Flashback Product of the Week: 1986 Sportflics Series 1

Lenticular printing developed by Optigraphics in order to create the Triple Action Magic Motion card.  Oh hell yes!!!  This sounds like the plot to a classic Schwarzenegger blood bath.

Sportflics got a lot of attention when it was released in the spring of 1986.  Some collectors thought of them as the next stage in card evolution, and others came to think they were nothing but a gimmick.  The lenticular technology allows each card to change pictures up to three times.  You saw a lot of stuff like this back in the 80’s and early 90’s.  Did they look cool?  Yes.  Was it a game changer?  No.  In fact, from 1970 to 1983 Kellogg’s produced some “3-D” like cards which had the same look to them.

The entire set including the trivia cards comes to a total of 333 cards.  Most collectors just focus on the first 200.  There never was an ’86 Sportflics Series 2, despite what the packaging implies.  It was an expensive product at the time, considering you only received 3 player cards per pack.  A pack of ’86 Topps had 15 cards in it.

Enough collectors must have enjoyed them because Sportflics continued to be released until 1994.  From time to time, you’ll see lenticular technology used in today’s products.

Did you know that ’86 Sportflics Series 1 was the first product to feature a tamper proof foil wrapper?