The "ugly" duckling of the golden era of Kellogg's 3-D cards

The glory days of Kellogg's 3-D cards took place from 1970-83. That was when Kellogg's was issuing a new set each year, usually available off the side or the back of a cereal box and often with a single card from that set swimming in cereal inside the box.

My period of collecting Kellogg's 3-D cards is much shorter than that. The first 3-D cards I remember seeing are from 1974, but I don't recall fishing any out of a box of Frosted Flakes until 1977. The peak years for me and Kellogg's cards was 1977-80 -- that was when my brothers and I ordered an entire set off of the box and then divided the cards among ourselves.

I hold great affection for Kellogg's cards from that 77-80 era. I also am enamored with the 3-D cards from 1974-76. And I hold much respect for the early Kellogg's cards from 1970-73, even the 2-D set from '73.

That leaves 1981-83, a period when I left Kellogg's cards behind (no doubt the arrival of Donruss and Fleer had something to do with that).

The '81 set is the only one as large as a regulation-size baseball card. But it's bright yellow as all get-out and you can't mistake it for anything but Kellogg's. The '82 set, as well, looks much like something that would arrive in the mid-1970s, blue borders with stars floating around the player's image.

And that leaves 1983.

Let's count the reasons why collectors turn up their nose at 1983 Kellogg's:

1. The cards are extremely narrow. Only the 1980 set features the same dimensions and at 1 7/8 inches-by-3 1/4 inches, the '80s and '83 sets are the narrowest of the Kellogg's sets. (On the positive side, the narrow dimension seems to shield the cards somewhat from cracking).

2. The design is not fun. It is practically utilitarian with lines and corners and nothing else. There is no color, which was a hallmark of past Kellogg's sets -- no blue, yellow, orange or red. There are no stars, which were featured on several sets (when I was a kid, part of the fun of the 3-D cards was seeing the stars "move" along the borders when you tilted the card).

3. The backs are overwhelming.

This is the only Kellogg's set from this era -- aside from the '72 All-Time Greats set -- that offers a vertical back. The write-up grows depending on the number of years accumulated by the player and the cards for younger players like Johnny Ray and Dave Stieb feature walls of text that dare you to read it.

I'd bet if you conducted a survey of Kellogg's cards enthusiasts that the '83 set would rank near the bottom. The '73 and '81 sets would get some votes for sure, but I think collectors were pretty much over 3-D action by 1983.

It's too bad. I think the '83 set should get more credit.

I'll never say it's my favorite Kellogg's set, but it still features much of what I love about the Kellogg's sets.

It still exhibits the classic "xograph" "3-D" "technology" that Kellogg's was known for since 1970 (once again, excluding that bizarre 2-D decision). It still features all of the players from my childhood and teenage years. And it still could be dug out of a box of cereal.

That's all I need from my Kellogg's cards. They're still pretty to me.

Recently, Steve of Collating Cards sent a bunch of '83 Kellogg's cards that he had sitting around. I am much closer to having a complete set after getting that package.

That is just glorious.

Even better, not a crack or even really any discoloration that you often see from Kellogg's cards.

This could be enough for me to put up a want list.

But I do admit to a bit of a bias against 1983 Kellogg's. I would rather complete the '76 Kellogg's set or the '78 set or the '80 set first. I like those better (and the '77 and the '75 and the '79 ones, too).

I'm going to stop feeling that way though and go ahead and put up that want list in the next couple of days.

The '83 set may have signaled the end of the golden era of Kellogg's 3-D cards. But it was still a part of that era.

And just like all the other sets, They're greeeeat!