Parallels and the '70s do mix

 

When most card collectors think of parallels, they think of present day cards, or at least cards from the last 25 years or so.

Some may think back to the 1990s, which is when the mass production of the parallel began. Some may even cite 1989 Donruss, as I have, with its Grand Slammers inserts that came in a variety of top-and-bottom colors on the front.

Parallels have been running through the hobby for decades and decades, long before anyone even called them parallels. Many collectors see parallels as a plague, there are so many now that it's impossible for the brain to keep up with them -- and if you do, you're seen as a genuine nut case with way too much time on their hands.

I like dabbling in parallels but try not to waste a lot of money on them, I chase way less of them than I did 10 years ago. For my parallel excitement now, I go back to the 1970s. Yes, the '70s had parallels, even if they weren't intentional.

 

I've posted about chasing the Ron Cey MSA discs from 1976/77 before. The "cards" aren't much to look at, I knew that when I was a kid and saw these things live, but since they come from that time when I was a kid, they're a great bunch of fun.

 

So, except for some tinting variations, which is probably just the color fading on some of them over time,  and some variation in type sizes, the discs look quite identical on the front, except for Crane, which always has to be different.

 

But the joy in these discs are on the back.

 

Now, those of you who remember previous posts about these are stammering, "wait, wait ... there's NINE now???"

Yes, I've added a couple, mostly on the occasion of Cey's birthday last month. I've mentioned that there's not a lot of Cey cards to chase that I don't already have, except for some modern parallels and the 1981 All-Star insert that you saw at the top of the post (you were wondering when I'd get to that). And that All-Star thing is barely a card. So discs, it is.

Since the last time, I've added the blank back and the Detroit Caesars, which just came in the mail yesterday. The Caesars disc was the first of the pricier ones that I added, but now there is a full baseball lineup of Cey discs! If I get another nine, they can play a game!

Here is what's left for me to get according to TCDB:

Carousel

Customized Sports Discs

Holiday Inn

Red Barn (there's a variation of this without the address, but I don't know if I'll chase that one).

Saga

Safelon Super Star Lunch Bags

 

Towne Club

Wendy's

If you count all those up, that comes to eight, not nine. But I could either get the Red Barn variation, too, or add the Burger Chef or Wiffle Ball discs I have, although those are smaller -- and the Wiffle Ball one is pink, not yellow.

Anyway, all that matters is that they fit nicely in the four-pocket pages that I have for them, not that you have to worry about corner dings!

I've already ordered up a 10th disc just to seal this post into place. It's the Towne Club one. And my eye is on another one, too. I only have a general idea of which ones are more difficult so I don't know when I'll hit a wall but until then, I'll have fun chasing these unintentional parallels of my all-time favorite player.