Raining Cats and Dawgs

Card bloggers are good people. I mean, I think we know that's a given, because only cool people take the time to write a card blog (right?) but some go above and beyond. In the past few days I received packages from bloggers with animal themed titles, and of course I have to post about said packages...it's Cardblog etiquette.

First up was a package from Angus at Dawg Day Cards. A few days ago, he posted up that he was going to give away cards to anybody who emailed him their address. I didn't do that, but I had previously made a large trade with him on the Trading Card Database, and he must have saved my address because sure enough, I got a Christmas card packed with cards!
These were the new cards- he sent me two complete promo sets and two cards from the 2015-16 Tim Horton's hockey release (those are really nice looking cards in hand, much better than my scan shows!)

He sent along all three Sun Drop cards but I had acquired one locally earlier this year. The Mario Andretti card is so detailed it even includes the date he came to the USA and the date he became a US citizen.

The next day saw the arrival of a large package from The Prowling Cat. He has been running a "cleaning out the clutter" series of posts where if you want something he's got up for cleaning, claim it and then figure out what to send him back later. (He likes pocket schedules, of which I've got one headed his way shortly with some other stuff). I claimed three sets, which is way more than I'm going to be able to scan and get posted in anything resembling a timely order...so I'll post an example of each set, instead.
First up was Bon Air Fire Engines Series 1. The Fire Engines series is actually the largest automotive themed set ever, including racing sets, at 500 cards, 100 per 5 series. I had a couple of packs' worth that I got when they were new, but only from series 2.

Next was Series 4, which is cards #301-400. The fronts look very similar but the location of the fire engine photographed is much more prominent. On series 1 and 2 it appears on the back of the card only.

How cool is a green fire truck? Green has always been my favorite color, but I've never seen a green fire engine before. That's why I chose this example to post.

The first two series' backs are white and light yellow, like so:

  

 Speedway, Indiana is of course the home of Indianapolis Motor Speedway...which is why it's called Speedway. Neat, huh?

Series 4 has this very obviously 1990s yellow and blue flame scheme on the back of the cards. What a great decade it was. I have no idea what series 3 and 5 look like on the back. Series 5 was not produced by Bon-Air, but by another company, I can't remember which one right now. It was also issued several years later. Continued the numbering series though so to me it's the same series. I won't consider it complete until I have all 500 cards. With the package that prowled to me this week, I now have more than 200 of them, so that's a pretty good start.

 

The first set I claimed, but the last to come out of the box, was the 1994 Cardz Hanna-Barbera Classics set, which is 60 cards, and he sent along all of them. 2015 has been a down year for me completing sets, so it was extra nice to get a full one all at once. The set is a little frustrating, though, in that they did not produce cards of some of my favorite cartoons. For example, Wacky Races does not have a card, yet both it's spinoffs do. Instead, they gave multiple shows 5 cards (Yogi Bear, Flintstones, Jetsons, Scooby Doo and Jonny Quest). All of those long-running shows could probably have supported their own card set. Also, they use up 8 cards on magic tricks. Those were totally unnecessary, especially as there were so many shows that didn't get a card or even a mention. The production quality was high, and I'm glad to have them, I just wish they had been a little wiser with subject selection. I have grown up watching most of these cartoons, and if they were still on, I'd still watch them. (Wacky Races is one of only 4 TV shows I've seen every single episode of, thanks to the DVD set)
Here's a Scooby Doo card.

It's actually funny, although I was actively collecting non-sports cards when these were issued in the 1990s, I've gotten more cards from the Cardz company in 2015 than I did new. In addition to the 60 cards of this set, I also completed the Muppets set earlier this year.

And wait, there's more! The box he used to send them to me was not quite full, so to keep the cards from flopping around and getting damaged, he stuffed the remainder of the box with late 1990s NASCAR cards! Most were from 1999, which, for some reason, I got very, very few cards of. Here's a small sampling of what I received, there are more I didn't yet scan.

