1989 Smokey Bear Team Smokey GT Racing Set

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Why do we collectors search endlessly and tirelessly for elusive cards... Cards that are like finding a needle in a haystack? 

Because a needle sometimes pricks the finger that's clicking our mouse. And boy, it hurts so good. 

I have never claimed to be an oddball card expert. Like any other collector, the knowledge I've gained over the past 35-plus years has been self taught, and there are huge holes in my knowledge when it comes to certain oddball card releases. One such "hole" pertains to this gem of a racing set that was released back in 1989. 

Sponsored by the Forest Service-USDA, National Association of State Foresters and the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), this 28-card set features race car drivers, wives and lots of Smokey Bear. I'm not exactly sure how these cards were released, but I do know that there ain't many of these floating around. In my attempt to research the set, I've come up empty on all of my internet queries; I can't find a single photo or any mention whatsoever of this set anywhere. 

The cards are typical of a Smokey set released in the late 1980s. Measuring the standard card size of 3-1/2 by 2-1/2 inches, color photos adorn the front with a small Smokey head and IMSA logo found at the bottom corners. The subjects pictured on the cards are named along the front bottom, in a tiny font size that will have you looking for your reading glasses. Card backs are also typical Smokey, with a large fire safety cartoon occupying the majority of the space. Backs also list the team names, car models and hometowns of the card subjects. The cards are not numbered.

The set is loaded with names a racing fan will recognize, and at least three names for movie fans - Lorenzo Lamas, Bobby (Robert) Carradine and Paul Newman. I've posted large front and back scans of the Newman card, as they may be of interest. An excellent documentary detailing Paul's racing career was released in 2015 by Adam Carolla.

Smokey cards have always been among my favorites, and this little gem of a set is a welcome addition to my archives. I have no idea how many of these sets were printed a good 28 years ago... But what I do know is these phantom cards need to get grabbed fast if you're lucky enough to find them. 

Random Fact: Australian driver Geoff Brabham's father, two brothers, son and nephew have all been professional racers.

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Checklist (in no particular order)

(1) Paul Newman

(2) Lorenzo Lamas

(3) Bobby Carradine

(4) Jim Downing

(5) Dave White and Art Pilla

(6) John Morton and Geoff Brabham

(7) Steve Durst

(8) Buz McCall

(9) A.J. Foyt

(10) Martin Brundle and John Nielson

(11) Dorsey Schroeder and Bruce MacInnes

(12) Waino Kangas and Cliff Kangas

(13) David Loring

(14) Jan Lammers and Davy Jones

(15)Hans Stuck and Klaus Ludwig

(16) Scott Schubot and Linda Ludemann

(17) Steve Fitzpatrick and Bernie Pisczek

(18) Bob Wollek

(19) Chip Robinson

(20) Justus Reid and Bill Jacobson

(21) Neil Hannemann

(22) Roger Mandeville, Kelly Marsh, Don Marsh

(23) Chris Cord

(24) Amos Johnson and Dennis Shaw

(25) Linda and Randy Pobst

(26) Alistair Oag and David Rosenblum

(27) Juan Fangio, Dennis Aase and Willy T. Ribbs

(28) Smokey Bear

1988 St. Louis Cardinals Smokey Bear

The United States Forest Service has sponsored many sharp-looking sports themed oddball sets over the years. One particularly striking design was used for several sets in the late 1980s, of which one is the 1988 St. Louis Cardinals Smokey Bear set.

The majority of Smokey sets issued during this time were larger in size than standard cards, with the '88 Cardinals cards measuring 5 inches tall by three inches wide. Most of these card fronts feature player action photos which lack traditional heavy borders; a white pinstripe is found near the card edges and frames the photo subject quite nicely. The player's name and position is located at the bottom right of each card front, along with small Cardinals and Smokey logos.

Card backs are printed in black and give a few additional player facts along the tops. The middle of card backs feature safety tips and now-classic Smokey artwork. The U.S. Forest Service and National Association of State Foresters logos appear at the bottom left.

