Monday, August 25, 2008

1988 Sportflics

This pack came to me from Mike S. as part of a trade for a Chien-Ming Wang autographed card. When I was a kid, I loved 1988 Sportsflics, much more than any of the other sets from that company.

Each card features 3 different photos on the front, using a lenticular lens setup to display different photos at different viewing angles. It's what a lot of people call "holograms" although that term is technically incorrect. Of the 3 photos, 2 were often from nearly the same moment, such as catching a player during and after a swing, giving the card a real sense of motion when "flicked." In the case of the Jim Clancy card, all three photos are from a single pitch delivery, which is pretty cool.

First, here is the pack itself:



Check out the Young Stars cards you could order featuring the "top newcomers from the 1987 season." I'd say they missed the boat on a few of those guys.

Anyway, the top card is Willie Randolph, #47:



I love the very simple design with the basic red border. I really love the fact that they show each player's number (30 in this case) on the front. You can clearly see the photo of Willie batting. If you look carefully, you can see a ghost of an image of his catching a pop-up, as well as an even dimmer ghost of a closeup of his head and shoulders.

Next up: Carney Lansford, #202:



This one's got two shots of Lansford batting, and the third shot is a closeup of his lovely mug.

The third and final main card is Jim Clancy, #215:



There's a shot of the back for you. This is very reminiscent of Score cards from the same era, and I like it. That's 4 photos of each player per card...not bad.

The pack also includes 2 magic motion trivia cards that feature a team logo on the front and a trivia question on the back.

Here's a Tigers card:



The trivia question on the back is "Name the current manager who shares the N.L. record for most losses in a row in a season as a pitcher." If you're like me, you instantly know that the answer in 1988 was Roger Craig. No brainer.

And here is a Mariners team card, but showing only the back:



I know that opinions were harshly divided on Sportflics. I, for one, loved them.

3 comments:

zman40 said...

Wow, I didn't even know there was an 1988 Sportflics set. I had quite a few '86s and '87s. I loved them as a kid, but don't really care for them now. The '86-7 sets didn't have names on the front, so they are kind of fun to go through trying to figure out whose on the front without looking.

ShifterBrain said...

The similarity to Score's design is probably due to the fact that Sportflics eventually begat Score, as an evolution of the same company (which later begat Pinnacle and the demise of the whole works plus Donruss, but let's not go there).

That aside, I've always had a soft spot for Sportflics. Not the prettiest thing to place in binder sheets, but always a fun curiosity from the 1980s.

Sabbatica said...

This is awesome! I loved Sportflics! lol ^_^