1968 Atlantic Oil Contest Cards

In 1968, the Atlantic Oil company held a contest open to licensed drivers, who were not employees. All you had to do was match the numbers indicated on each card for one league and you were a winner.

Of course things were not as simple as that. One number out of each sequence was extremely limited or only available in a certain area. Do you think the oil companies are in the habit of giving away money? Not really.

If there are any ideas of stocking up on these cards on sites like eBay, forget it. The contest ended on December 1, 1968. Still, these are unique cards that aren't seen often by collectors. Most of them can be picked up for roughly a dollar. Others can be picked up for much higher.

The White Sox had two known cards for this contest.

Joe Horlen
Pete Ward

Joe Horlen's card (player number 9) could be matched with American League player number 8 to win $5. Pete Ward's card (player number 1) could be matched with American League player numbers 2 and 3 to win $2500. Not too shabby!

Without a license to show MLB logos or team logos, these cards feature airbrushed hats and cropped head shots. The cards actually look pretty attractive with the red border and simple geometric shapes. It's a simple and cheap way to get a nice card, which may give some of your friends a thrill out of your collection.

I would be surprised to find one of these in mint condition. It looks like these were paired with another card along the perforation. All the cards that I've encountered look like they've been to hell and back. That's part of the charm of these cards too.