Are Kraft Singles Really Cheese?

 

I'll admit to enjoying a Kraft single slice of cheese every now and then.  I'm not sure what's in there but it doesn't taste like "real" cheese.  If I make my own nachos at home, that cheese just doesn't melt like other cheeses.  Nevertheless, it's not a bad option when making a grilled cheese.  Which I have done plenty of times over the years.

But enough about cheese, let's talk about those 1993 Kraft Singles baseball cards!

Since the holidays are upon us, we all know that food is a big part of this time of year.  So, I thought it would be appropriate to pull out a foodie set.  These 1993 superstar cards are a unique bunch, with tabs meant to pop up the player in a 3D manner.

I'm sure my 1993 self ate a bunch of kraft singles, but I don't recall seeing the mail-in offer, or if I did I probably passed on the offer.  With a few UPC's and a check, you were sent a box of either the American or National League cards.

The design of the front - or maybe this is the back - is nice.  I would say it may be worthy of a Panini set.  Though I'm not sure I'm a fan of the vertical script.

The pop-up side is OK.  Here you can see the outline of Clemens image that would "pop up" when the tab is pulled.

The checklist if full of Hall of Famers, though there are a few notable misses such as Bonds and Henderson (but at least Kirby made it in the set).

An order form was included in one of my boxes.  I wonder if Kraft would still honor this?  :)

It's too bad my quick web search couldn't turn up a photo of one of these cards in the "pop up" pose or I would have included it in this post.  So in case anyone was wondering, no, I did not pull any tabs, though I'm pretty sure my 1993 self would have been tempted.

You may note the price for each set was $1.75 each (plus the cost of the cheese).  Back in 1993, if I noticed this offer, I probably dismissed these cards and figured they would not appreciate in value, especially since the hobby was in the middle of the junk wax era.  And it seems I was correct .  I was able to land these two for a mere $1.50 each, so yeah, I feel like I got a bargain.

Now that I have them, I kind of wish I had the album, but that's OK because these fit nicely into a box with a few other box sets.  Kraft also offered sets in '94 and '95 however I only have one other AL ('94) set.  The OCD part of me will want to complete those years but maybe that will be one of my New Year's resolutions.