1999 Upper Deck Road to the Cup #85

2000 Wheels High Gear #31. I love car shots, by the way!

1998 Collector's Choice #105

1999 Wheels #61

1996 Maxx #46. Maxx's last flagship...not the best design but the one I have the least of, so this was very welcome!

1999 Upper Deck Victory Circle #4

1998 Collector's Choice CC600 #CC11

1998 Collector's Choice CC600 #CC9

1998 Collector's Choice CC600 #CC42

1995 Action Packed Winston Cup Country #16

A look at the Indy car sets in my collection

I make no secret that NASCAR is my all time favorite form of motorsports. But I also love the Indy 500, and would watch the Indy car series more often if it didn't conflict with NASCAR. Indy cars have had a much longer history in trading cards than NASCAR or any other form of racing has, although I am missing more of the sets than I have. The first set that featured Indy drivers was, amazingly, issued in 1911, the year of the first Indy 500, although it covered multiple forms of racing. I've never seen a card from this set in person and only pictures of one card.

Indy got cards periodically in the 1960s through the mid-2000s, with A&S Racing producing the most sets, one annually from 1983 through 1987, although I don't have a single card from any of these sets. I have heard that they were the same company, restructured, that was known as All-World in 1991 and 1992, but I cannot confirm that.

Here is a brief rundown of the card sets that ARE in my collection. If the names are clickable, you can see the entire set on the Database.
1991 All-World. A 100-card set, I have the complete set, which I got in factory set form. This set chronicles the 1990 season with a couple of cards set aside for historical coverage, several of them honoring drivers who had recently passed away.

 1991 Collegiate Collection Legends of Indy A 101 card set, with one card only available by mail order, and significantly harder to find. (and the only one I am missing). This set chronicles the history of the Indy 500, with highlights of most years included. An excellent set.

1992 All World Indy was also a 100-card set, but unlike the 1991 issue, this set focuses on driver photos only, with only one card in the set having race action- the checklist. It has a "Where are they now?" subset and was the first card set to include autograph of Indy drivers, although the autographs are simply one of the 1991 All-World cards that has been autographed, with no way to tell if it was pack issued or in person autographed. I pulled Tony Bettenhausen from my box. I have the complete base set. There is also a version of this set with French text, I do not know if it was issued for France or Canada. I was given several packs of them but the cards have all fused into bricks, unfortunately.

1992 Collect-A-Card Andretti Family Racing. Collect-A-Card's only foray into auto racing, this set chronicles the career of the 4 racing Andrettis (Mario, Michael, John, Jeff) who were active by 1992. It is not solely Indy cars, but covers all the forms of racing the Andrettis took part in. However, as Indy cars take up the majority of the set, I class it as an Indy set. It's a set I wish I had chased more when they were available. I have only 37 of the cards.

1992 Hi-Tech. I have never been able to find out anything about this card. There is as near as I can tell no known reference to this set online. I suspect it may be some sort of promo or prototype. Hi-Tech issued sets almost solely based on Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1992 through 1997. This card has no number. I cannot remember where I got it, I've had it so long. It depicts Jeff Andretti.

1992 Collegiate Collection Legends of Indy. This 100 card set features bright red borders, and is significantly different from the 1991 set. While the '91 set is about the history of the race and track, the 1992 set is split into three basic themes- a look back at the 1991 Indy 500, including shots of each car and race action, a look at the pace cars throughout the years, and also some general Indy history. I have 41 of the 100 cards.

1993 Hi Tech Indy 500 was an 81 card set. Half of them featured action photos, and the other half featured a usually staged but sometimes cropped photo of the driver in front of a brick design with a neon pink Indy design. Because it was 1993, of course! I have 11 of the cards in this set.

1995 Skybox Indy 500 is a 112 card set, made up of the "Tall boy" style cards that are so hard to store. (I am not a fan of them in any sport or non-sport issue). It features photos of each car, driver, and race action. The oversize cards do lead to large, clear photos however. I have only 12 of the 112 cards.

2001 Checkered Flag Collectibles was a 2 card set consisting of Mario and Michael Andretti. It appears they were issued in some sort of partnership with Firestone. These are thick, well-made cards that are very similar in texture and production quality as early Flair cards. I have both of them.

And finally we come to the last card in this rundown, and the easiest set to complete...as it consists of only one card! A Firestone promo from 2002, it too features the father and son combo of Mario and Michael Andretti. I could swear that I had at least a couple of cards from the 1997 Hi Tech set, but I can't find the scans of them if I do. I may have thought I had both, as the Indy and drag sets from Hi Tech shared similar designs that year.

There are other sets that include Indy drivers and cars, but mostly featured other forms of racing with a few Indy drivers shoehorned in- notably the Press Pass Legends issues. Again, this is not a comprehensive listing, just a look at what I have in my collection. As I finish typing this, there are 15 laps left of the 99th Indy 500. Enjoy the rest of the race!