1977 Pepsi Baseball Stars #5, Mike Hargrove

Happy Thanksgiving to my 2010 readers! Here's a food-related issue for everyone to warm up with before that third serving of turkey comes around: the 1977 Pepsi-Cola Baseball Star discs, shown with perforated "capliner."

Card front (click for detail)

Pepsi inserted these gloved discs one per carton, intending collectors to punch them out for easier storage. The included checklist numbers to 72 players, but Reggie Jackson and Mike Schmidt each came in 5 color variations, for a master set of 80.

Card back

Based on their listed players--2 Cincinnati Reds and 2 Cleveland Indians--Pepsi test-marketed these glove-shaped liners in Ohio or nearby states. They show up frequently at shows and online, often mixed with other 70s disc issues. (See a recent Vintage Sportscards Blog article for some football examples.)

I've never seen one of Pepsi's personalized shirts for sale, which either means they weren't worth saving or few people took the trouble to send away for one in the first place. 

Value: As of writing, many eBay sellers list disc-with-glove HOFers for $5 and under. This remains an affordable (if plain) set to put together.

Fakes / reprints: Several makers created baseball disc sets, but they're not actually reprints. Check for company names on the front or back to distinguish them--many collectors try to complete a set of specific advertisers.