Arguably my favorite genre of Frank Thomas cards. Don't get me wrong, the collectibles you see on the "My Favorites" page really are my favorites, but as taken as individual cards or items. But due to the ridiculous amount of cards being produced it's no longer possible to say something like, "Oh yeah, I always collect Topps, or Upper Deck, etc." The manufacturers produce so much product, most of it homogenous, that they tend to blend together like a production line of newspapers coming off a press - with only the headlines changing.

But food & oddball issues... that's different. There's something special about the unique branding of an athlete and a select retail product.

I'm not sure I can explain it simply. The closest I can come to describing it is: Eating your favorite food vs. food you eat to survive.

Like me, a small businessperson with a small company, I'm often eating stuff that's quickly obtained and easily devoured. That means fast food for the most part. Now, it's not that I don't like fast food, I do. But to be honest, day after day after day of the same ol' ... stuff. Well, you can imagine. So on the rare occasion that I get to go out and really kick back and eat a meal, like a well-prepared grilled steak, then it's like heaven on earth. Really special.

That's what food & oddball Frank cards are to me - very special. Because it's not shoved out like so much preprocessed formless protein - it's like a well prepared meal meant for a connoisseur. I like Upper Deck, Topps, Fleer, Playoff and all their various one-hit wonders. But when I look at a Dannon Yogurt or a Lemon Chill, or maybe that really sharp Armour Hot Dog issue... well, all I can say is "Yes!"

The following is a list of some of these fantastic cards. It's nowhere near complete because this is one area that is continually being updated years their releases. Note: I did not include phonecards.
If you're interested in a list of Frank's phonecards - click here.

2001 Armour Hot Dogs #7
There was a corresponding ad campaign that went with the Armour Hot Dogs baseball cards. To see part of it click here.