A complete set consists of 25 cards, which is roughly the same amount of Cardinals cards found in each of the nationally distributed sets from 1988 (Topps, Donruss, Fleer and Score). One advantage the Smokey set has over the other issues is the addition of newly-acquired players; names like Tom Brunansky, Bob Horner and Luis Alicea were not pictured as Cardinals in the national sets. In addition, the beauty of the Smokey set's photos cannot be understated, and Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith's best-looking card of the 1980s is arguably found here (Smith is pictured attempting to put a midair tag on a sliding Gary Gaetti at second). Newcomer Score entered the baseball card ring in 1988 and quickly provided the best looking national set of the year, but I'd still give this '88 Cardinals Smokey set the edge, both in photo quality and design.

These cards were distributed as complete sets at the home game versus the Dodgers on July 19, 1988. Even though 34,606 fans attended the game, a Cardinals representative at the time estimated that between 8,000 to 9,000 sets were given away (to fans 15 years of age and younger). The same team rep went on to say that any remaining cards were slated to be given to the players for use when answering fan mail.  Regarding the current value, my estimate for a complete set is in the $6 to $10 range. These cards aren't everywhere, but can certainly be found online with minimal effort.

Random Fact: Three catchers are included in the set. Veteran Tony Pena was the starter, appearing in 149 games (142 games at catcher) with 546 plate appearances. Rookie Tom Pagnozzi followed second, with 81 games (28 games at catcher) and 209 plate appearances. Rounding out the trio is Steve Lake, who took part in 36 games and had 59 plate appearances.

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1. Whitey Herzog, Manager

2. Danny Cox, Pitcher

3. Ken Dayley, Pitcher

4. Jose DeLeon, Pitcher

5. Bob Forsch, Pitcher

6. Joe Magrane, Pitcher

7. Greg Mathews, Pitcher

 8. Scott Terry, Pitcher

9. John Tudor, Pitcher

10. Todd Worrell, Pitcher

11. Steve Lake, Catcher

12. Tom Pagnozzi, Catcher

13. Tony Pena, Catcher

14. Bob Horner, Infielder

15. Tom Lawless, Infielder

16. Jose Oquendo, Infielder

17. Terry Pendleton, Infielder

18. Ozzie Smith, Infielder

19. Vince Coleman, Outfielder

20. Curt Ford, Outfielder

21. Willie McGee, Outfielder

22. Larry McWilliams, Pitcher

23. Steve Peters, Pitcher

24. Luis Alicea, Infielder

25. Tom Brunansky, Outfielder

1994 Smokey Bear 1993 Jeff King Iditarod Champion Card

Here at the Oddball Card Collector blog, our favorite type of oddball set is the "safety" genre. This type of set includes police cards, fire safety cards, and Smokey the Bear cards (we're not sure if cards issued by hospitals and insurance companies fit the safety card bill, but we collect the hell out of those, too). 

Smokey the Bear sets are always pretty cool. Often larger than the standard card size of 3 1/2" by 2 1/2", these issues deliver unique, classy designs on the card fronts, while the backs usually have a Smokey cartoon drawing of some kind. The better-known Smokey card releases tend to feature sports personalities from the various major and minor leagues that play in North America. Countless other Smokey cards have been issued over the years featuring non-sports personalities.

I stumbled upon this card a couple of years ago on eBay and quickly added it to the collection. While technically a sports-themed card, this is apparently more obscure than your typical card featuring Smokey the Bear and Tony Gwynn. Printed in 1994, this card commemorates 1993 Iditarod Champion and race record holder Jeff King. Quite the legend in the mushing world, King has won the Iditarod four times (1993, 1996, 1998, 2006), as well as the Yukon Quest in 1989. 

Roughly the size of a postcard at 5 3/4" by 3 3/4", the front design features a large, color photo of King posing with Smokey and five cute dogs. A gold-colored border surrounds the card, with the special Smokey the Bear 50th Anniversary logo found at the bottom. The back features a short bio for King, as well as a Smokey cartoon drawn in the classic fire-safety style.

The card is not numbered, and as far as we can tell is not part of a larger set. The sponsors listed on the back are the USDA Forest Service, National Association of State Foresters, McKinley Volunteer Fire Department and Iditarod Trail Committee. The McKinley F.D. clue helps to narrow down the area where the card was originally distributed.

It's difficult to guess a value on this card, thanks to it's scarce and obscure nature. I could see the right Smokey or Iditarod collector paying ten to twenty dollars for a nice example.

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