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Specs
Year: 1982
Title: Red Lobster Chicago Cubs
Size: 2 1/4″ by 3 1/2″
Number in Set: 28
Overview
The Chicago Cubs and Red Lobster co-produced around 15k of these sets, which they used as a promotional giveaway on August 20, 1982, at Wrigley Field.
I’ve seen two dealers sell sealed sets that look like the example below.
The cards feature action shot photographs of the 25 players, plus manager Lee Elia with umpires and an opposing coach from the Cincinnati Reds (presumably exchanging lineups before the game), a posed photo of the coaching staff, and a team picture. The cards all have facsimile autographs on the front (other than the team card), along with the player’s number, name, and position.
The back of the cards have player statistics and a Red Lobster ad. The cards are unnumbered, though some collectors sequence the set by uniform number.
Example
Key Cards
The Ryne Sandberg is the most expensive card by a wide margin. This is considered his first Major League card and came out before the Donruss, Fleer, and Topps RCs.
Checklist
Doug Bird
Larry Bowa
Bill Buckner
Bill Campbell
Jody Davis
Leon Durham
Lee Elia
Steve Henderson
Willie Hernandez
Fergie Jenkins
Jay Johnstone
Junior Kennedy
Ken Kravec
Randy Martz
Bob Molinaro
Jerry Morales
Keith Moreland
Dickie Noles
Mike Proly
Al Ripley
Ryne Sandberg
Lee Smith
Scot Thompson
Dick Tidrow
Bump Wills
Gary Woods
Coaching Staff
Team Picture