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When Fleer Was King
(almost)

by Bill Christensen

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"4"

When Fleer Was King (Almost)

Take a step back into the time machine with me as we visit the years 1959 to 1962. Now before you scratch your head and start to think what sets of cards were issued during those years, we are going to take an overall look at Fleer and their challenge to unseat Topps as the bubble gum card kings of the day.

It is almost a shame we don.t have that time machine as five dollars and two quick stops would net me two boxes of 1959 Fleer 3 Stooges cards and two boxes of 1962 Mars Attack but I digress for a moment. I would like to focus on the actual issues of cards by each of the card giants of the day.

Fleer having had no issues of cards since its 1935 Cops and Robbers series decides to jump into the card market and in 1959 issues a number of cards and sets that brings them to a position of second behind Topps in the bubble gum card industry. Now Fleer was no stranger in issuing their gum and another product during the years as they issued assorted funnies and in 1950 a mini comic book. Fleer starts out the year with their Ted Williams Baseball Card Set, which most of us know as an eighty card issue entirely devoted to Ted (with a cameo appearance of Babe Ruth and Jim Thorpe). I remember buying these cards at Frank.s my local corner store. I did complete the set including number 68 which would eventually be recalled by Fleer. Topps, meanwhile issues its baseball set, series by series, and scores early with The Mick at card 10, Duke at number 20, and Willie at number 50. Early advantage to Topps but at least there is a small challenge to Topps. card superiority brewing.

Fleer, having its marketing plans in place issue two additional sets of cards for 1959. I don.t remember seeing the Indian series of cards at my store but I did have some in my collection as I recall. I either traded or won a few playing various games of the day. The Indian series was and is still not one of my favorites as the cards were hand drawn scenes and happenings of Indian life and while the series does include some well known names (Sitting Bull is #1), it lacks the overall acceptance into the card collecting community.

The second non sport set of cards issued by Fleer is their 3 Stooges set. A 96 card set of these zany characters currently (in 1959) undergoing a resurgence of popularity with a new generation of kids across America. To complicate things, Fleer issues the cards with both white and grey backs and with three scarce checklists. When I bought my Stooges cards and received a checklist, I felt cheated out of a joke that was usually found on the reverse. It didn.t matter if the joke was funny because it was the Stooges telling them! Who can ever forget opening a pack (if you are old enough) and seeing Moe, Larry or Curly staring right at you? My set consisted of .mixed. color backs and at least one checklist. I don.t remember if I had the other colored and regular backed cards in my set that would have been used to make a master set.

Meanwhile, Topps is still issuing baseball cards, series after series, and both non sport sets and football cards for the balance of the year. Topps football cards are issued similarly to prior years and for them it is business as usual. The non sport sets they issue deserve to be written about. I believe their first issue for 1959 was Funny Valentine cards; it makes sense to issue this right around the New Year and to fill the open void that waits until the first baseball series arrives. The Funny Valentine cards have some super Jack Davis art, and enough corny sayings sure to please any nine year old, it worked for me. Never seen in my area are their Fabian cards, a set similar to Elvis cards of 1956. My best guess is Frank was not offered the Fabian cards in packs, though he may have been offered them in vending boxes or cello packs. Next, Topps issues Wacky Plaks, an oblong sized card 2 ½. x 4 5/8. with most artwork by Jack Davis. Topps then pulls a fast one by issuing under their Bubbles, Inc. name, the You.ll Die Laughing set. Here is yet another set with artwork by Jack Davis.

Ending up 1959, Fleer has made definite in roads against Topps but still is a long way from being the uncrowned card king. The card battle in 1959 is won by Topps.

Enter 1960, in a marketplace worth approximately 30 million dollars and with Topps. annual sales at 14.8 million, Fleer, perhaps noticing either vastly improved sales or just wanting to continue to challenge Topps, starts the year with an .odd issue. of baseball greats. It is an issue of retired or deceased ball players and while it is great as a kid to actually pull a Ruth or Cobb out of a pack, seeing a bunch of old men in suits and ties didn.t really work for me, nonetheless, I collected them anyway. Topps counters with their Funny Valentine .A.. Topps does its usual good job in the first series of horizontal formatted baseball as Banks, Kaline, and Ford are the key cards issued.

