For some players, a funny or unforgettable baseball card could be a bad hair day, food stuck in their teeth, or some crazy facial hair. However, these cards are nothing like that. Some players pose for them on purpose, and some of them, well, we really have no idea what happened.
Let’s take a look down memory lane at some wild baseball cards from the 80s and 90s:
Billy Ripken 1989 Fleer
This is for sure one of the most infamous misprints in baseball card history. How on earth did it even get into production? The words f**k face were written on the bottom of Ripken’s bat. As soon as collectors caught wind of this card they started hunting for it. It became a hot commodity in the trading card world and prices began to shoot up to as high as $600 at one point.
Glenn Hubbard 1984 Fleer
There’s certainly a lot going on with this card, but don’t let that distract you from the fact that this man has a BOA CONSTRICTOR hanging over his shoulders. Don’t forget the Philly Fanatic photo bomb in the background. This card became so famous, Glenn and the snake even got their own bobblehead:
Keith Comstock 1989 ProCards
Well, now, that’s just unfortunate timing. Or was it perfect timing? Keith Comstock played on four MLB teams during his baseball career, but will mostly be remembered for this card of a ball hitting him in the crotch. That’s tough.
Oscar Azocar 1993 Topps
Oscar loved his bat. That’s all. Nothing weird about that. Although, maybe the bat didn’t love him back as much. He hit .226/.248/.296 across three seasons with the Yankees and Padres. This wasn’t Oscar’s only unforgettable card though, there was also this one:
Brian Hunter 1999 Topps
From a young age, Brian Hunter was a fan of stealing bases, superheros, and baseball cards. So obviously, when he got to the big leagues, this card opportunity made a lot of sense. It was Hunter’s idea, as he wanted his card to have something to do with thieves. In his 1,000 MLB games, Hunter stole 260 bases. His most in season was in 1997 with the Tigers, where he swiped 74 bases.
Gus Zernial 1952 Topps
One of the more beloved cards in the baseball trading card scene, this card was based on the fact that in 1951, Gus tied an American League record with six home runs in three consecutive games. But the real question is, how’d they get the baseballs to stick like that?
Rex Hudler 1996 Upper Deck
Yes, seriously, he really is milking a cow. Now you’re probably wondering… why is there a cow in the middle of an MLB field? Well, this coincided with the Angels dairy farmers night. Each team selected a player to milk a cow on the field, and Hudler was the perfect choice. He used to milk cows with his great-grandfather in Texas. Hudler was no stranger to great baseball cards either, with this card being his the year before:
