value" has little to no bearing on actual value.  In the world of collectibles, something is always worth what someone else is willing to pay.

There have been several requests from folks that want to buy the set.  I am at the top of the list!  If you own the set (or happen to have multiple sets and are willing to part with one or more), feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email (davidinark/yahoo).  I'd love to talk about buying a set from you!

*Note: The values listed above are just from that Almanac and have no bearing on what I (or others) are willing to pay, so don't let those numbers hold you back.  In fact, we might be able to work out a Tribecards-Exclusive auction/bidding war!  Now, that would be fun!

Major League Movie cards FOUND!

(Quick note: These are *not* my cards. Ryan was nice enough to share photos of *his* cards!)

First of all, a HUGE thank you to Ryan Dunn of Milwaukee, WI!  Evidently while doing his own research on the "Major League" movie card set, he came across a post I made last year (here) concerning the legitimacy of the set.  I had done some pretty extensive research and only ran into dead ens and "fake" cards.

The other day, Ryan left a comment that he knew of the set and actually OWNS IT!  Say WHAT!?  So, I asked him to send me some pics.  He posted them to his FaceBook page:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=10030&id=1711934685

I am reposting them here so I have a copy, too. :-)  I have only seen the set listed in ONE baseball card pricing guide ever.  I think I may even have it in one of the older guides I own.  Heck, I might have even scanned it and posted it here before!  I'll have to look and see.  If I do have it, I'll be sure to send Ryan a copy of the pricing.  THANK YOU so much, Ryan!  In one comment, you said you may own the only set in existence at this point.  I think you may be right!  I even hired a company to look for the set and THEY couldn't find anyone with it!

 

 

 

 

 

Juuuuussst a bit outside

In recent posts, I have discussed two card sets which have sparked interest among several of my readers: CyberAction Digital Trading Cards and 1989 Major League Movie Cards.


After doing some research, I actually located the email addresses of the original founding members of the Digibles/CyberAction card company. I wrote to all three, asking if they would participate in an interview regarding the cards, the company, and the hobby itself. I heard back from one of the individuals and through a series of emails, came -this- close to scoring an interview. As life would have it, however, things fell apart before they could come together.

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The quest for the 1989 "Major League" movie card set led me down a road of enlisting multiple 'card finding' companies for help. In addition, Chris Olds at Beckett (who started the quest in the first place, if you remember) has not been able to uncover specimens of the cards, either. For my part in the hunt for the cards, I contacted Paramount Pictures marketing, those card-finders, several friends in the card-collecting world, and even Dr. Beckett's contact himself. So far, the only thing I seem to have help create is a bigger demand for cards that are even more elusive than that 1952 pack of cards in a Tri-Star chase blaster!

As you may have surmised, I do not go quietly into the night when it comes to cards I'm trying to find. I have not quite given up on either of these pet projects, but like many things, I have decided to set these on the back burner for a bit. Perhaps if left alone to stew in their juices, something will come along to take both of these to the next level.

Some of you may be wondering why anyone would post such setbacks in the first place. Frankly, I'm not sure myself. I think in some way, I'm hoping that sticking this out here, someone will stumble along and be able to help out with either project, or by some bizarre alignment of the planets, both projects.

So, while I am not ready too call these 'strike-outs' just yet, I will say that things are "juuuust a bit outside...."

April Fool's or Extremely Rare? (UPDATE!)

UPDATE - 4/23/09 - I happened to have an older copy of the "Beckett Almanac" tucked away on a shelf I had forgotten about. Lo and Behold, there it was: 1989 Super Bubble "Major League Movie" cards!! The design looks a lot like the Upper Deck 70's throwback cards (like the Gaylord Perry in my previous post).

Now, I have something to go on!! I'll keep you posted.

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I received an email inquiring about a 1989 set of baseball cards based on the movie "Major League." At first, I was excited about the prospect of such a set. The more I looked into this set, however, I started getting that "PunkRockPaint'd" feeling again. ow, let me be clear - this was NOT PRP making the request.

I hate to call out anyone, so instead I will simply post my findings...

As I typed in various search terms, I hit on the following image:


(from http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2008/06/09/fake4.jpg)

That led to a series of results that eventually led me to these:


(from http://www.sportscardforum.com/articles/?p=201)

Now, there is a similarity in both sets. That would be the 'illustrator,' who happens to share the name of the person who contacted me about the set.

Now, in his defense, I replied with a rather snarky, dare I say humorous, message. The reply I received seemed to indicate that the recipient did not see things as humorous.

Now, I found two sites that list the "1989 Major League Movie" card set: Beckett and on CardPricer . Now, my first, gut reaction was that the set must surely exist based on these results. But, soon, I began to think I was on a wild goose hunt.

As I poked around and was quickly coming up with absolutely no other references, I stopped to think about the two places that showed results. If I am not mistaken, both sites allow their users to create checklists and enter card sets. Granted, this is a rather elaborate hoax if it is one, but I suppose that could happen with someone having enough time on their hands.

I am very trusting by nature, which is how I often end up in these messes to begin with. I emailed several movie memorabilia shop owners, one of which specializes in movie/tv-based trading cards (I never knew there were Andy Griffith cards), and they had never heard of the Major League" set.

It is here that I am asking you for help. Is this some ultra-rare, super-secret set or just an April Fool's joke being played on yours truly? I'm a big boy, I can take it either way.