In 1979, fast food giant Burger King launched one of the most iconic and collectible baseball card promotions in history. Seeking to capitalize on America’s love of both baseball and hamburgers, Burger King partnered with Topps to create a special set of baseball cards exclusively available with kids’ meals at Burger King restaurants nationwide.
The promotion was a huge success and sparked lifelong baseball card collecting passions for many young fans across the country. In total, 65 cards were produced as part of the Burger King promotion and depict many of the game’s biggest stars from the late 1970s. Several elements combined to make these cards so popular and highly coveted by collectors even today.
To start, the association with America’s largest fast food chain at the time gave the cards instant mainstream appeal and accessibility. Any kid who wanted a chance at the cards simply had to accompany their parents to Burger King. Meanwhile, the colorful graphics, team logos, and professional photography brought the players and teams to life in a visually engaging way.
Topps also ensured each card featured key stats, career highlights, and fun facts about the featured MLB stars, giving young fans valuable information to learn about their favorite teams and players. The dual branding of Burger King and Topps logos on every card further reinforced the intertwining of fast food, baseball, and the excitement of the card chase into children’s minds.
Major stars of the late 1970s like Reggie Jackson, Mike Schmidt, and Nolan Ryan anchored the set and further boosted its appeal. However, Topps and Burger King also wisely included rookie cards and less heralded players to intrigue collectors. This included rookie cards for Dave Parker, Don Baylor, Butch Wynegar, and Garry Templeton, who all went on to have stellar MLB careers.
Perhaps most importantly, the scarce availability of the cards at Burger King locations transformed them into a prized collectible. Kids had to eat their Burger King meals in hopes of scoring one of the elusive cards in their packaging. This scarcity heightened interest in the promotion and inspired children nationwide to pursue completing the 65-card rainbow in their collections. It also prompted many to return to Burger King time and again for a chance at cards they were missing.
While estimates vary, it’s believed Burger King produced tens if not hundreds of millions of these classic cards over the course of the 1979 promotion. Demand seemed to vastly outpace supply in some areas. Tales emerged of kids begging parents endlessly to take them to Burger King or eagerly awaiting relatives traveling through other regions to bring back coveted cards from their travels.
Meanwhile, it wasn’t uncommon for especially popular stars like Jackson and Schmidt to be almost impossible to obtain through random Kid’s Meal pack distribution. This led to early card show trading and specialization even among young collectors. Astute kids soon realized certain cards held greater value than others based on the player, team, and their scarcity in the promotion.
When the promotion ended after 1979, the Burger King cards took on an almost mythical status among collectors. Those fortunate enough to complete the 65-card rainbow set instantly possessed a highly coveted and valuable collection. Meanwhile, even incomplete sets and singular high-value cards like the rookie cards held significant collector interest and trade value.
As the players featured on the cards themselves aged and progressed in their baseball careers, so too did the popularity and interest in these pioneer baseball trading cards from a major corporate promotion. Graded gem mint examples of stars like Jackson, Schmidt, Ryan, and the rookies now routinely sell for thousands of dollars at auction. But even well-loved lower-grade examples still retain good collector value today.
In the digital age, online collecting communities have coalesced around the iconic Burger King cards. Stories, stats, and card registry sites allow fans to reconnect over these formative baseball memories. Even major league players today sometimes cite how the cards fueled a childhood love of the game. Their unique window into late 1970s MLB and role in launching countless collector passions ensured the 1979 Burger King baseball cards cemented their place in sportscard history.
While promotions of their scale may never be repeated, the 1979 Burger King baseball cards showed how partnerships between major fast food chains, trading card companies, and professional sports leagues can spark cultural phenomenons. Four decades later, these colorful cardboard relics continue evoking fond recollections of baseball’s golden era for fans both young and old.
