Sportflics was a brand of baseball cards produced by Impel Collectibles from 1984 to 1990 that took a novel approach to the typical baseball card design of the time. Instead of standard vertical card formats, Sportflics cards were die-cut into the silhouettes of various sports shapes like baseballs, bats, mitts, and more. This unique die-cut design pioneered a new style of sports cards that paved the way for more creative shapes and designs in the decades since.
The 1986 Sportflics set featured over 700 baseball cards in a wide variety of die-cut shapes. Some of the most common cuts included the standard baseball shape as well as bats, mitts, caps, and even a home plate shape. More uniquely shaped cards featured bats breaking over shoulders, baseball gloves catching a ball, and baseballs being hit in different stages. This novelty of shape added visual excitement and served as a draw for collectors compared to the conventional cardboard squares of Topps, Donruss, and Fleer that dominated the market at the time.
While the creative shapes were the biggest draw of Sportflics cards, the photography and graphics helped make the brand stand out as well. Bold colored borders and team logo designs framed high quality action photos of players. Many cards also included fun retro-style graphics like ballparks drawn in an animated illustrated form. The combination of creative silhouettes, vivid colors and graphics, and well-executed player photography produced a very distinctive and visually engaging baseball card set during its time.
In terms of player content, the 1986 Sportflics set provided fans with a complete checklist of major leaguers from that season. Ranging from superstars to role players, the set captured all the biggest names in baseball during the mid-1980s. Included were rookie cards for future Hall of Famers like Roger Clemens, Barry Larkin, and Mark McGwire. Other notable rookies finding their way into the set were Lenny Dykstra, Barry Bonds, and Ron Gant. The set also highlighted the best players and biggest stars of 1986 like Don Mattingly, Wade Boggs, Ozzie Smith, and Roger Maris on his legendary 61st home run anniversary card.
In addition to major league content, Sportflics also featured a selection of minor league prospects and retired legends through special subsets. One subset highlighted up-and-coming young talents in the minors who may be future MLB stars. Another paid tribute to retired greats of the sport through distinctive sepia-toned “Legends of Baseball” silhouette cards. Icons honored this way included Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and more. Collectors enjoyed assembling these special subsets almost like building mini teams outside the standard rookie and star checklists.
Particularly notable rookie cards from the 1986 Sportflics set include ones for Barry Bonds, Lenny Dykstra, and Mark McGwire. Bonds’ Sportflics rookie is one of the more visually interesting as it features him batting from the left side in a distinctive ash wood bat silhouette shape. Dykstra’s memorable rookie puts him catching a ball diving back into the outfield grass in a baseball cutout shape. And McGwire’s debut places him towering at the plate in a home plate shaped card ready to mash. All three would go on to Hall of Fame careers making their Sportflics rookie cards some of the most desirable from the brand and set today among vintage card collectors.
Despite the creative design aspects and high-quality production values, Sportflics faced struggles gaining widespread distribution and market share during the boom years of the 1980s baseball card industry. Competition was fierce amongst the “Big 3” producers of Topps, Donruss, and Fleer who solidified their dominance through mainstream retail deals. While Sportflics could be found in some hobby shops and card shows, lack of availability on store shelves limited its appeal to the average collectors at the time. By the late 1980s market over-saturation began to hurt sales for even the largest brands and contributed to Sportflics’ demise after the 1990 season.
Despite only having a relatively short run in the 1980s, the innovative influence of Sportflics cards live on today. Collectors still enjoy assembling the unique and visually engaging sets for their creativity and presentation of players. The brand helped propel baseball card designs beyond traditional cardboard formats. Modern printings by Panini, Leaf, and others now carry on experimenting with different shapes, cuts, embossing, and more – a legacy that can be traced back to Sportflics’ trailblazing style. For collectors and students of card history, Sportflics baseball remains one of the most creatively pioneering brands that left an indelible mark on the hobby.
