The quaint old days of five-dollar HOF-er autographed baseball cards.

In 1993, Nabisco initiated the All-Star Legends Autographs program, a promotion that gave away baseball cards signed by members of the then-newly-created Major League Baseball Alumni Association.*

The promotion was straightforward: mail in two proofs of purchase from participating Nabisco Brands (Oreos, Chips Ahoy, Wheat Thins and Ritz Crackers), along with $5 and get your pick of cards from a lineup of players. It launched by way of a full-page free-standing insert (an ad inserted but not bound in newspaper or magazine) that ran on June 27 and July 18, 1993.

Nabisco also publicized the offer on millions of packages of cookies and crackers. It was featured in an 80-city tour at major and minor league ballparks. Nabisco's sales force could access players used in the promotion for sales calls on their major accounts.

Each of the retired Hall of Famers from the MLBAA autographed the cards for $2 apiece, which was a fraction of what the players would receive at a sports card show signing. But Nabisco requested thousands of cards per player--one source says 90,000--and 20,000 signed premiums.

Rather a lot of inscribing, but a decent guaranteed income.

One result of the marketing blitzkrieg is that there are now a lot of these cards out there, so they don't seem to be very expensive. For example, we obtained the four 1994 cards from eBay for $20 including shipping. (We're still seeking two of the 1993 cards, Catfish Hunter and Don Drysdale.)

Ernie Banks said that in order to keep sane while signing, he sang a little song: “Keep signing, keep signing, knowing you can always count on me,

for sure,

that's what friends are for.”

Nabisco and the promotion company it worked with, International Sports Marketing, removed Major League Baseball team logos from photos used on the cards and thus avoided a 15% royalty fee. The league may not have been thrilled, but the absence of team logos didn't seem to affect sales.

By the promotion's second year, Nabisco reduced the number of player cards offered from six to four.

Each card has a certificate of authenticity because the sports memorabilia market in the early 1990s had become flooded with fake autographs.

The 1993 certificates are made of light stock paper, the size of two baseball cards. The 1994 certificates are heavier stock vellum, the size of a baseball card.

Here's a list of the stars they used, their primary team, and the year they entered baseball's Hall of Fame:

1993: Ernie Banks, Chicago Cubs, 1977; Don Drysdale, Los Angeles Dodgers, 1984; Jim “Catfish” Hunter, Oakland Athletics, 1987; Phil Niekro, Atlanta Braves 1997; Brooks Robinson, Baltimore Orioles, 1983.

1994: Bob Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals, 1981;Jim Palmer, Baltimore Orioles, 1990; Frank Robinson, Cincinnati Reds, 1982; Duke Snider, Brooklyn Dodgers, 1980; Willie Stargell, Pittsburgh Pirates, 1988.

So these were kind of an early version of redemptions.

* "The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association (MLBPAA) was formed in 1982 in order to promote the game of baseball, raise money for charity, inspire and educate youth through positive sport images and protect the dignity of the game through former players. A non-profit organization, the MLBPAA establishes a place where a player's drive for excellence and achievement on the field can continue long after they take their last steps off the professional diamond." Brooks Robinson is the current president.