K.B. Toys was a chain of toy stores founded in 1922. The chain was a victim of the 2009 recession, when its stores closed for the last time. Also known as Kay-Bee Stores, the chain sold baseball cards, naturally, and was a big enough Topps customer to have exclusive cards made, which it sold in small 33-card sets.
I'm undecided whether to classify these as oddballs or not, because they were made by Topps. But they are definitely slightly unusual.
Card Number 92: Kay-Bee Superstars of Baseball, 1987; #15
I acquired this card in with a massive lot of Topps 1987 base cards. There was almost a complete set of the Superstars of Baseball.
I like the toy soldier in the Kay-Bee logo. He's rather cute.
The cardback features a black and white photo and three statistical factoids about Tony. I think this could be the first ever range of cards produced by Topps with photos on the back.
Card Number 93: Kay-Bee Kings, 1990; #14
I bought this card a few years ago off a UK-based sports cards website, which never seemed to add to its stock of baseball cards, and now seems to have disappeared.
I like the bold red border. It really makes the card stand out. Topps included their logo on the front as well.
The back is quite dull in comparison, although the purple and white stripes make me think of candy for some reason.
I don't know when Topps stopped producing exclusive cards for toy stores. But given the parlous state of toy retailing, it's unlikely to be something they start doing again.
Total: 93/394
I've never seen these cellophane packs with the KayBee cards on top. The KayBee cards in my area were originally packaged in 33 card box sets... which is why I've always considered them an oddball issue.
ReplyDeleteBy the way... that 1987 card is awesome! Great looking card for that era.
Oh, I've got that wrong then. I will have to do more research.
DeleteWell I looked and you are, of course, correct. I have updated the post to reflect reality. Thanks for pointing that out.
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