Dog Food and Baseball Cards - My First 1954 Red Heart

When I think of oddball baseball cards, I usually picture the many great sets released in the '80s by brands like Post, Kay-Bee, Woolworth's, etc.  In that great decade of collecting, sets were produced by a range of random companies far and wide, from toy stores to purveyors of fine breakfast sausages!

Today's brief post features a much older oddball set though, 1954 Red Heart:

These beauties were distributed by The John Morrell Company, makers of Red Heart Dog Food.  Though I don't believe that particular brand name lives on today, The John Morrell Company certainly does. 

Anyway, this was a 33-card set released in three different subsets of 11 cards each.  The cards weren't actually packaged with the dog food, but rather were a mail-away promotion.  A few labels and some pocket change was enough to get an 11 card pack delivered to your mailbox.

I am a fan of the simplistic design and vintage feel.  There are only two Red Sox players on the short checklist, so I'd love to pick up the other someday (George Kell).

The backs are well done, they certainly hold up when compared against the other sets of the day in my opinion.  Certainly a unique addition to my vintage Red Sox collection, courtesy of "The Big League Dog Food".

The best part is, this card cost me less than $10.  I'll take this over a hanger box of 2014 Topps Update any day!