Now here is where you need to speculate about the Topps plan for 1960, as they continue to issue baseball series after series and then glide into the football series just as they.ve done the past five years. Fleer, gets through the baseball series and then issues Spins and Needles, a set of eighty cards depicting various rock and roll performers of the day. The biggest name in rock and roll, Elvis, however is nowhere to be found. It is possible he is under contract to Topps and Fleer remembering their Ted Williams card 68 recall, does not want to issue a card with his likeness on it. Fleer also issues a football set for 1960, and even though it is only showing the new AFL players, it does create interest in the card market. Fleer also issues Casper the Friendly Ghost and friends. series of cards. Topps has to notice that Fleer has made great strides in the field has no new issues for the balance of 1960. Fleer, on the other hand, releases Yule Laff just in time for the holiday season. There is no doubt that Topps baseball and football issues are better than Fleer but in the world of non sport, Fleer easily beats the Topps issue for that year.

Moving to 1961, the sleeping giant awakens and Topps issues its customary baseball cards series by series and their football cards as in previous years. This year also has Topps issuing Crazy Cards, a 66 card set with art by Wally Wood (I guess Jack Davis was busy!). They also issue a set of Sport Car cards. These car cards show some current as well as prototype cars and they as close to a racing car as most of us will see. Fleer, with its infinite wisdom, issues its baseball great series again. I don.t know if they wanted to lull Topps into a false sense of security or if they really think us kids want this set but here it is.again! Fleer also releases its football cards for the second straight year. Fleer.s non sport contributions for the 1961 year are meager and with just one issue, Pirates Bold, and Fleer hits a home run. OK, we are still not sure that all of these pirates actually existed but in each pack is a Pirate sticker. My own personal favorite is of course, the .Jolly Roger.. Fleer has not issued its last set of cards for 1961, but what can it be? They.ve issued baseball, football, and non sport but still have one final trick up their sleeve. They issue a basketball set. Perhaps the success of their football cards is the reasoning or just because it was the right time to issue basketball, these cards are highly prized by collectors today.

So let us review 1961, Topps has baseball and football then Crazy Cards and Sport Cars. The baseball cards are generally considered (along with 1967) the best issue of the 1960.s; the football cards are considered just average in the collecting community. Both of the non sport issues are in my opinion good but not great. Fleer has its baseball series of old guys . sorry Fleer, then its football cards which has both the AFL and the NFL and I have always liked the 1961 Fleer set better than Topps. Fleer also has its basketball set which has Chamberlain, West and Robertson rookies which is now considered one of the key basketball sets ever issued. To round out the year, Pirates Bold, a favorite of mine as a kid and is still a fun set to collect today earns Fleer plus marks. I can.t say who won the card wars for 1961 but overall it could have been a tie.

As we move into 1962, Fleer retreats from the card issuing market with the exception of football cards thus ending its challenge to Topps for the leading bubble gum card producing company in the USA. It is my opinion that Fleer was readying itself for its 1963 baseball card set and all of their efforts were needed there rather then with either non sport or basketball cards.

As for Topps, perhaps they felt some what blind sided with the past two years of Fleer gains, they issue Baseball, Civil War News, Football, Casey/Kildare, Foldees and Mars Attack. Now I realize that Topps did not conceive and issue these sets over night but after this year Fleer does not challenge Topps again as the King of the Card War Companies.

I.ve thrown out a number of speculated items and theories which may lead us to the following questions. Why did Fleer re-enter the bubble gum card market in 1959? Did Fleer hire a new product manager during that time (perhaps from Topps?) that brought many new ideas with him/her? Did Fleer have a .five-year plan. that culminated with the 1963 baseball cards issue? What happened in 1962 that made Fleer issue football cards only? Was Fleer successful during the 1959 . 1961 time periods?

Obviously, the questions can go on and on and we can guess all we want as to what really happened. I.ve not seen an interview with any former Fleer employees and if any reader can supply us with one, I.m sure Les will find some room to print it.