Product Highlight: 1992 Dad’s Kid Corp. Tri Cards

Various companies have taken a stab at making 3-D cards over the years.  A company that did it really well was called Dad’s Kid Corp.  Their Tri Cards product has one of the best 3-D effects the hobby has ever seen.

Dad’s Kid Corp. brought their Tri Cards product to the market in 1992.  Each box has (1) card.  A window on the front allowed you to pick which player you wanted.  Three base cards were used to make one card.  Strategically cutting and overlaying the three cards gave them the 3-D look.  Base cards from 1990, 1991, and 1992 were used.  Upper Deck, Score, Leaf, and Fleer cards made it into the mix.  Stores like Toys “R” Us, F.A.O. Schwartz, and Spencer Gifts all carried them.  At one time I believe QVC even had them available.

The serial numbering can be a little misleading.  Every player’s Tri Card is serial numbered to 50,000 copies.  That 50,000 accounts for all of the cards for that specific player.  Lots of players have more than one type of card in here.  For example, Nolan Ryan has at least three different Tri Cards.  That doesn’t mean each one is limited to 50,000.  It means that the print run for all three adds up to 50,000 copies.  They never released the print run for the individual brands.

Thanks to them offering what they call a “Completer Set”, we know that (36) different players had Tri Cards made.  (300) “Completer Sets” were issued to those collectors who wanted matching serial numbers.  Players offered included Sandy Alomar, Roberto Alomar, Wade Boggs, Bobby Bonilla, Barry Bonds, Tom Browning, Jose Canseco, Will Clark, Wes Chamberlain, Eric Davis, Andre Dawson, Cecil Fielder, Juan Gonzales, Dwight Gooden, Ken Griffey, Jr., Rickey Henderson, Gregg Jeffries, Howard Johnson, Wally Joyner, David Justice, Kevin Maas, Ramon Martinez, Don Mattingly, Kevin Mitchell, Jack Morris, Fred McGriff, Terry Pendelton, Kirby Puckett, Cal Ripken, Jr., Nolan Ryan, Ryne Sandberg, Ozzie Smith, Darryl Strawberry, Frank Thomas, Greg Vaughn, and Robin Yount.

As unique and fun as these cards seem to be, they didn’t stick around very long.  A trip through the legal ringer brought this company down.  The MLBPA, Upper Deck, Score, and Leaf all sued.  When it came to the MLBPA’s lawsuit, the court actually sided with Dad’s Kid Corp.  In addition to the card manufacturer lawsuits the legal bills just kept adding up, and Dad’s Kid Corp. came tumbling down like a pile of Jenga blocks.  However, we do know that production was stopped while the lawsuits were going on.  Its very possible that not all 50,000 Tri Cards were made for every player.  I think its safe to say thousands made their way out.

Don’t look for a lot of value here folks.  Most of them can’t break $10.  Ken Griffey, Jr. has been known to reach $20.  Its too bad a Frank Thomas rookie didn’t make it in here.

Dubbed “The next dimension in sports card collecting.“, baseball was the only sport they were able to produce.  They had plans for 3-D basketball, football, hockey, tennis, golf, comics, and celebrities.  A Kid’s Club was offered to 20,000 people.  Being a member got you access to exclusive cards.  I’ve never seen these cards surface.  Dad’s Kid Corp. may not have been around long enough for them to make their way out.