In 1994, General Mills continued its long tradition of including baseball cards in boxes of their popular Post cereals. The 1994 Post cereal baseball card series highlighted another exciting season in Major League Baseball and featured some of the game’s biggest stars on the cards packaged with Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles, Alpha-Bits, Golden Crisp and other popular cereals.
The 1994 Post cereal baseball card collection consisted of 132 total cards printed by Chicago-based printer Donruss. Donruss had been producing the Post cereal baseball cards since 1990 after taking over production from Topps, which printed the cards from 1961 through 1989. The 1994 Post cereal baseball card set focused exclusively on Major League players and managers rather than including any minor leaguers or retired stars as previous sets had.
One of the noteworthy aspects of the 1994 Post cereal baseball card series was its focus on relatively recent players rather than stars of past eras like previous sets sometimes included. The oldest active player featured in the 1994 Post cereal baseball card series was Nolan Ryan, who was then in his 27th and final MLB season at age 47. This highlighted how the series concentrated on highlighting the current season’s rosters.
Some of the biggest stars and most popular players who were featured prominently in the 1994 Post cereal baseball card series included Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds, Cal Ripken Jr., Frank Thomas, Roberto Alomar, Jeff Bagwell, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson. These were some of the true superstars and most recognizable names in baseball at the time. Griffey, Bonds, Ripken and Thomas in particular regularly appeared on many of the chase cards in factory packs due to their widespread popularity.
In addition to photos of current players, the card designs for the 1994 Post cereal baseball card series incorporated some fun retro baseball elements. The fronts of many cards featured decorative baseballs or baseball seams around the borders. Some cards even utilized old-timey typefaces to give the cards more of a vintage baseball feel. Stats and career highlights on the back of the cards also highlighted how the players were performing that current 1994 season.
Factory card packs contained in boxes of Post cereals generally included a mixture of common base cards along with semi-rare “extended” series cards showing additional photos or stats and rare “chase” cards of the biggest stars. Insert cards were also occasionally included spotlighting various player accomplishments or retirees. While the checklist was never published, through collectors opening thousands of packs, the full 132-card roster was determined. The vast majority of cards were of current Major League players but a few managers and retired stars like Brooks Robinson and Sandy Koufax made cameo appearances as well.
For young baseball card collectors in the 1990s, the Post cereal baseball cards were highly coveted additions to breakfast. Along with providing a fun, affordable way to build a collection on a budget, the cards also served as a connection to Major League Baseball during the season. While the sets focused more closely on currently active players than previous decades, the cards still embodied the nostalgia and tradition of baseball card collections found in cereal over half a century. Though Post cereal baseball cards were discontinued after 2001, the 1994 series stands out as representing the prominence and excitement of MLB during a memorable year for the national pastime.
