In 1970, Kellogg’s produced their first and only set of 3D baseball cards included in cereals as a premium. These innovative cards used a lenticular lens to produce a 3D image that would pop out when tilted from side to side. The cards featured stars from the 1969 season and became instantly popular among baseball card collectors of the time. Due to production issues, the series was short lived and only included 24 total cards over the course of the cereal promotion.
To produce the 3D effect, the front of each card contained two closely spaced offset images that were combined through a plastic lenticular lens overlay. When tilted from side to side, the lens would alternate between the two images creating a 3D floating or popping out appearance. The backs of the cards contained basic career and 1969 stats for each player. The front images predominantly featured headshots of the players both with and without batting/fielding gear to provide the depth illusion.
The 1970 Kellogg’s 3D set was the earliest example of the lenticular printing process being applied to baseball cards on a mass-produced scale. Prior attempts at 3D cards in the 1950s never gained widespread popularity due to technical limitations. With advancements in lenticular lens manufacturing, Kellogg’s was able to create a highly sought after sports card promotion for the first time. They joined forces with the largest sports card manufacturer, Topps, to produce the innovative new cards.
Included were 24 total players spanning both the American and National Leagues. Some of the biggest stars featured were Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Carl Yastrzemski, Mickey Mantle, and Bill Freehan. Rosters included a mix of all-time greats, recent award winners, and up and coming young talents. Players represented teams from across MLB including the Mets, Reds, Braves, Tigers, Giants, Dodgers, and more. Each player was randomly inserted into Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, and Frosted Flakes cereal boxes between May and August of 1970.
While the 3D cards caused a sensation among kids opening their cereal that summer, production issues began popping up almost immediately. The lenticular printing process was still new and proving difficult to mass produce consistently. Many of the early runs of cards suffered from blurry or misaligned 3D effects. The plastic lenses tended to crack or break off from the cardboard more easily than standard adhesive-backed cards. Quality control slipped as demand increased, leading consumers to complain about defective or unplayable cards.
Concerns over the lifespan and playability of the 3D cards, coupled with rising production costs, caused Kellogg’s to pull the plug on the promotion after just a few months. The limited series run and issues with the fragile lenticular lenses have made surviving high quality examples of the complete 1970 3D baseball card set extremely rare and valuable today. PSA and BGS have graded less than a dozen PSA 10Near Mint quality examples of Willie Mays cards alone. While other mid-range stars can be acquired for a few hundred dollars, premier cards of Aaron, Mantle, Yastrzemski regularly sell for thousands.
For collectors at the time, the 1970 Kellogg’s 3D baseball cards offered a glimpse into the future potential of the hobby. No other sports cards before or since have attempted a true lenticular 3D technology until very recently. Their fleeting production run and story of technical difficulties causing premature demise adds an air of mystique. For these reasons, they remain one of the most innovative – if short lived – sports card sets ever made and forever etched their place in the history of the hobby. While collectible values continue increasing yearly, the 1970 3D baseball cards will probably always be best remembered for capturing the promise of a new 3D card era that sadly never fully materialized.
In conclusion, Kellogg’s 1970 3D baseball card promotion was a groundbreaking moment that utilized new printing technologies to produce the first mainstream lenticular 3D sports cards. Despite issues that cut production short, they captured the imagination of collectors and showcased the future potential of the hobby. Scarcity due to the limited run coupled with technical challenges lends these historically innovative cards a mystique that will ensure their place as some of the most cherished and valuable sets from the classic era of baseball card production.
