LCS Pickup - 1979 Kellogg's

I had always seen Kellogg's cards on cereal boxes as a kid, but being a sugar fiend I typically didn't ask my parents to buy corn flakes. Instead I wanted all the sugary goodness of Froot Loops or Apple Jacks or something tasty like that (I'm not sure if the cards were available in those sugary cereals). It wasn't until a couple years later I was asking for cereal with the cards inside. I had collected one or two cards way back then, but at some point I got smart and saved enough paper route money to order the 1983 set, which is lost somewhere in the collection waiting to be rediscovered. 

Fast forward to last weekend's show and afterward my brother and I visited a local shop that had all kinds of goodies. There were some factory sets there that would have completed the Topps run for me, but in the corner of the counter, I spied a couple of small sets in a clear plastic bag. The size of the cards told me these were more important than any Topps factory set. To my surprise I had stumbled across both a 1979 and 1980 Kellogg's set.  I wasn't sure of the price tag initially ($30ea), but after seeing both were complete sets, I didn't hesitate. This post focuses on the '79 set.

The set is pretty darn cool for its age, and surprisingly was in great condition. The cards have the standard curl to them, but no cracks. Most are clean, with some yellowing of the edges. When scanning these I was a bit nervous a card would crack on the flatbed, thankfully all survived. 

At 60 cards strong, the set has many of the stars from the era, but left out many others notably Nolan Ryan and Mike Schmidt to name a couple. Nevertheless, I like the design, both front and back.

The backs have full career stats, biographical information including the player's hobby. When space was available, Kellogg's filled it in with tidbits about the player. Of course, with the small size of the cards you need a nice magnifying glass to read everything but I guess that's part of the fun.

The front side also lists the position and with a couple exceptions, only the player's last name. Here we have former Twin Ron Jackson, listed as R. D. Jackson, not be confused with future Angel, R. M. Jackson. The card of R. D. Jackson is also one of the only cards shown with the player holding a baseball and it is also as close to an action shot that you'll see in the set.

Of course back in the day it would have been a steep challenge completing a set just buying cereal boxes, and nowadays it might be a bigger challenge trying to complete a set going to shows and cards shops. I'll admit this set wasn't a priority for me, but I do consider this a vintage set and am certainly glad to have this addition to my collection.