Swing And A Grand Slam

I got a really fantastic trade package crammed with all sorts of awesome oddballs from Swing And A Pop-Up. More like Swing And A Grand Slam - in fact, two of them.

The 1978 Grand Slam set was put together by future Donruss photographer Jack Wallin. The set featured retired ballplayers and was aimed at the autograph-hunter.

 

 In the 1990's Denny's put out several Grand Slam sets of their own. The restaurant is known for it's "Grand Slam" meals. They actually put out some beautiful holographic cards that were arguably the best cards of the decade.

 Denny's was just one of many food companies represented in this awesome trade package. Drake's is a baked goods company that has been around for over a hundred years. Owned by Borden at the time of this card's release; Drake's is now owned by McKee Foods, who purchased it after the Hostess bankruptcy in 2013.

 In 1992 Fleer put out cards with 7-11/Citgo logo's. At the time the two stores were owned by the same holding company.

 Here is an awesome Hostess card from the 1970s, years before the company acquired Drake's (among others) and later went bankrupt.

 Jimmy Dean Sausages were founded by country singer Jimmy Dean. At the time of this card they were owned by Sara Lee; now they are owned by Hillshire Brands.

 Jumbo Sunflower Seeds have been family owned for four generations. Probably no type of food is more associated with baseball players.

 Kellogg's cards were the Denny's cards of the 1970's and early 1980's - a premium card put out by a food company that was more elaborate than any of the major mainstream baseball card brands. These cards were using lenticular technology years before Sportflics.

 Kraft foods have been around since the 1920s. At the time this card was produced they were owned by Philip Morris.

 The card unfolds to produce a stand-up effect.

 In this day and age food issues are basically extinct. Yet in 1992 they were so common that two different card manufacturers made sets for McDonald's! There was Topps...

 ...and Donruss.

 MooTown Snackers were put out by Sargento Cheese starting in 1988. Looks like Keebler is still putting them out today. Looks like they were a variety of cheese snacks like string cheese and cheese with crackers.

 Post foods were founded by CW Post in 1895. At the time of this card they, like Kraft, were owned by Philip Morris.

 Another pre-Sportflics lenticular set was the 1984 7-Eleven coins.

 On a small coin less than half the size of a standard baseball card they still cram in a lot of information.

Finally, Country Time Drink Mix is another Kraft product.