How Ya Doin' Sport?

Friend o'the Archive David Eskenazi has been sending me all sorts of goodies over the past several months and the barrage continues with two editions of the Topps Sports Club News plus a neat little extra that rode along.  In addition to being cool little items in their own right, these newly arrived issues have me re-thinking a few things.

Newly arrived are Vol. 1 No. 1 and Vol. 1 No 3, which have been added to my personal collection.  The first issue was a four-pager, quite well produced.

The "Guest Columnist" (possibly ghosted by Herb Goren, based upon content in later issues) was also the subject of the 8" x 10" glossy paper insert in each issue.  Steve Garvey was the first after his 1974 NL MVP win and this was what each member of the club got inside the newsletter:

The 1975 Baseball card preview was fairly in-depth:

There were other features, including a trivia quiz.  Try it without googling!

Then some card talk and a preview of the next issue (plus the quiz answers) :

Here's some better detail for the Topps Answer Man column:

I am going to call shenanigans on the answer to #3! Color for the 1951 Baseball Candy issues? C'mon Topps!

Below that were the teasers for the next two issues:

The previews were what made the Sports Club an enticing deal.  I don't actually have any of these superb extras except for the 8x10's from the next three issues.  Given what was sent by Topps, it's no wonder the goodies are AWOL.

I posted most of the contents of the second issue previously, leaving out two pages (of 6 total) which are missing from my copy.  So it goes....

We'll get into the third and fourth issues next time out! 

Hey, Mr. Spaceman

Friend o'the Archive Jason Liebig sent along a couple of amazing scans a little while back and they are, quite, literally out of this world.  Check this bad boy out:

First of all, kudos to Topps for showing the Emily Post approved pinky extension on our intrepid space explorer as he squirts a stream of sugary "something" into his gaping maw!  However, the lack of a visor on the helmet is pretty alarming but I'd say we can overlook it.

There's a partial scan of the box sides and bottom (the images were from a long time ago and they are as presented, with no enhancement possible):

Of interest, 60 units at two cents each yielded the standard $1.20 Topps retail priced box of this era! Looks like one or two sprung a leak at some point

The bottom indicia is cut off and there's no way to tell if there was a date shown there but look at the side panel ad here:

"National Pro Football" was a slogan only used for the 1962 Football set, which handily dates this sucker. Check it out:

(Courtesy Football Card Gallery)

1962 makes a ton of sense as John Glenn was not only the first American astronaut to orbit Earth, he was the first to consume food and drink in space, which occurred on February 20, 1962.  Topps clearly was milking the Space Race for all it was worth and these drinks must have been introduced in the late Summer or Fall of '62. I find it hard to believe the drink lasted very long after that given the obscurity of the product today.  

I have been unable to find anything else after searching a bit online and suspect this was a product that was more a box than a pouch, like the old milk cartons at fast food restaurants but possibly flatter.  The first juice boxes were also being developed around this time and may have debuted in 1963, albeit without the crucial little bendy-straws affixed. The Topps carton must have been tiny though, to fit 60 in one retail box.

Check out Jason's fabulous Collecting Candy website: http://collectingcandy.com/wordpress/

Or his more current Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/collectingcandy/?hl=en

Better yet, see him on History Channel's "The Foods That Built America" and "The Mega-Brands That Built America" on a screen of your choosing!