That 1991 Swell Baseball Greats Set

Last year I came across a few cards from the 1991 Swell Baseball Greats 150-card set from one of those impulse-buy Walgreens repacks, and decided on the spot to collect the set. A yellow-bordered set with some fantastic images of many of the game's all-time greats, mixed in with guys who were good enough on their own teams or in their own eras (Ken Reitz! Doug DeCinces! Wally Moon!), but who would hardly be confused with "all-time greats". That's OK with me. Makes for a much more interesting card set - but it's the layout and those yellow borders, and the fact that it's made by the "Philadelphia Chewing Gum Corp." that does it for me. 

I remember Swell Gum, actually. It was individually-wrapped bubble gum pieces that you'd get for a penny or two cents at 7-11 or the local convenience store......say, if you rolled up in 1978 to buy a pack of Topps baseball cards for 25 cents, but brought 28 cents and wanted some extra gum to go with it. I was that guy. If it wasn't Swell, it was Bazooka.

Anyway, these cards. Here are 8 of them. Personal story about Ralph Branca. My dad used to work as a store manager in retail, at stores like Macy's, Ross and many defunct stores like Gold Circle, Service Merchandise and others. One time he brought home a favorite co-worker whom he managed a store with: Paul Branca, Ralph's brother. Ralph, as you may know, is infamous for giving up Bobby Thompson's "shot heard 'round the world" home run that led the New York Giants into the World Series over Branca's Brooklyn Dodgers. 

This dinner visit was at the height of my baseball mania, maybe around 1982 or so, but I remember doing my best to not ask Paul Branca about his brother and about baseball, like the studious and introverted young man I was, thereby missing out on some good stories. I suppose I didn't want to do what I'm sure is exceptionally annoying to anyone with a famous sibling, and bother them with questions about the sibling and otherwise ignore them. I once hung out for an evening with Paul Myers, brother of comedian and actor Mike, and kept the same personal policy.

Anyway - here are some baseball cards from that awesome 1991 Swell Baseball Greats set!