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Specs
Year: 1990-91
Title: Star Equal Chicago Bulls Silver Season
Size: 2-1/2” x 3-1/2″
Number in Set: 16
Overview
Equal Brand sweetener sponsored this 16-card set to celebrate the Chicago Bull’s 25th anniversary as a franchise that was reportedly (by a few hobby guides I have) given away to fans at the Bull’s April 9th home game. These guides share that Star produced 10k of these sets.
The card front of each card features a color action photo for what were current Bulls players and blue-tinted photos of past Bulls players on a silver background. The Bulls logo is printed in color in the top left corner, and the words “The Silver Season” are printed in white lettering in the top right corner. The player’s name is printed in black text along a diagonal strip, and the Equal Brand logo is printed in blue ink, centered, along the bottom of the card.
The back of the cards features black text on a pink background and includes basic player vitals and statistics. A 1991 Star Co copyright, NBA Photos copyright, and card number out of 16 are printed along the bottom of the backs.
In their online checklist, Beckett wrote there a glossy version was reportedly reproduced in 1997, which is perhaps why many guides share that it’s believed that additional sets made their way into the hobby after the initial printing.
I’m unsure about the authenticity of the following letter on Star International, Inc. letterhead from June 4th, 1997, but it states that no more than 2k of the sets were produced with a “Glossy” finish. It also says that about 20,000 “Satin” finish sets were created and given away at two Bulls home games, not the single April 9th home game most guides report. If you have any more information about this set, please e-mail me. It’s possible that some guides may have confused this Equal Bulls set with the one from 1989.
I believe sets were distributed bagged. You can pick up raw sets for between $20 and $30.
Unfortunately, PSA no longer grades these cards.
Example
Key Card
The set’s key card belongs to Michael Jordan.
Checklist
1 Michael Jordan
2 Tom Boerwinkle
3 Bob Boozer
4 Bill Cartwright
5 Artis Gilmore
6 Horace Grant
7 Phil Jackson
8 Johnny Kerr
9 Bob Love
10 Dick Motta
11 John Paxson
12 Scottie Pippen
13 Guy Rodgers
14 Jerry Sloan
15 Norm Van Lier
16 Chet Walker