Colt 45 was a malt liquor brand produced by the Pabst Brewing Company that was known for innovative and collectible baseball cards included in packages from 1972 to 1974. While malt liquor brands today are not usually associated with baseball, Colt 45 capitalized on America’s pastime to help promote and market their product in the early 1970s.
The idea for including baseball cards in Colt 45 came from the brand’s marketing team who wanted to tap into people’s interest in America’s national sport. At the time, baseball card collecting was booming in popularity thanks to the likes of Topps, Fleer and other trading card companies. By including original baseball cards featuring current major leaguers in Colt 45 packages, the brand was able to generate excitement and attract new customers, especially younger beer drinkers.
The 1972 set was the first and included a total of 132 cards featuring players from that season. Some of the more notable names included on the ’72 Colt 45 cards were Hank Aaron, Johnny Bench, Tom Seaver, and Reggie Jackson. The cards featured basic information like positions played, batting statistics, and a small color photo of each player. While the production quality was not as high as mainstream baseball card companies, collectors enjoyed getting cards of current stars mixed in with their Colt 45s.
In 1973, Colt 45 released their second and most valuable set. This time there were 144 total cards in the assortment. Rookies included future Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt and Dave Winfield. The ’73s are considered the key set to the Colt 45 run due to the star power on the cards and the fact they are the lowest printed. In mint condition, rare ’73 Colt 45 rookie cards can fetch thousands of dollars today. The ’73s also introduced bi-color photo variations that added another layer of complexity for collectors to pursue complete sets.
For their final year of baseball cards in 1974, Colt 45 included another 144 card set. Notable rookie cards included future all-stars Jeff Burroughs and Jim Rice. The ’74s had a similar design to the prior two years but are not as expensive or desirable to collectors today. By 1975, Colt 45 had discontinued including baseball cards, likely due to rising production costs and a desire to focus more on beer sales than a fledgling sports card hobby.
While short-lived, the three series of Colt 45 baseball cards from the early 1970s left an impact. They helped introduce many new collectors to the hobby. Finding mint condition examples from ’72-74 remains a challenge and the cards continue to attract attention from vintage sports memorabilia collectors. Prices have steadily risen over the past 20 years for high-grade Colt 45 rookie cards as the original collectors who grew up with the sets age. Many consider the Colt 45 experiment one of the more unique sponsorships in baseball card history.
In the decades since, few other brands have tried bundling original sports cards with their products. While gimmicky at the time, Colt 45’s baseball card promotion was innovative and captivated a generation of new collectors. The vintage Colt 45 cards remain a unique and quirky footnote in the history of the baseball card hobby. For collectors and fans of 1970s memorabilia, tracking down complete sets or coveted rookie cards is a fun challenge that combines two classic American pastimes – baseball and beer.
